SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

i dont like 2 exaggerate but i agrre with u 100 million %

totally unique emotional xperience !

danielboon said:

i finally don't kill a thread and i am stuck in client meetings all morning, so i miss out on all the fun!

damn!!!

:hugs: mr. cologne.

Clubkid said:

'Client meetings'? GET YOU!

Rave, TRC, NEWS.

I agree with those 3 album choices, but I think that there are more. I think "Dirty Mind" may have alienated a lot of fans at the time due to its radical departure from what came before.

But to the point- I think all 3 of those albums are what Prince NEEDED to release at that point. In essence, they are 3 of his purest releases. They obviously don't have commercial aspirations like their neighboring albums. After PR, Prince needed to challenge himself and his fans to do something new. After The Black Album, Prince needed to right his conscious and share his ecstasy with everyone. After Rave flopped, Prince needed to re-establish himself musically.

COME!!!

Very fan alienating!!!

Soladeo

Definitely "Come". The whole album has a downbeat, claustrophobic feel to it.

Moonbeam said:

yup...if i were of age back when it came out i woulda been shocked, too! "m'gawd, he's gone punk!" dm wuz definitely the first purple litmus test.

soladeo1 said:

You have an extravagantly bold infactuation with the exclamation mark which I admit I do not find entirely unpleasant...somewhat mesreising and sensually stimulating. Tongue on silk.

!edit
[This message was edited Fri Oct 31 15:00:15 PST 2003 by Number23]

soladeo1 said:

ur missing the point !

come may have alienated some fans yea, but was it a new direction 4 p, was it a gamble, was it spiritual in some way, i dont think so !

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

come on guys i said earlier in this thread dirty mind was a possibe due 2 the new direction at that time , but could hardly b inluded as a fan alienating album cos there were very few fans 2 alienate back then ... no ?

danielboon said:

sure it can. it don't matter if you've got 10,000 fans or just 10...dm was a pretty radical departure from the popsy, r & b sound from his first two albums.

from cutesy discofunkliciousness to rough-around-the-edges punkishness in the course of 3 albums/one year? y'bet your sweet bippy ol' boy probably lost a bit of his then-growin fanbase.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

i kno wot u sayin, we'll agree 2 differ ! sexy dansa !

hmm, I mostly agree, though I'd say "Dirty Mind" in place of "Lovesexy".
"Lovesexy" was more or less and album that was just waiting to happen. Not entirely that shocking (set aside the album cover).
On the other hand "Dirty Mind" shocked just about everybody when it came out. Before then Prince was basicly just some cookie cutter r&b act. Sure, his first two albums featured some innuendo,but on a "Britney Spears" level. that album took a lot of getting used to, it was a real jaw dropper. He may not have lost A LOT of fans, but I'm sure he lost some, some that probably didn't return til 1999 or Purple Rain.
It was a real bold statement/move, and still continues to be his (one of, if not THE) most shocking album.

I can understand why peeps are throwing Dirty Mind in2 the mix here, but sorry - that ISNT what THIS thread is about. If it was, then we would see Dirty Mind in there, 1999 & Purple Rain and of course, critics choice: SOTT. But it's not - It's about the three stated above.

Like Moonbeam said earlier, these 3 are defining career moments judged by the sheer risks etc he was taking.

Dirty Mind is one of those kind of albums - granted, but was NOT included in this list as commercially he hadnt a huge fanbase 2 lose at that point.

Then again, ironically, it does looks like that he's coming full circle...

The thread that runs through the three above is... (dare I say it...at risk of bringing religion in2 this thread) spirituality.

I remember skiving off school 2 go and buy ATWIAD - and raced home 2 my Wreka Playa, and put my headphones on, cued it up...and devoured every nuance of THAT wierd cover...

Then...instead of being sat there like this:
























































I was sat there like this:




















WTF was this? At that stage, I was expecting a 'natural' progression from 1999 - Purple Rain - ...? It was NOTHING like ANY of us expected. But we learnt and stayed on the train - or got off at the next station (and Im sure plenty of people did jump that train back in 85 too...)

But I persevered, and learnt after that 2 expect the unexpected with Him - and 2 be honest, it just made the whole anticipation of a new album even more fun: trying 2 play a guessing game with what his next move would be was always impossible, and 4 years I never felt cheated by an album, that is...until Chaos & Disorder. But that's a whole other thread.

Anyway - I guess the seed Im trying 2 sow here in order 2 steer conversation back 2 the main topic at hand, is that there were/are certain albums u really have 2 work WITH - u become an active (or not as the case may be) participant in a journey. U didnt have 2 work with Purple Rain, Parade, SOTT, Batman etc etc etc (although I have 2 say the song Grafitti bridge was a little TOO much work in my opinion!)

