I just put up a post about AoA and PlecElec 5 months out and it got me thinking about how many prominent rock/pop artists of the last 30 years made forward thinking music at the age of 56 or older?

This post has a point, but first I wanted to throw out some names:

Stevie Wonder at 56

David Bowie at 56

Elton John at 56

Rolling Stones kinda at 55+

U2 at 55+

Bob Dylan at 55+

Joni Mitchell at 55+

Madonna at 55+

Eric Clapton at 55+

The Who at 55+

Bruce Springsteen at 56

Neal Young at 56

Pink Floyd at 55+

Miles Davis at 56

Aerosmith at 55+

Earth Wind & Fire at 55+

Paul McCartney at 56

I don't know what all of these artists did at this magic age where Prince finds himself today, but it would interesting to note how the arc of their creative careers changed. The point....a lot of people here, on Amazon.com, music critics writ large evaluate Prince's work on his past work rather than comparing his work to the state of the art of rock/pop today. Its like Prince is measured against his heyday rather than what against what he is becoming in the context of contemporary rock/pop. Like that lyric in "funknroll" "finally beloved we meet at last in the middle of the HERE nevermind the past."

Anyway, thoughts? I know Joni was vibrant at 55 and Madonna has changed directions many times and is the same age as Prince and has a new release. Stevie mellowed quite a bit and Elton at 56 was pretty much soft pop rock by that point.

[Edited 2/26/15 5:06am]

[Edited 2/26/15 5:08am]

mrgone777 said:

I just put up a post about AoA and PlecElec 5 months out and it got me thinking about how many prominent rock/pop artists of the last 30 years made forward thinking music at the age of 56 or older?

This post has a point, but first I wanted to throw out some names:

Stevie Wonder at 56

David Bowie at 56

Elton John at 56

Rolling Stones kinda at 55+

U2 at 55+

Bob Dylan at 55+

Joni Mitchell at 55+

Madonna at 55+

Eric Clapton at 55+

The Who at 55+

Bruce Springsteen at 56

Neal Young at 56

Pink Floyd at 55+

Miles Davis at 56

Aerosmith at 55+

Earth Wind & Fire at 55+

Paul McCartney at 56

I don't know what all of these artists did at this magic age where Prince finds himself today, but it would interesting to note how the arc of their creative careers changed. The point....a lot of people here, on Amazon.com, music critics writ large evaluate Prince's work on his past work rather than comparing his work to the state of the art of rock/pop today. Its like Prince is measured against his heyday rather than what against what he is becoming in the context of contemporary rock/pop. Like that lyric in "funknroll" "finally beloved we meet at last in the middle of the HERE nevermind the past."

Anyway, thoughts? I know Joni was vibrant at 55 and Madonna has changed directions many times and is the same age as Prince and has a new release. Stevie mellowed quite a bit and Elton at 56 was pretty much soft pop rock by that point.

[Edited 2/26/15 5:06am]

[Edited 2/26/15 5:08am]

Give me Prince all day everyday

lwr001 said:

mrgone777 said:

I just put up a post about AoA and PlecElec 5 months out and it got me thinking about how many prominent rock/pop artists of the last 30 years made forward thinking music at the age of 56 or older?

This post has a point, but first I wanted to throw out some names:

Stevie Wonder at 56

David Bowie at 56

Elton John at 56

Rolling Stones kinda at 55+

U2 at 55+

Bob Dylan at 55+

Joni Mitchell at 55+

Madonna at 55+

Eric Clapton at 55+

The Who at 55+

Bruce Springsteen at 56

Neal Young at 56

Pink Floyd at 55+

Miles Davis at 56

Aerosmith at 55+

Earth Wind & Fire at 55+

Paul McCartney at 56

I don't know what all of these artists did at this magic age where Prince finds himself today, but it would interesting to note how the arc of their creative careers changed. The point....a lot of people here, on Amazon.com, music critics writ large evaluate Prince's work on his past work rather than comparing his work to the state of the art of rock/pop today. Its like Prince is measured against his heyday rather than what against what he is becoming in the context of contemporary rock/pop. Like that lyric in "funknroll" "finally beloved we meet at last in the middle of the HERE nevermind the past."

Anyway, thoughts? I know Joni was vibrant at 55 and Madonna has changed directions many times and is the same age as Prince and has a new release. Stevie mellowed quite a bit and Elton at 56 was pretty much soft pop rock by that point.

[Edited 2/26/15 5:06am]

[Edited 2/26/15 5:08am]

Give me Prince all day everyday

David Bowie had just released heathen and was moving onto Reality. The album heathen is a gorgeous sound symphony record but to a rock background. Serious songs about, life, fear, optimism, doubt and being scared. Brilliant.

lagantest said:

lwr001 said:

Give me Prince all day everyday

David Bowie had just released heathen and was moving onto Reality. The album heathen is a gorgeous sound symphony record but to a rock background. Serious songs about, life, fear, optimism, doubt and being scared. Brilliant.

