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Advice For A New Fan Ok so I'm not a total novice. My cousin used to live with me and she was a huge Prince fan, and a former member of this community under the name EmmaMcG, and she would often play Prince music in the house. So I know individual songs that she would play like When She Comes, Black Sweat, Let's Work etc. I also know a lot of Prince's bigger hits. It's not like I've been living under a rock or anything. But I'm curious about where I should start, album-wise. Emma told me that when she was getting into Prince's music she started from his most recent album at the time and worked backwards to the beginning. But would it not be better to start at the beginning? I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on this? Her reasoning for starting from the most recent and going backwards is so that I won't judge his later music too harshly in comparison to his earlier work. Also, other than what's available on Spotify, are there any other Prince albums that were released? I think I remember hearing that he had heaps of other releases that aren't officially available anymore. I'm not looking for links to this stuff or anything. I can find that myself or get my cousin to send it to me if need be. By the way, I have asked Emma for some of this information but she never really gives a direct answer and just advises that I "get it all". Which is a tad overwhelming. So any information you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated. | |
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My advice would be to listen to the Sign of the Times album at least five times from start to finish. If you then still like what you heard, start with the 1978 debut album and work your way up to Diamonds and Pearls and the Symbol album. Hopefully you are fully hooked up by then and ready to explore the later stuff! Enjoy... [Edited 10/8/22 6:47am] |
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My first advice is to say less. | |
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My second advice is to listen to SEXUALITY while reading the lyrics online and commit them to memory now to save yourself the argument in 30 years where you'll look psychotic defending the wrong lyrics. | |
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the best part of the Prince community is when you're together: you're in Good Company! "Keep on shilling for Big Pharm!" |
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maybe get some of the collections? "Keep on shilling for Big Pharm!" |
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LoveGalore said: My second advice is to listen to SEXUALITY while reading the lyrics online and commit them to memory now to save yourself the argument in 30 years where you'll look psychotic defending the wrong lyrics. That's very... specific  | |
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OnlyNDaUsa said: maybe get some of the collections? I actually considered that. They have big playlists on Spotify that I was looking at. I kinda wanted to get invested in the albums though because I already know a lot of the individual singles that make up the majority of those playlists. | |
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jazzz said: My advice would be to listen to the Sign of the Times album at least five times from start to finish. If you then still like what you heard, start with the 1978 debut album and work your way up to Diamonds and Pearls and the Symbol album. Hopefully you are fully hooked up by then and ready to explore the later stuff! Enjoy... [Edited 10/8/22 6:47am] Thanks. I know Sign O The Times is very well regarded. If I Was Your Girlfriend is already a particular favorite of mine. I think I'll skip the Deluxe versions of the album for now though. Because that's a lot! | |
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Back in the days when CD's were still around, I became a Prince fan by listening to the Hits volume 1 and 2 along with the B-sides. After listening to that over and over I wanted more. So then later I ended up buying all of his CD's. That would be my suggestion. |
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I'd say start with the 1999 and SOTT deluxe sets that were released after Prince passed. [Edited 10/8/22 10:01am] |
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I’d say go in chronological order just to hear Prince’s evolution as a musician. For You I think is an underrated album, it was definitely a very solid debut album. Also, throw in unreleased songs to go along with the albums in chronological order as well just to get a clearer picture of album “eras”. |
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getwild180 said: Back in the days when CD's were still around, I became a Prince fan by listening to the Hits volume 1 and 2 along with the B-sides. After listening to that over and over I wanted more. So then later I ended up buying all of his CD's. That would be my suggestion. I think I'm already at the stage now to be honest. I'm already familiar with most, if not all of the songs that would be on a greatest hits compilation. It's those songs that are making me want to dive deeper. My cousin took all her CDs with her so I kinda have to rely on Spotify. But everything is on there anyway right? | |
