I could say I was trying to figure out why people liked Purple Rain so much, so I picked up the album.

But WHY - I can say his sexual persona is WHY I was looking into his work.

Not to be confused with that other thread.

I had never really paid him any mind throughout the 90s. I think I had a weird dream about the Gett Off video (I think it was that one) n he was a girl in it. Maybe that was some kinda omen . Around 2002 BET kept showing Girl 6 n apart from being in love with Theresa Randle n actually really digging the movie itself , I couldn't help but notice how dope the music was in it. Adore from the diner scene n Sometimes it Snows in April from the end (Power Fantastic, Pink Cashmere, etc., etc.). Got the soundtrack, Parade n so on . Parade was too "80s" for me at first except for April, Anotherlover, Kiss n Girls n Boys, but it grew on me quick. Then I got SOTT for Housequake n that was it . What was the question?

I have been a fan since feb 1983, since 1999 and Little Red Corvette - before the Purple Rain album..

therefor I haven't been "picking up" on Prince..

I have been with him through thick and thin (especially through thin),

It has been a long and eventful journey

I needed some music for my vacation in holland. So I went to a record store and grabbed some tapes. I never bought albums on cassette before, but I didn't had the time to record some tapes for my vacation. And the cover of lovesxy really caught my attention. I didn't know much about prince and hadn't heard any music from the album before.

1980 at my friends house heard his mum playing When you were Mine, Uptown , Partyup , loved it, been a fan ever since

Because my musical taste was all over the map. I liked Zeppelin, the Stones, Pink Floyd, Jouney and all the other white guy stuff but I also liked some disco, some funk and some R&B. A lot of kids I grew up with only liked ONE type of music (metal, new wave, hard rock, punk, pop, disco) and I was never that pigeon holed. I liked some of all that stuff but hated a lot of it too. Prince seemed to capture it all and meld it into a singular style that spoke to me. 1999 was the Kool Aid and I still think it's his best album.

I saw "Little Red Corvette" on MTV ohhh back in the early 80s. My ex was racist and when I said, "That is one sexy man." I found myself on the floor being called a foul name. After that, for many years, I would only hear parts of Prince music on the radio or MTV, but would change it when my ex was around. I always said I was a "closet fan". We finally divorced in the mid 90s and after I started again, my new beau was a hugely into music, and he reintroduced me to Prince. He took me to my first concert in 1998, Collinsville, Ill. (though it was billed as being in St. Louis). Getting to the concert turned into an adventure, as my beau's sister's car broke down on the way. We had to push that car five miles to the next exist, gas station. The mechanic shop wouldn't open until the next morning, so we walked to the arena. General seating. We got there pretty early. So we were right next to the stage. I'd never been to a concert before. He was my first. No one warned me about standing right in front of the speakers, especially at a Prince concert. I didn't know any of the songs, I believe the majority of what he played was from NPS, and since I'd been a closet fan for so long, there was a LOT of music I hadn't heard. There is still a lot that I've not heard, that is brand new to me when I do finally hear it, and so it's still magical. But seeing him on that stage that night... I saw a man doing something he loved, something that was powerful and brilliant, and passionate.

.

I remember at one point, just watching him, in awe, tears in my eyes. He was someone I needed to know more about. Up to this time, I had swore I would never get the internet. I didn't need it, wasn't interested in it, but when we got home, I bought a computer and got internet for the first time. I began searching for information on him online. His discography, what music I had missed out on for all those years. Eventually I stumbled upon Love4OneAnother, and it *fit* me. He had put everything into words that I had always felt and believed but never knew how to say. It was like finding a piece of the puzzle that makes up who you are. And over the years, I've begun to get more and more of his music, finding them where I can, only released versions though. I always respect what an artist wants with their music, and since I'd read he was so against bootlegs, I stayed away from them. It's his art, a piece of his soul, and he has the right to say when, how, where he releases it.

.

So, my next album to find is Crytal Ball. I've read about it, know it was released somewhere, but I've yet to find it. And how great, that when I do find it, all of that music will be brand new to me.

Btw, I was no more than 3 to 4 feet from Prince, standing room only, in that first concert. In front of these HUGE speakers. For about 3 weeks, my hearing was like listening underwater. I think that was where I started to develop some hearing loss.

prittypriss said:

I saw "Little Red Corvette" on MTV ohhh back in the early 80s. My ex was racist and when I said, "That is one sexy man." I found myself on the floor being called a foul name. After that, for many years, I would only hear parts of Prince music on the radio or MTV, but would change it when my ex was around. I always said I was a "closet fan". We finally divorced in the mid 90s and after I started again, my new beau was a hugely into music, and he reintroduced me to Prince. He took me to my first concert in 1998, Collinsville, Ill. (though it was billed as being in St. Louis). Getting to the concert turned into an adventure, as my beau's sister's car broke down on the way. We had to push that car five miles to the next exist, gas station. The mechanic shop wouldn't open until the next morning, so we walked to the arena. General seating. We got there pretty early. So we were right next to the stage. I'd never been to a concert before. He was my first. No one warned me about standing right in front of the speakers, especially at a Prince concert. I didn't know any of the songs, I believe the majority of what he played was from NPS, and since I'd been a closet fan for so long, there was a LOT of music I hadn't heard. There is still a lot that I've not heard, that is brand new to me when I do finally hear it, and so it's still magical. But seeing him on that stage that night... I saw a man doing something he loved, something that was powerful and brilliant, and passionate.

