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Thread started 01/30/14 8:00pm

thebanishedone

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Guitar sound on the Dirty Mind album

Every song on the album have a very unique simple sound .

A cross between James Brown with a bit of The Clash.

On the next album Prince got rid of that sound,why?

Do you think it was just a nod to punk and never his thing?

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Reply #1 posted 01/30/14 10:09pm

mrfreeze

The DM album is tracks Prince had recorded for his own personal use.

His manager Steve Fargnoli heard them and wanted them released.

This can explain the "different" sound to past and future albums.

The above info is from what I remember reading, so could be factual or not.

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Reply #2 posted 01/31/14 12:30am

kidmelody2012

not factual.....it is because prince was trying to be minimalist different than the over produced disco of the time......he was just trying to be noticed

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Reply #3 posted 01/31/14 2:20am

TheFreakerFant
astic

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Mr.Freeze is correct, the album was actually a series of demos that WB liked so much they persuaded him to release them as is rather than re-record them, hence the slightly patchy and rough sound quality to them, but that rawness is also what appeals I think. The major Prince biographies confirm this.

In terms of style, think it was Prince doing Punk but it wasn't a long lasting thing, just as he did Disco in the late 70s then dropped it, in line with the trends at the time.

[Edited 1/31/14 2:24am]

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Reply #4 posted 01/31/14 8:41pm

kidmelody2012

no im correct

TheFreakerFantastic said:

Mr.Freeze is correct, the album was actually a series of demos that WB liked so much they persuaded him to release them as is rather than re-record them, hence the slightly patchy and rough sound quality to them, but that rawness is also what appeals I think. The major Prince biographies confirm this.

In terms of style, think it was Prince doing Punk but it wasn't a long lasting thing, just as he did Disco in the late 70s then dropped it, in line with the trends at the time.

[Edited 1/31/14 2:24am]

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Reply #5 posted 02/01/14 1:12pm

thedance

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^ don't insist.. because you are wrong.. wink

I have read the DM songs were raw "unfinished demos", I think Per Nilsen wrote that.

Also Prince had a 3-albums deal with Warner Bros.

It's true he created DM on his own..... I believe he wanted to both shock and impress the WB's...

And the raw DM album turned out to be one of his finest, Rolling Stone had Prince's DM album in a top "18" position in a top 100 over the best albums of the 1980's...

