And the MUSIC continues...forever...

He was in a new place, and the whole look started changing and getting sleeker. There was something very Cary Grantish about him. He was happy, and he liked working with all those new people. You could see him growing exponentially. He was fearless, and he wanted to get his hands on all creative aspects of his career.-Wendy Melvoin

Around the World in A Day

Paisley Park

Condition of the Heart

Raspberry Beret

She's Always In My Hair

Tamborine

Girl

A m e r i c a

Pop Life

Hello

The Ladder

Temptation

Sunset Sound

Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse

Mobile Audio

Capitol Records

S.I.R. Studio

Paisley Park Label

A government of love and music boundless in its unifying power
A nation of art 2 production
Sharing ideas, a shower of flowers

the Purple Rain influences, the new directions in sounds and instruments

Cello Oud FingerCymbals Darbuka Tamborine Violin Saxophone

Lisa Coleman Wendy Melvoin BrownMark Bobby Z Dr Fink

David Coleman Jonathan Melvoin Eddie M Susannah Melvoin Novi Novog Suzi Katayama Brad Marsh Taj (Sevelle) Sheila E Jill Jones Sid Page, Marcev Dicterow Vaj Denyse Buffum, Laury Woods Tim Barr Annette Atkinson
Susan Rogers David Leonard Peggy Mac David Tickle

Doug Henders Laura LiPuma

John Nelson

Joni Mitchell

WB

"I wanted community more than anything else." -Nov 1999

Prom Center Masquerade Ball Birthday show Theatre Du Verdure, France

And the MUSIC continues...forever...

http://prince.org/msg/7/424678 the Purple Rain era 1983 - 1985

http://prince.org/msg/7/425840 Prince & the Revolution Purple Rain the movie 1984(script)

http://prince.org/msg/7/424681 the Purple Rain tour & performances 1983-1985

Does it bother you when people say you're going back in time with 'Around the World in a Day'?

No. What they say is that the Beatles are the influence. The influence wasn't the Beatles. They were great for what they did, but I don't know how that would hang today. The cover art came about because I thought people were tired of looking at me. Who wants another picture of him? I would only want so many pictures of my woman, then I would want the real thing. What would be a little more happening than just another picture [laughs] would be if there was some way I could materialize in people's cribs when they play the record.
How do you feel about people calling the record "psychedelic"?

I don't mind that, because that was the only period in recent history that delivered songs and colors. Led Zeppelin, for example, would make you feel differently on each song.

Songs Previewed On the Purple Rain Tour

2.23.1985 @ the Inglewood Forum LA
during the Soundcheck & the Show
6. Raspberry Beret

24. A m e r i c a

2.24.1985@ the Inglewood Forum LA

during the Soundcheck

Paisley Park
Temptation

3.1.1985 @ the Cow Palace San Francisco
12. Condition of the Heart

14. Temptation

3.3.1985 @ the Cow Palace San Francisco

12. Raspberry Beret

3.4.1985 @ the Cow Palace San Francisco

12. Temptation

23. A m e r i c a

3.23.1985 @ the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

11. Condition of the Heart

12. Raspberry Beret

14. Temptation

25. A m e r i c a

3.26.1985 @ the Hartford Civic Center

18. A m e r i c a

Rel APRIL 22, 1985

Around the World in A Day
Cello Oud Fingercymbals & Darbuka performed by David Coleman
Tamborine by Jonathan Melvoin
Background vocals performed by David Coleman, Susannah&Jonathan Melvoin & the Revolution
Recorded at Paisley Park by Susan Rogers & David Leonard

Paisley Park
Violin performed by Novi Novog
Recorded at Paisley Park by Susan Rogers, David Leonard & Peggy Mac

Condition of the Heart
All instruments and voices performed by Prince
Recorded at Sunset Sound by Peggy Mac

Raspberry Beret
String section: Novi Novog-Violin
Suzi Katayama-Cello
David Coleman-Cello
Recorded at Paisley Park by Susan Rogers

Tamborine
All instruments and voices performed by Prince
Recorded at Paisley Park by David Leonard

A m e r i c a
Tamborine: Brad Marsh
Recorded at Paisley Park by Susan Rogers
* full Revolution composition

Pop Life
Drums performed by Sheila E.
String interlude composed & conducted by Lisa & Wendy
Performed by Sid Page, Marcev Dicterow
Vaj-violins
Denyse Buffum, Laury Woods -Viola
Suzi Katayama, David Coleman -Cello
Tim Barr, Annette Atkinson -Stand up Bass
Recoreded at Sunset Sound by Peggy Mac

The Ladder
[John L. Nelson & Prince]
Saxophone playing by Eddie M.
Background voices are Susannah, Taj, Wendy & Lisa
Recorded at Mobile Audio by David Tickle

Temptation
Saxophone by Eddie M.
Recorded at Capitol Records by David Leonard

Cover painting: Doug Henders
LP Design & Assembly: Laura Li Puma

Good times, good memories. Thanks for this thread, OF4S.

