Damn I love that album actually.

Music for dreams.

So musical, different, strange and free.

French avantgarde pop.

And Prince played a lot of great drums on that album.

Still can't understand he's gone.

Maybe he just isn't gone, in spirit.

Love and kisses for all Prince lovers and understanders

[Edited 12/31/16 13:52pm]

I quite love the story of the first four songs.

For those that don't know, Susan Rogers tells the story better than I, but - Prince came in and sat at his drums. He had a piece of paper he taped on a stand in front of him with lyrics and the song layout on it. He played the drums for "Christopher Tracy's Parade", "New Position", "I Wonder U", and "Under The Cherry Moon" straight through. Then he went back and played bass to the drum track. Then went back and played guitar, or keys, etc. She mentioned how he was wearing a lot of bead necklaces, and he was playing so hard you can sorta hear them jangling in "New Position". But the way he recorded those songs is why they seem to perfectly segued and sequenced - it was done so live.

She mentioned at the recent lecture she did that he'd often come in with a lyric sheet, and sit and play the drum track, while reading the lyrics, singing along in his head as he played. It's sort of a rudimentary way of doing things, but also it probably adds nuances and language to the drum track that compliments vocals and other instruments.

"Anotherloverholenyohead" is probably my favorite track. I love the chord sequence (it's almost like a practice scale), the meandering vocals, the layered and offset backgrounds (reminiscent of "Forever In My Life"), and the Linn is just wonderful. "Girls and Boys" is just delicious, and those two together on a 12" was heaven. "Venus De Milo" is beautiful, and should be every woman's wedding march, or prelude. I never got into "Life Can Be So Nice" as much. It actually sounds like something pushed to 10db that you'd hear on Lovesexy (an album where the levels are way too high sometimes).

And let's not forget he spells out "P-U-S-S-Y" on "New Position", as if it were a mystery what he was talking about in the first place. He later reversed this part when there was a segment of the Hit N Run show played on NPGMC Ahdio Shows.

I loved the b-sides, the artwork inside, the whole look of everyone in hair and costume.

Thanks. I read about that.

Made me wonder him even more.

But his drums on Life Can Be So Nice is so wicked good.

Especially towards the ending where he let it more loose.

From 1:46 and on

Double pedals too (could be complimented by some Linn Drum kicks though, maybe)

[Edited 12/31/16 17:13pm]

I WONDER U 1:33min with Prince & Wendy's vocals equal
I love the song, always have, steamy, sensual poetry, woodwind instruments, crisp guitar

The album cut intro with the chanting and laugher... méchant secrets... Does anyone know what they are saying?

Loved this album project, outtakes, era, concert, look, sound, timelessness, purple chic

My absolute, all-time favorite Prince album. Which, I guess, makes it my favorite album, period.

always a favorite! it sounds like springtime on the mediterrean.

glorious, expansive, funky, sexy, melencholy.......

lovelovelovelove this record!

I found Parade to be the spiritual successor to ATWIAD. Like Around the World was a sketch and Parade was the finished painting. IT's tricky to meld psychadelia with funk. I have mixed feelings about the record and hardly ever play it (plus the movie was awful) but it has some great tracks on it, a nice tonal consistency and no real clunkers on it. I lost my virginity to it too so there's always that.

I would have subbed out "Do U Lie" with "Alexa De Paris" and have both sides close or open with instrumentals ("Venus DeMilo" and Alexa).

[Edited 1/1/17 6:52am]

OldFriends4Sale said:

I WONDER U 1:33min with Prince & Wendy's vocals equal
I love the song, always have, steamy, sensual poetry, woodwind instruments, crisp guitar

The album cut intro with the chanting and laugher... méchant secrets... Does anyone know what they are saying?

Loved this album project, outtakes, era, concert, look, sound, timelessness, purple chic

I love the use of 'broken English' in the lyric. Such a cool, cool little song!

Let's not get started about Mountains.

oooooooh, what a great song

wavesofbliss said:

always a favorite! it sounds like springtime on the mediterrean.

glorious, expansive, funky, sexy, melencholy.......

lovelovelovelove this record!

I'm with you, ot really sounds like this... beautiful album i wish he had included Alexa,Love or $ and perhaps Old Friends 4 Sale, then it would be a better album.

Wendy & Lisa'a magic engaged with Prince's presence, playfulness and sexiness usually as a result had some unique delivery. That is felt on ATWIAD & Dream Factory too.

No words can express how I feel about Parade and how much I love it.

Telecaster5 said:

No words can express how I feel about Parade and how much I love it.

Brilliant from start to finish!

daingermouz2020 said:

I always liked do u lie. Wish it was a little longer.

Yeah, it's a bit too airy for me sometimes. It feels like ......a demo, or if I wanted a hamburger, and someone brought me a green salad.

214 said:

wavesofbliss said:

always a favorite! it sounds like springtime on the mediterrean.

glorious, expansive, funky, sexy, melencholy.......

lovelovelovelove this record!

I'm with you, ot really sounds like this... beautiful album i wish he had included Alexa,Love or $ and perhaps Old Friends 4 Sale, then it would be a better album.

Old Friends for Sale would have fit in perfectly. Lose "Christopher Tracy's Parade" and "Do U Lie" in favor of Alexa and Old Friends. "Love or $" feels more like the b-side it was and I don't think it would fit in with the rest of the album.

RJOrion said:

what also made me not like this album initially, was the first single...as much as i love Prince music, i NEVER liked "Kiss"...still dont...

must be something in the water you drink...

RJOrion said:

what also made me not like this album initially, was the first single...as much as i love Prince music, i NEVER liked "Kiss"...still dont...

i've never liked kiss either. or at least not on parade it fucks up the whole vibe. it's all luscious and swirling orchestration and then here's this dense funk track with prince hiccupping for 3 minutes. he should have left it with mazarati.

stpaisios said:

RJOrion said:

what also made me not like this album initially, was the first single...as much as i love Prince music, i NEVER liked "Kiss"...still dont...

must be something in the water you drink...

It must be

wavesofbliss said:

RJOrion said:

what also made me not like this album initially, was the first single...as much as i love Prince music, i NEVER liked "Kiss"...still dont...

i've never liked kiss either. or at least not on parade it fucks up the whole vibe. it's all luscious and swirling orchestration and then here's this dense funk track with prince hiccupping for 3 minutes. he should have left it with mazarati.

I think he knew he needed a kick-ass single in order to promote a sophisticated album.

As a single, I loved it but had the time to play it to death before the album came out (in those days, the first single often acted as a trailer for the forthcoming album). And yes, it comes as kind of odd in the track sequencing. At the same time, New Position is also sparse and minimalistic, and so is SISIA. But it's the only song that has a real classic blues chord progression, and therefore it sounds a little out of context.
It's still an incredible song, but as everything played over and over, it doesn't do much for me anymore, I'd rather listen to the extended version, and its suffocating wall of sound, which is more reminescent of the whole UTCM vibe.

Since we're speaking of track sequencing, the Foefur's version is great: it has "Old Friends 4 Sale", and it ends, appropriately, with "All My Dreams". As much as I love SISIA, "All My Dreams" is the perfect fanfare closure as "Christopher Tracy's Parade" is the perfect fanfare opening.