These two albums are my most played records for a few months too. I long resitated buying them because I already have so much Prince music and too little time to listen. Also because I thought Art Official Age was good but not great. I like both HitnRun albums much more.

Like you I am not so keen on Million$Show and Baltimore. My favorites are Shut this down, Hard Rock Lover, June, Stare, Groovy Potential, Extralovable and Revelation.

I also find it noteworthy that the last two words on an official release in Princes lifetime are THATS IT at the end of Big City. I never heard anyone mentioned this before on Prince.org.

They're both decent latter day albums. I'm so glad he didn't leave us with something like 3121 or Musicology, both of which I found to be lacking by his usual standards.

Hit N Run Phase 1 in particular, showed that Prince was still interested in trying new things and just as capable as ever at sounding current.

MattyJam said:

They're both decent latter day albums. I'm so glad he didn't leave us with something like 3121 or Musicology, both of which I found to be lacking by his usual standards.

Hit N Run Phase 1 in particular, showed that Prince was still interested in trying new things and just as capable as ever at sounding current.

I would say, and I'm not on my here, that 3121 is one of his top latter-period albums.

I tend to view his final 4 albums as his parting legacy albums given they were released the two years before he passed. Moreover, taken as a group they gave an even greater perspective of just how creative he was in the final chapters of his life. What jumps out to me is how completely different each album is. I know some here have argued here that they aren't coherent albums, but I definitely think differently. If they were all over the map, they wouldn't seems so DISTINCT FROM EACH OTHER. With Plectrum, Prince got to show his hard rock side, and the songs he is featured on are all really good. It is near impossible not to include AOA in his parting legacy. It is the album that shows a more mature and reflective Prince who perhaps has some regret about the past yet yearning to find his "way back home". If someone didn't know the sequence of his last 4 albums, I imagine almost everyone would guess that this would have been his final album. It is the only one that seems possibly connected to what happened. Moreover, it is brilliant. With HnR1, Prince was showing that he could make a good modern sounding album. While it struck some as derivative, I along with many here have grown to like it once the shock of hearing Prince sounding this way wears off. I think it contributed to his legacy in that it illustrated that he wasn't stuck in the past. And finally, the gorgeous HnR2 showed that he could help create amazing horn arrangements even though it was on the short list of instrments that he hadn't mastered. It also showed how well he was able to collaborate with others in creating the arrangements (as discussed in an article posted on the org a few months ago). It is a musically mature album that my friends/relatives in their 60s enjoy (this isn't a putdown) even if they don't care much for some of his other stuff. Taken as a group, it shows that Prince was successsfully challenging himself right to the very end, creating unique and vibrant music! Quite an accomplishment for someone who already had given us so much beforehand.

theplejades said:

These two albums are my most played records for a few months too. I long resitated buying them because I already have so much Prince music and too little time to listen. Also because I thought Art Official Age was good but not great. I like both HitnRun albums much more.

Like you I am not so keen on Million$Show and Baltimore. My favorites are Shut this down, Hard Rock Lover, June, Stare, Groovy Potential, Extralovable and Revelation.

I also find it noteworthy that the last two words on an official release in Princes lifetime are THATS IT at the end of Big City. I never heard anyone mentioned this before on Prince.org.

Cool and noteworthy. Thanks for pointing that out!

theplejades said:

I also find it noteworthy that the last two words on an official release in Princes lifetime are THATS IT at the end of Big City. I never heard anyone mentioned this before on Prince.org.

Oh, honey - you must have missed it! Prince fans read the weirdest shit into the simplest of things. Melodramatic conspiracists believe he was saying goodbye at the end of "Big City" with "that's it". It's those same "he knew he was going to die" (as if Prince would just give up, and give up in an elevator) melodrama babies who are typing "tears again, can't talk, too soon" every time they see a Prince video. They read a lot of fakery into "this is for you" to "that's it". Hell, some fans believed he knew he was going to die on April 21, that's why 30+ years earlier he wrote "Sometimes It Snows In April", then 10 years after that had a medical situation that sent him to the hospital, blah blah blah.

Then the song in his studio "Stay Cool" was a message from beeyooond! (cue the ).

So yeah, a certain group of fans has mentioned it. Don't get me wrong though - I see the serendipity of his last words on record being "that's it", but any similar story could have been made about any other song had it been his last while alive.

theplejades said:

I also find it noteworthy that the last two words on an official release in Princes lifetime are THATS IT at the end of Big City. I never heard anyone mentioned this before on Prince.org.