Great albumcover art, great album, great songs.

But , as much as I like it, it doesn´t really feel like an "era" to me .

Maybe because there are no real videos except for Raspberry Beret, no real tour except for the two or three songs he played during the Parade tour, and no specific style or look except for the Liza Minelli hairdo and cloud suit.

Another thing that bugs me is that many people, including critics, compare it to the Beatles but, except for maybe two or three songs, I don´t really see the similarities. It´s just those two or three songs that made people compare him to the Beatles but most of the album does not make me think of the Beatles sound or songwriting at all.

.

Also....many thought that this was a drastic departure from the sound and style of the Purple Rain era and sound but to me it just felt like an extension....maybe a tad less commercial and less accessible in a good way ( one of my favorite headphone albums) but not that different from Purple Rain as far as themes, lyrics and instruments are concerned.

.

There was an article in Uptown Magazine many many years ago that also said that it´s not that different from the Purple Rain era and sound, and back then I agreed with most of what the article said.

1984-85 one long, stretched out phase to me, and back then I never really felt the difference and enjoyed both albums.

But Parade was a whole different story. Parade sounded different to me when it came out, and back then I was too young to appreciate Parade but I loved Purple Rain and ATWIAD.

KoolEaze said:

Great albumcover art, great album, great songs.

But , as much as I like it, it doesn´t really feel like an "era" to me .

Maybe because there are no real videos except for Raspberry Beret, no real tour except for the two or three songs he played during the Parade tour, and no specific style or look except for the Liza Minelli hairdo and cloud suit.

Another thing that bugs me is that many people, including critics, compare it to the Beatles but, except for maybe two or three songs, I don´t really see the similarities. It´s just those two or three songs that made people compare him to the Beatles but most of the album does not make me think of the Beatles sound or songwriting at all.

.

Also....many thought that this was a drastic departure from the sound and style of the Purple Rain era and sound but to me it just felt like an extension....maybe a tad less commercial and less accessible in a good way ( one of my favorite headphone albums) but not that different from Purple Rain as far as themes, lyrics and instruments are concerned.

.

There was an article in Uptown Magazine many many years ago that also said that it´s not that different from the Purple Rain era and sound, and back then I agreed with most of what the article said.

1984-85 one long, stretched out phase to me, and back then I never really felt the difference and enjoyed both albums.

But Parade was a whole different story. Parade sounded different to me when it came out, and back then I was too young to appreciate Parade but I loved Purple Rain and ATWIAD.

I'm with U KoolEaze,

it wasn't a 'complete' era, the few shows that were done during this period were so secret. I still want to know what they all looked like at the 1985 Birthday show...
4 me as well it is a strong extension to Purple Rain

the ATWIAD project is 4ever my #1 favorite

And album like ATWIAD with such a change from the Purple Rain sound, needed a full era of promotion. It is such a wonderful collection of songs and imagery, that as many videos to help interpret and spread the beauty of it could only help. I would have had videos 4 Hello & She's Always in My Hair as well.

He didn't even need to do a tour, but very specialized shows in different settings from 1 song to many. I could easily see Prince & the Revolution w/Sheila E or Jonathon Melvion on extra percussion, Jill Jones Taj Susannah Melvoin etc extra accompanying vocals Tim Barr(Pop Life)-Stand up Bass at Carnegie Hall or someone Classical music Hall in the USA or Europe performing a worked out rendition of Condition of the Heart, everyone is white with a touch of purple

or at a medium sized night club suprise performance cranking out Paisley Park She'a Always In My Hair America Tempation... throw in Computer Blue for extra measure

pt 1 Around the World in a Day listening party 2.21.1985

chapter 6 Hangover p74 Possessed

...he now opened himself more to genuine exchange of ideas.


