EverlastingNow said:

Well put. Damn man, you summed it all up. Anyone who listens to or listened to this album for the first time after say 1987 just won't understand how powerful this album was to listen to around the time of it's release and the the impact this album had on the industry. 1999 set a lot of standards as far as funk goes. One can't forget about those little side projects he had going on at the time (no pun intended) I too can remember reading thoses lyrics over and over with the purple background and watching that eye spin around on the turntable, trying to desipher the messages that were trapped in his music. Yeah, in hindsight one can look back and say "ahh it aint all that" already knowing what he went on to accomplish but I bet if you were there to hear it when it was first released you'd be like "this is the shit". I also bet you would have been anxiously awaiting for the release of purple rain, now that's a totally different story.

oh yeah, Moonbeam you broke it down playboy!
[This message was edited Sun Jul 13 14:09:22 PDT 2003 by sinisterpentatonic]

whodknee said:

You really think so? It certainly is powerful. But I'd say it's one of the LEAST diverse albums he's ever made. And that's why it's good. The less ideas, and hodge-podge on an album, the better, imo.

Oh, my God. It's time to kick up a can of squirrel meat in here. I've been reading this board for a bit and started to get a bit disappointed until I read this and really got pumped up about this thread. Jumpin' up on tha' one, I can say that Moonbeam, I am behind you 100% with your response. I don't know if I could've said it better myself, and I won't try, I will give you your just due on a passionate, well-articulated response.

I don't claim to be the end'all and be'all on the purple topic of Prince and his music, but the vibes of his grooves and notes have haunted me since the first time I heard Soft and Wet in 1978 when I was seven listening with my cousin to his sisters record player, in secret of course. All I could think was, "Is that a girl", but imagine how surprised I was to see the album cover and see it was a guy. That was a strange moment that would change things. Of course it didn't stop there. Prince dropped in '79 and of course everyone heard "I wanna be your lover" and "I Feel for you" on the radio.

At that time, I felt great things about music, I can remember the first twangs of a previously unheard of style called hip hop, but obviously I had to get a lil' older to really feel Prince. =) I had heard snippets of dirty mind and controversy over the years through my aunt who was just a bit older than me, but my biggest awakening came from a best friend of mine. Man, when he let me listen to a godsend of a homemade prince tape that had, damn, Soft and Wet, I wanna be your lover, do me baby, dirty mind, sister, and all of the other ones, but when I heard "When we're dancing close and slow", i knew i was gonna be a woman chaser and prince was going to show me the way. So, obviously when 1999 came out, while i was in 6th grade, it was the quintessential album for the summer. It was great for conducting house parties - If a dj didn't have prince with them at those summer house parties, they didn't get respect, but if he did, he was THE DJ, but if they had 1999 as well, Then they were the GOD DJ. If they slung together a medley of them slow prince joints you know you was gettin' a lil' play during a slow dance. Some of y'all might not remember.

There is theoretically no way to deny 1999 its just due. It is a work of art that must be bowed to. How is it possible for you to really call yourself a member of the Purple fam when you can't feel 1999. Please don't say your membership became official when the Rain was falling and then you fell off the ladder because prince gave in to temptation and didn't give a second shower. I have always been into P's groove; there's just been no other way. during the 80's and early 90's, I suffered through tunnel vision of P's music, but as I've gotten alot older and have listened to and admired all genres of music, most notably Jazz, I have come back and have been able to appreciate Prince's older stuff, cause my ear is better. I hear things in Prince's older recordings now that I never would've heard at their first release. 1999 is an example of that. Everytime I listen to it, I hear something different; DMSR, Let's pretend..., Something in the water..., Lady Cab Driver, All the Critics - these songs stay on constant repeat. I would definitively say I would reach for 1999 before Purple Rain 10 times a day during the week and 20 times on Sunday.

What else can I say that hadn't been said before by Moonbeam? Oh, I know.

Reading this thread reminds me of something P. Diddy said on making the band to his newbies this past week.

When prompted to recite the lyrics to "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, or the lyrics to "Juicy" by Notorious B.I.G., the six hopefuls were wholly unable to even begin a rendition. Upon being very disgusted with this, Puff went on to rant and rave about "How can you call yourself rappers, or lovers of Hip Hop when you don't even know 2 of the Pioneering tracks of the movement. Y'all don't love hip hop!"

So I ask, "How can you love the Purple Playalistic groove if you can't feel 1999?" Granted it's not necessary to love it like its your first lay, but damn, you got to understand the basis of where all of this comes from - the album is definitive of where he's at, and whether P claims everything is impromptu or not, the things 'he do' may not be supremely conscious, those things still exist in his mind, just waiting to come out.

Lata

Thanks JackF. Didn't know the album was described as "The Holy Grail". If it is, maybe it's 'cos it's sticking around "The Ark of the Covenant". I think David played music back then. But, as John Lydon once sang, "I could be wrong--I could be right".