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paisleyparkgirl said: I'd say start with the 1999 and SOTT deluxe sets that were released after Prince passed. [Edited 10/8/22 10:01am] That's an idea. And honestly, I considered doing just that. Start with the "big" albums and see how it goes with those first. I suppose there is no right or wrong way of going about it. I'm probably just overthinking it all. | |
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rudeboy4711 said: I’d say go in chronological order just to hear Prince’s evolution as a musician. For You I think is an underrated album, it was definitely a very solid debut album. Also, throw in unreleased songs to go along with the albums in chronological order as well just to get a clearer picture of album “eras”. Yes. I think that's what I'm going to do. I was leaning towards that idea anyway but I think you've kind of given me that nudge I was looking for. Although, I'm not sure about listening to all the unreleased stuff along the way. I was just checking out his discography on Wikipedia and all the official releases already seem like a daunting task. And, as I understand it, didn't he have like that amount of material again that went unreleased? Maybe I'll just do the official stuff first and come back to the unreleased stuff later. Unless you think I'd be missing out? | |
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1+ for chronological order. . Another advantage of first listening to Prince's albums chronologically, is experiencing them the way everyone else originally did. As a result, you have more a natural flow musically, compared to if you bounce from decade to decade. | |
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ShellyMcG said: jazzz said: My advice would be to listen to the Sign of the Times album at least five times from start to finish. If you then still like what you heard, start with the 1978 debut album and work your way up to Diamonds and Pearls and the Symbol album. Hopefully you are fully hooked up by then and ready to explore the later stuff! Enjoy... [Edited 10/8/22 6:47am] Thanks. I know Sign O The Times is very well regarded. If I Was Your Girlfriend is already a particular favorite of mine. I think I'll skip the Deluxe versions of the album for now though. Because that's a lot! . Yeah sure, first listen to the original album versions of SOTT, PR and 1999. The Deluxe versions are for later, after you have become a full-fledged fan/fam. |
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rudeboy4711 said: I’d say go in chronological order just to hear Prince’s evolution as a musician. For You I think is an underrated album, it was definitely a very solid debut album. Also, throw in unreleased songs to go along with the albums in chronological order as well just to get a clearer picture of album “eras”. . Maybe even more important, his evolution as songwriter, arranger and producer... and his more broader development regarding themes, ideas, concepts. |
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I understand that you couldn't stay away, Emma, errr, i mean, Shelly "Whatever skin we're in
we all need 2 b friends" |
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You'll soon find out that "Prince fans" are such a diverse lot because Prince music is so diverse. What works for me will probably not work for you and vice versa. While most people around will agree that Prince was extraordinary, the reasons for that will never be agreed upon. . I mean, to me the song Purple Rain is one of the worst he ever recorded. I really do not like it. And I think Around the World in a Day is his best album, closely followed by the Rainbow Children. . So... my advice is to listen to the songs you like, take the songs you like best and listen to the albums they are from. Then listen to the albums he released before and after that and keep going. . For shits and giggles, listen to a b-sides compilation and ask someone here to make you a small (or large) compilation of the best unreleased tracks. Keep going until overwhelmed and then stop and listen to some other music. . When you want to come back, listen to some of the albums he produced for others and keep going. . It took Prince well over 30 years to release all the music he released, take your time to listen to it and skip what you don't like at first and come back to it after you listen to other stuff. Hold on to your wig, it's going to be quite a ride! Paisley Park is in your heart - Love Is Here! |
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. And to build on this - Don't seek ot overwhelm yourself by commiting to a specific order. . Think about the songs you like from listening with Emma and from the best ofs and anthoology collections for the latter stuff (becasue there has not been a best of collection album for this) . Then play the albums that your favourite singles come from. You can then build up from there. |
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start with his best album ‘1999’ and go from there  | |
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nayroo2002 said:
I understand that you couldn't stay away, Emma, errr, i mean, Shelly Hahaha. But seriously though, she does still check in on here from time to time. I wouldn't be surprised if she did eventually reactivate her account at some point. | |