Prince previewed the album for Warner bros.
during a ceremonious listening party
for about 20 company officials
in early February 1985 in Los Angeles.
Joni Mitchell and Prince's father John L. Nelson
were among the special guests present.
Attendees were seated on the floor of a large conference room,
and as the high pitched flute that begins "Around the World in A Day"
lilted from the speakers,
Prince & Lisa walked in holding flowers;
the whole scene was according to one attendee very Haight Ashbury

-Possessed: the Rise & Fall of Prince p 77

"I suppose we were aware that Prince would not repeat himself artistically.
There were new clothes, new colors, new personnel, and a new way of working.
While the Paisley Park studio complex was in the planning I recorded the band from their rehearsal stage in our leased warehouse.

This allowed him to record the whole band easily, so Prince could stay home for longer stretches of time. His personal and recording lives were more coincidental than perhaps he chose to make them in the past." -Susan Rogers

fearless

Very magical feel- this album - I love it

In Prince: A Pop Life, still the best Prince book I've read to date, Dave Hill discusses the parallels between ATWIAD and PR. Aesthetically, the album and era felt like a whole new chapter for Prince, and in many ways, it was musically. But I'd recommend finding Hill's book because he makes an interesting case that the album was built on groundwork PR laid.

I do agree though . . . Prince's willingness to stake out new ground during the ATWIAD era is what made me a fan of his (and the Revolution's) for life.

namepeace said:

In Prince: A Pop Life, still the best Prince book I've read to date, Dave Hill discusses the parallels between ATWIAD and PR. Aesthetically, the album and era felt like a whole new chapter for Prince, and in many ways, it was musically. But I'd recommend finding Hill's book because he makes an interesting case that the album was built on groundwork PR laid.

I do agree though . . . Prince's willingness to stake out new ground during the ATWIAD era is what made me a fan of his (and the Revolution's) for life.

There really is a pattern there that can even be construed down to the most minor of details.

Some that stick out are:

The anthemic uplifting song: Purple Rain - the Ladder

The dirty bluesy track: Darling Nikki - Temptation

The mid-first side ballad: The Beautiful Ones - Condition of the Heart

The sound alike: Take Me With U - Raspberry Beret (the song even references him and Apollonia)

The other sound alike: Baby I'm A Star - America (uses the same drum pattern)

A heavier track: Computer Blue (or Let's Go Crazy) - Tamborine

The spartan track with layered vocals: When Doves Cry - Paisley Park


Even "Let's Go Crazy" stars with a simple chord or note, then eventually a drum starts. "Around The World In A Day" starts with one note, then the drums start.

I wish Girl, She's Always In My Hair, 4 The Tears In Your Eyes and Hello were in the album.

my favorite Prince album, it was released on April 21, sad day

TrivialPursuit said:

namepeace said:

In Prince: A Pop Life, still the best Prince book I've read to date, Dave Hill discusses the parallels between ATWIAD and PR. Aesthetically, the album and era felt like a whole new chapter for Prince, and in many ways, it was musically. But I'd recommend finding Hill's book because he makes an interesting case that the album was built on groundwork PR laid.

I do agree though . . . Prince's willingness to stake out new ground during the ATWIAD era is what made me a fan of his (and the Revolution's) for life.

There really is a pattern there that can even be construed down to the most minor of details.

Some that stick out are:

The anthemic uplifting song: Purple Rain - the Ladder

The dirty bluesy track: Darling Nikki - Temptation

The mid-first side ballad: The Beautiful Ones - Condition of the Heart

The sound alike: Take Me With U - Raspberry Beret (the song even references him and Apollonia)

The other sound alike: Baby I'm A Star - America (uses the same drum pattern)

A heavier track: Computer Blue (or Let's Go Crazy) - Tamborine

The spartan track with layered vocals: When Doves Cry - Paisley Park


Even "Let's Go Crazy" stars with a simple chord or note, then eventually a drum starts. "Around The World In A Day" starts with one note, then the drums start.

Legit parallels. I especially agree with the ones highlighted.

"Tambourine," to me, sounds like a throwback to the DM/Controversy era.

namepeace said:

TrivialPursuit said:

The other sound alike: Baby I'm A Star - America (uses the same drum pattern)

.

