Supernova said:

Sure sounded that way to me...

I finally popped in NEWS tonight on the way home. It's really not a bad CD overall. I don't care for the jazzy parts, but it's not too bad.

skywalker said:

Very true...the cd has given artists a bigger medium to fill. Albums are not 30 to 44 minutes anymore but are twice as long.

The music on Vanity 6, Appolonia 6, and Ice Cream Castles are hardly first rate material, though. It's below average Prince funk by the numbers, in my opinion. This is despite the fact that these three albums still spawned three big hit singles (yeah, I'm actually including "Sex Shooter" here)

I will say that Prince has somewhat forgotten how to write an original, catchy single after 1996 or so... Although, that may be mostly due to lack of marketing. For all the songs he wrote between '82 and '87 that screamed "hit", it was truly amazing. He had quite a gift. Kind of like The Beatles rolled up into one man. However, every artist who is worth their salt has maybe five years of great hit material in them before they start to lose their "freshness".

I think Prince's time of innovation is done. Its okay. He's already BEEN effective and influential. Nobody(other than orgers and a few others) even gives a damn anymore. I guess he's doing what he wants now. Doesn't matter to me, because I feel as if his truly effective music has been done already. I haven't been feelin' his work for quite soem time now. I HEAR it, but it doesn't affect me. I don't FEEL it. Hate me if ya want for sayin' it, but its true for me. Its NOT as simple as pre/post 1989. He's had some good stuff post 1989. He has fallen off BIG TIME, though. S'aight. He had his day. No one stays relevant forever.

the3rddoctor said:

Nope.

BlaqueKnight said:

Very good analysis.

Supernova said:

Yep.

the3rddoctor said:

If that's how you wish to interpret it, so be it.

MattyJam said:

'A CASE OF YOU'??? ...U are kidding...right?

Its simple.

Take the work of the eighties, as a whole.

Take the work of the nineties, as a whole.

Add Salt and pepper to taste.


Result

the 90s sucked.

Face it. The commercial sales of every album in that era, besides Purple Rain, were not that great. The reviews for over half of these albums were mixed.I am not saying that this wasn't Prince at his best-I am just saying that people (around here especially) tend to see these years as untouchable, when in reality,they are not.


1980-1988 is seen as untouchable because in those days Prince had fewer songs on each album compared to 1989-now. This made the albums seem better(more consistent)overall and the b-sides and bootlegs from that era sounded sweeter as well. If Emancipation would have only been 8 or 9 songs long we would've all called it one of his best ever and rushed out to buy the boots and b-sides containing "Mr. Happy" etc.

The quality of Prince's work from 1989-present isn't a great deal worse than what came before. His sales have dropped off for sure, but 20+ years in the business and no major record label will do that. The opinion of music critics (if it matters) has been just as mixed as always.
I just think that the change in how he presents his music as well a the cynicism that comes with age and years of listening to music has unfarily made Prince of now "not as good" as the Prince of old in the minds of many around here.

Either that or we are all to obsessed with him and his music in the 1st place.

Both sides make valid points about the 80-88, 90's eras. We all have totally different definitions of what quality is here and there is really not much to argue about. The era of 80 to 88 were not pristine in terms of art as some would assume. Dirty Mind was then looked back on by critics as his mythical highpoint which no album afterward seemed to reach for them. Controversy got so so reviews but sold better than Dirty Mind, 1999 got good reviews but he was still being said to deviate from his Dirty Mind 'peak', purple rain was likewise, unfavorably compared to 1999, Around the world got great to poor reviews, Parade got the same, sign of the times was not seen as perfect at the time it came out but even at the years end critics were converted into calling it the years best. I guess my point is we leave out human nature, I can't state how many reviews I've read on every new album and how he's "back' to form of 1999, dirty mind, sott or whatever.
I would like to say that in many ways he's gotten much better with age,(voice,production,arranging) and in other ways he's lost his edge. Pop-art, is a arc that all great artists hit for a few years, a time when their creativity is in tune with their commerciality. Take 1999, it's music is what prince said, "I was in kindergarten then" is very simple and the production is not great but their was that huge amount of innovation, weirdness, creativity that came through it and his best work of the time. That's the guy I think of at his prime. Even though I think a lot of his later work is just fine and too harshly criticized. His talent is still their but that element that he had then is, if not gone, then diminished. It's a complicated thing but it's a great topic to dissect.

Answers you seek, eager you are...

fear leads 2 misunderstanding,

misunderstanding leads to naiivety,

naiivety leads 2 purple kool aid, purple kool aid leads 2 NPGMC etc etc...

Almost exactly echoing my thoughts, everything up to Lovesexy was a journey, he was finding his way spiritually and discovering things on the way. His music reflected this, it was all a journey and sometimes that journey was a struggle, tough mountains to climb and at other times floating a clear crystal lake. Lovesexy & Batman & Graffiti Bridge were the discovery time and the wanting to share the discovery with everyone.

TRC is an extension of that search. It`s in my opinion the most intimate piece of music he put out (besides Emancipation. But I didnt like the latter musically). You just dont happen to like the music as you did with Lovesexy. But TRC is by no means less spiritual and soul searching.