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mediumdry said: You'll soon find out that "Prince fans" are such a diverse lot because Prince music is so diverse. What works for me will probably not work for you and vice versa. While most people around will agree that Prince was extraordinary, the reasons for that will never be agreed upon. . I mean, to me the song Purple Rain is one of the worst he ever recorded. I really do not like it. And I think Around the World in a Day is his best album, closely followed by the Rainbow Children. . So... my advice is to listen to the songs you like, take the songs you like best and listen to the albums they are from. Then listen to the albums he released before and after that and keep going. . For shits and giggles, listen to a b-sides compilation and ask someone here to make you a small (or large) compilation of the best unreleased tracks. Keep going until overwhelmed and then stop and listen to some other music. . When you want to come back, listen to some of the albums he produced for others and keep going. . It took Prince well over 30 years to release all the music he released, take your time to listen to it and skip what you don't like at first and come back to it after you listen to other stuff. Hold on to your wig, it's going to be quite a ride! Wow, thanks for the advice. The only other big Prince fan I know doesn't like Purple Rain either but it's one of my favourite songs by any artist. | |
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IanRG said:
. And to build on this - Don't seek ot overwhelm yourself by commiting to a specific order. . Think about the songs you like from listening with Emma and from the best ofs and anthoology collections for the latter stuff (becasue there has not been a best of collection album for this) . Then play the albums that your favourite singles come from. You can then build up from there. Thanks so much. That's good advice. Em always says that her favourite albums are 1999 and Controversy but she'd mostly play his later songs around the house. Mostly songs like When She Comes, Revelation and a few others that I can't think of the names of off the top of my head. But mostly slow songs though. I really like that kind of stuff. Prince has a great voice for that kind of music. I like the uptempo stuff too but what really hooked me in the first place were those slower, soul songs. | |
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SoulAlive said: start with his best album ‘1999’ and go from there That's not a bad idea | |
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My journey has officially begun. I started with For You. I don't know if I'll stick to a purely chronological order but I figure it's a decent starting point. I've listened to the whole album and my feeling towards it is kind of mixed. That first track scared the shit out of me. I won't lie. I thought my speakers were haunted . So year, I'll be skipping that track on my next listen. The standout tracks for me are "In Love", "Soft & Wet", "Crazy You" and "Just As Long As We're Together". After that, it's mostly downhill. There's nothing on there I'd say is bad, per se, but nothing really grabbed me after the 5th track. Overall, a good start I would say. I'll give it a second listen tonight when I go to bed but I'm pretty satisfied with how my Prince journey is going. And as an added bonus for myself, I hadn't heard any of these songs before so they were all brand new to me. | |
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Hi welcome to the org 👋 I started when I was young and with 4th album. Prince is my favorite artist. But i wont bore you with all that I will say on upon some albums being released I didnt care for them. Example "Come" after a lil time to digest it, it grew on me. it's now in my top 10. In short, give some albums/material time to sink in. Enjoy the journey  I will take my place, In the great below | |
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ShellyMcG said: My journey has officially begun. I started with For You. I don't know if I'll stick to a purely chronological order but I figure it's a decent starting point. I've listened to the whole album and my feeling towards it is kind of mixed. That first track scared the shit out of me. I won't lie. I thought my speakers were haunted . So year, I'll be skipping that track on my next listen. The standout tracks for me are "In Love", "Soft & Wet", "Crazy You" and "Just As Long As We're Together". After that, it's mostly downhill. There's nothing on there I'd say is bad, per se, but nothing really grabbed me after the 5th track. Overall, a good start I would say. I'll give it a second listen tonight when I go to bed but I'm pretty satisfied with how my Prince journey is going. And as an added bonus for myself, I hadn't heard any of these songs before so they were all brand new to me.Here’s the thing about Prince’s music- songs that you may not have liked at the first listen eventually grow on you! In my experience it’s happened after I hear the songs with good headphones. Another thing about unreleased tracks is for example, the song “My Love is Forever” may not have grabbed you at 1st but once you hear the alternate 1977 mix you’ll definitely appreciate it more because you get to hear the evolution of the song. I really like the earlier mix because it’s not as bogged down with synths like the album mix. |
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SOTT is intermediate level, it was one of the earlier records for me probably after checking out music review sites. It's not as impressive until you completely understand and believe in his powers. [Edited 10/8/22 23:58pm] |
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