This should be of no surprise; 'America' developed into a fully fledged song out of Purple Rain Tour rehearsals of 'Baby I'm A Star' at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse during mid-Summer of 1984. Eventually, they decided to commit an entire such session to tape, allegedly playing longer than the approximately 22 minutes of tape available, and, with some minor overdubs and processing of the drum track and synths, and the addition of a gag intro and fadeout to cover the abrupt finish of the recording, the 12" version (of which the album track is an edit) was born.

.

[Edited 1/9/17 15:16pm]

214 said:

I wish Girl, She's Always In My Hair, 4 The Tears In Your Eyes and Hello were in the album.

.

'Hello' was recorded on 24 May 1985, more than a month after the album was formally released. To me, it has more of a vestigially post-Purple sound, and different to the production on the ATWIAD tracks. I'd rather see 'Condition of the Heart' moved to Parade (perhaps in place of UTCM), and 'Tamborine' moved to a B-Side, to make way for edits of 'Girl' and 'She's Always in My Hair', at the risk of each running too close in its own respective role (naughtiness factor, and hard rock element) to 'Temptation' (which should be kept as an encapsulation of Prince's stage histrionics of the era).

.

[Edited 1/9/17 15:20pm]

imprimis said:

214 said:

I wish Girl, She's Always In My Hair, 4 The Tears In Your Eyes and Hello were in the album.

.

'Hello' was recorded on 24 May 1985, more than a month after the album was formally released. To me, it has more of a vestigially post-Purple sound, and different to the production on the ATWIAD tracks. I'd rather see 'Condition of the Heart' moved to Parade (perhaps in place of UTCM), and 'Tamborine' moved to a B-Side, to make way for edits of 'Girl' and 'She's Always in My Hair'.

.

[Edited 1/9/17 15:14pm]

You want to remove "Under The Cherry Moon" from Parade: Music from the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon?


Have to hand it to Prince, being able to put together such a fun and eclectic album by "The Revolution" (more like Prince, Wendy and Lisa) inbetween shooting PR, touring the hell out of PR, and launching UTCM film and Parade. He probably lived a normal artist's 12 years in a 3-year period.

Doozer said:

imprimis said:

.

'Hello' was recorded on 24 May 1985, more than a month after the album was formally released. To me, it has more of a vestigially post-Purple sound, and different to the production on the ATWIAD tracks. I'd rather see 'Condition of the Heart' moved to Parade (perhaps in place of UTCM), and 'Tamborine' moved to a B-Side, to make way for edits of 'Girl' and 'She's Always in My Hair'.

.

[Edited 1/9/17 15:14pm]

You want to remove "Under The Cherry Moon" from Parade: Music from the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon?

.

Having an eponymous title track to the main film project shouldn't be an absolute necessity when there is better material that would otherwise collide with the same part of the album, and in this case has a certain chokehold on very limited real estate crying out for snappier tracks on the earlier album. That it abridges the entire premise of the film cannot too greatly disservice the displaced UTCM, either.

.

To draw a parallel to another iconic artist's poorly acted film vehicle from roughly the same era, 'Desperately Seeking Susan' is most likely an inferior song choice to 'Get Into the Groove'. The latter is a well liked song; the former is a less inspiring effort you can listen to only at the Library of Congress and is otherwise unknown but to a few obsessive fans.

.

[Edited 1/9/17 15:33pm]

imprimis said:

Doozer said:

You want to remove "Under The Cherry Moon" from Parade: Music from the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon?

.

Having an eponymous title track to the main film project shouldn't be an absolute necessity when there is better material that would otherwise collide with the same part of the album, and in this case has a certain chokehold on very limited real estate crying out for snappier tracks on the earlier album. That it abridges the entire premise of the film cannot too greatly disservice the displaced UTCM, either.

.

To draw a parallel to another iconic artist's poorly acted film vehicle from roughly the same era, 'Desperately Seeking Susan' is most likely an inferior song choice to 'Get Into the Groove'. The latter is a well liked song; the former is a less inspiring effort you can listen to only at the Library of Congress and is otherwise unknown but to a few obsessive fans.

.

[Edited 1/9/17 15:33pm]

We need another thread…
However I'd just say that UTCM (the film) is unique in that the song itself is why the movie is named as such, and its inclusion on the album is mandatory in my mind. Plus, it's too good to relegate to a b-side or worse.

