KingSausage said:

TonyVanDam said:

Musicology?!? Emancipation?!? Oh bullshit! You can NOT be serious. Both albums were Prince's greatest career comebacks. And both albums were NOT boring.

The Truth, for what it is as a Prince album, is boring! No keyboard synths (apart from Circle Of Armore, if you're into ambient-inspired synth pads)? No electric guitar? No good drum patterns from drum kit or drum machine? Excuse me, but The Truth really is the worst Prince album ever.

I stand by my words.

You've got an entire thread full of people above you expressing their love for The Truth and describing (sometimes in great detail) why they think the album is so fantastic. It's much more complex than simply missing keyboard synths and drum patterns. I debated even responding because that notion is so silly that this must be a joke. You're kidding, right? Who listens to an acoustic album and gets pissed because there are no electric guitars?! This is one of the dumbest things I've ever read. Also, Emancipation was a comeback album? Um, yeah, if he was making a grand comeback to the bargain bins!

1. There is not one track from The Truth album that can measure up against ANY track from the Emancipation album. And yes, Emancipation was a career comeback album. It was a 3-CD album was sold at least 3 million copies. And keep in mind that apart from us diehard fans, no one gave a damn about the Come, The Gold Experience, or the Chaos And Disorder album.

2. I never said that I hated/disliked acoustic music, so please don't you dare put words in my mouth. I only said as exactly quotes:

Excuse me, but going the MTV Unplugged route is a good idea if you're Eric Clapton (who I blame for giving MTV this idea in the first place!) and Mariah Carey. But if you're Prince? No! Listening to Prince's music without electricity is just plain wrong and not natural.

Beside Prince, I also once said the same damn thing about KISS. Listening to KISS' music without electricity is just plain wrong and not natural.

And thank goodness that Trent Renzor & Nine Inch Nails never taken the MTV Unpluged inspired route. Why? Because listening to a Nine Inch Nails' album without electricity or (especially!) synthesizers would be just plain wrong and not natural. And Trent Renzor knows this!

All I'm saying is that doing 100% acoustic music makes sense only to certain acts that knows they need to show credibility. But Prince isn't one of them, hence one more reason why I dare to say that The Truth is the worst Prince album ever. My professional opinion of course.

Then again, maybe it's my fault because I've been spoiled to death by Prince doing the funk, rock, dance-pop, & r&b/soul thing for so long that hearing him do anything else doesn't make any sense. So excuse f***ing me for being too much of a True Funk Solider & a big fan of "vintage Prince" for my own good.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Ha. Awesome interview.

TonyVanDam said:

1. There is not one track from The Truth album that can measure up against ANY track from the Emancipation album. And yes, Emancipation was a career comeback album. It was a 3-CD album was sold at least 3 million copies. And keep in mind that apart from us diehard fans, no one gave a damn about the Come, The Gold Experience, or the Chaos And Disorder album.

Whether a project was commercially successful or not isn't an indication of how good it is.

I'll admit I think The Love We Make is better than anything on The Truth. But as a whole album, The Truth stomps Emancipation. Even filtering out the 3/4 of Emancipation that's especially underwhelming, it's still not as good as The Truth.

Musicology is competent but dull.

There's no such thing as a "true" funk soldier. Nor is there any one style or template that Prince is limited to. The man has a wide, eclectic palette. That's why I love his music.

YAHOO INTERNET LIFE * October 1997

Sites O' the Times

Artists have always been interested in
new technologies. DaVinci was.
Duchamp was. And the Artist is, too.

By Ben Greenman

YIL: Why did you close your previous official site, The Dawn?

the Artist: Because without my involvement, the message was getting blurred. In my humble opinion, the dawn occurs when spiritual enlightenment takes place. When 1 learns of his or her relationship 2 everything on Earth and the universe. The new Web site will mirror the positive aspects of the dawn. In my rush 2 enlighten myself and others, I tried 2 "buffalo the vibe thru" when it was not ready. Love 4 One Another is the dawn.

When the things U know are right
are far from what they seem
When the past becomes the future
and time becomes a dream
When the light of God
is the only thing in life that will redeem
Welcome, welcome 2 the dawn
When the voices U hear commands U
2 entertain thee absurd
When U do the action unlocks
thee apocalypse of that you've heard of
When the day lies before U
seems the dakness in a word
Welcome, welcome 2 the dawn

Every pieces a puzzle and every name a clue
Every charge U make is karma
So be careful what U do
Welcome, welcome 2 the dawn

(Welcome 2 the dawn) (Thank U)

TonyVanDam said:

I'd rather listen to The Truth than..
.
Planet Earth
.
Plectrum Electrum
.
Newpower Soul
.
Rave
.
The Vault
.
The Slaughterhouse
.
The Chocolate Invasion
.
Indigo Nights
.
I'm not saying there aren't parts of albums on that list that I enjoy. But I like The Truth better as an album.

INTERVIEW * MAY 1997

THE ARTIST
By Spike Lee

TA: To be honest, I thought I had emptied the gun with this one [Emancipation] and I wouldn't have to record for awhile, but some new things came up that are all acoustic.

SL: Acoustic?

TA: Yeah, just me and a guitar in a room. One song is called "The Truth" and one is called "Don't Play Me." There is a line about ebonics in it but I won't get into that. [both laugh]

SL: No, let's get into that. What do you think about ebonics? I think it's a plot! And there's black people behind that plot.

TA: Comedian Chris Rock said it best: There is language that will get you a job and there is language that won't. Make that choice as an American. This is where you live now.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Like WAM.

iZsaZsa said:

dodger said:

Totally agree on Comeback; if you've lost someone close it strikes a chord. It's maybe his most personal song, after what happened back then.

It's the "Tears go here." part.

Indeed. I think I said that part was my favorite Prince line ever on another thread. And that's how the song ends, not with hope, but with talk-stopping loss. That just repeats.

.

Perfect.