There are only 4 real geniuses on that list: Miles, Prince, Stevie, and Bowie. With the possible exception of Stevie, no one has ever caught up to what they did over 30 years ago

JoshuaWho said:

lagantest said:

David Bowie had just released heathen and was moving onto Reality. The album heathen is a gorgeous sound symphony record but to a rock background. Serious songs about, life, fear, optimism, doubt and being scared. Brilliant.

There are only 4 real geniuses on that list: Miles, Prince, Stevie, and Bowie. With the possible exception of Stevie, no one has ever caught up to what they did over 30 years ago

yeah i read on another post about people not competing with Princes purple patch but princes purple patch lasted about 5-6 years. Bowies lasted 10.

lagantest said:

JoshuaWho said:

There are only 4 real geniuses on that list: Miles, Prince, Stevie, and Bowie. With the possible exception of Stevie, no one has ever caught up to what they did over 30 years ago

yeah i read on another post about people not competing with Princes purple patch but princes purple patch lasted about 5-6 years. Bowies lasted 10.

5 to 6 years ..you are delusional..but lets go with it..put P 5 to 6 years and he wins against anyone..Beattles nmaybe exception but they had 3 or 4 of best songwriters ever..

mrgone777 said:

I just put up a post about AoA and PlecElec 5 months out and it got me thinking about how many prominent rock/pop artists of the last 30 years made forward thinking music at the age of 56 or older?

.

What is "forward thinking" about attempting to emulate relatively current trends?

.

Its like Prince is measured against his heyday rather than what against what he is becoming in the context of contemporary rock/pop. Like that lyric in "funknroll" "finally beloved we meet at last in the middle of the HERE nevermind the past."

.

Perhaps he should look at the tracklists of his concerts first.

lagantest said:

JoshuaWho said:

There are only 4 real geniuses on that list: Miles, Prince, Stevie, and Bowie. With the possible exception of Stevie, no one has ever caught up to what they did over 30 years ago

yeah i read on another post about people not competing with Princes purple patch but princes purple patch lasted about 5-6 years. Bowies lasted 10.

5 to 6 years ..you are delusional..but lets go with it..put P 5 to 6 years and he wins against anyone..Beattles nmaybe exception but they had 3 or 4 of best songwriters ever..

SuperSoulFighter said:

Prince is nowhere near this level yet. He could be if he gave up trying to make teenage op hits (Fall In Love 2Nite) and write more serious songs.

I agree with this and lament Prince's inability to let himself go there with his song-writing. To be honest, at this point I've lost any expectation of him to do, but I'd love to be proved wrong.

To be fair there are themes of aging on AOA, so maybe that's a start.

[Edited 2/26/15 7:35am]

NouveauDance said:

SuperSoulFighter said:

Prince is nowhere near this level yet. He could be if he gave up trying to make teenage op hits (Fall In Love 2Nite) and write more serious songs.

I agree with this and lament Prince's inability to let himself go there with his song-writing. To be honest, at this point I've lost any expectation of him to do, but I'd love to be proved wrong.

To be fair there are themes of aging on AOA, so maybe that's a start.

[Edited 2/26/15 7:35am]

Time and way back home says differnt

JoshuaWho said:

lwr001 said:

NouveauDance said:

To be fair there are themes of aging on AOA, so maybe that's a start.

Time and way back home says differnt

You quote me, but you don't read what I said?

The only 3 people on that list that I would give the time of day 2 are:

Prince

Stevie

EW&F

lagantest said:

lwr001 said:

I don't think it's the fact that Prince is 56. He's been putting out equally bad albums, perhaps even worse, since at least 1996. My money is on since 1990. Set aside for a sec that he is as badass a musician as there ever was. He is a badass vocalist, too. But those skills are essentially nothing in terms of making a great abum. That's a piece of the pie not the whole thing.

The issue is his attitude and, copy and paste, songwriting method. It's hard to even say it's an issue exactly. A better word may be that cornball, whack azz music is in his DNA as an artist. There was a time when he was better connected to trends and surrounded by cool people that he could draw inspiration from and mimic (Morris Day, anyone?), but when it comes down to just Prince being Prince. Shit, that's boring as hell. Prince the man is boring as fuck. And thats the real reason why the albums trend between spotty and HELLNAW! Bad attitude and personality. You can only fake it so far.

AOA is a great musical statement from start to finish. PlectrumElectrum is a mixed bag, but its best songs are some of his best rock numbers in many years, they have what the best songs on LotusFlower lacked - passion. That it's partly provided by young folks he hired is both the explanation and the problem, in PLEL's case anyway. For AOA, it's just insane how well Prince and Josh collaborated, all of it is deliberate, from the dancey teases of AOC to the chipmunk voices and the lasers, plus whatever compression == this is called meta musical communication, you're supposed to get the angle and the joke.

