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Thread started 01/06/22 3:38pm

Phase3

Anyone here dislike The Rainbow Children album?

So I often overlook this album.Maybe because it is "Prince's Jehovah witness" album
I remember back in the day on here it was often criticized
Maybe because of the religious lyrics or maybe because of the deep scary Darth Vader voice
But on a long trip today,I inserted my Rainbow Children CD in the car CD player and I instantly fell in love with this album and I'm not even that religious
The music to the songs is incredible plus there is a lot of humor.see songs like "wedding feast"
My friend next to me in the passenger seat busted out laughing when he heard that
Songs like "everlasting now" is very up lifting and lifted my mood

This album should have been. Bigger than it was

So 20 after it's released,how do you view this album now?
Favorite songs??
I also applaud how experimental prince was when he made this album
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Reply #1 posted 01/06/22 3:51pm

TrivialPursuit

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I hate it.

Sorry, it's the Hodgkin's talking.
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Reply #2 posted 01/06/22 4:32pm

Dalia11

One of my favorite Albums, phenomenal!

He is actually referencing what Sylvia Browne wrote in her books.

There are many YouTube videos of Sylvia Browne on
the Montel Williams Show. Montel is a Cancer Sun
sign and Sylvia Browne was a Libra/the second Decanate of
libra - Libra/Gemini-Venus and Mercury.
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Reply #3 posted 01/06/22 4:32pm

nayroo2002

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I love it!

It's all fantasy dialogue mashed up with GREAT music!!!

"Whatever skin we're in
we all need 2 b friends"
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Reply #4 posted 01/06/22 4:39pm

luv4u

Moderator

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moderator

I like it. Just not that darth vader voice.

canada

Ohh purple joy oh purple bliss oh purple rapture!
REAL MUSIC by REAL MUSICIANS - Prince
"I kind of wish there was a reason for Prince to make the site crash more" ~~ Ben
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Reply #5 posted 01/06/22 5:16pm

alphastreet

Sampled it at the wrecka stow when it came out and didn’t like it. Nice cover though
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Reply #6 posted 01/06/22 5:36pm

lurker316

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I love it and consider it one of my all time favorite Prince albums.

What you're going to find is that many of the people who hate it (not all of them, but a good number) agree that the music is fantastic. It's the lyrics that turn them off.

I'm not remotely religous myself, so you might assume I'd be turned off by the proselytizing, but I'm not. I don't really listen to the lyrics -- and when I do I can't make heads or tails of what he's talking about -- so they don't bother me.




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Reply #7 posted 01/06/22 5:49pm

nosajd

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I love the album. It’s quite an album full of different genres. His sense of humor does peek here and there. There’s a lot of truths on here hard to swallow and people don’t often like the truth, or their interpretation of it anyway. It’s a solid album. I am not religious at all, though I was raised religious, this album doesn’t bother me in that way. To each their own. I’m glad you’re rediscovering it, enjoy!
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Reply #8 posted 01/06/22 5:56pm

LoveGalore

TrivialPursuit said:

I hate it.



You're serious? I would not expect that from you!

It's the antithesis of plastic/acrylic production, I'd think you would have loved it.
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Reply #9 posted 01/06/22 7:18pm

TrivialPursuit

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LoveGalore said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I hate it.

You're serious? I would not expect that from you! It's the antithesis of plastic/acrylic production, I'd think you would have loved it.


I. Fucking. Hate. It.

I have tried and tried and tried to listen to it, get a new perspective on it. Something about it truly makes me upset and pissed that he did it. I don't care about the narrator's voice.

(Plot twist: it's not Darth Vader, like y'all are sayin'. Darth spoke through a machine that helped him breath. Prince slowed down his voice. The differences are clear.)

Moreover, it's the fucking dogma. OMG just shut up already about the accurate understanding of law and all that shit. It's nothing more than a Jehovah's Witness promo. I don't care how he frames it, that's what it is. It's dogma.

And while he touched on religious things in the past, it was always more nuanced. Sure, there were more pointed things like "God" or the Lord's Prayer in "Controversy," but it was still almost treated like a pastiche. It was religious tinged, like "Anna Stesia," "The Ladder," "Purple Rain, "Free" (a favorite), "Still Would Stand All Time," or even "Moonbeam Levels."

He mixed God and sexuality, and I get that. I trully understood what his thinking was on it. To have sex, and have those open, uninhibited feelings of love and bliss and pleasure are the highest form of feeling we can have on earth to that of being in God's presence. And even then, it pales when/if we ever are eventually in the presence of God.

