I own Elixer, but I have listened to it only once,

I have no idea about the Liv album,

I have lost interest in Prince related artists... after so many disappointments (I guess)..

It's a bit nonsensical to compare Elixer (a Prince album with Bria on vocals) with The Unexpected (a Liv album with 2 collaborations with Prince). It'd be like comparing Taja Sevelle with Jill Jones (the albums not the girls).

nursev said:

I loved Elixer and I'm really enjoying Liv's work. It seems like Prince has improved when it comes to helping out his protegees the music has definitely gotten better. What cha think?

Disagree.

In the 80s you had Prince as the brains behind brilliant albums from The Time / Sheila E./ The Family/ Madhouse.

Bria / Andy / Liv just don't come anywhere near to this level.

hw3004 said:

Disagree.

In the 80s you had Prince as the brains behind brilliant albums from The Time / Sheila E./ The Family/ Madhouse.

Bria / Andy / Liv just don't come anywhere near to this level.

Basically this.

Nothing's changed really, he still likes to play dress up with barbie dolls.

I don't think they are proteges. Just an upcoming singer/artist he helped to some degree. Not proteges in the same line as the Time, Sheila E. Madhouse Vanity 6 the Family

OldFriends4Sale said:

I don't think they are proteges. Just an upcoming singer/artist he helped to some degree. Not proteges in the same line as the Time, Sheila E. Madhouse Vanity 6 the Family

I agree. I think he's all over the Andy Allo album (and did more under the guise of executive producing than some people think), but that wasn't a Prince album with somebody else's vocals (even if he "wrote" the album for them). Elixer was a Prince album (and a pretty good one), but even then there wasn't any persona. He needed a vocalist, and he got one. The protege albums were each generally pretty much a unified vision, and it was mainly Prince's vision. He probably is moving more toward actually collaborating.

databank said:

It'd be like comparing Taja Sevelle with Jill Jones (the albums not the girls).

I would like to compare those girls.............in the bedroom.

Aaaaand that's my yearly quota of objectification done.

Taja in 1987 is pretty much my dream girl looks/style wise. Hot damn

The Bria Valente album kinda sucked if you ask me.

I dont know if Liv Warfield is considered a Protege but to me "The Unexpected" album blows there's out the water. Its so rare for me to have music on repeat nowadays. She is fire!

But it should be noted that she had other producers on this album as well.

[Edited 3/31/14 11:11am]

wonder505 said:

I dont know if Liv Warfield is considered a Protege but to me "The Unexpected" album blows there's out the water. Its so rare for me to have music on repeat nowadays. She is fire!

But it should be noted that she had other producers on this album as well.

[Edited 3/31/14 11:11am]

I don't think in any way Liv is a Prince protege. Bria was not either, she was just a voice

.

Andy came close because he had her dressing in similar fashion, he had a vision for her 'character' and what he thought she should be like, and the music is mainly Prince & the NPG, not Andy(maybe lyrics)

hw3004 said:

nursev said:

I loved Elixer and I'm really enjoying Liv's work. It seems like Prince has improved when it comes to helping out his protegees the music has definitely gotten better. What cha think?

Disagree.

In the 80s you had Prince as the brains behind brilliant albums from The Time / Sheila E./ The Family/ Madhouse.

Bria / Andy / Liv just don't come anywhere near to this level.

Sheila E would object to the label "protogee". I see her more as a music partner who really enhanced his career.

funkyrake said:

hw3004 said:

Disagree.

In the 80s you had Prince as the brains behind brilliant albums from The Time / Sheila E./ The Family/ Madhouse.

Bria / Andy / Liv just don't come anywhere near to this level.

Sheila E would object to the label "protogee". I see her more as a music partner who really enhanced his career.

She can object all she want's but given Prince essentially wrote, performed and produced her first 2 albums and (the good) half of her third before her solo career - how shall we put this - entered a more niche phase I'd have to disagree with her objection!

I'm not saying Sheila's not a great percussionist, I'm not saying she didn't bring something special to the SOTT/Lovesexy era, but she's hardly the John to his Paul, the Mick to his Keef (or even the Liam to his Noel!).

nursev said:

well damn nobody likes his current work with other artist?

nursev said:

well damn nobody likes his current work with other artist?

I "like" it - I just don't think it's better than work he's done for / with others, particularly from the 80s.

I like Superconductor a whole lot... and I like Elixer.

He kind of bottomed out with the Carmen Electra and Mayte records, so in that sense, yes, he's been improving a lot again in that sense.

I wouldn't say he's gotten better, I just think he got SUPER lazy with Carmen Elektra and Mayte.. Andy's album was top notch though, and Bria's was more consistent than a few of his own albums. Liv's album is good as well, although I don't technically see it as a Prince album, since he's only credited for two tracks.

Prince may only be credited for two tracks on Liv Warfield's album but they are great tracks. Liv's album is top-notch in vocals, arrangements, songwriting and the whole 9 to me. If she had not been associated with Prince I probably would not have come across her music on my own. I am so happy I have gotten exposure to her work and I have Prince to thank for it.

hw3004 said:

funkyrake said:

Sheila E would object to the label "protogee". I see her more as a music partner who really enhanced his career.

She can object all she want's but given Prince essentially wrote, performed and produced her first 2 albums and (the good) half of her third before her solo career - how shall we put this - entered a more niche phase I'd have to disagree with her objection!

I'm not saying Sheila's not a great percussionist, I'm not saying she didn't bring something special to the SOTT/Lovesexy era, but she's hardly the John to his Paul, the Mick to his Keef (or even the Liam to his Noel!).

I agree, we didn't "know" Sheila Escovedo until Prince dubbed her Sheila E. and we wondered who was that singing with Prince on Erotic City. Prince pulled out of her character but gave her the direction and vision that we see in GL Romance1600 Sheila E (SOTT/Lovesexy) and there should be nothing wrong with that. She is not a protege now, but that is what she was and nothing wrong with it. If it wasn't for 1983-1988 we wouldn't know Sheila E the way she is. Prince put her out as a frontman, even she said singing lead was not really her thing.

That's the thing that helped make the 1980s great as far as Uptown is concerned: the characters, the colorful mysterious worlds thru the music, that may or may not have been real, but beautifully excecuted via the Time, Vanity 6, Sheila E, the Family, Mazarati, Madhouse

.

Before Prince

.

After Prince

nursev said:

well damn nobody likes his current work with other artist?

OldFriends4Sale said:

Militant said:

databank said:

It'd be like comparing Taja Sevelle with Jill Jones (the albums not the girls).

I would like to compare those girls.............in the bedroom.

Aaaaand that's my yearly quota of objectification done.

Taja in 1987 is pretty much my dream girl looks/style wise. Hot damn

Gret minds think alike Militant...loved Taja and this picture was always one of my favs

I loved Sheila dressing like Prince but I get so annoyed when people claim he turned her out and made her dress like a ho. I had never really given much of the protégé work a chance, besides The Time, Sheila and a few of the more well known songs, because I felt like it was just watered down Prince.. I figured if I wanted to hear his music I'd just listen to him, but in the last couple of weeks I've listened and liked more of it than I thought I would. I think Andy is the most talented of the post 80's group but Mayte and Bria have decent voices, too. Having said that, I really hope Prince is done wasting his time with bunch of poptarts and starts focusing seriously on his own career.

Jill Jones, that album is totall hot...

I can't believe no one is mentioning her..... here.

Sheila E. her 3 first albums..

Apollonia 6 and Vanity 6.

The Time... all 4 albums..

I agree the Mayte & Carmen albums were not that good,

Did I forget to mention any really great Prince-related artist now..