.

I remember at one point, just watching him, in awe, tears in my eyes. He was someone I needed to know more about. Up to this time, I had swore I would never get the internet. I didn't need it, wasn't interested in it, but when we got home, I bought a computer and got internet for the first time. I began searching for information on him online. His discography, what music I had missed out on for all those years. Eventually I stumbled upon Love4OneAnother, and it *fit* me. He had put everything into words that I had always felt and believed but never knew how to say. It was like finding a piece of the puzzle that makes up who you are. And over the years, I've begun to get more and more of his music, finding them where I can, only released versions though. I always respect what an artist wants with their music, and since I'd read he was so against bootlegs, I stayed away from them. It's his art, a piece of his soul, and he has the right to say when, how, where he releases it.

.

So, my next album to find is Crytal Ball. I've read about it, know it was released somewhere, but I've yet to find it. And how great, that when I do find it, all of that music will be brand new to me.

Great, is just a very personal experience.

I love these replies

Cinny said:

I love these replies

No woman,no cry

I kept hearing TMBGITW in art class in high school, b/c we listened to the radio while we did art. I wasn't really into the song, but something about it I really liked.

Shortly after, I heard 7 on the radio on the bus ride home. Someone told me it was Prince. That was it, I knew I needed to check this dude out. His vocals blew me away, i couldn't believe noone else was blown away by this song like I was.

Once i started buying his albums & was impressed by each one & I realised he'd pretty much performed everything on them, I was hooked.

Been following him ever since.

I just saw the LRC video then the 1999 one and after that I had to run to the store a buy the 1999 LP, followed by Dirty Mind and Controversy the next week or so. Barely a year after that, Purple Rain came out, and I was already listening to three other records of his several times a week.

So there was no picking up Prince, I felt in the presence of greatness right away, it's hard to describe seeing Prince for the first few times other than to say he was the sexiest musical genius there ever was. Not only was he pushing the envelope on race and sexuality, he was one of the most talented multiinstrumentalists around in addition to having a one trillion watts stage presence.

The adventure continues to this day. Despite the negativity these past years, I think Prince is right now having a very creative period after letting his own process progressively bore him for a couple of years there with albums like Planet Earth and 20TEN.

I was listening to Indifference, Free Urself and the Plectrum Electrum video and Baltimore today and when Hardrocklover came on, that was quite awesome and it's great he can still get me that way, I'd honestly given up on having these moments for a couple of years there.

[Edited 10/2/15 23:20pm]

I've only been to Prince for like a year and a half. I heard somebody say Purple Rain was better than Thriller and I couldn't believe my ears. Prince? PRINCE?! The short girly looking dude? Better than MJ? Craziness.

But I'm really into blind-buying music that I hear about, and I couldn't shake the curiosity....as I started to notice that I couldn't really put my finger on a single Prince song. Which was strange to me as he's such a public figure. Somehow, I had not been exposed to any of his music. And I was what, 22..I couldn't shake the feeling.

So I purchased 1999 and Purple Rain from Amazon. The reviews were extremely positive. Got about half way into D.M.S.R. and cut it off. I didn't know what the cat was blabbing about, but I didn't like it and was seriously offended somebody had compared this....whatever this was, to one of the GOAT albums Thriller.

A little while later, I think I saw something else about Purple Rain and it reminded me that I had the CD. At the time I was just learning how to play the guitar, so I was really into rock and guitar driven music. Obviously, PR was more up my alley. Let's Go Crazy, Computer Blue, The Beautiful Ones and Purple Rain really impressed me.

And I do a thing where I only listen to the CDs I own....which at the time weren't many, so already being burnt out on most of my stuff I play whatever new music I have over and over if I'm enjoying it.

And as I listened to it over and over...mind you this is my first exposure to Prince and funk music as well....I slowly started to get it. I don't know when it was, but there was a moment during one of my listens that it clicked, and I started really hearing the music, without the blockers of the novelty of it hindering the experience.

I started to hear without being thrown off by the lyrics or the vocals or synths and whatever. And what was there was absolutely mind-blowing. I think it was the first time I REALLY took in the title track Purple Rain that I realized how incredible this music was.

