• All but 3 tracks were co-written by Welton
• Welton played all the instruments except guitars
• Welton is credited as producer

From the day I picked up For You on vinyl when it was release din 1978, the thing I loved most about Prince was the fact that he did what no one else could do - he was a self contained musical force so you knew whatever he produced was organically and authentically him. That was him on the bass. He wrote the melody. The production quality was from him. It was not through a filter of some lesser artist - which is every one because Prince is the greatest artist.

That is my opinion - which seems to always be condemned here but there it is. Do with it as you will.

I still really like it all.

TheEnglishGent said:

I still really like it all.

I enjoy some of it. And I am not saying it is not good - anything Prince is associated has value. It sounds like an older artist trying to sound young and keep his music in the dance clubs. I think that it would have sounded more ground breaking (something Prince did several times over throughout his career) if Prince produced the album alone.

[Edited 5/9/18 7:45am]

Love love the album





http://princevault.com/in..._Phase_One

I love it. Didn't expect much when it came out for the very reason you stated, but ended up loving it and still listen to it a lot. Agree that first half in particular you can tell Prince didn't have much to do with the sound...but they are still fun and full of energy. Prince seems to be having fun singing them imo. I like HNR 2 as well, but that one seems more of a collection of left over songs as this seems to work as an album. Justa thought or 2.

Krystalkisses said:

I have not listened to much of phase 1 but phase 2 is one of my favorites. Also I love AOA, I actually liked that he gave someone else a chance to do a lot on these Cds. It freshened up his sound and the result really worked out nicely. It is still very much Prince albums in my mind. [Edited 5/9/18 7:49am]

I agree.

Krystalkisses said:

I have not listened to much of phase 1 but phase 2 is one of my favorites. Also I love AOA, I actually liked that he gave someone else a chance to do a lot on these Cds. It freshened up his sound and the result really worked out nicely. It is still very much Prince albums in my mind. [Edited 5/9/18 7:49am]

I enjoy AOA - more music and less electronic noise than Phase 1. I am old school original Prince fan from the beginning - before Purple Rain when white peole didnt really know he was. Before MTV would air his videos. WHen his albums were in the "black" section of the record store. From the 1970s when it was:

Poplife88 said:

I love it. Didn't expect much when it came out for the very reason you stated, but ended up loving it and still listen to it a lot. Agree that first half in particular you can tell Prince didn't have much to do with the sound...but they are still fun and full of energy. Prince seems to be having fun singing them imo. I like HNR 2 as well, but that one seems more of a collection of left over songs as this seems to work as an album. Justa thought or 2.

I cant disagree. Phase 2 is stil a better collection of songs for the true Prince fan.

I still can't accept HitnRun Phase 1 and HitnRun Phase 2 as proper P albums.

I see them more of archive releases (like "The Vault" or "Crystal Ball") than albums.

To me the real P's last album is AOA.

I find most of it unlistenable. And I´ve really tried. I also can´t listen to Art Offical Cage, the first song on AOA.

I prefer Phase 2 . At least Phase 2 sounds like a Prince album.

It's not a good album, but it's as "true" as anything else he released. Collaboration was always part of his work.

AMERICA1ST said:

• I still can't accept HitnRun Phase 1 as a true Prince album

It's OK. Reality doesn't need you to accept it to be what it is. It just is. So you know, it's cool

I prefer Phase 2 and I am glad that Phase 1 wasn't his last ever album, as it is one of his weakest albums for me.

KoolEaze said:

I find most of it unlistenable. And I´ve really tried. I also can´t listen to Art Offical Cage, the first song on AOA.

I prefer Phase 2 . At least Phase 2 sounds like a Prince album.

I agree. 1 sounds like it's phoned in and he let someone else throw something together. 2 has a more cohesive sound to it.

As far as AOA, parts of it are overblown. Early on I made a PlectrumAge playlist that works better for me. I need to update it a tad possible with some Phase 2 stuff. Here was the early version:

1. WOW
2. Rock and Roll Love Affair
3. MARZ
4. Screwdriver (Intro’d Edit)
5. WAY BACK HOME (The Affirmation Blend)
6. FIXURLIFEUP
7. CLOUDS (Speechless Mix)
8. FUNKNROLL (PLECTRUM version)
9. BREAKDOWN
10. ANOTHERLOVE
11. THIS COULD BE US
12. Same Page Different Book
13. TIME
14. PLECTRUMELECTRUM
    
    
    

AMERICA1ST said:

Krystalkisses said:

I have not listened to much of phase 1 but phase 2 is one of my favorites. Also I love AOA, I actually liked that he gave someone else a chance to do a lot on these Cds. It freshened up his sound and the result really worked out nicely. It is still very much Prince albums in my mind. [Edited 5/9/18 7:49am]

I enjoy AOA - more music and less electronic noise than Phase 1. I am old school original Prince fan from the beginning - before Purple Rain when white peole didnt really know he was. Before MTV would air his videos. WHen his albums were in the "black" section of the record store. From the 1970s when it was:

Produced, Arranged, Composed, and Performed by PRINCE period.

Now that´s an interesting way to sequence those tracks and combine the best of both albums.

I´d still skip Screwdriver though.

Time is one of my favorite recent songs by Prince. It is already very long but I wish it were longer.

TrivialPursuit said:

KoolEaze said:

I find most of it unlistenable. And I´ve really tried. I also can´t listen to Art Offical Cage, the first song on AOA.

I prefer Phase 2 . At least Phase 2 sounds like a Prince album.

I agree. 1 sounds like it's phoned in and he let someone else throw something together. 2 has a more cohesive sound to it.