I've mentioned it before and seen a few others mention it. Someone made a thread about it talking about the start of the journey and the lyrics from For You, the opening track of his first album.

All of this and more
Is for U
With love, sincerity and deepest care
My life with U I share

And then it all ends with

That's it!

TrivialPursuit said:

clarityman said:

for the last 3 weeks and can honestly say that set against his entire album output this millennium this is a fantastic legacy to leave behind.

I think its mediocre close to awful legacy to leave. If anything, the finale' should have been Lotusflower/AOA imho.

Groovy Potential is the saving grace.

This is not to say that the cds aren't 'okay' but as a final statement, nah. They are hodgepodge put together single experiments.

For someone as grand as Prince, his finale deserved to be much better. I cant fathom how any fan (worth their salt) could not want something better for him to have been his last.

.

[Edited 2/5/17 11:21am]

they both suck!

I think HITnRun Phase II is a fine album, charming, sexy, organic, mature, and even uplifting at times. is it his best? No, but I like it better than Lotusflower (which has some great guitar playing but some irritating lyrics [Colonized Mind] and even a few weak songs) and I like it as much as much as the futuristic sounding but at times indecipherable AOA.

Therefore I resent your statement that a fan worth their salt should be hating on that album. Is it sonically innovative--no, not really. Is it melodic, well-performed, well-written and consistent--YEP.

Iamtheorg said:

clarityman said:

for the last 3 weeks and can honestly say that set against his entire album output this millennium this is a fantastic legacy to leave behind.

I think its mediocre close to awful legay to leave. If anything, the final should have been Lotusflower/AOA imho.

Groovy Potential is the saving grace.

This is not to say that the cds are okay, but as a final statement, nah. They are hodgepodge ut together single experiments.

For someone as grand as Prince, his finale deserved to be much better. I cant fathom how any fan (worth their salt) could not want something better for him to have been his last.

You probably no doubt came into Prince post 1996

purplerabbithole said:

I think HITnRun Phase II is a fine album, charming, sexy, organic, mature, and even uplifting at times. is it his best? No, but I like it better than Lotusflower (which has some great guitar playing but some irritating lyrics [Colonized Mind] and even a few weak songs) and I like it as much as much as the futuristic sounding but at times indecipherable AOA.

Therefore I resent your statement that a fan worth their salt should be hating on that album. Is it sonically innovative--no, not really. Is it melodic, well-performed, well-written and consistent--YEP.

Iamtheorg said:

I think its mediocre close to awful legay to leave. If anything, the final should have been Lotusflower/AOA imho.

Groovy Potential is the saving grace.

This is not to say that the cds are okay, but as a final statement, nah. They are hodgepodge ut together single experiments.

For someone as grand as Prince, his finale deserved to be much better. I cant fathom how any fan (worth their salt) could not want something better for him to have been his last.

theplejades said:

His legacy is his entire career. The ups and the downs. It is what it is.

Oh, Gee, take away my Prince fan club card. I guess there is accounting for taste in Prince fandom world.

By the way, I am 41 years old and was around back in the day. However, I don't have a sentimental view of the 1980's nor do I think all music has to be cutting edge to be good. I like melody and musical nuances as well. IN 1996, I was in college and obsessed with the "edgy" oddball albums of Radiohead and the nuanced 50's "saloon song" albums of Frank Sinatra. (weird, I know.) I don't jump on bandwagon or follow narratives. I like what I like. I now have downloaded about 300 prince songs since he died...coming from all eras in his life. But I would rather listen to the song "Love" than the 50 minute "Cloreen Baconskin". I guess I don't qualify as the jaded Prince-used-to-be-great fan.

Iamtheorg said:

You probably no doubt came into Prince post 1996

purplerabbithole said:

I think HITnRun Phase II is a fine album, charming, sexy, organic, mature, and even uplifting at times. is it his best? No, but I like it better than Lotusflower (which has some great guitar playing but some irritating lyrics [Colonized Mind] and even a few weak songs) and I like it as much as much as the futuristic sounding but at times indecipherable AOA.

Therefore I resent your statement that a fan worth their salt should be hating on that album. Is it sonically innovative--no, not really. Is it melodic, well-performed, well-written and consistent--YEP.

[Edited 2/5/17 13:22pm]

so I was right then lol

purplerabbithole said:

Oh, Gee, take away my Prince fan club card. I guess there is accounting for taste in Prince fandom world.

