My personal preference:

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1) Prince

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2) For You

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What say you?

1) The Rebels
2) For You
3) Prince

VaultCurator said:

1) The Rebels
2) For You
3) Prince

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Officially release, I forgot to specify as a rule.

SantanaMaitreya said:

There really isn't much to choose from now, is there? What's next? Lenny Kravitz' best 80s albums?

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It's a quick post to rank them. Just do it.

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And my ranking of Lenny's '80s:

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1) Let Love Rule

SantanaMaitreya said:

There really isn't much to choose from now, is there? What's next? Lenny Kravitz' best 80s albums?

Back on topic: "Prince" is 1.

funkaholic1972 said:

SantanaMaitreya said:

There really isn't much to choose from now, is there? What's next? Lenny Kravitz' best 80s albums?

Back on topic: "Prince" is 1.

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You are correct!

Prince is the best.

For You miles ahead of Prince. The production and nuance in the sound is exquisite, the density of it all is resplendent. The songs themselves are earnest, if maybe slightly underdeveloped.

Prince is as by-the-numbers as it gets, his safest record of all time, the most cookie-cutter of basic disco grooves the kid could ever concoct. The Soccer Mom Experience.

[Edited 3/11/20 17:36pm]

Strangely I prefer For You. Prince has the brilliant I Wanna Be Your Lover, but I don't love alot else on that album.

For You has the funk jam Just As Long As We're Together, and Crazy You which is such an underrated ballad. Another cool jam during I'm Yours. I Enjoy the funky Soft & Wet too.

So....For You!

1. Prince

2. For You

WhisperingDandelions said:

For You miles ahead of Prince. The production and nuance in the sound is exquisite, the density of it all is resplendent. The songs themselves are earnest, if maybe slightly underdeveloped.

Prince is as by-the-numbers as it gets, his safest record of all time, the most cookie-cutter of basic disco grooves the kid could ever concoct. The Soccer Mom Experience.

[Edited 3/11/20 17:36pm]

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Nah, gotta call bullshit on that analysis.

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'Prince' represented a step forward in his artistic and songwriting development.

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Neither of the '70s albums are worth all that much on their own, but 'Prince' is a bridge between the tentative fumblings of 'For You's earnestness (as you did correctly put it), and the crystalizing of his sound on 'Dirty Mind.'

CAL3 said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

For You miles ahead of Prince. The production and nuance in the sound is exquisite, the density of it all is resplendent. The songs themselves are earnest, if maybe slightly underdeveloped.

Prince is as by-the-numbers as it gets, his safest record of all time, the most cookie-cutter of basic disco grooves the kid could ever concoct. The Soccer Mom Experience.

[Edited 3/11/20 17:36pm]

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Nah, gotta call bullshit on that analysis.

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'Prince' represented a step forward in his artistic and songwriting development.

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Neither of the '70s albums are worth all that much on their own, but 'Prince' is a bridge between the tentative fumblings of 'For You's earnestness (as you did correctly put it), and the crystalizing of his sound on 'Dirty Mind.'

You're right.

CAL3 said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

For You miles ahead of Prince. The production and nuance in the sound is exquisite, the density of it all is resplendent. The songs themselves are earnest, if maybe slightly underdeveloped.

Prince is as by-the-numbers as it gets, his safest record of all time, the most cookie-cutter of basic disco grooves the kid could ever concoct. The Soccer Mom Experience.

[Edited 3/11/20 17:36pm]

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Nah, gotta call bullshit on that analysis.

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'Prince' represented a step forward in his artistic and songwriting development.

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Neither of the '70s albums are worth all that much on their own, but 'Prince' is a bridge between the tentative fumblings of 'For You's earnestness (as you did correctly put it), and the crystalizing of his sound on 'Dirty Mind.'

Songwriting, probably, sure, to compare red apples to reddish apples.

But artistic development... Artistic development? Step forward, you say? Artistically? Nothing on that record even hints at the envelope-pushing and sonic edge that would become his hallmark of trademarks on Dirty Mind... Hell "Soft & Wet" hints at this more than anything on Prince. Prince sounds nothing like a "bridge" artistically... It's as far from Dirty Mind as it gets... There's a reason people often confuse which of those 70s records came first, and it has nothing to do with one being self-titled.

