Well, it's a rather shocking 30 years since Parade hit the Prince world.

What do you make of this very popular Prince album?
Would you liked to have seen some other tracks e.g. Love or Money included?
Do you rate it as highly as others do?
Were you a Prince fan at the time?
What did you make of Prince's comments about the album and his initial negative reaction to it?

What do you make of this very popular Prince album?

One of my top 3 favorite albums. Timeless music, classic era.

Would you liked to have seen some other tracks e.g. Love or Money included?

I love Parade as it is, more B sides. BUT it would have been cool if he also released an Under the Cherry Moon (soundtrack) album.

An Honest Man (piano instrumental heard at the beginning of the movie)

Mia Bocca
Old Friends 4 Sale

included

Do you rate it as highly as others do?

YES

Were you a Prince fan at the time?

YES

What did you make of Prince's comments about the album and his initial negative reaction to it?

He was deflecting from the movie bomb. If the movie had live performances (like the Girls & Boys video being where the Girls & Boys scene existed) the movie would have been much better. If he duplicated the 'family' energy of Purple Rain, and not tried to be Morris & Jerome. But more importantly the music performed in the movie with the proteges. Parade is an OPUS. A work of art.

I wasn't a diehard until post SOTT pre Lovesexy, so I had to go back discover Parade after the fact. I did love the first 2 singles, plus Girls And Boys (was that even a real single?), but I didn't love the record as a whole. I was barely 10.

I started liking random songs from it during my high school mixtape-making phase, but I don't think I really appreciated the full album until I was in my mid-late 20's.

I now think it's one of his best, and that it's perhaps the most colorful, and musically honest record of his career. A song like Life Can Be So Nice just sounds so pure, and original, and unaffected by any exterior influences. Selfish music created with little to no regard for the listener. Like it or don't.

I love the contrast of the sparse, almost effortless sounding studio work from Prince, contrasted by the dense string arrangements of Clare Fischer. A lot of the album sounds like really fancy demos to me.

I love that it's one of the longer single discs of the time, in terms of actual tracks, but that it's still barely 41 mintues.

I love the things about it you can discover when listening to the FLAC'd vinyl with a decent pair of headphones. The bass rumbling on Christopher Tracy's Parade is unbelievable, and also practically inaudible.

What a moment he was having with this one!

1) I love it...Def in my top 3..Bought it the day it came out and listened to it over and over...pop, soul, funk, jazz, avant garde, middle eastern flavor..it's all in there.....................2) I think it's fine the way it is.............3) Yes.....................4) Yes..........5) I never knew he had negative feelings about "Parade"...He may have had the blues from "U.T.C.M" bombing in the theaters..."Parade" was a funky comeback after some old school fans said he sold out (with the psychedelic pop of "A.T.W.I.A.D").

I'd love to hear Mia Bocca as it was heard in the movie - at least as an instrumental. I LOVE Parade. Sad matter o' fact, the friend who drove my 15-year-old self to the wrecka stow to buy it in 1986 just passed away this past Sunday.

I'm just discovering this album so far i like Kiss, Girls and BOYS, Another, Mountains and Venus de Milo.

Happy birthday Parade wow - this is from the golden era when nothing went wrong, this Parade album was just another classic,

Another timeless masterpiece in a long string of those 1980-88..

In my Top-5 Prince albums:

1. Purple Rain
2. Sign "O" The Times
3. Lovesexy
4. 1999
5. Parade

^ wow those wonderful albums were all 100% pure and amazing.

Ps and they were all so very different from each other, incredible, all from the same decade that's impressive..

thedance said:

In my Top-5 Prince albums:

1. Purple Rain
2. Sign "O" The Times
3. Lovesexy
4. 1999
5. Parade

^ wow those wonderful albums were all 100% pure and amazing.

Ps and they were all so very different from each other, incredible, all from the same decade that's impressive..

Agree!!

my top 5 PRINCE ALBUMS ARE:

1. PURPLE RAIN

2. SIGN O' THE TIMES

3. 1999

4. LOVESEXY

5. PARADE

PARADE is no doubt a TOP 5 PRINCE ALBUM.

