.

The Darth Vader voice does work extremely well with the intro to "1+1+1=3."

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The begininng of that tune always reminds me of the beginning of The Doors' "The End." It's mysterious, quiet, something swirling, instruments come in slowly... The addition of that Vader voice perfectly adds to the tension and mystery.

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[Snip - luv4u]

I'm listening to "New Power Soul" and my wife asks, "is that his really religious album"? I say, "no, that's The Rainbow Children. The entire album is about religion" She then says, "for real? that music was jamming! I didn't know he was talking about religion the whole time!"

Cloreen said:

1725topp said:

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I can appreciate your words above. Well stated. However, that does not mean that I believe them. I don't.

.

Once again I will point out that you did not love "Rainbow Children" upon first listen. Nor did you love OTHELLO, "Innervisions," ANTIGONE, "Starry Night"... I will use the word again, you were intrigued by them. Want a synonym? You were attracted to the works in question.

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And if you feel that I am insulting you in anyway, then good because you, sir, are insulting Mr. Shakespeare, Mr. Wonder, Sophocles, Van Gogh, and all the other artists you mentioned above including Prince. You are insulting their masterworks by smugly declaring, "I got it right from the start. Loved it right away." You honestly think Richard Wright wanted people to instantaneously get his work in the way someone instantaneously gets an episode of "Friends"? How would you feel if you labor to put together a masterpiece and someone on the street walks up to you and smugly says, "Ah, I got everything you were saying in one reading. Loved it from the start." That is insulting, my friend. What you are saying is those artists' works are no better than an Aquaman comic book.

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Look, you did not, could not love "Rainbow Children" or any of the other works you mentioned above upon first encounter. Those works were designed to be, get this, discovered. To say you loved them instantly is highly insulting to the artists who created them.

*

What I am saying is that there are people whose lives are dedicated to creating and/or making art. As such, we learn how to understand and create art by learning the various elements or components of art. Thus, as a poet, fiction writer, and essayist, I know the components/literary devices of literature. I've also studied the manner in which the aesthetic devices of literature relate to, mirror, or reflect aesthetic devices of other forms of art, be it music, painting, film, etc. Therefore, my knowledge of aesthetic elements allowed me to understand completely what the artists that I mentioned were doing. It's not smug to say to an artist that one immediately understood the manner in which the artist employed the literary devices of the work. In fact, that is what the artist seeks. To quote Ishmael Reed, "writers want readerly readers," which are readers who are not just concerned with the what/subject matter of the work but with the how/the mastery of literary device. Based on the assertion of Reed and others, artists are hoping that the audience--be they readers, listeners, viewers--are as well versed in the artistic/aesthetic devices as the artists, themselves, so that the audience can understand the work. This is the very reason that Dante wrote "Letter to Can Grande della Scala" and disseminated it before the publishing of Divine Comedy because he was doing something so new that he wanted to make sure that his patrons and other readers specifically understood what he was doing. So, it would not have been an insult for people to tell Dante that they understood Divine Comedy upon first read because that's what he wanted. If you read "Letter to Can Grande dell Scala," Dante states that he wants people to understand fully what he's doing.

*

Finally, since I'm sure you are a quite intelligent person, I'll assume that you are confusing the notion of instantly understanding and loving a work of art with also meaning that a work of art can't continue to reveal things to a receiver of the art. For instance, a feminist, Marxist, and black aesthetician can all read the same poem or story and locate a particular theme based on their point of view, even though New Criticism or Formalism may both disagree that various understandings of one text are possible. Be that as it may, various receivers of art can provide insight to others about a particular way to read/understand a text, but that doesn't mean that a work of art cannot be fully understood and loved upon first engagement, especially if one is well-versed in the aesthetic devices that the work is employing. Therefore, if I know the basic history and aesthetics of theatre and I know that Brecht is a Marxist who crafts the majority of his plays to be examples of the Marxist ability to deconstruct and denounce capitalism, then I have the ability to understand fully and love Brecht’s plays upon first engagement.