Im still trying 2 convey succinctly the essence of what I mean by my original post - I think the only people on this thread so far who seem 2 get it are T-Bone (Supa), Chris (AnX), Moonbeam (Ian), & Danny (uh...danielboon!)
[This message was edited Fri Oct 31 16:09:48 PST 2003 by bananacologne]

bananacologne said:

bc... u just posted my thoughts completly u r bang on i already said in another thread atwiad was not what i was xpecting at the time. and after a few listens POW !,i didnt get off at that stop !,and graffiti bridge well...too much like hard work !but still no reaon 2 gett off if u pardon the pun !!!

i could have written the above word 4 word !

i realise wot u sayin keep up the good work bc great f**kin thread !

I dont see ANY of those albums as fan-alienating.
Come is fan-alienating.
New Power Soul is fan-alienating
Rave is fan-alienating.

---

thebumpsquad said:

ur missing the point just like soladeo1, the albums u mentioned probably turned folks off p ... yes .

but...were they massive carrear gambles ?,were they a new direction 4 p?

were they spiritual in some way ?

just my opinion .. i dont think so.

bananacologne said:

I guess the sun went to my head

---

I agree with you BananaCologne. I felt the same way when I first heard ATWIAD but I didn't skip school to buy it. Perhaps there should be something in between Lovesexy and TRC? Because he's lost a huge number of fans in that 14 year period, if I'm counting correctly?) for a variety of reasons. But in terms of your thesis, TRC definitely fits.

Those albums might've alienated the fans a bit, but that's not to say that they're wack albums. They're still good but, I guess, a little too out there for your average person's tastes. They're simply Prince's artistic statements that are very profound and personal. That isn't to say that you still can't shake your to it.

Sure, Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles was a little out there too, & everyone hated their T.V. movie when it came out. But it was still a great album.

I was there when Prince did a 360 on us fans after the legendary Purple Rain. Around the World in a Day was radically different, but it still had that Prince funk that we could all groove to. Same deal with the other 2 albums. So it isn't all that bad.

I agree with ATWIAD and TRC as coming totally out of left field for the opposite reasons. With ATWIAD he was taking it easier, letting the foot off the pedal if you will. Think about it. He pushed the envelope from For You through Purple Rain. When he finally made it to the top he had to do something less ambitious.

Fast forward to the 2000's and he had lost a lot of the respect and praise he had earned. He needed to prove to himself, if nobody, else that he still had IT. So coming off of Rave and those plastic High songs he comes from nowhere with TRC to say he's still here.

I have to disagree about alienating, the vast differences are what pulls me in even more so. It is one long journey. Admittedly you rush out to the car from the "wrecka stow" and slip the cd in, or cassette as in days of old (vinyl nicely wrapped not to be touched yet) 'cos we didn't have cd's in cars then!! and you sit there and on first hearing often go WTF!! One or two more listens and it clicks and you realise you have just taken another turn on the journey. Ain't no straight roads with this man.

General public maybe but fans?

PFunkjazz said:

This post completely sums up the two sides of Prince and his followers. I do state my fan level as obsessed and this post really offended me. Prince is not just some music making machine with words and music. What he produces is so much more than this. I know some don't want to delve any deeper than what the eye first sees level but there really is so much more and perhaps if you opened your eyes, heart and mind would follow.

Why was he naked on the cover of Lovesexy? Why did he ask you not to buy the black album. He was naked, stripped bare with his hand on his heart! A Question of U poses the question, "must I become naked, no image at all". My translation, can't you see past the surface without me being so blatant. Even then some only see what they want to see.

I guess it all depends on whether "fan" means "popular music fans" or :"Prince fan."

If it's the former, I agree that it's ATWIAD by more than a sight. Because Prince delivered a psychedelic pop album that contained faint echoes of Purple Rain, but was altogether different in tone and presentation. His sales fell off permanently w/that album.

I'd also agree that Lovesexy alienated a lot of pop fans. As I see it, the mass audience couldn't reconcile the sexualized bad boy preaching faith, heaven and love, because they couldn't recognize the messages of spirituality embedded in his prior work. Being butt nekkid on a lily didn't help much either.

If "fan" means "Prince fan," then I'd agree TRC did alienate a lot of P fans, for reasons that have been dissected a thousand times over.

I've been thinking about this thread...

I disagree with your choices. Yes, they are radical departures however that is why most fans (ie Prince fans) ultimately come to LOVE them. Over time, they reveal themselves to be works of genius (even if on first listenings, they are difficult and obscure).

The albums which alienate are the ones which have few redeeming features - and there are 2, in my opinion - chaos and disorder and come.

these albums alienated me BIG TIME. i took time off prince after these albums. they were a huge disappointment.
[This message was edited Sun Nov 2 3:53:21 PST 2003 by madkat]

67TBirdHeartAttack said:

I agree 100%.

But I still carry around the CD with the cover turned inside out.