214 said:

I'm just discovering this album so far i like Kiss, Girls and BOYS, Another, Mountains and Venus de Milo.

do U have the extended versions and B sides? Outtakes?

4 Me

1. Around the World in a Day

2. Parade
3. Purple Rain

4. 1999

5. Controversy

6. Dirty Mind

7. Lovesexy
8. Prince

9. Sign o the Times

10. Black album

and these are all right close

What Time Is It?

the Family

the Glamorous Life

Madhouse 8

Vanity 6

fit in there too

Parade had the BEST videos, the art of the era was perfection. And in many ways the Parade era was very similar to Purple Rain, just chic in place of Purple Rains punk.

Yuss!! "you need another lover... like u need another hole in yo heaaaad"

CLASSIC!

1. Sign O The Times

2. Dirty Mind

3. Purple Rain

4. 1999

5. Parade

[Edited 3/30/16 7:06am]

Top 5 album material indeed!

Let's celebrate with a re-release including the extended versions/B-sides and unreleased tracks from the first configuration (All my dreams, Others here with us, Wendy's Parade and the original Old friends 4 sale).

A man can dream, right?

the P / W & L triangle at its very best....imgaine what they could have been!

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

the P / W & L triangle at its very best....imgaine what they could have been!

wow yes I agree with u, and I guess u are right: imagine what it could have been..

P + W & L were truly amazing, magical..

My 30 year Romance with Parade

An Honest Man(instrumental) is like Purple Rains Fathers Song

It's A Wonderful Day
Mia Bocca (should have been a 1986 Duet with Prince & Jill Jones and released on the Parade album)
Junk Music (an edited version/shortened) could have been released as a Bside maybe throw in some wild lyrics in the middle) and we have the Parade era Possessed
Christopher Tracy's Parade
New Position
I Wonder U
Under the Cherry Moon
Girls & Boys
Life Can Be So Nice
Venus de Milo
Mountains
Mountains extended

Alexa de Paris is like a different direction of God the Love theme

Alexa de Paris extended
Do U Lie?
Kiss
Kiss extended

♥ Or $
♥ Or $ extended
Anotherloverholenyohead
Anotherloverholenyohead extended

Sometimes It Snows In April

* I always include Old Friends 4 Sale in my Parade playlist. In 1985, this song was played on the local station as a promo 4 the upcoming Prince & the Revolution movie Under the Cherry Moon.

OldFriends4Sale said:

214 said:

I'm just discovering this album so far i like Kiss, Girls and BOYS, Another, Mountains and Venus de Milo.

do U have the extended versions and B sides? Outtakes?

I'm about to listen Anotherlover extended version, i have listened already Mountains extended version, All My Dreams, Alexa de Paris. Kiss extenede version and Love or $. I do not understand how such a great song as Old Friends 4 Sale was left out. Other Here to me, is great but does not fit whatsoever with Parade.

214 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

do U have the extended versions and B sides? Outtakes?

I'm about to listen Anotherlover extended version, i have listened already Mountains extended version, All My Dreams, Alexa de Paris. Kiss extenede version and Love or $. I do not understand how such a great song as Old Friends 4 Sale was left out. Other Here to me, is great but does not fit whatsoever with Parade.

There is an alternative Under the Cherry Moon ending with other deleted scenes. We don't know yet how these songs might have fit into that movie.
But Old Friends 4 Sale (some music) is supposed to be in the movie around the scenes where Christopher & Tricky are fighting/mad with each other.

does anyone feel if NEW POSITION got an extended 12" it would be one of his greatest extended versions ever...

Wow. This album just screams out for a Special Edition of some kind. It's a shame he seemingly holds his fans in such contempt/disregard that he doesn't entertain that idea.

I bet 'Kiss' alone gained him a new army of fans back in 1986. Honestly, that song alone moved my fandom into overdrive. Loved the video, loved the (for the most part) B&W Parade theme and loved UTCM too. yeah i said it.

jayspud said:

Well, it's a rather shocking 30 years since Parade hit the Prince world.