Since then.....my fandom has gotten almost out of control. Obviously I went back to 1999, now able to appreciate it, it blew my mind again, especially how different it was from PR. Then I got SOTT....wow.....brain through the ceiling. Parade.....YO. Around the World In A Day.....

I found my parents actually had a couple CDs, Come and The Hits. I was not a fan of Come at all, as it was such a stark departure from the 80s sound (I LOVE this album now lol), but the Hits introduced me to some of his earlier work. Prompted me to get Dirty Mind........WHAT? I got The Very Best of....as a secret santa gift and that's where I heard I Wanna Be You Lover for the first time. I had to get Prince. After a while I got Lovesexy.

And this is all in the space of a year. When I found out Prince was a killer performer too. I had to get the bootlegs. Oh there's videos. Have to get them. There's so much material and there's so many gems the more you dig. It blows my mind.

And the way I am I really digest this stuff. I take my time with it. I've had Lovesexy for almost a year now....but it was kind of off putting to me the first time I listened to it, kind of the way 1999 was that first spin. There was too much going on.

Guys, I just found out how goddamn good Lovesexy is THIS week. Right now, being a fan of this dude is like the gift that keeps on giving. His music seems to have everything I need. It's fun, funky and beautiful all at the same time.

His performances are electric. I got to see him live this year......watching him walk back over to his guitar and start playing Purple Rain is one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed in person.

I find new things about him every day. New bootlegs, new songs, new videos. I listened to the Black Album the other day. I just watched the June 7th, 84 rehearsal the other day.

I've discovered a whole genre of music (funk) that encapsulates everything I love about music. I've found Sly Stone, P-Funk, Joni Mitchell through him....just blessed music.

I just want everybody in my life to understand how good this music sounds and feels once you GET it.

There's no way to describe the feeling you get in last couple minutes of When Doves Cry on the June 7th Birthday Show boot, when he's yelling "Right there, DO IT!" and Wendy's killing that rhythm guitar. That shit....I could drive off a bridge to that shit.

masaba said:

masaba said:

I've only been to Prince for like a year and a half. I heard somebody say Purple Rain was better than Thriller and I couldn't believe my ears. Prince? PRINCE?! The short girly looking dude? Better than MJ? Craziness.

But I'm really into blind-buying music that I hear about, and I couldn't shake the curiosity....as I started to notice that I couldn't really put my finger on a single Prince song. Which was strange to me as he's such a public figure. Somehow, I had not been exposed to any of his music. And I was what, 22..I couldn't shake the feeling.

So I purchased 1999 and Purple Rain from Amazon. The reviews were extremely positive. Got about half way into D.M.S.R. and cut it off. I didn't know what the cat was blabbing about, but I didn't like it and was seriously offended somebody had compared this....whatever this was, to one of the GOAT albums Thriller.

A little while later, I think I saw something else about Purple Rain and it reminded me that I had the CD. At the time I was just learning how to play the guitar, so I was really into rock and guitar driven music. Obviously, PR was more up my alley. Let's Go Crazy, Computer Blue, The Beautiful Ones and Purple Rain really impressed me.

And I do a thing where I only listen to the CDs I own....which at the time weren't many, so already being burnt out on most of my stuff I play whatever new music I have over and over if I'm enjoying it.

And as I listened to it over and over...mind you this is my first exposure to Prince and funk music as well....I slowly started to get it. I don't know when it was, but there was a moment during one of my listens that it clicked, and I started really hearing the music, without the blockers of the novelty of it hindering the experience.

I started to hear without being thrown off by the lyrics or the vocals or synths and whatever. And what was there was absolutely mind-blowing. I think it was the first time I REALLY took in the title track Purple Rain that I realized how incredible this music was.

Since then.....my fandom has gotten almost out of control. Obviously I went back to 1999, now able to appreciate it, it blew my mind again, especially how different it was from PR. Then I got SOTT....wow.....brain through the ceiling. Parade.....YO. Around the World In A Day.....

I found my parents actually had a couple CDs, Come and The Hits. I was not a fan of Come at all, as it was such a stark departure from the 80s sound (I LOVE this album now lol), but the Hits introduced me to some of his earlier work. Prompted me to get Dirty Mind........WHAT? I got The Very Best of....as a secret santa gift and that's where I heard I Wanna Be You Lover for the first time. I had to get Prince. After a while I got Lovesexy.

And this is all in the space of a year. When I found out Prince was a killer performer too. I had to get the bootlegs. Oh there's videos. Have to get them. There's so much material and there's so many gems the more you dig. It blows my mind.

And the way I am I really digest this stuff. I take my time with it. I've had Lovesexy for almost a year now....but it was kind of off putting to me the first time I listened to it, kind of the way 1999 was that first spin. There was too much going on.