Growing up in the 90s, I was very aware of Prince, but I didn't have any of his albums. His 90s period, as we all know, was arguably his cheesiest and most eccentric -- not to mention the dreaded "Parental Advisory" stickers on everything. I was 17 when TRC came out. I was it in the wrecka stow, and something about it just struck me when I saw it. The fact that he was "Prince" again, the cartoony jazz combo on the cover, the promise of it being "controversial" on the sticker -- it spoke to me. I knew it was going to be organic and groovy, so I bought it. I didn't realize this at the time, but I think I also had a bit of a fascination with left-field albums by longtime artists (for instance, the first Elvis Costello CD I bought was his symphonic ballet score!).

So The Rainbow Children was my first Prince album! I was hooked immediately. I remember trying to show it to some of my chums on a school trip, and they wanted none of it. From there, it was a question of moving backward to discover all his older albums. To me, the 2001-2004 era still holds up very well -- He was able to "grow up" a bit as an artist and jettison some of the weird childishness that made me cringe with much of his 90s output.

I viewed the Rainbow Children as a musical. My favorite song off that album is Digital Garden. A poriton of Rainbow Children - "rise" - reminds me of the opening credits to Fraggle Rock.

[Edited 6/21/16 6:41am]

chaderico02895 said:

I viewed the Rainbow Children as a musical. My favorite song off that album is Digital Garden. A poriton of Rainbow Children - "rise" - reminds me of the opening credits to Fraggle Rock.

That's funny because a lot of people consider the JW's to be complete mupp...... Errr, never mind.

I and some of my friends were screaming our joy when we first played TheRainbowChildren after a long download time For us, this album was like his resurrection !

And, the period that follows was incredible (aftershows, rehearsals, main shows). One of his best period for me. It was a true return to his real musicianship.

I often link this period with the two 2009 Montreux shows (same band and feeling), and again, wow !

[Edited 6/21/16 10:19am]

Cloreen said:

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There's another thread here discussing "Rainbow Children," but that one has both positive and negative responses. I want this one to be for the fans who do enjoy the album...but I only want the responses to be in regards to this one specific question:

.

How exactly did you come to enjoy the album?

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By that I mean, let's be real, that album first time played was a "Huh?" moment. I will find it impossible to believe that any fan loved it instantly. So my question is what was the breaking point? What did you see in the album, hear in the album that got you hooked?

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My answer is the song "1+1+1=3." I was thrown by that album upon first listenings. But I noted one tune was very good -- "1+1+1=3." So I would cue up that song and many times I would let the rest of the album play out. So I got to listening to much of the album because of "1+1." That song was the breakthrough I needed to get into "Rainbow Children."

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How exactly did you come to enjoy this very non-traditional Prince album?

For a lot of fans, their initial response wasn't "huh", but rather, "Finally!"

1725topp said:

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artists are hoping that the audience--be they readers, listeners, viewers--are as well versed in the artistic/aesthetic devices as the artists, themselves, so that the audience can understand the work.

.

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Not entirely true. Shaespeare knew that in attendance for his plays would be the lowly groundlings. Did he include characters and scenes catering to them? Here and there. But the artistic devices in his plays were well above the groundlings (and others) understanding.

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Artists may hope the audience can get their work...but the reality is most audiences get tripped up by a twist in an M. Night Shyamalan movie. I don't think that Prince believed an audience would be receptive to his "Rainbow Children." I simply think he didn't care. He just put it out.

^ I think you're trying to underhandedly insult peoples' intelligence because that's the only way you can prop yourself and your thoughts up. You're kind of a rude bastard aren't you? You're in good company there's a lot of them around here.

kapo74 said:

First listen I literally was so angry I snatched it out of my cd player and threw it across the room, My wife can testify, after a week with it on the floor under my couch I put it back on, and I hated myself for being so close minded, as a musician raised by him I was ashamed, Title song, Muse, The work, everywhere, and one of my all time favs The Sensual Everafter, because it's exactly that, Sensual,

Ahsister said:

Thanks! The single the avatar is taken from happens to be my fav Prince single, but that's another story

CherryMoon57 said:

BT11 said:

It took me a couple of years, worked my way through it with the lighter song such as 'She Loves Me 4 Me' and 'The Work'. Now I'm jamming to 'The Rainbow Childen', 'Digital Garden', 'Everywhere' and 'Last December' like there's no tomorrow. I adore the artwork, this also helps.

The fact that the album is pretty much impossible to fully comprehend makes it fresh even today. Other more straightforward albums like 3121 I still enjoy, but lost that freshness.