http://www.rocklistmusic....stone.html


Rolling Stone - The 100 Greatest Albums Of The 80s
Special Issue 1990







1. London Calling - The Clash
2. Purple Rain - Prince & The Revolution
3. The Joshua Tree - U2
4. Remain In Light - Talking Heads
5. Graceland - Paul Simon
6. Born In The U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen
7. Thriller - Michael Jackson
8. Murmur - Rem / (Circus Animals - Cold Chisel)
9. Shoot Out The Lights - Richard And Linda Thompson /(Diesel And Dust - Midnight Oil)
10. Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
11. Get Happy - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
12. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us - Public Enemy / (Kick - Inxs)
13. Diesel And Dust - Midnight Oil / (Human Frailty - Hunters & Collectors)
14. So - Peter Gabriel
15. Let It Be - The Replacements / (True Colours - Split Enz)
16. 1999 - Prince / (Post - Paul Kelly)
17. Synchronicity - The Police
18. Dirty Mind - Prince
19. New York - Lou Reed
20. Pretenders - Pretenders
21. Rain Dogs - Tom Waits
22. The Smiths - The Smiths / (Crowded House - Crowded House)
23. Red - Black Uhuru / (The Smiths - The Smiths)
24. Los Angeles - X / (16 Lovers Lane - The Go-Betweens)
25. Tunnel Of Love - Bruce Springsteen
26. Back In Black - Ac/Dc
27. Appetite For Destruction - Guns 'N' Roses
28. Control - Janet Jackson
29. Double Fantasy - John Lennon & Yoko Ono
30. How Will The Wolf Survive? - Los Lobos
31. Avalon - Roxy Music
32. Uh-Huh - John Cougar Mellencamp
33. Zen Arcade - Husker Du / (Prayers On Fire - The Birthday Party)
34. Tattoo You - The Rolling Stones
35. Kill Em All - Metallica
36. Rapture - Anita Baker / (Eliminator - Zz Top)
37. Midnight Love - Marvin Gaye
38. Imperial Bedroom - Elvis Costello & The Attractions / (Lovetown - Stephen Cummings)
39. Eliminator - Zz Top / (Rapture - Anita Baker)
40. War - U2
41. Document - Rem
42. Strong Persuader - The Robert Cray Band
43. Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen
44. Oh Mercy - Bob Dylan
45. Daydream Nation - Sonic Youth
46. Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (Third Solo Album - 1980)
47. Private Dancer - Tina Turner
48. Skylarking - Xtc / (Quasimodo's Dream - The Reels)
49. Crazy Rhythms - The Feelies / (Cats And Dogs - Mental As Anything)
50. Madonna - Madonna
51. Run Dmc - Run Dmc
52. Making Movies - Dire Straights
53. Bring The Family - John Hiatt / (Born Sandy Devotional - The Triffids)
54. Speaking In Tongues - Talking Heads
55. Centrefield - John Fogerty
56. Closer - Joy Division
57. Empty Glass - Pete Townsend / (The Swing - Inxs)
58. The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto - Various Artists
59. Computer Games - George Clinton / (Brave - Kate Ceberano)
60. The Blue Mask - Lou Reed
61. Doc At The Radar Station - Captain Beefheart
62. Pyromania - Def Leppard / (Time And Tide - Split Enz)
63. Entertainment - Gang Of Four
64. Vivid - Living Colour / (The Pleasure Of Your Company... - Models)
65. In My Tribe - 10,000 Maniacs / (East - Cold Chisel)
66. Fiyo On The Bayou - The Neville Brothers
67. Trouble In Paradise - Randy Newman / (Primitive Man - Icehouse)
68. The Specials - The Specials / (Gossip - Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls)
69. Radio - Ll Cool J
70. Travelling Wilburys Vol. 1 - Travelling Wilburys
71. Crowded House - Crowded House / (10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - Midnight Oil)
72. Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw / (The Blurred Crusade - The Church)
73. Building The Perfect Beast - Don Henley
74. Sign O' The Times - Prince
75. She's So Unusual - Cyndi Lauper
76. Second Edition - Public Image Ltd
77. Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson
78. Dare - The Human League
79. Guitar Town - Steve Earle / (Tender Prey - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds)
80. Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega
81. 1984 - Van Halen / (East Side Story - Uk Squeeze)
82. East Side Story - Uk Squeeze / (1984 - Van Halen)
83. Let's Dance - David Bowie
84. Faith - George Michael
85. Freedom - Neil Young
86. The River - Bruce Springsteen
87. Steel Wheels - The Rolling Stones
88. Lives In The Balance - Jackson Browne
89. Who's Zooming Who - Aretha Franklin
90. ... Nothing Like The Sun - Sting
91. Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett / (Stoneage Romeos - Hoodoo Gurus)
92. Full Moon Fever - Tom Petty
93. The Night I Feel In Love - Luther Vandross / (For The Working Class Man - Jimmy Barnes)
94. Power, Corruption & Lies - New Order
95. Scarecreow - John Cougar Mellencamp
96. Colour By Numbers - Culture Club
97. The Mona Lisa's Sister - Graham Parker / (Lovebuzz - The Humingbirds)
98. Labour Of Love - Ub40
99. What's Up, Dog? - Was (Not Was) / (Max Q)
100. Sun City - Artists United Against Apartheid

Prince 4Ever. heart
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Reply #6 posted 02/01/14 3:27pm

kidmelody2012

thats a bullshit list...any list without thriller as best album of the 80's is bullshit...anybody know that...and to have dirty mind 50 spots above sign of the times is criminal

thedance said:

^ don't insist.. because you are wrong.. wink

I have read the DM songs were raw "unfinished demos", I think Per Nilsen wrote that.

