WB knew what they had. Most "underdog" stories/films appeal to a very wide audience. Troubled, poor man makes good in the end. This is why non-prince fans can relate to PR. It was also at the peak of the MTV crowd which fueled its popularity.

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UTCM/GB was just a vanity projects to please Prince. WB should have never released these as a "major films." But again, it was to please and stroke one of their biggest music and celebrity stars at the time.

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Had they released these as a video only promo to promote (album and tour), televised it on Prime Time, I think it would have eventually found it's audience and quickly becoming cult classics.

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Releasing UTCH and GB as a major films allowed movie critics to tear them apart, having a major influence on average movie goers and the films were not for everybody. It was hard to relate to them, if you didn't understand and followed Prince and the MPLS Sound.

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I like all the films for what they are....just to get a Prince fix when I need one.

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[Edited 11/29/13 17:50pm]

I think the album would have been a huge success even if the movie had flopped.The previous album 1999 was so successful that there was alot of anticipation for the follow-up.If the movie had flopped,we probably would not have gotten UTCM.

Agree with SoulAlive.

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The album Purple Rain was such a progression of DM/Controversy/1999 that it almost couldn't fail. I think that album so perfectly captured "All Things Prince" that after its success he really felt free to branch out and try new sounds. If the album had met with mediocre success, I think Prince would've played it safer and put out something akin to Purple Rain 2.

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That being said, the movie was a complete gamble. If the movie had failed, we for sure wouldn't have seen UTCM or GB.

Actually, I think his career would have been much better if "Purple Rain" had flopped. From the beginning of his career all the way up through "Purple Rain", Prince was already diverse but he wasn't nearly as diverse as he became after "Purple Rain". Not only did Prince have an ultra modern sound for the era that he was in, but he even passed the modern sound of the era and had a futuristic sound. After "Purple Rain", instead of going forward, he seemed to go backwards with each album he released after it. He started experimenting with a 1960s Beatles sound and then he started adding horns and started sounding like a new version of James Brown rather than "Prince" who previously seemed to have a sound all of his own. And then he even added strings and orchestras.

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The major success of "Purple Rain" gave him a much broader and diverse audience than he previously had and they were much more accepting of his style change than most of his earlier fans. I think that's why he seemed to tour more overseas during the late 1980s than here in the States because they seemed to welcome and love his style change while lots of folks here were pissed as hell with it. I know tons of Prince fans who loved him from the very first album and dropped him after "Purple Rain" because he didn't even seem like the same person anymore. They liked him briefly with particular songs like "Kiss", "Adore", etc. but weren't hardcore fans like they previously were and many folks longed for the "Old Prince" and whenever you mentioned his name back then, lots of people were saying "He's done lost his damn mind and lives in La La Land now with that hippie sounding shit and even classical shit with orchestras and thangs".

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I love the later stuff but not a tenth as much as I love the previous stuff but I think if "Purple Rain" had flopped, we would have gotten much better music afterwards. He wouldn't have near the broad fanbase as he got with "Purple Rain" so he would have had to continue on with the path he was on because he wouldn't have the broad fanbase to support his style change, nor the money to recover if he changed his style without them and the albums flopped. Hell, I think Warner Brothers would have even sounded like Billy in the movie and said...."Uh...look motherfucker, what's your damn problem here? We want some more of that sound you're famous for. This label ain't no place for your personal shit man. This is a business and you ain't too far gone to see that yet. Yeah buddy, what a fucking waste.". If he had continued on with his previous sound, would his career have fizzled out in the 1990s like the rest of the artists of his era? Probably so. But hey, we would have gotten a few more albums of some hardcore mind blowing jams so I wouldn't have cared. Prince's longevity is not my concern, it's his concern. Hell, I'm a customer and consumer, not a worshipper, so my concerns are what I want.

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[Edited 11/30/13 6:55am]

i agree probably would have improved his career and music in general .. maybe all that success went to his head .. caused more band friction .. affected his focus on music instead of image .. sign getting 2 stars in rolling stone .. hmmm .. maybe the critics would have been more willing to embrace the record .. perhaps a sign tour instead of just the video movie .. or a dream factory tour with the rev that did not break up .. it is what it is tho .. i do think if prince had less money or barely any money his music would be much better these days .. it would have been nice if prince was still trying to make the best music ever instead of just cashing in on his pr fame and wealth

vainandy said:

Actually, I think his career would have been much better if "Purple Rain" had flopped. From the beginning of his career all the way up through "Purple Rain", Prince was already diverse but he wasn't nearly as diverse as he became after "Purple Rain". Not only did Prince have an ultra modern sound for the era that he was in, but he even passed the modern sound of the era and had a futuristic sound. After "Purple Rain", instead of going forward, he seemed to go backwards with each album he released after it. He started experimenting with a 1960s Beatles sound and then he started adding horns and started sounding like a new version of James Brown rather than "Prince" who previously seemed to have a sound all of his own. And then he even added strings and orchestras.