Today TRC is firmlt setteld in my top3.

1) Parade

2) The Rainbow Children

3) Lovesexy

And again, muscially it is superb.

[Edited 6/18/16 18:00pm]

I agree, it is superb. Didn't take me as long as you to get into it though, I've always loved its experimental aspect, the visionnary fusion of jazz and soul... and yes great artwork too. As for the cryptic talk that put some people off... I don't really mind, it simply gives it a higher dimension. the whole thing is a timeless work of art imo. Nice avatar btw!

Cloreen said:

1725topp said:

.

Not entirely true. Shaespeare knew that in attendance for his plays would be the lowly groundlings. Did he include characters and scenes catering to them? Here and there. But the artistic devices in his plays were well above the groundlings (and others) understanding.

.

Artists may hope the audience can get their work...but the reality is most audiences get tripped up by a twist in an M. Night Shyamalan movie. I don't think that Prince believed an audience would be receptive to his "Rainbow Children." I simply think he didn't care. He just put it out.

*

Actually, Shakespeare would change lines from plays based on what groundlings would shout at the stage, especially if the comment got a laugh. I've read lots of Shakespeare criticism, and I've yet to read that his plays were not fully or immediately understood by the audiences of his time. In fact, Shakespeare may have been one of the first "pop" artists as the biggest criticism of his work is that his plays didn't always adhere to "traditional" staging and narrative formulas, which seemed to irk the purists. Yet, Shakespeare was more concerned with pleasing the groundlings than the purist critics.

*

Of course, we all know that Prince released tons of work because it was what he wanted to do and not because it followed a trend. See "If I Was Your Girlfriend" as one of many examples. And, yes, many people didn't get it, which killed the momentum of Sign "O" the Times, along with deciding not to tour the US, but many folks, like me, immediately understood and loved "If I Was Your Girlfriend" because I understood the manner in which Prince wrote/stylized his lyrics and their meanings. Yet, he was clearly hoping that "someone" understood the music that he released, or else he wouldn't have released it. He would have kept it to himself. As Prince stated about the early reviews of Graffiti Bridge in the Rolling Stone interview, "No one's mentioning the lyrics. I should have included a lyric sheet." So, we know that he wanted people to understand his messages. Even in the famous interview before the release of Under the Cherry Moon, he stated that "I just hope people understand what we're trying to do" or words to that effect. So, while, yes, he was often following his own muse rather than following trends, as he stated after the release of "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold," "When most people go left, that's when I go right," he wouldn't have been giving interviews and promoting the records/albums if he didn't want people to understand and like them. That's one reason he had the listening party/discussion for The Rainbow Children. In fact, one could argue that the listening party/discussion for TRC was for the same reason as Dante's "Letter to Can Grande della Scala," which was to inform people what he was trying to do with TRC so they could understand it immediately. He knew that TRC was different and that it might need explaining, but he did the same when preparing folks for Purple Rain. In a great 1983 interview with Carol Cooper, Prince seems to be indicating that the album to follow 1999 will be a bit more rock oriented. Hoping not to lose people because of that sound, he reminds people that rock has always been part of his sound. When Cooper asks "Are you at all afraid of alienating your black audiences with the radical change in your music?," Prince responds, "They knew it was coming. 'I'm Yours' off the first album was a straight-up rock jam . . .And the second album had 'Bambi', which was also written in such a way as not to give the impression that I was a dilettante. So many black bands in the early Seventies diddled with the rock guitar just to prove they could. They had no real conviction, but none of my rock jams are contrived that way." Why would Prince go to such full and thorough explanation of his sound if he didn't care if people understood or liked it? Yes, Prince followed his own muse and created and released the music he felt he needed to make, but, based on all that he, himself, has said over the years, he was also hoping that someone would understand and like it.

The Rainbow Children. Prince meets Zappa.

Good post, 1725topp. Yes, contrary to what fans may think or the artist may say, artists do want their work to be appreciated and understood. The only ones I can think of in popular music that really didn't give a hoot were Lou Reed and Johnny Lydon. And believe it or not, Kanye is kind of like that.

Cloreen said:

Good post, 1725topp. Yes, contrary to what fans may think or the artist may say, artists do want their work to be appreciated and understood. The only ones I can think of in popular music that really didn't give a hoot were Lou Reed and Johnny Lydon. And believe it or not, Kanye is kind of like that.