What do you make of this very popular Prince album?
Would you liked to have seen some other tracks e.g. Love or Money included?
Do you rate it as highly as others do?
Were you a Prince fan at the time?
What did you make of Prince's comments about the album and his initial negative reaction to it?

I will answer the questions 1 by 1 and will shoot a video on it soon.

.

I just love this album and the whole sound. The music is amazing and is one of his finest pop albums ever made. Prince was at such a productive stage here.

.

Love to see a re release of the album with Love or Money and Alexa de Paris in it along with a live version of Anotherloverholenyohead and outakes like Others Here with Us, A Place in heaven, Visions, and many others.

.

My rating of it, is as my 3rd favourite Prince album behind SOTT and 1999, but ahead of Lovesexy and Purple Rain. It is really up there!

.

Unfortunately I wasn't afan when it came out, I was still to young at 9 years and 11 months and only vaguely remember the song Kiss from the time.

.

I think Prince was not fully aware of how good it was then, he was a bit overcooked with purple rain levels of fame, as it was his first album not to go to #1 after 2 smashes in a row. Remember this was only 21 months after Purple Rain. Plus I think Prince was having problems at the time, his Relationship with Susannah was on the rocks, the Revolution was shaky and he was worried about the reaction to UTCM when it came out. Looking back now, I think he would be more proud of it. I mean a song like Mountains, you know he is never going to write that again!

.

Overall I really love this album, the happy feel, assured pop and sexy lines. Prince's short hair crop top look at the time was great. The Hitnrun tour was amazing and he had those zoot suits and did all the splits with Jerome. It was a great year!

There was nothing like it out at the time and I don't think there's been anything like it since. Reminiscent of The Beatles at the height of their powers. As Prince says in The Gold Standard: "This is exciting. It's different." It WAS and IS.

I'll go one further: to quote Anna Stesia "Music late, nothing great, no way to differentiate / I took a chance". Thank God, he did! That was the most exciting thing about Prince's work - it was different than anything else out there. I'm glad he went in different directions and didn't make a Purple Rain II.

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

My top 5 albums

.

1. Sign o the Times

2. 1999

3. Parade

4. Love sexy

5. Purple Rain

.

Parade trax, best 2 worst

.

1. Mountains - perfection funky pop

2. Sometimes it snows in April - A beautiful and tender piano ballad, tells the story well and is filled with emotion

3. Kiss - Sexiest single ever made, and a creamy falsetto with attitude

4. Girls and Boys - You can just dance yo ass off to this, jazzy, brassy and in yo face pop funk.

5. Anotherloverholenyohead - Classy funk, convincing funk/pop melodic ballad with a solid message

6. Under the Cherry Moon - Plaintive love ballad.

7. Do u lie - Lovely pop song with a cute French feel

8. Life can be so nice - good pop song with amazing lyrics - No one plays the clarinet the way you play my heart - wow!

9. Christopher Tracy's Parade - Love the drums and the feel

10. I wonder u - Sparse sexy drum laden track (The drum track dominates the first 3 songs, apparently Prince cut the drum lines in one track in April 1985)

11. New Position - another great song, swinging and pounding beat.

12. Venus De Milo - Great instrumental, least track on this album , still a blinder.

.

As you can see I love all the songs and separating them is hard, my marks out of 10 - 1to 5 10/10, 6 - 11 9/10 and 12 - 8/10.

paulludvig said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

the P / W & L triangle at its very best....imgaine what they could have been!

Anyone knows what they actually did on the album?

oooohh boy

Marrk said:

Wow. This album just screams out for a Special Edition of some kind. It's a shame he seemingly holds his fans in such contempt/disregard that he doesn't entertain that idea.

I bet 'Kiss' alone gained him a new army of fans back in 1986. Honestly, that song alone moved my fandom into overdrive. Loved the video, loved the (for the most part) B&W Parade theme and loved UTCM too. yeah i said it.

I Love Under the Cherry Moon too.
The movie is actually pretty good, but when it get's to the part where he is now in love and his friendship with Tricky is wacky, that is where you can see Prince has taken over the direction and it doesn't work so much. Again, the Revolution, Sheila E, the Family, Jill, Mazarati should have been in the movie.

ehhh Prince, why why lol