endiadj said:

williamb610 said:

I loved it since I heard it...it'x a mindf*uck! The banging and echo of the drums of Christopher Tracy and Prince's "Haowh!" scream. The way it is all segued like one dream with the first several tracks all running/segueing into each other. New Position...bang bang...steel drums...Prince..."Hooohoo!" The way he's singing. The weird guitar note slow funk, flute, echo drum of I Wonder U sung by Wendy and Lisa. Into Under the Cherry Moon...slow...kick, kick, heavy drum, weird keyboard and piano soulful singing. This is Prince's DRUM album, with a lot of drum craziness. Girls and Boys, funky. Drum craziness and loudness and flutes of Life Can Be So Nice, Prince is singing so weird and cool. Echoes at the of Life Can lead to piano majesty of Venus De Milo.

Side One done...

Side Two...

Bass drum...electronic drum echo...guitar...Mountains...Prince singing different. Horns. Dramatic as all hell. Into...da da dum...da..."When I Lie..."...Do U Lie...Prince singing different. "Dooooo!" Then Kiss. Funky. Then...Another Lover...funky and soulfully sung. Then the sadness of Sometimes.

Shit! Like I said in another thread, Prince is different. Not boring. We found that out with Purple Rain and Around the World album. So...I just took that album as a fan and played it. He put out albums every year back then. Even if I didn't like Parade as a fan, all you had to do was wait till next year's magnum opus...Sign O' the Times.

Ha!

I am with you all the way, Parade is fantastic!

I do remember it wasn't a huge hit as an album at the time in the US. Kiss of course was but it faded after that. The movie certainly didn't help. I am pretty sure I remember reading that Prince wasnt too happy with it at the time, and some of the Revolution mentioning Girls & Boys should've been the 2nd single...not Mountains. Agree with that one. Mountains is awesome, but G&B I think would've been a hit.

Poplife88 said:

MIInsane said:

It ended up in the cut-out bins pretty quickly.

Not in the UK. It was in the charts for 26 weeks, and was generally loved at the time.

[Edited 1/25/21 3:45am]

Ummm ... the day it was released? (For me, anyway.) It's my favorite Prince album.

misiu said:

Margot said:

I've always wondered why there seem to be some intrinsic differences between European and American preferences as it relates to Prince's work?

.

There were less radio stations and the stations that were there were generally less genre specific. So the radio stations played a slightly more diverse group of songs together. Some german schlager, a french chanson, a rock track, some disco, some soul. No major differences, but it allowed for a few albums that didn't neatly fit the US genres some more space.

.

Maybe.

It's a fantastic record. Definitely my #2 in my top albums for him. It's just not enough guitar on the record for me personal. It's a very lush album

RJOrion said:

what was always strange to me, is that my favorite song on the album by far, is a 2 minute instrumental, that when i play it, no one even knows who or what it is.

I always loved "Venus De Milo" and "Alexa De Paris." He was really kinda going balls to the wall with putting whatever on that record, yet it all worked together. I mean, when "Venus De Milo" and "Life Can B So Nice" is on the same album... WTF. But it works.

TrivialPursuit said:

A work colleague wanted to borrow some of my Prince albums because he hadn't heard much.

He didn't want to borrow Parade (much as I suggested it), but did want to borrow Graffiti Bridge.

There is genuinely no accounting for taste...

This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion but I've never been that keen on the way it's sequenced.

Much as I appreciate the creativity and adventure of the opening four tracks I don't always find them that enjoyable to listen to. Its always a bit of a relief when the intro drums to Girls & Boys kick in and you know you're getting a straight up good song rather than sonic experiments that are easy to admire but harder to actually enjoy.

I'd love for him to have held back High Fashion and Mutiny from The Family album and have them kicking off this album in place of the opening four tracks.

Some hardcore fans (tend to be more vocal about their likes) tend to love the Parade album. What excites most people about the idea of a Superdeluxe Parade is the vault material of that era is great just like the SOTT time period. I certainly prefer Parade over ATWIAD.