So far I'm having a swell decade, it's refreshing to see Prince stretch himself a little, he does need a challenge to be at his best.

[Edited 2/26/15 15:59pm]

V10LETBLUES said:

Aerogram said:

V10LETBLUES said:

I think AOA is a good album. I still listen to it, and enjoy it. Its on a par with 3121 for me. Princes best songs might be behind him, but hes still producing decent and enjoyable music. Now, it just is what you are personally happy with. Prince and his music and legacy with live on. Beyond us. If we get another album that stuns us all, it will be a bonus. He has achieved incredible things in his career so far, pretty much more than anyone else. you just have to respect the fact that life and music and treads change. As for Taylor Swift, she seems a nice girl, but the BRITS performance was very false and lame. She should go back to being a country star. But her team and record company have made her into a pop star, and are making a mint.

SanMartin said:

lwr001 said:

5 to 6 years ..you are delusional..but lets go with it..put P 5 to 6 years and he wins against anyone..Beattles nmaybe exception but they had 3 or 4 of best songwriters ever..

I dunno man; it all depends on your taste. I'm not a fan of the Beatles, and I find both Bowie's and Prince's 'golden ages' more interesting. Prince won his fame with 'Purple Rain', Bowie with 'Ziggy Stardust', and they're as good as each other. Prince then followed through with a series of stellar albums up until the late 80s, but I'd argue that Bowie's run from 'Low' to 'Scary Monsters' was just as impressive.

Bowie at one point had stellar album after album, hunky dory (still one of the greatest albums ever made), ziggy, alladin sane, diamond dogs, etc then went on to rip up the rule book with LOW. then in the 90's went through a complete experimental period.

Prince has had his good touches too, gold experience is very good. 3121 had its moments and AOA is ok. but there is just nothing meaty. Nothing to make think, i need to listen to that again. I thought he was going somewhere with 'THe truth' and 'one night alone solo piano and voice' but he stepped backwards from there.

[Edited 2/27/15 7:24am]

[Edited 2/27/15 7:26am]

Stevie Wonder had just released A Time To Love in 2005, the year before he hit 56 (the album with "So What The Fuss" on it). I don't own it so can't speak about it's artistry/lyrical content/songwriting prowess.

His musical releases have become sparser and sparser since the 80s, I can''t help thinking Stevie became comfortable with his "legendary" status even earlier in his career than Prince has. I'd almost argue that Prince's status change has happened in spite of his public stance of not looking to the past and moving forward (ignoring the contrary evidence with his setlists and hits heavy shows).

Aerogram said:

V10LETBLUES said:

Hey Taylor's work is a hell of a lot better produced than anything on AOA I don't discriminate, I call them as I see them, good is good and terrible is terrible. I love Prince but I'm no delusional and say his current work is up to par.

You don't discriminate? LOL True in the sense that you don't discriminate the difference between a conventional artist picked by the industry because she fully conforms to the conventions of her time, quite well I might add, and someone like Prince, who does not. False because you just made a classic ageist and ableist statement, attributing what you don't like to the person's age and perceived disability.

barking at the wrong tree and chasing your own tail trying to spin this lol

AOA is Prince pandering at it's worst. Breakfast Can Wait? Is this the cheesiest corniest track he has ever recorded? Sounds like a tv jingle from soviet block nation in 1986. Everything on AOA sounds like an outtake from a never released Ukranian boy band album. ...Never released becasue it sounded too cheesy even for them.

Whether it's Prince, Taylor Swift, Beck, a country western record or an artist I have never heard of before, I give the work the same equal respect and judge it not by any preconcieved notions about the artist or genre, but by the actual track.

Like I said I love Prince, but not so much Taylor, but unlike some of you who already have preconcieved notions about artists, I can look beyond that and listen to the music itself, not whether someone is a legend or genius and the other only a pop starlet.

Well I would go and listen a little harder. Cus your wrong.

lagantest said:

JoshuaWho said:

There are only 4 real geniuses on that list: Miles, Prince, Stevie, and Bowie. With the possible exception of Stevie, no one has ever caught up to what they did over 30 years ago

yeah i read on another post about people not competing with Princes purple patch but princes purple patch lasted about 5-6 years. Bowies lasted 10.

I'm a huge Bowie fan, about equally so with Prince, but I dont see Bowie's golden years as having lasted 10 years. He's certainly had 10 golden albums. But to me at least his genius would really stand out in one album and then the next it'd be ok but he wasn't pushing himself. He was always off an on sales wise. And some of his best quality work were never big sellers. And he had a completely dark period similar to Prince where his work was pretty crappy (although I realize all of these assessments are subjective). All three of his last albums were superb but in the US at least none were really even a blip on the musical radar. But I think that that's just because he's an older artist and is kind of treated like Prince and Stevie, as yesterdays news.

The Beatles

Led Zeppelin

Prince