Yes, it made me respect him more! I thought it was a bold artistic move.

Rebeljuice said:

It was just stupid. I thought it then and I think it now. The output at the beginning of that period became bastardised and it all became about the fight with WB and not the music. The contractual obligations such as TBA, The Vault: OFFS and C&D took the place of what should have been brand new Prince albums. Come and TGE became shadows of their potential had they been released on schedule and without the bitterness that surrounded them. And then we got a lot of songs about how great he is, how much money he makes now he is free, how many songs he has, how no one can touch him, how everyone is jealous of him, how he only competes with himself blah blah.

Sure, it wasnt the name change that caused all of that but it was everything behind the name change. I wonder what would have happened if Prince stuck to his contract and released an album a year of new stuff until it expired? What would Prince world be like if he followed through on the contract and had WB backing until the end? He could have simply decided not to sign a new deal afterwards and been free without the bitterness.

I thought the name change was stupid too. There was way too much focus on his relationship with WB around that time and it detracted from the music. For me it did change my opinion on him, he seemed like a spoilt little kid waering 'slave' . It all came across as a bit desparate and weird to me. I felt like he was losing touch with reality and the zeitgeist and his art suffered for it. And although TRC was a great album (minus the lyrics) for me he would never get back to the stellar artistic levels of his eighties period.

funkaholic1972 said:

Rebeljuice said:

It was just stupid. I thought it then and I think it now. The output at the beginning of that period became bastardised and it all became about the fight with WB and not the music. The contractual obligations such as TBA, The Vault: OFFS and C&D took the place of what should have been brand new Prince albums. Come and TGE became shadows of their potential had they been released on schedule and without the bitterness that surrounded them. And then we got a lot of songs about how great he is, how much money he makes now he is free, how many songs he has, how no one can touch him, how everyone is jealous of him, how he only competes with himself blah blah.

Sure, it wasnt the name change that caused all of that but it was everything behind the name change. I wonder what would have happened if Prince stuck to his contract and released an album a year of new stuff until it expired? What would Prince world be like if he followed through on the contract and had WB backing until the end? He could have simply decided not to sign a new deal afterwards and been free without the bitterness.

I thought the name change was stupid too. There was way too much focus on his relationship with WB around that time and it detracted from the music. For me it did change my opinion on him, he seemed like a spoilt little kid waering 'slave' . It all came across as a bit desparate and weird to me. I felt like he was losing touch with reality and the zeitgeist and his art suffered for it. And although TRC was a great album (minus the lyrics) for me he would never get back to the stellar artistic levels of his eighties period.

I don't understand this position. Yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I feel strongly about this. This is Prince's musical journey, his experience. He just happens to be sharing it with the world. So to say that he should have just done this or done that is just banannas to me. I agree with others here who say in response to your question, "why would it?". Exactly, it has nothing to do with your opinion of his music. And even if the music suffers at the expense of his feud with WB it's his right to do it as he wants, when he wants. And we are all bystanders who can continue to look and enjoy his music or simply look away if we don't like what we see.

To change history and to have Prince not do the name change would have changed everything. Some would argue for the better and some would argue for the worse. But in the end it's all conjecture. I want my freinds and family and the woman in my life and even the musicians that I like to be free. Free to do what they want and be who they want and how they want. All of his Prince's anger and bitterness and frustration at that time helped make his who is his today. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Rebeljuice said:

It was just stupid. I thought it then and I think it now. The output at the beginning of that period became bastardised and it all became about the fight with WB and not the music. The contractual obligations such as TBA, The Vault: OFFS and C&D took the place of what should have been brand new Prince albums. Come and TGE became shadows of their potential had they been released on schedule and without the bitterness that surrounded them. And then we got a lot of songs about how great he is, how much money he makes now he is free, how many songs he has, how no one can touch him, how everyone is jealous of him, how he only competes with himself blah blah.

Sure, it wasnt the name change that caused all of that but it was everything behind the name change. I wonder what would have happened if Prince stuck to his contract and released an album a year of new stuff until it expired? What would Prince world be like if he followed through on the contract and had WB backing until the end? He could have simply decided not to sign a new deal afterwards and been free without the bitterness.

Very interesting perspective and questions posed

vinaysfunk said:

funkaholic1972 said:

I thought the name change was stupid too. There was way too much focus on his relationship with WB around that time and it detracted from the music. For me it did change my opinion on him, he seemed like a spoilt little kid wearing 'slave' . It all came across as a bit desparate and weird to me. I felt like he was losing touch with reality and the zeitgeist and his art suffered for it. And although TRC was a great album (minus the lyrics) for me he would never get back to the stellar artistic levels of his eighties period.

I don't understand this position. Yes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I feel strongly about this. This is Prince's musical journey, his experience. He just happens to be sharing it with the world. So to say that he should have just done this or done that is just banannas to me. I agree with others here who say in response to your question, "why would it?". Exactly, it has nothing to do with your opinion of his music. And even if the music suffers at the expense of his feud with WB it's his right to do it as he wants, when he wants. And we are all bystanders who can continue to look and enjoy his music or simply look away if we don't like what we see.

To change history and to have Prince not do the name change would have changed everything. Some would argue for the better and some would argue for the worse. But in the end it's all conjecture. I want my freinds and family and the woman in my life and even the musicians that I like to be free. Free to do what they want and be who they want and how they want. All of his Prince's anger and bitterness and frustration at that time helped make his who is his today. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Hey, I am not saying Prince is not free to do what he wants, I am all for personal freedom and following your own path. I was just answering the question if the name change affected my opinion of Prince, and in my case the answer is 'yes'. I would have prefered it if he hadn't done it, I think it did him and his music more damage than good.