[Edited 3/13/20 2:50am]

Whispering Dandelions has a point, For You has a proper 70s LA-studio album lushness that he never revisited again. It's a grower of an album, Prince, Dirty Mind and beyond had to happen or he would have been lost but it's great to have it in the discography.

WhisperingDandelions said:

CAL3 said:

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Nah, gotta call bullshit on that analysis.

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'Prince' represented a step forward in his artistic and songwriting development.

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Neither of the '70s albums are worth all that much on their own, but 'Prince' is a bridge between the tentative fumblings of 'For You's earnestness (as you did correctly put it), and the crystalizing of his sound on 'Dirty Mind.'

Songwriting, probably, sure, to compare red apples to reddish apples.

But artistic development... Artistic development? Step forward, you say? Artistically? Nothing on that record even hints at the envelope-pushing and sonic edge that would become his hallmark of trademarks on Dirty Mind... Hell "Soft & Wet" hints at this more than anything on Prince. Prince sounds nothing like a "bridge" artistically... It's as far from Dirty Mind as it gets... There's a reason people often confuse which of those 70s records came first, and it has nothing to do with one being self-titled.

[Edited 3/13/20 2:50am]

Totally agree.

More than that: I'm by nature very upposed 'remakes/covers' in any sense, but if there's one, I'd like to have Prince done Soft and Wet again in his Parade-period. It would have stand as tall as Kiss; I consider them twins-songs.

CAL3 said:

SantanaMaitreya said:

RJOrion said:

Lenny Kravitz music is bland and devoid of funk and soul of any kind... ive never even been around anyone who plays or played his music, or even requested it, or talked about it... its like if his ex wasnt Lisa Bonet, and his daughter wasnt zoey kravitz and if Prince wasnt allegedly his friend, he wouldnt even exist... not saying he's wack or anything, but his songs just dont grab the soul and stick to the consciousness

Nah, he's whack, his music is even whacker. He's not fit to change Prince's guitar strings, much less be mentioned in the same artistic breath.

WhisperingDandelions said:

RJOrion said:

Lenny Kravitz music is bland and devoid of funk and soul of any kind... ive never even been around anyone who plays or played his music, or even requested it, or talked about it... its like if his ex wasnt Lisa Bonet, and his daughter wasnt zoey kravitz and if Prince wasnt allegedly his friend, he wouldnt even exist... not saying he's wack or anything, but his songs just dont grab the soul and stick to the consciousness

You've been listening to Lenny, but you're not hearing him.

SantanaMaitreya said:

You can say whatever you want about Lenny's music, but he is a goood performer.

I thought the Music: Non-Prince forum revealed he lipsyncs like Britney.

RJOrion said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

CAL3 said:

You backed yourself up well - props. I may not entirely AGREE personally but you make a reasonable and thoughtful case and I truly appreciated reading it. . Makes me think. Thank you. . And for what it’s worth, let it be said that neither “For You” or “Prince” is a great album. I’ve never once confused which came first I must be clear. The songs on “For You” are Poopy Sales - every one of them. There are some strong songs on the second album. If he hadn’t gone further than these two, he’d have been a footnote for a strong single and a couple dance hits. “Bambi” tho... Holy Fucknut, Batman! With that one track, he reduces the entirety of “For You” was to ashes.

"I'm Yours" is worth six "Bambi"s and slays the entire Prince record before the main verse even begins.

(thx on the props tho brohan, 'preche the back'n'forth as the world ends.)

The self titled is one of the few moments in the first ten years of his career where he felt disposable. The first three songs on Prince could have been done by anyone, really - there's a very basic disco sensibility to it (case in point; when I first heard I Wanna Be Your Lover back in the day I thought it was Michael Jackson ). For You isn't perfect but it does feel like Prince all the way through.

Sooo...

1. For You

2. Prince

[Edited 3/20/20 17:20pm]