Diamonds & Pearls acceptance of who he was and what he believed and if others didn't then hey it didn't matter and have a bit of fun just with life in general, a man falling in love with a woman (enter Mayte full time) from here on in I think a little lost, perhaps not focused totally on his music as he had a partner in his life big time. I sort of lost touch a bit here with Prince and didn't listen much to the stuff, musically it wasn't doing much for me and certainly nothing in the lyrics that touched me. The Gold Experience and I am back in with a vengence, the lull was over! Wrong, back into the previous groove with the following releases. Then bang The Rainbow Children - oh my the wait was worth it, he's back on track again - once again WRONG! Lovesexy was one thing, TRC was a whole other! Arrogance personified! My apologies to any who follow the JW faith.

Well, you said it pretty clear yourself. "Lovesexy is one thing, TRC is a whole other." It`s all about musical and spiritual progression. I wouldn`t want anybody in 2002 to remain at their spiritual level of 1988.

For those who didn't have God in their life before 1988 or understood what God was, Lovesexy brought this to them and we embarked on the journey. For those that did, they celebrated with Prince on his discovery. All that had gone before made sense, we looked at things with new eyes, we saw a new world.

So Lovesexy changed your life. Great. That happens to very few people. So what do you expect? That TRC would change your life a second time? It`s just music, man. And it`s great music. But what do you want? Every Prince album a spiritual awakening to your like?

The Prince of Now is nothing more than a musician who once rocked my world and changed my life. I see glimpses every now and then. I cried when I saw him in Australia last October because I felt I had lost a part of me. The happy Prince who had found what was right for him and made sense to many was gone.

You must have seen a different Prince then. Because the one I saw was happier than ever. Musically and spiritually mature, a man acting his age. An adult, both as a musician and a man. And maybe you should ask Prince about this. Because he would tell you that he finally has found what is right for him. Who are you to judge what`s best for him? Prince`s spiritual choices are there for him, and only him. He shouldnt be judged for what impact he has on others who are not strong enough to find their spiritual path by themselves.

I am not saying any of the above is right or wrong, just how I feel. (this is edited from a very long essay I wrote so sorry if it seems disjointed in places)

Isnt how Prince feels about himself the most important thing? He feels happier than ever, and he would disagree with everything you say. The way I see it, you seem to be caught up in the past and you want Prince to be the same person he was 15 years from today. That`s kinda unfair, don`t you think? Give the man the right to change, to grow up, to find what he really wants in life. Don`t judge him by your spiritual expectations. Because your spiritual goal you will have to find yourself, don`t use him for that. That`s not his job. If you find that he doesnt give you what you want, than this is YOUR problem, not his. Prince is a musician, and he was never more than that, although you make a messiahs of him. He came to play music, make us happy through music, share his feelings during his quest to spirituality. Now he has found it. Be happy that he did. Because in 1988, Prince was a very confused, young and angry man who obviously wasnt happy. Today he is, and he is still giving us music, even more music than ever before. You may like it or not, but Prince is no less of a person only because you seem to have lost touch with him. It`s obvious that Prince has moved on, while you still want to live in 1988. That`s sad. Go ahead and find yourself and do it by yourself. You dont need Prince or anybody for that.

67TBirdHeartAttack said:

BlaqueKnight said:

Almost exactly echoing my thoughts, everything up to Lovesexy was a journey, he was finding his way spiritually and discovering things on the way. His music reflected this, it was all a journey and sometimes that journey was a struggle, tough mountains to climb and at other times floating a clear crystal lake. Lovesexy & Batman & Graffiti Bridge were the discovery time and the wanting to share the discovery with everyone. Diamonds & Pearls acceptance of who he was and what he believed and if others didn't then hey it didn't matter and have a bit of fun just with life in general, a man falling in love with a woman (enter Mayte full time) from here on in I think a little lost, perhaps not focused totally on his music as he had a partner in his life big time. I sort of lost touch a bit here with Prince and didn't listen much to the stuff, musically it wasn't doing much for me and certainly nothing in the lyrics that touched me. The Gold Experience and I am back in with a vengence, the lull was over! Wrong, back into the previous groove with the following releases. Then bang The Rainbow Children - oh my the wait was worth it, he's back on track again - once again WRONG! Lovesexy was one thing, TRC was a whole other! Arrogance personified! My apologies to any who follow the JW faith.

For those who didn't have God in their life before 1988 or understood what God was, Lovesexy brought this to them and we embarked on the journey. For those that did, they celebrated with Prince on his discovery. All that had gone before made sense, we looked at things with new eyes, we saw a new world.

The Prince of Now is nothing more than a musician who once rocked my world and changed my life. I see glimpses every now and then. I cried when I saw him in Australia last October because I felt I had lost a part of me. The happy Prince who had found what was right for him and made sense to many was gone.

I am not saying any of the above is right or wrong, just how I feel. (this is edited from a very long essay I wrote so sorry if it seems disjointed in places)