.

The major success of "Purple Rain" gave him a much broader and diverse audience than he previously had and they were much more accepting of his style change than most of his earlier fans. I think that's why he seemed to tour more overseas during the late 1980s than here in the States because they seemed to welcome and love his style change while lots of folks here were pissed as hell with it. I know tons of Prince fans who loved him from the very first album and dropped him after "Purple Rain" because he didn't even seem like the same person anymore. They liked him briefly with particular songs like "Kiss", "Adore", etc. but weren't hardcore fans like they previously were and many folks longed for the "Old Prince" and whenever you mentioned his name back then, lots of people were saying "He's done lost his damn mind and lives in La La Land now with that hippie sounding shit and even classical shit with orchestras and thangs".

.

I love the later stuff but not a tenth as much as I love the previous stuff but I think if "Purple Rain" had flopped, we would have gotten much better music afterwards. He wouldn't have near the broad fanbase as he got with "Purple Rain" so he would have had to continue on with the path he was on because he wouldn't have the broad fanbase to support his style change, nor the money to recover if he changed his style without them and the albums flopped. Hell, I think Warner Brothers would have even sounded like Billy in the movie and said...."Uh...look motherfucker, what's your damn problem here? We want some more of that sound you're famous for. This label ain't no place for your personal shit man. This is a business and you ain't too far gone to see that yet. Yeah buddy, what a fucking waste.". If he had continued on with his previous sound, would his career have fizzled out in the 1990s like the rest of the artists of his era? Probably so. But hey, we would have gotten a few more albums of some hardcore mind blowing jams so I wouldn't have cared. Prince's longevity is not my concern, it's his concern. Hell, I'm a customer and consumer, not a worshipper, so my concerns are what I want.

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[Edited 11/30/13 6:55am]

It's a matter of taste, I really don't see how he did go backwords after PR. For me his best albums came after PR, but i'm European. ;.) Dirty Mind is great, but come one, Lovesexy, Parade, Sign of the times, they are fantastic.

Having his record company telling him they want the sound he's famous for doesn't sound very interesting to me.

I think Prince said it best in an interview one time, if you wanna hear an album like 1999, go listen to 1999.

[Edited 12/2/13 10:09am]

[Edited 12/2/13 10:09am]

I think Prince was plain afraid of the success of Purple Rain.

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If Purple Rain the movie flopped, I still think the album would have been successful, and Prince might still want to change because "Dreams" didn't make it.

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The Time was still going to break up. And the Family possibly still created. Definately no Under the Cherry Moon but man that would have been a good movie with band scenes.

Then it wouldve been called "The Purple Flop".

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If Purple Rain handnt been a success maybe he wouldve stuck to a more funky orientated sound from 84-92.

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Because if you noticed his early years he had more funk orientated sound with instances of hard guitar tracks (Bambi, Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad, I'm Yours, etc) because when he stopped giving a S about WB and making commericial he went right back to that during 93-present pretty much. With the exception of Rave (which was kind of commerical but failed) and maybe 1 others.

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So in a lot of ways those really older albums and the new ones are more true to Prince than a lot of that mid-popular period.

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That and sort of more adult contemporary sound which is also on his earlier albums, and started back up on Come, was heavy on Emancipation, NPS, Musicology, etc and every album after. Which I dont mind because I'm not too heavy on to pop and the like. Which is probably why a lot of those newer albums get a lot of hate around here because of that, but theyre really not that bad. Its just different strokes for different folks. I get people wanting more of what he was when he was on top or popular.

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No paragraph form around here.

[Edited 12/2/13 13:17pm]

"Hey, remember that 1999 guy..... hahahaha whatever happened to HIM?!"

Purple Rain was the "ultimate storm" so to speak in the music world. His past experiences and influences -- everything from Hendrix to Beatles to New Wave -- all combined into one ultimate masterpiece of a career. Prince's look and sound during that era fit perfectly in 1984 but was also timeless (cut to the SPIN cover a few years ago that used a Purple Rain picture, and it still was relevant).

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The band knew what they had with Purple Rain, and so did WB. It's ultimately what Prince will be most remembered for, and if that's the case then he could do far worse. Most bands would die for just one album like Purple Rain.

Se7en said:

Purple Rain was the "ultimate storm" so to speak in the music world. His past experiences and influences -- everything from Hendrix to Beatles to New Wave -- all combined into one ultimate masterpiece of a career. Prince's look and sound during that era fit perfectly in 1984 but was also timeless (cut to the SPIN cover a few years ago that used a Purple Rain picture, and it still was relevant).

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The band knew what they had with Purple Rain, and so did WB. It's ultimately what Prince will be most remembered for, and if that's the case then he could do far worse. Most bands would die for just one album like Purple Rain.

Totally agree!