As far as AOA, parts of it are overblown. Early on I made a PlectrumAge playlist that works better for me. I need to update it a tad possible with some Phase 2 stuff. Here was the early version:

1. WOW
2. Rock and Roll Love Affair
3. MARZ
4. Screwdriver (Intro’d Edit)
5. WAY BACK HOME (The Affirmation Blend)
6. FIXURLIFEUP
7. CLOUDS (Speechless Mix)
8. FUNKNROLL (PLECTRUM version)
9. BREAKDOWN
10. ANOTHERLOVE
11. THIS COULD BE US
12. Same Page Different Book
13. TIME
14. PLECTRUMELECTRUM
    
    
    

BoraBora said:

I still can't accept HitnRun Phase 1 and HitnRun Phase 2 as proper P albums.

I see them more of archive releases (like "The Vault" or "Crystal Ball") than albums.

To me the real P's last album is AOA.

I can't accept how unnecessarily airbrushed Prince is on the AOA cover, yet how crooked his sunglasses are.

OperatingThetan said:

AMERICA1ST said:

Krystalkisses said:

I have not listened to much of phase 1 but phase 2 is one of my favorites. Also I love AOA, I actually liked that he gave someone else a chance to do a lot on these Cds. It freshened up his sound and the result really worked out nicely. It is still very much Prince albums in my mind. [Edited 5/9/18 7:49am]

I enjoy AOA - more music and less electronic noise than Phase 1. I am old school original Prince fan from the beginning - before Purple Rain when white peole didnt really know he was. Before MTV would air his videos. WHen his albums were in the "black" section of the record store. From the 1970s when it was:

Produced, Arranged, Composed, and Performed by PRINCE period.

.

So... AOA was co-produced by Welton, as was HitnRun 1. But you're holding that against only one album.

.

I mean it's find to prefer one group of songs over the other, but you seemed to be largely down on HnR 1 due to it being a collaboration to some degree.

.

It's like many Prince fans were sort of "spoiled" in the sense that they came to expect that literally every release would carry that declaration of autonomy.

ufoclub said:

OperatingThetan said:

I like it. It's an enjoyably cohesive album from start to finish with a few standout tracks. I can't really see the difference between Joshua Welton producing and Kirk Johnson. It's not something new in Prince's career.

Because in neither case are they really producing Prince then way a producer would produce a more typical music artist. I bet people might be surprised that if you could go to an alternate universe without Joshua Welton, and the Hit n run Phase 1 album came out... it might sound very much the same with a few differences in beat loop details. Most of the broad production choices totally fit with things Prince has done in the past when he went to more “popular” choices in some of the details of the arrangement. Think “Incense and Candles” “Hot Wit U”, Rave IN2 the Joy Fantastic (the remix). Somebody figure out the alternate universe machine so we can hear...

.

THIS is an awesome post, ufoclub. Totally right on, great point.

ufoclub said:

What is amazing to me is that I think Phase 1 is one of the worst albums of all time, and that includes everyone.

And yet, I think Phase 2 is the second-best album Prince ever made, only slightly trailing "Purple Rain".

I only get sad thinking about Prince when I'm listening to Phase 2. What he was doing with pop and rock on Phase 2 was exceptional, and where he would have gone after that would have been incredible.

RodeoSchro said:

What is amazing to me is that I think Phase 1 is one of the worst albums of all time, and that includes everyone.

And yet, I think Phase 2 is the second-best album Prince ever made, only slightly trailing "Purple Rain".

I only get sad thinking about Prince when I'm listening to Phase 2. What he was doing with pop and rock on Phase 2 was exceptional, and where he would have gone after that would have been incredible.

I like most of the songs on Phase2 but it sounds more like a random collection of songs to me rather than a cohesive album.

As much as I like Phase2, I don´t get some of the praise it gets around here, even though I like it, too.

What exactly do you, especially as a musician, like so much about it that it´s right up there with Purple Rain to you? What makes it so exceptional?

it's not the greatest album, no, but i enjoy it's individual tracks a lot, at different times.

the only track i don't care for at all it "Million $how" but the rest is ok to pretty great imo.

1000 Hugs n Kisses
Hardrock Lover
Xs Face
June
Shut This Down

are the ones i like the most. i feel like if there had been another 5 tracks as strong as
those, it would have been a great album indeed.

Ain't About 2 Stop is ruined by the Bloodclot bit, although i love the rest of it.
Like A Mack is just silly, but in the car is breezes along just fine even if it is prince ultralite.
FallInLove2Nite is just fine, also prince lite, but nothing offensive.

the remixes are cool too, but they do seem a bit out of place.

all in all it feels like an outtakes collection or a sort of bsides collection to "Art Official Age",
especially with the remixes included.

IstenSzek said:

it's not the greatest album, no, but i enjoy it's individual tracks a lot, at different times.

the only track i don't care for at all it "Million $how" but the rest is ok to pretty great imo.

1000 Hugs n Kisses
Hardrock Lover
Xs Face
June
Shut This Down

are the ones i like the most. i feel like if there had been another 5 tracks as strong as
those, it would have been a great album indeed.

Ain't About 2 Stop is ruined by the Bloodclot bit, although i love the rest of it.
Like A Mack is just silly, but in the car is breezes along just fine even if it is prince ultralite.
FallInLove2Nite is just fine, also prince lite, but nothing offensive.

the remixes are cool too, but they do seem a bit out of place.

all in all it feels like an outtakes collection or a sort of bsides collection to "Art Official Age",
especially with the remixes included.

I really love HitnRun 2. HitnRun 1 is a mixed bag, but I agree on

1000 Hugs n Kisses
Hardrock Lover
Xs Face
June

These are great songs