But The Rainbow Children isn't nuanced. It's preachy, uncompassionate, it's "my way or the highway." Because anyone in the storyline that isn't a rainbow child or a follower or whatever is rubbish. Like Prince said, "you can cut that how you want, but it's the truth." No, Prince, it's your truth.

I think about Wendy & Lisa, and how they had to deal with Trevor Horn's homophobic ass, then circled back around to Prince with his bullshit post-Rainbow Children.

And yeah, I can appreciate the production. It's not acrylic, which is odd since he started that with Emancipation five years before. The organic, trippy, LSD-inspired trip on it; I really can. But man, I can't get past his words and lyrics. For a man who used to promote things like a utopic Uptown full of of acceptance, positivity, live and let live, he certainly made a 180º on The Rainbow Children.

It's a Karen record - you do what I say, cuz this is how it should be, periodt! He channeled his inner-slightly-inconvenienced-white-women vibe on it.

Sorry, it's the Hodgkin's talking.
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Reply #10 posted 01/06/22 8:00pm

DotsofU

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TrivialPursuit said:

LoveGalore said:

TrivialPursuit said: You're serious? I would not expect that from you! It's the antithesis of plastic/acrylic production, I'd think you would have loved it.


I. Fucking. Hate. It.

I have tried and tried and tried to listen to it, get a new perspective on it. Something about it truly makes me upset and pissed that he did it. I don't care about the narrator's voice.

(Plot twist: it's not Darth Vader, like y'all are sayin'. Darth spoke through a machine that helped him breath. Prince slowed down his voice. The differences are clear.)

Moreover, it's the fucking dogma. OMG just shut up already about the accurate understanding of law and all that shit. It's nothing more than a Jehovah's Witness promo. I don't care how he frames it, that's what it is. It's dogma.

And while he touched on religious things in the past, it was always more nuanced. Sure, there were more pointed things like "God" or the Lord's Prayer in "Controversy," but it was still almost treated like a pastiche. It was religious tinged, like "Anna Stesia," "The Ladder," "Purple Rain, "Free" (a favorite), "Still Would Stand All Time," or even "Moonbeam Levels."

He mixed God and sexuality, and I get that. I trully understood what his thinking was on it. To have sex, and have those open, uninhibited feelings of love and bliss and pleasure are the highest form of feeling we can have on earth to that of being in God's presence. And even then, it pales when/if we ever are eventually in the presence of God.

But The Rainbow Children isn't nuanced. It's preachy, uncompassionate, it's "my way or the highway." Because anyone in the storyline that isn't a rainbow child or a follower or whatever is rubbish. Like Prince said, "you can cut that how you want, but it's the truth." No, Prince, it's your truth.

I think about Wendy & Lisa, and how they had to deal with Trevor Horn's homophobic ass, then circled back around to Prince with his bullshit post-Rainbow Children.

And yeah, I can appreciate the production. It's not acrylic, which is odd since he started that with Emancipation five years before. The organic, trippy, LSD-inspired trip on it; I really can. But man, I can't get past his words and lyrics. For a man who used to promote things like a utopic Uptown full of of acceptance, positivity, live and let live, he certainly made a 180º on The Rainbow Children.

It's a Karen record - you do what I say, cuz this is how it should be, periodt! He channeled his inner-slightly-inconvenienced-white-women vibe on it.

You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth... I think I love u

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Reply #11 posted 01/06/22 10:52pm

TrivialPursuit

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DotsofU said:

You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth... I think I love u


Wanna hang out and talk shit about "Digital Garden?"

Sorry, it's the Hodgkin's talking.
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Reply #12 posted 01/07/22 2:04am

highcalonic

I think it’s an important album as was Purple Rain and The Gold Experience in Prince’s mind. It was a turning point for him.

And the 3 albums end with an anthem song (Purple Rain, Gold, Last December), and I think it means something.

I loved the Rainbow Children since day one and I was exciting by this new direction, as if he had put aside his stardom and focus again on the music. Great period!

[Edited 1/7/22 6:40am]

"You can skate around the issue if you like,
But who's gonna get you high in the middle of the night?"
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Reply #13 posted 01/07/22 2:28am

jorge

highcalonic said:

And the 3 albums end with an anthem song (Purple Rain, Gold, The Same December)

I think you mean Last December

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Reply #14 posted 01/07/22 2:56am

udo

avatar

TrivialPursuit said:

I hate it.

