mediumdry said:

I respect your interpretation, but the song is about heaven and salvation of the soul. I don’t think he was being subtle when he put “everybody wants salvation of the soul” in the chorus and put a ladder to heaven on the cover of the album.
[Edited 6/22/20 6:23am]

donnyenglish said:

mediumdry said:

if you cannot hear the difference in tone between the earlier references about Prince's religion and how it is done on the Rainbow Children, I don't know what to tell you. For most of his career, he was talking about how god was love and all that. Then on the Rainbow Children he was talking about how things *had* to be and how there was a theocratic order.

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Now... I got turned off by Lovesexy (the first time I listened to it, on the day it was released, I took the CD out the player and threw it across the room. It's had a crack ever since. It was because of the religious content, the production and, to be honest, the fact that it was the first time the CD was released before the LP.) because both the production and religious content were abhorrent to me. With the Rainbow Children, I love the music and production. The lyrics made (and make) me cringe, but I can listen past them.

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Trying to equate the religious content of his earlier work to the Rainbow Children means you are either tonedeaf or trolling, it is such a difference.

I respectfully need to push back. There is nothing more dogmatic than reciting the entire Lord's Prayer in the middle of a song.

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The Ladder is just like the Rainbow Children with him using a story as a means to convey the "dogma" that the path to heaven is through God. I cannot help but think that Wendy/Lisa singing backup vocals rather than Millenia is reason why The Ladder is less objectionable than Last December.

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It does not get any more christian than I Would Die 4 U, The Cross and 4 the Tears in Your Eyes. Those songs are straight songs about Christ being the savior and the path to heaven and not just about the general concept of Love is God.

I never thought of it as dogmatic.
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In New Wave culture and what Prince and scene were doing, were being very controversial.
I was always 'frightened' by the reciting o the Lords Prayer, and the way it was done. It felt transgresive lol Sorta like Prince and Dez in the tiled bathroom/shower with a crucifix on the wall
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The Ladder: Taja Sevelle, Wendy Lisa BrownMark Susannah
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I don't think Millenia were as 'known' by most people listening to the Last December? I had no clue one way or another who they were or who was actually singing. I don't think the copy of RC had credits.
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I agree, that those songs mentioned are straight up Christian doctrine. But for some reason it did feel different. The vibe came across different.

RJOrion said:

the so-called "Darth Vader Voice" serves its purpose so i never had a problem with it at all

Yeah, like the beginning of "1999"

[Edited 6/22/20 15:46pm]

Astasheiks said:

RJOrion said:

the so-called "Darth Vader Voice" serves its purpose so i never had a problem with it at all

Yeah, like the beginning of "1999"

[Edited 6/22/20 15:46pm]

But that Darth Vader voice only wants wants you to have some fun...unlike on The Rainbow Children.