CherryMoon57 said:

Redisabsurd said:

Oh, this hurts so much. I am all in tears now and I am still hurt why somebody would talk so disrespectfully about someone who gave his all.

Exactely. Prince wasn't just some sort of disposable convenience. He was a person with a story and emotions, and like everyone of us he deserved some respect, especially at this time. I'm sorry this made you cry though

Thank you for the hug. I need it badly.

You lost me with your placement of the apostrophe.

AlexHahn said:

Despite my distaste for the way this post is written, I would have largely agreed with some of its core points about Prince’s post-Emancipation output until recently.

After completing my biography of Prince in about 2000, I found nothing in records like Musicology or 3121 to re-kindle my interest or to dispel my view that Emancipation was his last great work. As far as live performances, I have always had my issues with Prince outside of the aftershow context, so I didn’t find much to keep me on board there either.

However, in the course of re-connecting with Prince and people here in the course of working to update my book, my eyes have been opened somewhat. There is some great material to be discovered. Phase 2 certainly contains some fun stuff, and frankly LotusFlower (the main disc) is quite excellent. Cuts like Boom, Colonized Mind, and Dreamer can’t be discounted as meaningful parts of Prince’s canon.

As far as live stuff, being exposed to the wealth of stuff on YouTube and also the Indigo Nights record has convinced me that the key development in Prince’s career over the last 12 years is that he became quite possibly the best live performer on the planet, and certainly the greatest funk performer that there has even been. His guitar playing has improved markedly, as has his mastery as a bandleader.

So, ultimately I believe the OP quite overstates the case, despite articulating (if it can be called that) a view that some people share in some measure.

PS -- can someone tell me to how to add spaces between paragraphs on the org? Can't seem to figure it out!

[Edited 5/31/16 18:29pm]

I understand where you and the OP are coming from, and I also understand why the OP dislikes some of the "Vegas" nature of shows like Musicology or some of the Welcome 2...shows because I wasn´t a big fan of the big bands with huge horn sections and same old setlists .

However, I still liked those shows, still found moments of greatness in them, still enjoyed his post-Emancipation output (in my opinion, there are at least three or four songs on every Prince album released post Emancipation that are right up there with his greatest material from the 80s). .

-

.

And, this may have nothing to do with the live shows and the music but keep in mind that the man lost his baby , his marriage, another baby, his mom, his dad and his aunt in a very short time span, and then his second marriage failed as well. Just ONE of these incidents would have damaged mere mortals for a long time but Prince kept on touring, kept on releasing, kept on writing interesting songs, never let himself go, never looked messy, never had any big scandals, kept supporting underprivileged people, and kept a smile.

.

The ONA tour and the 2002 celebration were great musical experiences, and the Montreux shows were incredible, all of them except maybe for the one where he had Shelby and the others sing Strays of the World...that show was not my cup of tea.

But most other gigs in Montreux were right up there with his most legendary live shows, maybe even better in musical terms.

That Montreux show where he played In A Large Room With No Lights, the one with that extended instrumental jamming towards the end of the song is among my favorite live moments in Prince´s career, the same goes for the incredible Melkweg shows he did in Amsterdam in 2011....just sheer brilliance.

-

His new interpretation of When We´re Dancing Close and Slow during the Melkweg show was, in my opinion, one of the greatest moments ever, right up there with any great moment from the 80s. Other musicians past their heyday get old, become, lazy and spoiled, and here you have an artist who takes an old song from his second album and turns it into something else, into a magical moment, and he knows it, and yet he does not let the people record it or sell a DVD of that show just because.....

.

Or how he played that slow, stretched version of Little Red Corvette in Montreux and Melkweg. Pure magic, pure talent and passion , and I actually prefer those performances of that song over any other rendition he ever did.

-

People dissed him for his afro and his later looks but that video of him and Donna Grantis playing I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man in Amsterdam, which was posted officially by 3rdEyeGirl, was a moment of rock guitar heaven, and I loved the chemistry both had and his looks, too. If he gained inspiration from younger musicians such as Donna and the result were energetic moments like that, then more power to him.

I wish Prince had quit the physically demanding dancing and jumping around parts of his live shows right after Diamonds and Pearls and would have focussed more on the music because he knew how to create magic until the very last moment.

Just watch those final minutes of his final show and tell me he lost it.

He never lost it but most of us are guilty for pushing him way too hard and criticizing his every move and every decision.

I hope you´ll update your next book a bit and take all factors into consideration, and also focus on those moments that are proof that he never lost anything.

Some of his later shows are right up there with his very best, including the untouchable 80s.

[Edited 6/1/16 7:14am]

If we could just turn back time.....

MJ007 said:

PurpleSpirit319 said:

... For the past 2 decades I have refused to acknowledge him as the Prince that I once knew and LOVED!! I have mourned and wept bitterly EVERYDAY his "passing away" since 1996!! All that needed was for him to die, physically in the flesh, which happened on the 21st April, 2016. I will always remember and treasure Prince, but sadly not the Prince that he eventually became!!

That was such a cold statement! If I did feel that way I would have kept it to myself. That's just me.

mltijchr said:

jimmy3121 said:

PurpleSpirit319 said:

I have removed the offending sentence!! I am so sorry, if it upset everyone!!

Say what you mean and mean what you say....no need to say sorry and that is the problem today everyone saying sorry....if folks get offended they can move on.

I didn't agree with it myself but you are entitled to your opinion- seems like many on here just want to hear what they want to hear .

All kindsa folks liked Prince on various levels, at certain times and most certainly with various opinions.

So folks in various spectrums say how they feel...... so what...and again at least PurpleSpirit319 knows more of the Prince catalog than most mainstream folks out there.

I agree with jimmy3121, and appreciate your bravery in sharing your thoughts, PurpleSpirit319.

roxy831 said:

jimmy3121 said:

Say what you mean and mean what you say....no need to say sorry and that is the problem today everyone saying sorry....if folks get offended they can move on.

I didn't agree with it myself but you are entitled to your opinion- seems like many on here just want to hear what they want to hear .

All kindsa folks liked Prince on various levels, at certain times and most certainly with various opinions.

So folks in various spectrums say how they feel...... so what...and again at least PurpleSpirit319 knows more of the Prince catalog than most mainstream folks out there.

I agree with jimmy3121, and appreciate your bravery in sharing your thoughts, PurpleSpirit319.

I am sorry, I disagree with this thought that this was bravery. Criticism of his work is one thing but saying that he died for the OP 20 years ago and he/she was only waiting for his physical passing is just too cold and brutal a statement to make. It doesn't show anything about Prince's inability to move the OP through his music but sure shows how genuine a human the OP is. Expressing opinion and bad-mouthing someone just after their death are as separate as the poles and is not bravery but a lack of respect for someone's whole corpus when we are nowhere even close to the talent the man possessed. Shame, for real.

[Edited 6/2/16 21:23pm]

[Edited 6/2/16 22:08pm]

Redisabsurd said:

roxy831 said:

I agree with jimmy3121, and appreciate your bravery in sharing your thoughts, PurpleSpirit319.

I am sorry, I disagree with this thought that this was bravery. Criticism of his work is one thing but saying that he died for the OP 20 years ago and he/she was only waiting for his physical passing is just too cold and brutal a statement to make. It doesn't show anything about Prince's inability to move the OP through his music but sure shows how genuine a human the OP is. Expressing opinion and bad-mouthing someone just after their death are as separate as the poles and is not bravery but a lack of respect for someone's whole corpus when we are nowhere even close to the talent the man possessed. Shame, for real.

[Edited 6/2/16 21:23pm]

[Edited 6/2/16 22:08pm]

Highly sensitive. I get that.

One thing is for sure - "Blackstar" by David Bowie is VASTLY OVERRATED - and I'm a Bowie fan.

I think most people going around saying how good that album have never really heard it...

lynx said:

One thing is for sure - "Blackstar" by David Bowie is VASTLY OVERRATED - and I'm a Bowie fan.

I think most people going around saying how good that album have never really heard it...

David Bowie???

Who Cares?

Your on a Prince site & a thread about Prince.

jimmy3121 said:

lynx said:

One thing is for sure - "Blackstar" by David Bowie is VASTLY OVERRATED - and I'm a Bowie fan.

I think most people going around saying how good that album have never really heard it...

David Bowie???

Who Cares?

Your on a Prince site & a thread about Prince.

It was mentioned in the original post in case you missed it...

PurpleSpirit319 said:

jasopig said:

Possibly my favorite line: "Plus, the fact that over the past couple of decades, he was making more and more music to appeal to the record buying public which exists now in order to still stay relevant and his art was suffering because it!!"

Yes, The Rainbow Children was such a blatant attempt at radio friendly sellout. I have to now assume you wrote this tongue in cheek.

There again I preferred Lovesexy and/or The Symbol album for his attempts at a concept album!! The Rainbow Children was a total mess to me!!

Missed the point much?!

gollygirl said:

meagemini2 said:

koortl said:

meagemini2 said:

Prince made music for himself - he graciously invited us - friends- along for the ride and we were happy to take that ride with him. There are those that take an exit ramp from time to time and then find themselves taking the on ramp later in the journey and those that stayed in the car the whole way. It doesn't matter how you took the ride, it's that you did. Remember that the scenery is always changing or it would be a boring ride. Thanks Prince for taking us. Peace, Love and Healing.

💜

lynx said:

"i think it's a great album, with a compellingly haunting aesthetic to it".............me too. As dark as it is, I think it's brilliant. Many orgers praised it and now with P's recent events, "A.O.A" is starting to seem like his similar send off record. Didn't think that when it was released but some of the orgers gave interesting examples.

trc1 said:

By reading the replies maybe your opinion should have been based on something such as a song P produced. To speak of him dying back in 1996 makes no sense. To need him to die in the flesh? You needed that? You need some schooling. That's very disrespectful. If P's music didn't give you what you were looking for then "stage exit out" should have been your next move. This was not the time nor place for THAT view. The majority of the fam here is truly mourning. You wasted time and space creating this thread. Now you got me writing essays and that's not my style.

[Edited 6/4/16 9:43am]