what, seriously, is so dark about the Black Album or Chaos And Disorder? both have disturbing, over-the-top cover art, but mostly contain really tame music - not bad music, pure funkyness and rock as usual, but not "dark" at all like he wants us to believe. ("bob george" being the exception.) what's so evil-side-of-prince about le grind or dinner with delores? i think the time he truly explored his dark side was Come and The Undertaker.

MrSquiggle said:

Yeah I agree...both albums we're good music but more Disney than the Devil...They weren't 'dark' really @ all and Bob George was more comical than sinister....Now if U want 2 hear a really DARK Prince song...listen 2 'There's others here with us' that one will spook ya everytime

Others Here With Us
When I'm alone, my mind takes a drive
Through chocolate religion and spirits alive
All I was brought up in this world 2 know
Is lost when a demon swallows them whole

CHORUS:
There's others here with us
There's others here with us, I know

It's strange how your mind works when Love is in power
One learns 2 care and appreciate a flower
What makes others want 2 change your mind?
All the things I've seen, life is so sublime

CHORUS

7-month-old baby died in her sleep
The parents went crazy and cried 4 a week
They swore they heard her laugh in the crib by the wall
They're convinced she's with us if she's anything at all

There's others here with us
There's others here with us, I know (I know)

Bobby had an uncle who took a string
And wrapped his neck around it, a pitiful thing
If only we can turn back the hands of time
Except there's others here with us, life is sublime

There's others here with us
There's others here with us, I know (I know)

All the things I've seen {x2}

CHORUS

It was mainly media hype, particularly with the black album. Remember back in 1987 (?) when the black album was made, subjects like gangsters with guns, BDSM, orgies, etc. would have been considered dark. Most songs were about lurve so even a song about shagging would cause a bit of a stir. It's also about a change of perspective on our part though. Just the other day I was quite happily listening to Outkast singing "I just wanna fu-u-u-ck you", which seems quite ok and normal, but in 1987 hearing "up and down, up and down, feels so good" seemed quite provocative (well to me anyway), and "I sincerely wanna..." was just unmentionable.

AsylumUtopia said:

The black album was supposedly something prince made in the midst of ecstasy experiments. Those are the stories I hear. He had a bad trip and it scared him. Thus, the epiphany of lovesexy. Prince certainly does have a dark foreboding side to his spirit. Look at some of his pictures, he looks absulutely demonic in some of them. I remember first listenint to Annie Christian as a 13 year old, under my covers and being scared shitless. I've always thought the evil part of him is what makes him so compelling as an artist and performer. People used to think he was a devil worshipper earlier in his career also, and I think all genius freak people out with their intensity, look at Beethoven, Malcolm X and a host of other great men who operate on a higher plane than the rest of us. The duality of such men is almost always a symptom of greatness or high achievement.

chaosand disorder is not dark to me...

but the black album is.

I listened to it on cassette in 1988, before most people had heard it or reviewed it. And it was like a slap in the face. Just listen to what was on the radio by major pop stars in 1988.

It had a shockingly "un-pop" ugly funk sound. It was also very mid-range heavy and meaty. The lyrics were braggard and violent, and sexual without the usual prince romanticism (except "when 2 r in love" which just had this hardcore "black" soul train sound, it certainly wasn't light like "Manic monday" or "Cream" or "Pop Life" or "1999"

The only single he's released that I can think of right now that has the black album darkness is: "my name is prince".

Pheremone has the same dark quality.

its the tone and hardness of the beats and rhythms. Le Grind has that monsterous rhythm noise going through it. cindy c starts with an off key blare...

an example of a dark song that is unreleased: Rebirth of the Flesh

Joy in repetitiion has the same utter darkness.

Now "The Darkness" is a whole nother matter.

Now "The Darkness" is a whole nother matter.[/quote]

The stories I have heard from early in his career have people looking into his eyes and being frightened. I've known people who have that effect on others, I couldn't pinpoint exactly why or whether that means they are not good people, i only know that some people freak other people out.

I've always grouped Come, Batman and the Black Album together as musically quite similar...and that is that they are all fairly dark. I don't rate Chaos and Disorder as quite as dark as those three, but it has its moments, too.

Come, Batman and Black Album - the dark trilogy, in my opinion.