.

Great elaboration!

I see your reasons are quite weak though.

Listen again!

Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill... If you don't believe me or don't get it, I don't have time to try to convince you, sorry.
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Reply #15 posted 01/07/22 3:08am

Nightcrawler

I love this album (and the ONA tour) so, so much. Maybe it helps that I‘m not a native speaker so I don‘t pay that much attention to the lyrics. It has become one of my top five Prince albums and for me, it is a perfect record showcasing his incredible talent. It was also a true return to form after some difficult years (1996-2001), imho.
See the man with the blue guitar, maybe one day he`ll be a star...
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Reply #16 posted 01/07/22 3:50am

spacedolphin

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I used to, but once I got past the door-knocker stuff it grew on me musically. Retrospect helps though - I now just consume it as a goofy, fun ride considering how bad everything got afterwards. It's like The Crow: City of Angels of albums for me. I often believe that Prince writing the lyrics for this was like that scene with Thomas Jane's character in a private booth at the Peep-O-Rama where he runs out of quarters and can't find his pants.

music I'm afraid of Americans. I'm afraid of the world. music
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Reply #17 posted 01/07/22 4:24am

garneren

I totally agree with TrivialPursuit. The dogmatic lyrics are a massive turn off.

But on top of that, I also find it hard to be engaged by the music on Rainbow Children. I applaud the ambition of creating a new sound, but I guess it's actually not jazzy enough for me to find it interesting as a jazz album, and at the same time not melodically strong enough to be a good soul/pop album (as a whole - there are indeed musical highlights). It's hard for me to pinpoint it, but there's something too controlled and sterile about the sound for it to be an exciting jazz album.

[Edited 1/7/22 4:24am]

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Reply #18 posted 01/07/22 4:37am

PJMcGee

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spacedolphin said:

I used to, but once I got past the door-knocker stuff it grew on me musically. Retrospect helps though - I now just consume it as a goofy, fun ride considering how bad everything got afterwards. It's like The Crow: City of Angels of albums for me. I often believe that Prince writing the lyrics for this was like that scene with Thomas Jane's character in a private booth at the Peep-O-Rama where he runs out of quarters and can't find his pants.



Ha! I don't know what this means, but it's funny.
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Reply #19 posted 01/07/22 6:40am

highcalonic

jorge said:

highcalonic said:

And the 3 albums end with an anthem song (Purple Rain, Gold, The Same December)

I think you mean Last December

Exactly! thanks

"You can skate around the issue if you like,
But who's gonna get you high in the middle of the night?"
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Reply #20 posted 01/07/22 6:49am

Empress

This question has been asked multiple times over the years, so I will say what I've always said. Musically, the album is by far one of his best. The jazzy sound and guitar work are incredible. The lyrics are quite another. This was right at Prince's peak of JWism. You can tell that many of the lyrics are forced to conform to this dogma. Having said this, there are some very good songs on the album, but I can do with without the "my way or the highway" lyrics.

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Reply #21 posted 01/07/22 6:54am

Musze

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luv4u said:

I like it. Just not that darth vader voice.

This.

I Love U, But I Don't Trust U Anymore...
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Reply #22 posted 01/07/22 6:55am

TheEnglishGent

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I remember waiting up to download it from the NPG Music Club. It was the early hours of the morning in the UK when it released and back then downloads weren't always the speediest things.

Eventually it downloaded, I put the headphones on and gave it a listen. So much anticipation in the waiting. And then it started. And I loved it! Loved it then, love it now.

I'm not religious but the lyrics don't bother me one little bit. I don't really care what Prince is singing about, or what he believes, so long as the feel of the song hits me. I've never tried convince a lesbian that it's better with a man, never had any desire to go uptown, I definitely never related to a song about banging his Sister and I've certainly never felt the urge to do the Housequake, Jughead or Horny Pony.

RIP sad
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Reply #23 posted 01/07/22 6:57am

sulls

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There are a few highlights and I would only listen to those.
"I like to watch."
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Reply #24 posted 01/07/22 7:10am

emesem

It put a big damper on my enthusiasm for Prince that took years to get over but still leaves bad feelings to this day. I've mostly put it the memory hole but still am reminded of the rigidity, the fundamentalism, misongyny, anti-semintism and the almost 180 from what I thought was an openminded Prince to this inflexible old man.