*

Thank you. Yes, I think that the artists that seem to be most effective in touching or moving an audience are those artists who can balance what they love and desire to do as artists with the expectations and desires of a particular audience. Sometimes that audience is a group that the artist has in mind, and sometimes that audience is the artist. But, I think that the ultimate passion and energy that the audience/receivers of the art feel from the art is the desire/need of the artist to express oneself about a particular circumstance, issue, or event. (As such, I agree that all people will express themselves, often involuntarily, when they are so moved by an impactful enough issue or incident, regardless of whether or not someone else wants to hear their expression. If I drop something heavy on my foot, I’m going to express myself, often involuntarily, even if no one else cares. Similarly, if life drops something heavy on my heart or on my mind, I’m going to express myself, often involuntarily, even if no one else cares. Thus, it would seem that the most effective art is that which can combine the act of involuntary expression with the ordering of the expression through artistically skilled discipline. In short, art is the product of the combining and ordering of emotion and logic.) So, while I'm not as familiar with Lydon, Reed and Kanye do an excellent job connecting their own personal visions and desires with their chosen audience, and that's the point or moment of the magic in which the passion, energy, and vision of the artist is transitioned/communicated to the receiver. When that happens, it's truly a beautiful experience.

blacksignparade said:

Lette said:

"Everywhere" was the track that got me hooked. So positive and bright! I just adore it, I wish it went for longer.

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great song.

It is this type of song that separates Prince from the pack. It is a gorgeous and touching track. The Rainbow Children will stand the test of time I believe in terms of his catalouge.

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At first listen I didn't really know what to make of TRC, with its religious messages and the Darth Vader voice. It took me by surprise. But I did really appreciate lots of the music already at first listen, the album displayed such high level of musicianship. And I really liked the sound/production of the album immediately.

So while I was confused over the message and concept of the album, I was delighted that at least the music kicked ass again after a few very difficult "Plastic Prince" years for me. And after a few spins I got really excited over the album, lots of great songs and musical performances. And it turned out to be quite fun trying to make some sense off all the weird JW inspired religious lyrics, while simultaniously discussing the album here on Prince.org. I also really loved the cover art, while usually I hate most Prince cover art for its tackiness.

I have to say I was already familiar with Nu Soul and jazzrock/fusion music, and I was pleased to hear Prince heading in that direction. The whole album sounded very inspired to me and eventhough I am not religious I appreciated the musical inspiration his newfound faith gave to Prince. I'd rather have him singing religious mumbo jumbo over fantastic music than him singing great lyrics over average music.

I believe TRC was a turning point for Prince after a couple of very hard years for him. First his battle with WB over his masters, then the flop of his first (semi-)independent release Emancipation, the loss of his newborn son, followed by his breakup with Mayte, the flop of Rave etc. That is a lot of stress for a man to endure and I suppose he must have felt quite worn out and depressed by the end of the millenium.

Being a religious man already for all his life Prince met Larry Graham and -feeling low as he did- found some solace in the JW faith, and likely in his friendship with Larry too. I guess it gave Prince some much needed purpose and direction in life and it reinvigorated him.

So I guess after a few most likely awkward experiences going door to door with Larry, he probably decied to make TRC out of newfond inspiration and as a means to 'buy off' his door to door duties as a JW. His way of knocking on hundreds of thousands of doors simultaniously to deliver the JW message.

The Darth Vader voice was used as a means to glue the individual music pieces together into a 'coherent' ( ) story. I think he didn't worry to much about sales with this album, he probably realised that if he was going to release a JW inspired album it wouldn't burn a hole in the charts anyway. So he didn't really have to focus on making chart ready music, chasing a hit (which he had probably grown tired off after 5 years of trying just that unsuccesfully).

So as I see it he probably decided to make an album completely on his own terms, based on the type of music that he loved the most himself combined with JW inspired lyrics. Which in the end lead to a musically very inspired, great album in my opinion, goofy as it is. Only Prince could have come up with something like this, and that is why I love him!