I appreciate your colorful tribute here. I fell for Prince hard with Dirty Mind, realized how far he could go with Purple Rain, but with ATWIAD and Parade I realized he would be my favorite musical artist of all time, which has stood the test of time. ATWIAD is so distinct from all of his work. It really does feel like Prince is taking you on some strange yet enchanted trip into the unknown. I enter that universe from the first song and never leave until the end of Temptation. As I am writing this, I just realized that perhaps Temptation goes so far out there as it proceeds that it provides a real ending to the journey. You can't really go any further, so the trip is over! In any case, the album is a real masterpiece.

imprimis said:

namepeace said:

.

This should be of no surprise; 'America' developed into a fully fledged song out of Purple Rain Tour rehearsals of 'Baby I'm A Star' at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse during mid-Summer of 1984.

Right, and the song itself dates back to late 1981, early 1982, in the purple house (Kiowa Trail). I think it was one of his engineers that talked about how great the original song was, but that the overdone version we know now kind of took about its personality. I think it was Don Batts, or something like that. I don't recall right off.

very interesting, thank you. I just realized I attended the concert where he previewed 4 songs from this album - wow, I never knew that before.

Doozer said:

imprimis said:

.

Having an eponymous title track to the main film project shouldn't be an absolute necessity when there is better material that would otherwise collide with the same part of the album, and in this case has a certain chokehold on very limited real estate crying out for snappier tracks on the earlier album. That it abridges the entire premise of the film cannot too greatly disservice the displaced UTCM, either.

.

To draw a parallel to another iconic artist's poorly acted film vehicle from roughly the same era, 'Desperately Seeking Susan' is most likely an inferior song choice to 'Get Into the Groove'. The latter is a well liked song; the former is a less inspiring effort you can listen to only at the Library of Congress and is otherwise unknown but to a few obsessive fans.

.

[Edited 1/9/17 15:33pm]

We need another thread…
However I'd just say that UTCM (the film) is unique in that the song itself is why the movie is named as such, and its inclusion on the album is mandatory in my mind. Plus, it's too good to relegate to a b-side or worse.

Yes, the title track is a beautiful ballad.

GEM

namepeace said:

TrivialPursuit said:

There really is a pattern there that can even be construed down to the most minor of details.

Some that stick out are:

The anthemic uplifting song: Purple Rain - the Ladder

The dirty bluesy track: Darling Nikki - Temptation

The mid-first side ballad: The Beautiful Ones - Condition of the Heart

The sound alike: Take Me With U - Raspberry Beret (the song even references him and Apollonia)

The other sound alike: Baby I'm A Star - America (uses the same drum pattern)

A heavier track: Computer Blue (or Let's Go Crazy) - Tamborine

The spartan track with layered vocals: When Doves Cry - Paisley Park


Even "Let's Go Crazy" stars with a simple chord or note, then eventually a drum starts. "Around The World In A Day" starts with one note, then the drums start.

Legit parallels. I especially agree with the ones highlighted.

"Tambourine," to me, sounds like a throwback to the DM/Controversy era.

Listen to Tick Tick Bang(81) Darling Nikki Tamborine and a little Junk Music back to back

TrivialPursuit said:

namepeace said:

In Prince: A Pop Life, still the best Prince book I've read to date, Dave Hill discusses the parallels between ATWIAD and PR. Aesthetically, the album and era felt like a whole new chapter for Prince, and in many ways, it was musically. But I'd recommend finding Hill's book because he makes an interesting case that the album was built on groundwork PR laid.

I do agree though . . . Prince's willingness to stake out new ground during the ATWIAD era is what made me a fan of his (and the Revolution's) for life.

There really is a pattern there that can even be construed down to the most minor of details.

Some that stick out are:

The anthemic uplifting song: Purple Rain - the Ladder

The dirty bluesy track: Darling Nikki - Temptation

The mid-first side ballad: The Beautiful Ones - Condition of the Heart

The sound alike: Take Me With U - Raspberry Beret (the song even references him and Apollonia)

The other sound alike: Baby I'm A Star - America (uses the same drum pattern)

A heavier track: Computer Blue (or Let's Go Crazy) - Tamborine

The spartan track with layered vocals: When Doves Cry - Paisley Park


Even "Let's Go Crazy" stars with a simple chord or note, then eventually a drum starts. "Around The World In A Day" starts with one note, then the drums start.

Funny, that my brother and I did this very thing when I bought the album back then.
But later I realized how much Darling Nikki feels more like Tamborine to me now... something about the wild furious drumming and fiery playing and popping of the instruments

And when I hear Condition of the Heart, I think more of God(the Dance Electric now)