I hadn't listened to "Diamonds & Pearls" or "Love Symbol" for awhile so this weekend I popped them in. These albums have not aged well at all to me. Some of the corniest and silliest lyrics of his career and Prince + rap is a terrible marriage. He's done fine at times but some of this attempts are just embrassing.

Most of the hits still standout though- Get Off, Cream, D&P, Insatiable, 7, Sexy MF, Morning Papers but I found myself skipping half the tracks on these albums and I used to never do that. Anyone else find themselves loving these albums less than they used to?

[Edited 9/21/19 14:36pm]

I haven't listened to those in a least 10 years.

I like both

homesquid said:

I hadn't listened to "Diamonds & Pearls" or "Love Symbol" for awhile so this weekend I popped them in. These albums have not aged well at all to me. Some of the corniest and silliest lyrics of his career and Prince + rap is a terrible marriage. He's done fine at times but some of this attempts are just embrassing.

Most of the hits still standout though- Get Off, Cream, D&P, Insatiable, 7, Sexy MF, Morning Papers but I found myself skipping half the tracks on these albums and I used to never do that. Anyone else find themselves loving these albums less than they used to?

[Edited 9/21/19 14:36pm]

Yep.

I removed 99% of Tony's rapping on those two albums, and they're 100x better. I was never a huge fan of D&P before, but once I took on that project and worked on it, I really enjoy it. seems less cluttered with his "rapping" (I use the term loosely) gone.

Just the same as I did when they where originally released. I alway's skipped jughead etc.

The opposite for me. I really like "Walk Don't Walk" now, and I was never into it when the album dropped. Tony M is fantastic. Always was. "The Morning Papers" is even more awe-inspiring in this era of 808s and auto-tune.

TrivialPursuit said:

EnDoRpHn said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I removed 99% of Tony's rapping on those two albums, and they're 100x better. I was never a huge fan of D&P before, but once I took on that project and worked on it, I really enjoy it. seems less cluttered with his "rapping" (I use the term loosely) gone.

Me, too and then that MFer came back in real life.

I don't want him dead. I just want him off Diamonds and Pearls and .

The audaciousness of some of the songs on these albums is part of what I love about them. Who else could get away with a song like "My Name Is Prince"?! It's ridiculous and all the more awesome for it.

That said, Diamonds and Pearls in particular is not a huge favorite of mine. I really like 7 of the songs (even love some), but on the whole, there are some songs I wouldn't mind if I never heard them again. is fantastic for me, though, a contender for a top 5 Prince album.

I can't listen to Pussy Control anymore. I loved it as a kid, but I'm not sure what I saw in it now. Think I would have prefered Interactive on reflection.

ChickenMcNuggets said:

This thread reminds me that I have such an unfortunate liking for the rapper on I Rock, Therefore I Am and Da, Da, Da, lol.

I edited those, too.

Moonbeam said:

The audaciousness of some of the songs on these albums is part of what I love about them. Who else could get away with a song like "My Name Is Prince"?! It's ridiculous and all the more awesome for it.

That said, Diamonds and Pearls in particular is not a huge favorite of mine. I really like 7 of the songs (even love some), but on the whole, there are some songs I wouldn't mind if I never heard them again. is fantastic for me, though, a contender for a top 5 Prince album.

There is a lot of dick swinging on stuff like "My Name is Prince".

I always leaned toward more as well (pre-editing software, lol).

EmmaMcG said:

I never liked either of these albums anyway. Then again, I've only been a Prince fan for 6 or 7 years so I wasn't around back when they were new. But it's not that I find them to be "dated", I just don't like the songs on them. There are 3 songs on each album that I like. The rest just don't do it for me. If I was to ever recommend Prince to a friend, I would not be recommending either if these albums.

You really touched on something there.

On the one hand, I liked that Prince was leaning toward a band sound again, opposed to his one-man show that we were often so used to. It's sorta why things on Lovesexy was nice.

On the other, he incorporated the rap element, and leaned on a heavier sound (which could almost be argued was a reaction to grunge or other harder rock bands around that time). A lot of also delves harder into funk and heavy R&B compared to recent efforts just before that. Those elements create an instantly dated production. It reminds me just a few years earlier when he was doing these super fast BPM remixes and that reverby/echoey clanky sound he did on some remixes as well (which reminds me of bad R&B during the late 80s).

Yet thru that, you have classic sounding songs like "Strollin'", "Love 2 The 9's", "The Morning Papers", "Sweet Baby", "Damn U", etc.

I still enjoy over D&P, but with the removal of Tony, it's much more desirable thees days. I feel like he was searching for something. D&P did well and had a #1 hit again. It showed he could do that when he sat down (even in front of a mirror) and put his mind to it. I suppose it's just the ebbs and flows of Prince's music making.

By the way, the cringiest Prince is The Rainbow Children.

A de-tonyfied D&P and Symbol, what an excellent idea. Sound Forge here I come.

Will give him credit for 2Gether though, I thought he sang/spoken worded that one well.

I became a fan as a 15 year old in 91 after seeing the Gett Off video, so I'll always love the D&P and Symbol era from a nostalgic point at least.

.

I understand many long term fans may not have liked the new direction and Tony M but I still think on the whole that live band sound, on Goldnigga also, is pure ear candy.

.

As Trivial says there is still a few classic tracks aside from the rapping across the albums; And God Created Woman being the best of the bunch for me.

.

Tony gets a lot of shit on here but I think he worked well in moderation on the likes of Gett Off, The Max, The Sacrifice Of Victor and Willing And Able. Prince didn't need to use him on Love 2 The 9's though, that's for sure.

.

If we are talking cringey Prince; look no further than his shivering and 'I'm so cold, hold me' shit on Do Me, Baby. I almost pissed my pants when I first heard that

TrivialPursuit said:

EmmaMcG said:

TrivialPursuit said:

By the way, the cringiest Prince is The Rainbow Children.

I like the sound of the Rainbow Children. A lot of the lyrics are batshit crazy though.

.

I love the Rainbow Children, even though I'm firmly atheist. I do agree that there are insane lyrics and the slowed down storyteller voice is annoying. It doesn't make me cringe though. On the other hand, a song like Come, which I love to bits when it comes to the music, makes me cringe every time. A supposed adult mimicking cunnilingus sounds and pretend like it is hot... it's like listening to a bad sex-phoneline superimposed over a quality track. To me, that is the cringiest Prince, by far.

mediumdry said:

How has no one mentioned Purple & Gold?

Prince was at his cringiest from 1990 (Grafitti Bridge) to 1992 (Symbol) it was generally a dark time to be a fan. In 89 we thought his fay nude cover from LoveSexy was peak embarrasing but that was NOTHING compared to that 90-92 period.

[Edited 9/24/19 6:48am]

Genesia said:

How has no one mentioned Purple & Gold?

We have a winner right here!

Genesia said:

How has no one mentioned Purple & Gold?

Because no one mentions Beetlejuice either for reasons.

TrivialPursuit said:

Genesia said:

How has no one mentioned Purple & Gold?

Because no one mentions Beetlejuice either for reasons.

I'll be sure not to say it two more times.