Also Prince had a 3-albums deal with Warner Bros.

It's true he created DM on his own..... I believe he wanted to both shock and impress the WB's...

And the raw DM album turned out to be one of his finest, Rolling Stone had Prince's DM album in a top "18" position in a top 100 over the best albums of the 1980's...

http://www.rocklistmusic....stone.html


Rolling Stone - The 100 Greatest Albums Of The 80s
Special Issue 1990







1. London Calling - The Clash
2. Purple Rain - Prince & The Revolution
3. The Joshua Tree - U2
4. Remain In Light - Talking Heads
5. Graceland - Paul Simon
6. Born In The U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen
7. Thriller - Michael Jackson
8. Murmur - Rem / (Circus Animals - Cold Chisel)
9. Shoot Out The Lights - Richard And Linda Thompson /(Diesel And Dust - Midnight Oil)
10. Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
11. Get Happy - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
12. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us - Public Enemy / (Kick - Inxs)
13. Diesel And Dust - Midnight Oil / (Human Frailty - Hunters & Collectors)
14. So - Peter Gabriel
15. Let It Be - The Replacements / (True Colours - Split Enz)
16. 1999 - Prince / (Post - Paul Kelly)
17. Synchronicity - The Police
18. Dirty Mind - Prince
19. New York - Lou Reed
20. Pretenders - Pretenders
21. Rain Dogs - Tom Waits
22. The Smiths - The Smiths / (Crowded House - Crowded House)
23. Red - Black Uhuru / (The Smiths - The Smiths)
24. Los Angeles - X / (16 Lovers Lane - The Go-Betweens)
25. Tunnel Of Love - Bruce Springsteen
26. Back In Black - Ac/Dc
27. Appetite For Destruction - Guns 'N' Roses
28. Control - Janet Jackson
29. Double Fantasy - John Lennon & Yoko Ono
30. How Will The Wolf Survive? - Los Lobos
31. Avalon - Roxy Music
32. Uh-Huh - John Cougar Mellencamp
33. Zen Arcade - Husker Du / (Prayers On Fire - The Birthday Party)
34. Tattoo You - The Rolling Stones
35. Kill Em All - Metallica
36. Rapture - Anita Baker / (Eliminator - Zz Top)
37. Midnight Love - Marvin Gaye
38. Imperial Bedroom - Elvis Costello & The Attractions / (Lovetown - Stephen Cummings)
39. Eliminator - Zz Top / (Rapture - Anita Baker)
40. War - U2
41. Document - Rem
42. Strong Persuader - The Robert Cray Band
43. Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen
44. Oh Mercy - Bob Dylan
45. Daydream Nation - Sonic Youth
46. Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (Third Solo Album - 1980)
47. Private Dancer - Tina Turner
48. Skylarking - Xtc / (Quasimodo's Dream - The Reels)
49. Crazy Rhythms - The Feelies / (Cats And Dogs - Mental As Anything)
50. Madonna - Madonna
51. Run Dmc - Run Dmc
52. Making Movies - Dire Straights
53. Bring The Family - John Hiatt / (Born Sandy Devotional - The Triffids)
54. Speaking In Tongues - Talking Heads
55. Centrefield - John Fogerty
56. Closer - Joy Division
57. Empty Glass - Pete Townsend / (The Swing - Inxs)
58. The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto - Various Artists
59. Computer Games - George Clinton / (Brave - Kate Ceberano)
60. The Blue Mask - Lou Reed
61. Doc At The Radar Station - Captain Beefheart
62. Pyromania - Def Leppard / (Time And Tide - Split Enz)
63. Entertainment - Gang Of Four
64. Vivid - Living Colour / (The Pleasure Of Your Company... - Models)
65. In My Tribe - 10,000 Maniacs / (East - Cold Chisel)
66. Fiyo On The Bayou - The Neville Brothers
67. Trouble In Paradise - Randy Newman / (Primitive Man - Icehouse)
68. The Specials - The Specials / (Gossip - Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls)
69. Radio - Ll Cool J
70. Travelling Wilburys Vol. 1 - Travelling Wilburys
71. Crowded House - Crowded House / (10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - Midnight Oil)
72. Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw / (The Blurred Crusade - The Church)
73. Building The Perfect Beast - Don Henley
74. Sign O' The Times - Prince
75. She's So Unusual - Cyndi Lauper
76. Second Edition - Public Image Ltd
77. Robbie Robertson - Robbie Robertson
78. Dare - The Human League
79. Guitar Town - Steve Earle / (Tender Prey - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds)
80. Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega
81. 1984 - Van Halen / (East Side Story - Uk Squeeze)
82. East Side Story - Uk Squeeze / (1984 - Van Halen)
83. Let's Dance - David Bowie
84. Faith - George Michael
85. Freedom - Neil Young
86. The River - Bruce Springsteen
87. Steel Wheels - The Rolling Stones
88. Lives In The Balance - Jackson Browne
89. Who's Zooming Who - Aretha Franklin
90. ... Nothing Like The Sun - Sting
91. Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett / (Stoneage Romeos - Hoodoo Gurus)
92. Full Moon Fever - Tom Petty
93. The Night I Feel In Love - Luther Vandross / (For The Working Class Man - Jimmy Barnes)
94. Power, Corruption & Lies - New Order
95. Scarecreow - John Cougar Mellencamp
96. Colour By Numbers - Culture Club
97. The Mona Lisa's Sister - Graham Parker / (Lovebuzz - The Humingbirds)
98. Labour Of Love - Ub40
99. What's Up, Dog? - Was (Not Was) / (Max Q)
100. Sun City - Artists United Against Apartheid