By the way, I am 41 years old and was around back in the day. However, I don't have a sentimental view of the 1980's nor do I think all music has to be cutting edge to be good. I like melody and musical nuances as well. IN 1996, I was in college and obsessed with the "edgy" oddball albums of Radiohead and the nuanced 50's "saloon song" albums of Frank Sinatra. (weird, I know.) I don't jump on bandwagon or follow narratives. I like what I like. I now have downloaded about 300 prince songs since he died...coming from all eras in his life. But I would rather listen to the song "Love" than the 50 minute "Cloreen Baconskin". I guess I don't qualify as the jaded Prince-used-to-be-great fan.

Iamtheorg said:

You probably no doubt came into Prince post 1996

[Edited 2/5/17 13:22pm]

Sort of. I knew a handful of his songs in the 80's/90's, was a big fan of When Doves Cry, 1999, u got the look, Diamonds and Pearls, Cream, TMBGITW, and Little Red Corvette (not in that order obviously) . When I was a kid, I remember Batman, him dating Kim Basinger, and the assless pants. I owned Sheena Easton's Sugar Walls album, remember Sheila E (most notably the one-legged pants), and remember Vanity.

Late coming to my appreciation of Prince is actually a good thing and it was way way after 1996. . Because I don't have the attitude of shock and awe about the 80's. To me, the 80's was always a shallow heartless period in pop culture. Most of the music sort of sucked. Its only now i can objectively look back and enjoy music from the likes of Prince, Cyndi Lauper, U2, REM, the Police, Talking Heads, the Clash, and a few Brit bands like Tears for Fears. I am not a big Madonna or Michael fan and I hate hair bands. The groups I mentioned were ports in a shitty storm. BEcause there were no clear apparent musical movements in that decade (with the staying power of independent rock and hip hop), good musicians were given quite a bit of freedom to create. But it was an aimless period in many ways. In terms of films, it was okay but the 70's and 90's were much better.

Yes, Prince's 80's work is his best but he had gems throughout his career.

Let me guess, you idiolized prince in the 80's, was disillusioned in the 90's and plain pissed off when he converted to JW. If were going to play the game of generalizing...there you are.

Iamtheorg said:

so I was right then lol

purplerabbithole said:

Oh, Gee, take away my Prince fan club card. I guess there is accounting for taste in Prince fandom world.

By the way, I am 41 years old and was around back in the day. However, I don't have a sentimental view of the 1980's nor do I think all music has to be cutting edge to be good. I like melody and musical nuances as well. IN 1996, I was in college and obsessed with the "edgy" oddball albums of Radiohead and the nuanced 50's "saloon song" albums of Frank Sinatra. (weird, I know.) I don't jump on bandwagon or follow narratives. I like what I like. I now have downloaded about 300 prince songs since he died...coming from all eras in his life. But I would rather listen to the song "Love" than the 50 minute "Cloreen Baconskin". I guess I don't qualify as the jaded Prince-used-to-be-great fan.

[Edited 2/5/17 13:22pm]

gandorb said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Iamtheorg said:

purplerabbithole said:

Sort of. I knew a handful of his songs in the 80's/90's, was a big fan of When Doves Cry, 1999, u got the look, Diamonds and Pearls, Cream, TMBGITW, and Little Red Corvette (not in that order obviously) . When I was a kid, I remember Batman, him dating Kim Basinger, and the assless pants. I owned Sheena Easton's Sugar Walls album, remember Sheila E (most notably the one-legged pants), and remember Vanity.

Late coming to my appreciation of Prince is actually a good thing and it was way way after 1996. . Because I don't have the attitude of shock and awe about the 80's. To me, the 80's was always a shallow heartless period in pop culture. Most of the music sort of sucked. Its only now i can objectively look back and enjoy music from the likes of Prince, Cyndi Lauper, U2, REM, the Police, Talking Heads, the Clash, and a few Brit bands like Tears for Fears. I am not a big Madonna or Michael fan and I hate hair bands. The groups I mentioned were ports in a shitty storm. BEcause there were no clear apparent musical movements in that decade (with the staying power of independent rock and hip hop), good musicians were given quite a bit of freedom to create. But it was an aimless period in many ways. In terms of films, it was okay but the 70's and 90's were much better.

Yes, Prince's 80's work is his best but he had gems throughout his career.

Let me guess, you idiolized prince in the 80's, was disillusioned in the 90's and plain pissed off when he converted to JW. If were going to play the game of generalizing...there you are.

