For me TRC too, stone cold classic to me. And I have always enjoyed most of 20Ten as a decent 'return to form' of sorts, so that one too maybe.

I want to say Emancipation because out of 3 hours of music there's still more than enough material there to make a super-strong double album - yet it doesn't get much love (and I'd definitely agree with the cover art comment earlier in the thread - pretty dire, even back then).

.

I have a massive soft spot for New Power Soul though. I genuinely love all the tracks on this thing, more than any other album afterwards did.

.

Again, the absolutely CHRONIC cover art did it no favours at all.

.

AOA is the one that should be considered a classic imo. Very original with top notch songs. It deserved more attention than it received.

Emancipation and New Power Soul are personal faves, but I think AOA is the one that needs to be reassessed.

Militant said:

suomynona said:

Militant said:

"Come".

It's in my Top 10 Prince albums and I'd argue his most underrated. I find it damn near flawless.

I like the album, but it is one of those records that suffers based on how great the live performances were compared to the studio versions that were released later.

For example, "Come" from the 1993 DNA show is better than the album version. "Dark" from the Stars & Bars release destroys any studio version we've heard. Even versions of "Race" performed from the Act II tour were better than the studio version(s), which to me suffered from every album from 1989 and beyond: overproduction. At some point Prince lost that ability to stop messing with a track in the studio. "Solo" is the only track on the record that doesn't feel overproduced.

Think how the performance of "Guitar" on Leno is so much better than the studio versions we've heard. "Fury" on SNL. "Screwdriver" on Fallon. That's for a different thread. A thread about disappointing album versions after you've heard/seen them live...

You say "overproduced," I say "lush." I suppose overproduction only becomes an issue for me when it's applied to some hack with an album featuring 25 producers and another 25 songwriters, rather than Prince pulling out every trick in book on, say, "Automatic." I should check out those live versions, but to me, Come sounds better and better these days.

CAL3 said:

I have got to go with 'Lotusflower' on this. For my money, there's no filler on that album - I find it a joy from start to finish. I kinda wish it had been released as a stand-alone disc. Might've been more appreciated in that case? Who knows. Seems like a lot of critics and fans alike preferred 'MPLSound' (at the time anyway) for reasons I still don't understand.

Oops, I forgot about an important one - well, to me anyway - 'Chaos and Disorder.' Maybe I'm crazy (or just blinded by my own love for the album, in spite of its reputation) but I think it's might catch more people's ears as they look back on the "lesser-known" works.

[Edited 6/1/16 5:35am]

I agree about Lotusflower. Should have been just that and no Mplsound/Elixr.

[Edited 6/1/16 16:01pm]

Musicology, 3121, Lotus Flow3r, AOA and HnR2 all had mostly positive reviews, but on the whole I feel AOA most deserves to be revisited, followed by The Rainbow Children. Those are true achievements sonically, the former having segues far better than the latter. A musicologist would note these records 50 years from now while giving an overview of his career, these records aimed high.

I am surprised not more people have mentioned AOA. As a new member to the board and someone who only has some of the post TGE albums, I perused all the posts that rated all the Prince albums. The only newer album that consitently got mentioned in the top 15 was AOA, and typically was around 10th. I plan on puchasing it based on this, but I was wondering why the fans of this album don't necessarily think it could be the one that is reappraised more favorably by the crtics. Is it just something that critics won't get that Prince fans do?

Camille2016 said:

I want to say Emancipation because out of 3 hours of music there's still more than enough material there to make a super-strong double album - yet it doesn't get much love (and I'd definitely agree with the cover art comment earlier in the thread - pretty dire, even back then).

.

I have a massive soft spot for New Power Soul though. I genuinely love all the tracks on this thing, more than any other album afterwards did.

.

Again, the absolutely CHRONIC cover art did it no favours at all.

.

I've been doing some serious reassessment of New Power Soul myself, there's so much good stuff on there. However... there's still some duff tracks to my ears around the middle section of the album.

gandorb said:

I am surprised not more people have mentioned AOA. As a new member to the board and someone who only has some of the post TGE albums, I perused all the posts that rated all the Prince albums. The only newer album that consitently got mentioned in the top 15 was AOA, and typically was around 10th. I plan on puchasing it based on this, but I was wondering why the fans of this album don't necessarily think it could be the one that is reappraised more favorably by the crtics. Is it just something that critics won't get that Prince fans do?

AOA is certainly a candidate and I think it did get good critical reviews. But my impression of the OP's question is about critically reassesing an album from the point of view of artistic statement. There are critics who critisize the music from a pop/rock/popularity point of view (nothing wrong with that). And there are critics who apply historical importance and dig deep into the art, a scholarly critique so to speak. Its the latter who should be reassessing certain Prince albums in the years to come.

I would say 1999 through to Lovesexy should all be up there for historical critical review, including Dirty Mind. Then Love Symbol, Exodus, TGE, TRC, NEWS and AOA. Perhaps add HNR 2 and For You because they will always be the book ends of his career. Of course, there may well be a lot more to come which may also deserve a scholarly critique.

Rebeljuice said:

gandorb said:

I am surprised not more people have mentioned AOA. As a new member to the board and someone who only has some of the post TGE albums, I perused all the posts that rated all the Prince albums. The only newer album that consitently got mentioned in the top 15 was AOA, and typically was around 10th. I plan on puchasing it based on this, but I was wondering why the fans of this album don't necessarily think it could be the one that is reappraised more favorably by the crtics. Is it just something that critics won't get that Prince fans do?

AOA is certainly a candidate and I think it did get good critical reviews. But my impression of the OP's question is about critically reassesing an album from the point of view of artistic statement. There are critics who critisize the music from a pop/rock/popularity point of view (nothing wrong with that). And there are critics who apply historical importance and dig deep into the art, a scholarly critique so to speak. Its the latter who should be reassessing certain Prince albums in the years to come.

I would say 1999 through to Lovesexy should all be up there for historical critical review, including Dirty Mind. Then Love Symbol, Exodus, TGE, TRC, NEWS and AOA. Perhaps add HNR 2 and For You because they will always be the book ends of his career. Of course, there may well be a lot more to come which may also deserve a scholarly critique.

That's a difficult one because most of what Prince did got good reviews from critics. The ONLY non-Jazz albums that got mediocre reviews were:

1. Batman

2. Come

3. Rave Un2

4. 20Ten

5. Hit N Run Phase 1

6. Newpowersoul

7. Rainbow Children

The only two I think will improve in stature is Come & HitNRun Phase 1

This is a good indicator how Prince albums were viewed

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/prince-mn0000361393/discography

3rdeyedude said:

CAL3 said:

I have got to go with 'Lotusflower' on this. For my money, there's no filler on that album - I find it a joy from start to finish. I kinda wish it had been released as a stand-alone disc. Might've been more appreciated in that case? Who knows. Seems like a lot of critics and fans alike preferred 'MPLSound' (at the time anyway) for reasons I still don't understand.

Oops, I forgot about an important one - well, to me anyway - 'Chaos and Disorder.' Maybe I'm crazy (or just blinded by my own love for the album, in spite of its reputation) but I think it's might catch more people's ears as they look back on the "lesser-known" works.

[Edited 6/1/16 5:35am]

I agree about Lotusflower. Should have been just that and no Mplsound/Elixr.

[Edited 6/1/16 16:01pm]

.

But MPLSoUND was the best of the set. And Elixer was probably one of the better albums by a Prince protege.

The one I have critically reassessed and now love is NEWS.

I think the one the general audience will reassess and love is AOA.

I think the hidden gem yet to hit long term love is TRC.

I also hold a major torch for Planet Earth.

Militant said:

jaawwnn said:

I've been doing some serious reassessment of New Power Soul myself, there's so much good stuff on there. However... there's still some duff tracks to my ears around the middle section of the album.

Went back to 'New Power Soul' yesterday for the first time in a while...

Definitely some ace material there - "Until Ur In My Arms Again," "Shoo-Be-Dooh", "Come On," "The One," "Wasted Kisses"...

And the best of all... "When U Love Somebody"

Not wild about the rest, but that's a solid half-album... Actually I kinda have always like "Mad Sex" too. (Even though I feel like that one's a guilty pleasure)

(What's the easiest way to put paragraph breaks in these posts? I always add

in html mode, unless I forget to.. which is almost always, and I have to edit)

[Edited 6/6/16 8:24am]

CAL3 said:

jaawwnn said:

I've been doing some serious reassessment of New Power Soul myself, there's so much good stuff on there. However... there's still some duff tracks to my ears around the middle section of the album.

Went back to 'New Power Soul' yesterday for the first time in a while...

Definitely some ace material there - "Until Ur In My Arms Again," "Shoo-Be-Dooh", "Come On," "The One," "Wasted Kisses"...

And the best of all... "When U Love Somebody"

Not wild about the rest, but that's a solid half-album... Actually I kinda have always like "Mad Sex" too. (Even though I feel like that one's a guilty pleasure)

(What's the easiest way to put paragraph breaks in these posts? I always add

in html mode, unless I forget to.. which is almost always, and I have to edit)

Shift+Return should give you the line breaks you need.

[Edited 6/6/16 12:34pm]

Doozer said:

While I think TRC certainly deserves it, I don't think it will actually get it. It might be too hard for the casual music listener to get into. Hell, it's hard for a lot of diehard fans to get into. Its brilliance absolutely deserves to be aknowledged.

I've been listening to AOA again, since his passing, and I think it deserves more attention. The music showcases all of what made him great. And the Charlotte Ann Telepathy bits, as well as WAY BACK HOME, give me the damn chills now. I wonder what inspired all of that. It's hard not to think that his end was on his mind.

Let's no kid ourselves - any one of his albums from 93 onward should be reassessed. I can't believe some great albums got slept on for so long. I remember feeling that way too that a lot of them just weren't up to par.

Gave it a few years and went back - just glorious work the 90s and aughts have been.

Then again, Musicology, 3121, AOA and HitNRun2 got some pretty solid reviews. But imo not enough. Not understanding why some of his stuff wasn't on any radio station here in ND/ I mean Paisley Park is like 6 hours from where I'm at wth!

People just not funky enough over here apparently...

But I'd say 20Ten needs to be rereleased in the states finally and that album needs to be appreciated as top tier 2000s Prince. I see a lot of hate for that album and I struggle so hard to understand it, but I'm totally clueless as to why people don't like it.