He either got it out of system later or learned to hide it well but dont think Prince of TRC was someone I'd like to hang out with.

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Reply #25 posted 01/07/22 7:19am

Se7en

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I love it.

At the time, I hated a lot of what was coming out of the NPGMC (the "High" or "Slaughterhouse/Chocolate Invasion" stuff. Most of those songs sounded basic, simple, thin-sounding and lifeless from someone of Prince's caliber.

Then comes The Rainbow Children. The instrumention is lush and beautiful, and even the lyrics (love them or hate them) are smart and well done. That album has the energy and "spark" that I expect and love from Prince.

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Reply #26 posted 01/07/22 8:10am

TrevorAyer

some seriously bad vibes went into making this record .. sounds like a guy trying to impress larry graham with his jehovah knowledge .. what the duck indeed ...

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Reply #27 posted 01/07/22 8:15am

LoveGalore

TrivialPursuit said:



LoveGalore said:


TrivialPursuit said:

I hate it.



You're serious? I would not expect that from you! It's the antithesis of plastic/acrylic production, I'd think you would have loved it.


I. Fucking. Hate. It.

I have tried and tried and tried to listen to it, get a new perspective on it. Something about it truly makes me upset and pissed that he did it. I don't care about the narrator's voice.

(Plot twist: it's not Darth Vader, like y'all are sayin'. Darth spoke through a machine that helped him breath. Prince slowed down his voice. The differences are clear.)

Moreover, it's the fucking dogma. OMG just shut up already about the accurate understanding of law and all that shit. It's nothing more than a Jehovah's Witness promo. I don't care how he frames it, that's what it is. It's dogma.

And while he touched on religious things in the past, it was always more nuanced. Sure, there were more pointed things like "God" or the Lord's Prayer in "Controversy," but it was still almost treated like a pastiche. It was religious tinged, like "Anna Stesia," "The Ladder," "Purple Rain, "Free" (a favorite), "Still Would Stand All Time," or even "Moonbeam Levels."

He mixed God and sexuality, and I get that. I trully understood what his thinking was on it. To have sex, and have those open, uninhibited feelings of love and bliss and pleasure are the highest form of feeling we can have on earth to that of being in God's presence. And even then, it pales when/if we ever are eventually in the presence of God.

But The Rainbow Children isn't nuanced. It's preachy, uncompassionate, it's "my way or the highway." Because anyone in the storyline that isn't a rainbow child or a follower or whatever is rubbish. Like Prince said, "you can cut that how you want, but it's the truth." No, Prince, it's your truth.

I think about Wendy & Lisa, and how they had to deal with Trevor Horn's homophobic ass, then circled back around to Prince with his bullshit post-Rainbow Children.

And yeah, I can appreciate the production. It's not acrylic, which is odd since he started that with Emancipation five years before. The organic, trippy, LSD-inspired trip on it; I really can. But man, I can't get past his words and lyrics. For a man who used to promote things like a utopic Uptown full of of acceptance, positivity, live and let live, he certainly made a 180º on The Rainbow Children.

It's a Karen record - you do what I say, cuz this is how it should be, periodt! He channeled his inner-slightly-inconvenienced-white-women vibe on it.




All good points to me. Yeah I was conflicted about the album for a long time because though some of his best work is in there, it's pushed to the margins to make way for the massive message he's promoting. This, Rave, and One Nite Alone also have a lot of bad ex husband vibes in it - I don't understand how he felt it was reasonable to load up 3 albums of songs that diss Mayte. The woman has puppy dog eyes for him still to this day, it's nuts.

But that all said, I probably have to ignore more of the lyrics on this album than any other which can make for an unsatisfying listening experience unless I'm truly up for the task. Except in some cases like the title track or Everlasting Now where I just kinda get into the bizarre mythical quality to it (full disclosure, I'm agnostic so my thoughts on this stuff are ambivalent af).
[Edited 1/7/22 8:16am]
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Reply #28 posted 01/07/22 9:21am

onlyforaminute

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I loved it. Knowing what he had been through and the life choices he made I would have been severely disappointed if he was singing about the same ole same ole. And it still gave what I've expected out of a Prince album, surprise, the unexpected making it distinct.
Time keeps on slipping into the future...


This moment is all there is...
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Reply #29 posted 01/07/22 9:24am

homesquid

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Yep. Don't even have it in my collection. I was a JW when it was released...and still hated it.

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