I loved this one from day one, putting the needle down and hearing an explosion of colors

I had Old Friends 4 Sale before this one came out so I was able to add it to my listening experience

Love or Money, Alexa De Paris extended versions
Never stopped loving this one

kewlschool said:

Some hardcore fans (tend to be more vocal about their likes) tend to love the Parade album. What excites most people about the idea of a Superdeluxe Parade is the vault material of that era is great just like the SOTT time period. I certainly prefer Parade over ATWIAD.

.

? ATWIAD is his best album, closely followed by Parade and after that other albums.. Not in order: Come, Old Friends 4 Sale, Rainbow Children, Exodus, Dirty Mind, For You

.

Don't understand how people can rate 1999, Purple Rain or even SOTT higher.

.

Anyhoo.. it's a testament to Prince's creativity that he created stuff that was so different from even itself that people that have a completely different taste in music can still have Prince as their favourite artist.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Jill Scott: "It’s the clearest definition of creative freedom I have ever heard. I was 16 and went to see the film Under The Cherry Moon and fell in love. The soundtrack went from rock to computerized blues to jazz to pop and classical. I grew up listening to jazz and blues, to Ella Fitzgerald and Hendrix and, sure, I loved Bach and Mozart. But prince came along and amalgamated them all. The writing was so descriptive and colourful. I used to stay up and listen to the album over and over again on headphones. When everyone else was outside playing and running on a Saturday afternoon, I’d be locked in my bedroom or sat on my porch listening to the LP, and I’d be immediately transported away from all the problems in my neighbourhood to the French Riviera, where the film was set.

Prince uses so many different vocal tones and that was a real beginning for me. His voice would change to accommodate the story, the lyrics – something I choose to do with my music. Any poet, singer, writer wants to live in the moment of each and every song and this is the method by which to do it. He switches Anotherloverholenyohead to a song like Do U Lie (sings), ‘When I lie awake at night in my boudoir’ and automatically the sun comes out, the rays shine through the window, the room becomes light. The track Christopher Tracey’s Parade taught me a new sense of rhythm. Using a computer he created a different heart rhythm. You don’t listen to that song, you fall inside it and become it. He added car sounds – I mean, who did that in those days? And he sings like he never planned a thing, like they play the music and he’s not sure how it’s going to go he just opens his mouth and starts to sing. It doesn’t feel rehearsed but fresh, full of life.

It’s a classic album and lyrically an inspiration. He’s capable of being a very personal writer but he’s also very skilled. When you listen to the music the picture is always clear, the imagination is provoked – that’s the kind of writer I want to be. Like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, he makes forever music.

The instrumentation is wonderful. He had a computer create the sound but didn’t falsify it by pretending it’s another instrument. He chose to play a computer as itself! His guitar – how he would go from being rock and out there and strong and immediately change the sound to sensitive and loving and soft – that is brilliance. I don’t know if the music was a genuine reflection of a part of his life or a fictional creation, but quite honestly I don’t care because I feel it regardless. I feel blessed just listening to this record."

Beautifully put, by a great singer! I love me some Jill.

sulls said:

What’s not to love? I danced with my granny to Venus de Milo at my weddding.

Awww …

funkypixie said:

sulls said:

What’s not to love? I danced with my granny to Venus de Milo at my weddding.

I always thought it'd be a great prelude to a wedding, or something to play at the end when the officiate announces the couple, and the wedding party walks out.

JayCrawford said:

mediumdry said:

kewlschool said:

Some hardcore fans (tend to be more vocal about their likes) tend to love the Parade album. What excites most people about the idea of a Superdeluxe Parade is the vault material of that era is great just like the SOTT time period. I certainly prefer Parade over ATWIAD.

.

? ATWIAD is his best album, closely followed by Parade and after that other albums.. Not in order: Come, Old Friends 4 Sale, Rainbow Children, Exodus, Dirty Mind, For You

.

Don't understand how people can rate 1999, Purple Rain or even SOTT higher.

.

Anyhoo.. it's a testament to Prince's creativity that he created stuff that was so different from even itself that people that have a completely different taste in music can still have Prince as their favourite artist.

1999, Purple Rain, and SOTT are rated the highest of his career for most critics and fans. That doesn't make ATWIAD a bad album. I enjoy the album, yet the beatles did it (psychedelic) slightly better (although Prince was more funky).