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Reply #7 posted 02/01/14 8:53pm

thedance

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^ here's an "off topic answer" to kidmelody:


we don't agree on that either, I completely agree with Rolling Stone:

Purple Rain ranks higher because it is a better album than Thriller,

Purple Rain the album from Prince is more original in the sound.

Purple Rain is a mix of pop, rock & funk.. it's more interesting.

The album Thriller was a fantastic pop phenomenon, but I don't understand the pop mantras "Thriller was the best ever". Repeated over and over. It was popular, selling like The Beatles and Elvis did before or something like that, but "the best pop album ever".....? However Thriller is still on position "7" on the list from RS.


Anyway both Prince and Michael were amazing artists (1978/79-1995), both artists had a decline in career since/ post 1995.


However, I really love the 3 great albums from Michael (Off The Wall, Thriller & Bad).... so no MJ bashing here from me....... wink

Prince 4Ever. heart
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Reply #8 posted 02/01/14 9:01pm

thedance

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Back on topic:

a review of Dirty Mind...


Neither For You nor Prince was adequate preparation for the full-blown masterpiece of Prince's third album, Dirty Mind. Recorded in his home studio, with Prince playing nearly every instrument, Dirty Mind is a stunning, audacious amalgam of funk, new wave, R&B, and pop, fueled by grinningly salacious sex and the desire to shock. Where other pop musicians suggested sex in lewd double-entendres, Prince left nothing to hide -- before its release, no other rock or funk record was ever quite as explicit as Dirty Mind, with its gleeful tales of oral sex, threesomes, and even incest. Certainly, it opened the doors for countless sexually explicit albums, but to reduce its impact to mere profanity is too reductive -- the music of Dirty Mind is as shocking as its graphic language, bending styles and breaking rules with little regard for fixed genres. Basing the album on a harder, rock-oriented beat more than before, Prince tries everything -- there's pure new wave pop ("When You Were Mine"), soulful crooning ("Gotta Broken Heart Again"), robotic funk ("Dirty Mind"), rock & roll ("Sister"), sultry funk ("Head," "Do It All Night"), and relentless dance jams ("Uptown," "Partyup"), all in the space of half an hour. It's a breathtaking, visionary album, and its fusion of synthesizers, rock rhythms, and funk set the style for much of the urban soul and funk of the early '80s.

