How many think that he will do it right this time?

As long as he doesn't open his mouth other than to sing, he might be okay.

Who knows?

So you want another album like Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic?

where's he comin back from?

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Critical and commercial suicide, the brink of insanity, the clutches of Larry. Who knows?

I'll take any and all of the above.

he could have a fleetwood mac styled comeback where he just makes a record, tours for the record and does his job. he could definitely get airplay on adult contemporary (sorry, but it's true) but he needs to be realistic about where he stands in the whole scheme of things. if he milked the record long enough, and listened to what the record exxecs have to say as far as promotion and appearances, he could certainly sell a million records or so.

SassyBritches said:

But remember, Prince is not about selling records and isn't in the game for the bling-bling. He just makes music for the art of it. Either that, or he's lying to us. I don't know. It would be nice of him to make millions again and become popular again, but that's not where he's at now. He's like Thelonius Monk now: an artist that rose to fame and descended into obscurity. Whether he chooses to rise again is up to him.

from hearing his name dropped an awful lot for the first month of this new year, this seems like a huge commercial year for Prince, and if he does tour, and do all that stuff, I bet he can win alot of the non-Prince fans over again. I know he's not in for money, and the glam, and purely the art of it, but hey, who turns down money? Prince knows he could use an extra bills in his pocket.

my opinion is, this may be a big year for him... but we'll see

He's too far gone to come back. He needs a smart manager to think for him.

EvilWhiteMale said:

You've become a sound bite

my observation:
judging from the "rehearsals", the wb after party (something he would have never done in '96)...the rock hall induction..the big-budget music video...the dvd rumours..etc..etc.. he is going to go at the mainstream again. I just want to see it done right this time. Not like in '90 w/ the failed Graffitti Bridge Project or '91 w/the D&P project..not like '96 or '99(so many things done wrong every time).

my idea:
1)when you have the oppurtunity (like the grammys or the induction)...kick everybody's ass on that stage..
2)no raspberry beret/take me with u or when you were mine...
3)give the "fams" what they want..open up that frigging vault and release the songs that we already have in cd quality..
4)heck do a commentary for purple rain,utcm,gb..
5)no religious talk--keep it a "personal matter"..just be about the music..once and for all!!
6) make an album w/13 songs that will blow our minds..no raps..no guest appearances..maybe a guitar duet w/santana..but that's about it
7)this is a long-shot but perform with the revolution once again..they can come out in the middle of the show..do a medley..and leave..

revolution75 said:

I have a feeling he is doing it "right" this time..as if there is a "right" etc. There is no playbook in htis thing called life, music, etc...if there were we wouldn't have had ATWIAD and Parade the album. Remember that folks for what its worth.

rdhull said:

Where's the sound?

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Munda City

He's been there too long, must've run up one hell of a room service bill.

rdhull said:

sound bite

EvilWhiteMale said:

u kno what I mean

written quip bite etc...

Musically - he'll come back. Actually, he's never really been away.

Critically - maybe. Those fickle buggers.

Commercially - that ship has sailed. But that means he can do what he likes, which I think is a good thing.

To sell again, he'd have to do something awful like go to work with Timbaland or Justin bloody Timberlake or The Neptunes or some crap like that. He's above that.

He could do it right this time, why not?

If he's got some strong material, a solid record company who gives him proper promotion (cool videoclips etc.), if he does some live promotion at the right TV shows, doesn't speak too much weird stuff, doesn't overdress, and does a worldtour with a good mix between the hits and songs of the new album,I still think he can sell at least a million, provided the album is good!

Sorry, but no. Prince is an 80's icon and the general public will never accept him after all that TAFKAP shit. Unless Prince STOPS producing that non-descript jazz and gets back to something that's funky and dazzling, he'll never have that fame back. The critics unanimously agreed that SOTT was a five star record. Since then, they've shunned him, even though Diamonds and Pearls had some chart success. The man is going on 46 (or something). It's VERY unlikely that his new shit will get approved.

and the thing that gets me the most is that it can be done!
he can make a true prince album!! heck..he can dig into the vaults and re-record some of that golden era stuff..(like he did w/icnttpoym or feel u up)..and we would never know..all i am saying is that if he is attempting to re-enter the biz..please do it right!!

revolution75 said:

and this just shows not his so called idiocy but some semblance of integrity because he has NOT does this..to satisfy his fans, websitews, or demands.

He could so easil throw out something that is vintage and have everyone eating out of hi s hands and nobody would be the wiser

rdhull said:

No, I want an in depth explanation, preferably a 100 word essay.

revolution75 said:

As long as he doesn't release another Rave, he'll do ok. I hope he has the right people working with him this time.

alright..it's official..he will be on the grammy's
don't call it a comeback..he's been here for years???

He needs to work WITH record companies for once. Rave could've been a massive commercial success (Greatest Romance was A listed on heavy rotation by all major UK radio stations and if the video weren't three freakin' months late and the promotion a complete joke then I'm convinced it could've been a top ten Billboard hit too). It also had So Far So Pleased (No Doubt were hot at the time, and this track is stronger than any of their material. This could've been a massive US hit). Wherever U Go Whatever U Do also has that anthemic feel, and reaks of commercial viability.

All wasted. Get the timing right first of all. Release the track to radios, then the video a few weeks later. Back that up with TV appearances/performances and press interviews.

Getting a hit ain't rocket science. It's all about exposure.

revolution75 said:

??

Larry's gonna Knock u out!

I'm gonna knock u out!

*and dawn goes back to normal mode...

dawn74 said:

lol!!!

revolution75 said:

You hit it right on.

These things ebb and flow. It's happened with most if not all great artists. Look at Santana, for example. He just plugged away doing his thing, and he has had stretches of massive popularity, and stretches of obscurity. Bob Dylan, David Bowie and Neil Young were all seen as washed up in the 80's, but came back big time in the 90's.

But with Prince I always feel like he doesn't quite have the capacity to make a comeback, because he won't (or can't) do what is necessary. It's been there for P all this time, and it seems like he almost always makes the wrong moves. It's almost like he sat down and had a long meeting with his advisors and came up with a calculated plan to destroy his mass appeal in as short a time as possible. I could almost believe that, if he weren't so obviously desperate for a hit. Let's face it, TRC and NEWS were both in response to the failure of Rave. They were to save face. He couldn't make it on the Top 40 so suddenly he had to thumb his nose at the charts and prove he didn't care about success by making willfuly obtuse albums. Rave was the right album for a successful commercial run, but Prince screwed it up with a poor, disorganized track listing, a cover that reinforced the notion that he's just way too freaky for the mainstream, and then terrible, terrible, terrible promotion. And the fact that he was still Symbolman didn't help, either.

But we'll see. Hopefully this is Prince's time in the sun again.

JonSnow said:

Good Observation. I couldn't agree more with you. I think that if he doesn't comeback this year then it may never happen. Everything is set for Prince to come back to the mainsream. The question is, will Prince take full advantage of it?