[Edited 6/22/16 12:16pm]

Honestly, I am in the process of swithing over to liking it right now. I always got Prince albums the day of their release until the past decade, so I ran out and got Rainbow Children and listened to it once (I'm not sure I made it through). The religiosity of the CD just was such a turn off ( I live in an extremely conservative Christian area) that I was completely closed down to other aspects of the album. The recent praise for the album on this thread and other threads on the org has made me want to give it a chance. Especially comments about how good it was musically, creatively, and having at least a couple of stellar songs (1+1+1=3; Last December). I listened to it today for the first time since release date, and I really could appreciate the aspects noted above. As far as the religious theme, I just accepted that Prince was just expressing what he believed and at least it was in such a creative, funky, and musical way! The most difficult thing to enjoy was the clunky narrator: instead of souding spiritual he sounded like a giant on too much Xanax Nevertheless, I know I will play it at least a few more times, and I may even get fuirther into the Rainbow Children appreciation camp.

I actually like that album. The musicianship on that album is top notch!

Like many... I was not a fan of the narration which both got in the way and talked over many bits I preferred to just hear music, but it was a concept. I enjoy just about every song.

I think 'Everywhere' really stood out as a very short bit of perfection. The rest grew on me... except for 'Wedding Feast'.

Family Name, 1+1+1 is 3 is stellar as is Last December, but Everywhere is up there with "Brazilian Rhyme (Beijo)" from Earth Wind & Fire's All ;n All album in terms of very short, but super nice songs.

There are 14 actual songs on the album and I find all of these to be good songs:

Muse 2 the Pharaoh, Everywhere, The Sensual Everafter, Mellow1+1+1 Is 3, She Loves Me 4 Me, Family Name, The Everlasting Now, Last December
The others are less prefrable to me, but none suck.

funkaholic1972 said:

At first listen I didn't really know what to make of TRC, with its religious messages and the Darth Vader voice. It took me by surprise. But I did really appreciate lots of the music already at first listen, the album displayed such high level of musicianship. And I really liked the sound/production of the album immediately.

So while I was confused over the message and concept of the album, I was delighted that at least the music kicked ass again after a few very difficult "Plastic Prince" years for me. And after a few spins I got really excited over the album, lots of great songs and musical performances. And it turned out to be quite fun trying to make some sense off all the weird JW inspired religious lyrics, while simultaniously discussing the album here on Prince.org. I also really loved the cover art, while usually I hate most Prince cover art for its tackiness.



I believe TRC was a turning point for Prince after a couple of very hard years for him. First his battle with WB over his masters, then the flop of his first (semi-)independent release Emancipation, the loss of his newborn son, followed by his breakup with Mayte, the flop of Rave etc. That is a lot of stress for a man to endure and I suppose he must have felt quite worn out and depressed by the end of the millenium.

Being a religious man already for all his life Prince met Larry Graham and -feeling low as he did- found some solace in the JW faith, and likely in his friendship with Larry too. I guess it gave Prince some much needed purpose and direction in life and it reinvigorated him.

So I guess after a few most likely awkward experiences going door to door with Larry, he probably decied to make TRC out of newfond inspiration and as a means to 'buy off' his door to door duties as a JW. His way of knocking on hundreds of thousands of doors simultaniously to deliver the JW message.

The Darth Vader voice was used as a means to glue the individual music pieces together into a 'coherent' ( ) story. I think he didn't worry to much about sales with this album, he probably realised that if he was going to release a JW inspired album it wouldn't burn a hole in the charts anyway. So he didn't really have to focus on making chart ready music, chasing a hit (which he had probably grown tired off after 5 years of trying just that unsuccesfully).

So as I see it he probably decided to make an album completely on his own terms, based on the type of music that he loved the most himself combined with JW inspired lyrics. Which in the end lead to a musically very inspired, great album in my opinion, goofy as it is. Only Prince could have come up with something like this, and that is why I love him!

[Edited 6/22/16 12:16pm]

I agree 100% plus seeing him perform it live on the ONA tour was amazing. The music is amazing!

I absoltely loved this from the first second ("The accurate undertanding") til the final reprise of " in the name of the father".

From first listen to the 1000 time... i have 2 vinyl copies if this, promo CD and regular cd.. It's a MASTERPIECE!

PS I'm an Athiest!

I think if you truly belive (like me) that all religion is made up, this is like stepping into Prince's fantasy world of religion and its an incredible experience! musicially it stands on it's own