Credits: http://www.allmusic.com/a...0000191363

Prince 4Ever. heart
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Reply #9 posted 02/01/14 9:08pm

thedance

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^ *) according this review, Mrfreeze is about right.. in post #2, above...... biggrin

the Dirty Mind album was recorded at home, on his own. With the more simple, raw sound.


wink

[Edited 2/1/14 21:09pm]

Prince 4Ever. heart
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Reply #10 posted 02/03/14 2:15pm

SquirrelMeat

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kidmelody2012 said:

TheFreakerFantastic said:

Mr.Freeze is correct, the album was actually a series of demos that WB liked so much they persuaded him to release them as is rather than re-record them, hence the slightly patchy and rough sound quality to them, but that rawness is also what appeals I think. The major Prince biographies confirm this.

In terms of style, think it was Prince doing Punk but it wasn't a long lasting thing, just as he did Disco in the late 70s then dropped it, in line with the trends at the time.

[Edited 1/31/14 2:24am]

no im correct

No you are not. Prince recorded the album over a two week period at home as demos.

On the back of the unreleased album The Rebels, Prince was bringing his guitar to the forefront, inspired by many but noticably Sly and Tubeway Army.

He wrote and put down the majority of Dirty Mind very quickly, with the intention of either rerecording it or cleaning it up. He manager loved it and got Prince and WB to put it out as is.

.
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Reply #11 posted 02/04/14 12:10am

Replica

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Some have said that it was plugged more or less directly into the mixers line in with just DI-box balancing out the signals. No amps. Only distortion must be forcing too loud signals into the mixer, creating some analogue distortion when the sound peeks. Also how the guitar is treated will give a certain amount of edge to the guitar sound. The overall sound of the mix, and it being recorded in the living room must have been key elements to why it sounds like it does.
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Reply #12 posted 02/05/14 9:38am

luvsexy4all

but if it was considered "unfinished" then why did he present it as is?

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Reply #13 posted 02/05/14 11:25am

Militant

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moderator

This is pure speculation on my part, but something perhaps worth considering is that Warners had given Prince an advance for three albums, and he promptly used up almost all the money with the recording of "For You".

It may be the case that there was simply no budget to record "Dirty Mind" - forcing P to record it quickly and cheaply in a lo-fi home studio set-up. He was smart enough to know that the kind of music he'd done for the first two albums simply wouldn't be able to be completed in that environment, so he shifted gears into the more punk/new wave vibe that had risen up out of lo-fi setups in the first place.
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Reply #14 posted 02/05/14 3:32pm

thebanishedone

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Militant said:

This is pure speculation on my part, but something perhaps worth considering is that Warners had given Prince an advance for three albums, and he promptly used up almost all the money with the recording of "For You". It may be the case that there was simply no budget to record "Dirty Mind" - forcing P to record it quickly and cheaply in a lo-fi home studio set-up. He was smart enough to know that the kind of music he'd done for the first two albums simply wouldn't be able to be completed in that environment, so he shifted gears into the more punk/new wave vibe that had risen up out of lo-fi setups in the first place.

i doubt it was a budget thing.he did it deliberately

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Reply #15 posted 02/05/14 5:05pm

TrevorAyer

as much as prince hypsters spin his mystique with such nonesense as 69 instruments such as the triangle and the butt flute ... and perhaps the notion that dirty mind was somehow intentional in its sound and presentation ... i offer instead that more likely it was a case of .. the demo came out so fucking good he didn't dare change it ... while they may be considered demos .. they could easily have been remixed to sound more polished ... i think they (prince and wb) chose to leave it alone because it sounded so fresh as is ... and all the hype and lochness like legends of how and why came after ... perhaps by the promoters or perhaps by the fans .. i don't think prince set out to make a super raw sounding record from the start .. it just happened and he was smart enough at the time to leave it alone .. like he did with 'if eye wuz yer gfizzle'

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