Guys, I just found out how goddamn good Lovesexy is THIS week. Right now, being a fan of this dude is like the gift that keeps on giving. His music seems to have everything I need. It's fun, funky and beautiful all at the same time.

His performances are electric. I got to see him live this year......watching him walk back over to his guitar and start playing Purple Rain is one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed in person.

I find new things about him every day. New bootlegs, new songs, new videos. I listened to the Black Album the other day. I just watched the June 7th, 84 rehearsal the other day.

I've discovered a whole genre of music (funk) that encapsulates everything I love about music. I've found Sly Stone, P-Funk, Joni Mitchell through him....just blessed music.

I just want everybody in my life to understand how good this music sounds and feels once you GET it.

There's no way to describe the feeling you get in last couple minutes of When Doves Cry on the June 7th Birthday Show boot, when he's yelling "Right there, DO IT!" and Wendy's killing that rhythm guitar. That shit....I could drive off a bridge to that shit.

Wonderful story, welcome to the purple family

masaba said:

I've only been to Prince for like a year and a half. I heard somebody say Purple Rain was better than Thriller and I couldn't believe my ears. Prince? PRINCE?! The short girly looking dude? Better than MJ? Craziness.

But I'm really into blind-buying music that I hear about, and I couldn't shake the curiosity....as I started to notice that I couldn't really put my finger on a single Prince song. Which was strange to me as he's such a public figure. Somehow, I had not been exposed to any of his music. And I was what, 22..I couldn't shake the feeling.

So I purchased 1999 and Purple Rain from Amazon. The reviews were extremely positive. Got about half way into D.M.S.R. and cut it off. I didn't know what the cat was blabbing about, but I didn't like it and was seriously offended somebody had compared this....whatever this was, to one of the GOAT albums Thriller.

A little while later, I think I saw something else about Purple Rain and it reminded me that I had the CD. At the time I was just learning how to play the guitar, so I was really into rock and guitar driven music. Obviously, PR was more up my alley. Let's Go Crazy, Computer Blue, The Beautiful Ones and Purple Rain really impressed me.

And I do a thing where I only listen to the CDs I own....which at the time weren't many, so already being burnt out on most of my stuff I play whatever new music I have over and over if I'm enjoying it.

And as I listened to it over and over...mind you this is my first exposure to Prince and funk music as well....I slowly started to get it. I don't know when it was, but there was a moment during one of my listens that it clicked, and I started really hearing the music, without the blockers of the novelty of it hindering the experience.

I started to hear without being thrown off by the lyrics or the vocals or synths and whatever. And what was there was absolutely mind-blowing. I think it was the first time I REALLY took in the title track Purple Rain that I realized how incredible this music was.

Since then.....my fandom has gotten almost out of control. Obviously I went back to 1999, now able to appreciate it, it blew my mind again, especially how different it was from PR. Then I got SOTT....wow.....brain through the ceiling. Parade.....YO. Around the World In A Day.....

I found my parents actually had a couple CDs, Come and The Hits. I was not a fan of Come at all, as it was such a stark departure from the 80s sound (I LOVE this album now lol), but the Hits introduced me to some of his earlier work. Prompted me to get Dirty Mind........WHAT? I got The Very Best of....as a secret santa gift and that's where I heard I Wanna Be You Lover for the first time. I had to get Prince. After a while I got Lovesexy.

And this is all in the space of a year. When I found out Prince was a killer performer too. I had to get the bootlegs. Oh there's videos. Have to get them. There's so much material and there's so many gems the more you dig. It blows my mind.

And the way I am I really digest this stuff. I take my time with it. I've had Lovesexy for almost a year now....but it was kind of off putting to me the first time I listened to it, kind of the way 1999 was that first spin. There was too much going on.

Guys, I just found out how goddamn good Lovesexy is THIS week. Right now, being a fan of this dude is like the gift that keeps on giving. His music seems to have everything I need. It's fun, funky and beautiful all at the same time.

His performances are electric. I got to see him live this year......watching him walk back over to his guitar and start playing Purple Rain is one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed in person.

I find new things about him every day. New bootlegs, new songs, new videos. I listened to the Black Album the other day. I just watched the June 7th, 84 rehearsal the other day.

I've discovered a whole genre of music (funk) that encapsulates everything I love about music. I've found Sly Stone, P-Funk, Joni Mitchell through him....just blessed music.

I just want everybody in my life to understand how good this music sounds and feels once you GET it.

There's no way to describe the feeling you get in last couple minutes of When Doves Cry on the June 7th Birthday Show boot, when he's yelling "Right there, DO IT!" and Wendy's killing that rhythm guitar. That shit....I could drive off a bridge to that shit.

Wow so glad for you that you're enjoying this discovery in such a compressed way, this is what many of us did over years though there were more intense periods as far as bootlegs go.