Iamtheorg said:

so I was right then lol

Yeah that...he had gems througout his career and what a legacy to leave behind. Loved his time with NPG, not a fan of Chloreen Baconskin either. Thought he was working on more jazz funk music before he died.

anangellooksdown said:

gandorb said:

I tend to view his final 4 albums as his parting legacy albums given they were released the two years before he passed. Moreover, taken as a group they gave an even greater perspective of just how creative he was in the final chapters of his life. What jumps out to me is how completely different each album is. I know some here have argued here that they aren't coherent albums, but I definitely think differently. If they were all over the map, they wouldn't seems so DISTINCT FROM EACH OTHER. With Plectrum, Prince got to show his hard rock side, and the songs he is featured on are all really good. It is near impossible not to include AOA in his parting legacy. It is the album that shows a more mature and reflective Prince who perhaps has some regret about the past yet yearning to find his "way back home". If someone didn't know the sequence of his last 4 albums, I imagine almost everyone would guess that this would have been his final album. It is the only one that seems possibly connected to what happened. Moreover, it is brilliant. With HnR1, Prince was showing that he could make a good modern sounding album. While it struck some as derivative, I along with many here have grown to like it once the shock of hearing Prince sounding this way wears off. I think it contributed to his legacy in that it illustrated that he wasn't stuck in the past. And finally, the gorgeous HnR2 showed that he could help create amazing horn arrangements even though it was on the short list of instrments that he hadn't mastered. It also showed how well he was able to collaborate with others in creating the arrangements (as discussed in an article posted on the org a few months ago). It is a musically mature album that my friends/relatives in their 60s enjoy (this isn't a putdown) even if they don't care much for some of his other stuff. Taken as a group, it shows that Prince was successsfully challenging himself right to the very end, creating unique and vibrant music! Quite an accomplishment for someone who already had given us so much beforehand.

This is a beautiful post. Especially the part I highlighted, IMO. Thank you.

Thanks .

((hugs))

purplerabbithole said:

Sort of. I knew a handful of his songs in the 80's/90's, was a big fan of When Doves Cry, 1999, u got the look, Diamonds and Pearls, Cream, TMBGITW, and Little Red Corvette (not in that order obviously) . When I was a kid, I remember Batman, him dating Kim Basinger, and the assless pants. I owned Sheena Easton's Sugar Walls album, remember Sheila E (most notably the one-legged pants), and remember Vanity.

Late coming to my appreciation of Prince is actually a good thing and it was way way after 1996. . Because I don't have the attitude of shock and awe about the 80's. To me, the 80's was always a shallow heartless period in pop culture. Most of the music sort of sucked. Its only now i can objectively look back and enjoy music from the likes of Prince, Cyndi Lauper, U2, REM, the Police, Talking Heads, the Clash, and a few Brit bands like Tears for Fears. I am not a big Madonna or Michael fan and I hate hair bands. The groups I mentioned were ports in a shitty storm. BEcause there were no clear apparent musical movements in that decade (with the staying power of independent rock and hip hop), good musicians were given quite a bit of freedom to create. But it was an aimless period in many ways. In terms of films, it was okay but the 70's and 90's were much better.

Yes, Prince's 80's work is his best but he had gems throughout his career.

Let me guess, you idiolized prince in the 80's, was disillusioned in the 90's and plain pissed off when he converted to JW. If were going to play the game of generalizing...there you are.

Iamtheorg said:

so I was right then lol

NewYorkCity said:

His legacy is his entire career. The ups and the downs. It is what it is.

Yeah, word.

I love that his actual final new song released was an obscure funk jam with MonoNeon with completely nonsense lyrics. As well as the big "that's it" ending he gave the public he also went out jamming away at an aftershow for anyone who was really listening.

I love HitNRun Phase 2. It has a bit of everything: fun up-tempo songs like "Stare," "Extraloveable," "2Y. 2D.," and "Big City"; and soaring ballads like "Revelation," and "When She Comes." Then there's the classic "Rocknroll Love Affair" and "Look at U, Look at Me."

There was also his sign-of-the-times anthem decrying police killings of Black men, women, and children, "Baltimore." It seems appropriate that he makes a political statement on the very first track of his final studio album.

Suffice it to say that I think he went out with one of those prolific flurries that typified his storied career: four albums in two years: Art Official Age, Plectrumelectrum, HNRP1, & HNRP2. Plus, Oui Can Luv, his acoustic album with Andy Allo, makes five. There is a reason that Prince is the stuff of legends. The man was peerless, truly in a class all by himself.

[Edited 2/6/17 6:33am]

[Edited 2/6/17 18:25pm]

FlyOnTheWall said: