prince special on Rage in australia at 11:40pm sat 25 oct

25th October 2003
Prince Special


Prince is, without a doubt one of the most influential figures in modern rock history. His unparalleled ability to fuse funk, pop and rock helped redefine the boundaries of musical genres. As a songwriter, Prince has certainly earned his tenure, penning countless hits--trashy, eloquent, fragile and blustering--for himself and many other musicians.

Prince's first two albums, For You (1978) and Dirty Mind (1979), though impressive efforts for an unknown Midwestern teenager, failed to foreshadow his impending brilliance. "I Feel For You," off the second release is perhaps the best track of the lot. The song is both delicate and sleazy with a funky pop melody - a combination Prince honed in his two next releases, Dirty Mind (1980) and Controversy (1981).

1999, released in 1982 made Prince a star. The album, which sold over 3 million copies, was a whirlwind of sexual fantasy, catchy lyrics and electronic funk. From the anthemic "Free" to the mantra in D.M.S.R. ("Dance, Music Sex...") to the perfect pop sounds in "Delirious" and "Little Red Corvette," 1999 quickly sped to the top of the stacks of wax.

If 1999 made Prince a star, then Purple Rain made him a king. Recorded, in part, with his band The Revolution, this album sold over 10 million copies and spent twenty weeks at the top of the charts. "When Doves Cry," "I Would Die 4 U" and "Purple Rain" were defining moments in '80s music.

After the bounding success of Purple Rain Prince took a bizarre turn down the path of pop-psychedelia with Around The World in a Day (1985). "Raspberry Beret" and "Pop Life" were brilliant, if unsettling, and definitely ahead of their time. After releasing the marginal Parade and roosting permanently in Minneapolis with his own record label (Paisley Park), Prince came out with his second masterpiece of the decade - Sign O' the Times. At once sexy and messy, tight, forlorn and ecstatic, Sign O' the Times came together both as a complete work and as a series of great singles. "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man", a heartwrenching score, the wistful, electronic "If I Was Your Girlfriend" and the cocksure "U Got The Look" are all winners. "Starfish and Coffee" is perhaps the unsung hero of this 1987 collection.

In lieu of the hastily shelved Black Album (unreleased until 1994, either due to Prince's dissatisfaction or the controversy-wary label), Prince followed up Sign O' the Times with the stripped down and relatively serene Lovesexy. While it was a cathartic break from the emotional buildup of his last three albums, Prince's spark on Lovesexy was noticeably missing. After a contrived Batman soundtrack and the gospel-tinged Graffiti Bridge, where he wrote all, but only sang about half of the songs, Prince teamed up with the New Power Generation. Conceived as a return to urban R&B , Prince and the NPG released two albums, each of which contained flashes of brilliance but ultimately failed to live up to the larger body of work. After the second one, marked by the "The Symbol," Prince had his name officially changed to "The Symbol."

While the NPG continued to perform on the remaining Prince albums, its name was dropped from the main titles. Come was essentially a rehash of earlier sounds, and released under the old "Prince" name. 1994 saw the official release of The Black Album as well as a three-disc "greatest hits" set.

Gold Experience and Chaos & Disorder were released in 1995 and 1996, respectively. These two albums ended Prince's long-standing relationship with Warner Bros. Records. In spite of the bitter quarrels between artist and label, the albums feel fresh and new--a renaissance of creativity for Prince.

Emancipation, released in late 1996 on EMI is another three disc set--this time comprising a bevy of new music. The album is well composed and stylistically diverse. Though not as wild as his earlier releases, it stands on its own right, proving that Prince, a.k.a "The Symbol," a.k.a. "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince" can mature gracefully.

In the spring of 1998, the Artist released Crystal Ball, a four-CD set comprising three discs of previously unreleased tracks and a fourth disc, subtitled "The Truth," containing a collection of acoustic ballads. The vexing question of what to call a man whose name is an unpronouncable symbol came to an official end in May 2000, when The Artist Formerly Known As Prince announced that since his Warner/Chappell publishing contract expired on Dec. 31, 1999 he would formally be taking back the name Prince.

Taken from rollingstone.com


this should be 4hrs of chronological videos, i believe it is imperative for someone with the means to make a high quality dvd of this special. i can only record it on a tv with rabbit ears and on a mono vcr. so ist someone willing to step up to the plate and ensure that finally we can have a good set of promo clips .

dirty mind came out twice?

Rolling

Stone said:

I would like to sit this 'journalist' down and speak to him at great length regarding these two sentences which spewed forth from his vomit-fuelled little mind.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

I see you also inherited the smart ass gene, snaps. Let's elope to Iceland and have lots of little new breed children together in eternal sunlight.

Lovesexy? Stripped down? OMG.

charlottegelin said:

Lovesexy is about as "stripped down" as Liberace on Easter.

I think the person that wrote this is a spohmoric reporter. He or she obviosly did not do thrie homework. MORON, comes to mind.

el_callejero

Don't worry, I'm on a mission from God!

Number23 said:

cool.