do you ever get the feeling that Prince could have shoved 2 tennis socks in his mouth, got pissed and then sang Baa Baa Black Sheep whilst playing the spoons and included it on SOTT and it would still have been considered a masterpiece by many fans?!?

Well, no.

Tennis socks? Nope, but I would have been quite impressed with "mary had a little lamb" with a kiwi fruit and a satsuma in each cheek.

SOTT is a great album, leave it!

Soapstone said:

Never said it wasn't a great album. Just do not believe that every song is one of his best ever, as is often stated.

You are allowed to criticize SOTT y'know. Honest. I promise nothig bad will happen to you!

Come2getheras1 said:

As a collective, it's considered his best ever, not EVERY single song on there. And, what I think what really seals it with folks, including myself, is the concert film.

alexnvrmnd said:

Absolutely right! These songs grow so much played live!

[This message was edited Wed Apr 23 7:39:09 PDT 2003 by xtraloveable]

Come2getheras1 said:

to answer you question directly...ahhh NO!

Come2getheras1 said:

YES!! It's not in the same stratosphere as 'Purple Rain'. It's a good collection, of varied music but very few of that songs are that great. 'SOTT', 'U got the look' and 'If I was your girlfriend' are epics. But there are a lot of throwaway songs like 'ICNTTPOYM', 'Housequake', 'Adore' and 'Play in the sunshine'. These songs are completely derived and uninspired unlike 'Purple Rain'. Why listen to these songs when you could hear that type of thing, done much better by the artists Prince ripped off: The Eagles, James Brown, Joe Cocker and The Beatles.

Rhondab said:

You stole my words!
This means that my answer to this question will be:

hmmm...nope!

To be honest, I think SOTT works much better than Crystal Ball would have.

It's difficult to judge really since CB was not released, I wonder what impact it would have had, especially the title track in 1987?

Come2getheras1 said:

I feel exactly the same way about ONA but as it happens I love SOTT.

Its called having an opinion sweetie

Much love Pochacco

BruceLee said:

I think I'm having a fucking stroke.
Or maybe you are. These are some of the best songs he ever recorded. "Housequake" a throwaway track??? "Adore" a throwaway track??? "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" a throwaway track???

I think you should sue your crack dealer.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

I do think SOTT is one of his best, but then again I was around for the release of Dirty Mind and 1999 and I recall precisely how mind altering and life changing each of those records were for the fans that were around at that time. Dirty Mind was the only album to date that received a five star rating from Rolling Stone. It was completely different and funky and unlike anything else that was out at the time. 1999 was the album that really broke Prince to the masses and completely changed the sound of popular black music at the time.

Unfortunately, a lot of the die hards that were around from the beginning aren't here now. They would have a lot to say about the perception that SOTT, as good as it is, being Prince's masterpiece. That is an opinion, I've found, largely held by those who discovered his music later.

violator said:

I'm in that category, I suppose. I was born in 1978 and have been a Prince fan since childhood (my mother played the "1999" and "Purple Rain" albums) but I didn't discover "Dirty Mind" and "Controversy" until around 1991. I regard them both as masterpieces of their time, as I do "SOTT." I have an appreciation for every era of Prince music, and I love most of it. But I hear you, Violator. It's different when you can put an album in historical context because you were there. The albums whose release dates I can remember have special significance for me.

i love the times cd even though i just purchased it couple months ago. best 25 bucks i spent in a long time (aside from the pills i dropped to get rid of my toothache)...and yes housequake is a throwaway song...im telling u...it's a B side single...i love starfish more and more everytime i play it

LouieLaFunk said:

On the album it's a throwaway, when live it's gold. Same as Days of wild would of been if the studio version had reached the final gold experience.

I love all the songs and outakes from this era. The B-sides r good 'La la la he he hee' and 'Shockadelica'

Come2getheras1 said:

Yes.

Unfortunately, if you criticize it even slightly, most seem to think you don't like the album, or don't consider it one of his best. There's some gray areas that aren't considered. I don't consider it so above every other album of his career, just one of his best albums.

I don't know, the album has such a wide range that there's almost gotta be at least one song that a listener won't feel. I personally can't stand U got the look but BruceLee seems to thhink that it's an "epic". Go figure.

Come2getheras1 said:

If you think about it, what you have just described is the "Come" ablum. Case closed.

BruceLee said:

---
You have got to be kidding to say that Adore is a throw away song. It is a slow jam classic. When he performs this song it concert people go nuts.

I don't know about you but the damm Eagles, Joe Cocker or the freaking Beatles never wrote or sang a song like Adore.

SquirrelMeat said:

---
Well once again if you do not like Come you do not like funk or RnB music. Come is no classic but it has got some choice cuts on it.

FunkMistress said:

ROFLMAO...