My top three "I wish he hadn't done that"s are...


1)The name change... way too complex for the average fan to get, and just plain M.J.esque from a public persona standpoint.(Got lots of P.R., but also alot of jokes at his expense!)
2) Releasing "Betcha By Golly Wow" as Emancipation's first single....such a let down when the world was listening.
3) The Crystal Ball Fiasco...a real drop of the ball, alienating many hard-cores.

Honorable mentions:
- No video in time to properly back TGRES at radio(and terrible lead off single as well!)
- The many aborted projects promised from the late 90's to around 2002, (studio projects, immanently released P.P. shows, live stuff, etc.) In the wake of the Crystal Ball mess, there was a flood of stuff that was promised but which never materialized.
- NPGMC... Took too long to stabilize, again, alienating those trying desperately to keep a stiff-upper lip.

What do you think was Prince's greatest blunder?

The Name change was Confusing to Non Fans. But writing Slave on his face was the kicker because people just Thought he Was Crazy or Something. I had to explain this and the name change to people all the time..I personally didn't get bothered by it. I also think not performing at Jackson and Ritchie's We ARE THE WORLD HUrt him and he got Duped and played into their Smear Campaign against him. Look at Jackson and Lionel now..
[This message was edited Sun Mar 7 21:15:10 2004 by Zelaira]

the name change is a given ( we all get it, but it seemed strange in that time and place).

but to me, his biggest mistake was not bringing the Sign O' the Times tour to the states.

he was a darling again, it made critics forget under the cherry moon and reassured those who lost him with atwiad.

this was prince's time to show that he hadnt shot his creative load with purple rain.

while it was important to cultivate a following abroad, he blew any momentum in the states with the concert movie and premature release of lovesexy.

the name change wasn't that bad...
yeah it lead to jokes and he lost fans, but he could have won them all back if he wrote another album as good as purple rain...he should have lead off with Face Down or Sex in the Summer instead of Betcha By Golly Wow...so to answer your question it was betcha by golly wow

I would erase all weak performances of lame songs @ times when he was trippin'

CalhounSq said:

lol but he was trippin on e when he wrote the black album and methinks that album is the shit

Topic immediately makes you think "the name change to ".

Do you think Prince regrets that? I have to say, as confusing as it was for some, I think it was a great way of creating mystique, and at the time it felt like a new beginning.

butterballz84 said:

I'm not talking about drugs my dear...

CalhounSq said:

sorry i see what you mean, but just to expand on my point the album that is laden with drug references
"Eat to much and it makes u wanna fuk everyone u touch" -supercalifragisexy

1. Releasing ATWIAD immediately following Purple Rain.

2. Not touring the U.S. with The Sign O The Times Tour

3. Not extensively tour the U.S. for as long as he did because he was pissed The LoveSexy Tour wasn't as successful as he would have liked. Honestly, although I feel that was one of his best tours (even though I wasn't able to actually go to a concert), I think a lot of people just didn't connect with LoveSexy. I think if he would have toured with the black album, that tour would have been more successful in the U.S.

3a. I think Prince not touring the U.S. for basically 10 years is something I wish He would not have done. There was a LOT of music many of his fans never got to hear live in the U.S. Prince did a few dates within that time, but he skipped the "meat" of the United States. For instance, Texas didn't get a Parade tour date. We did get LoveSexy, but the next tour Texas got after that was the JOTY tour. That is a lot of music to have missed. I say all of that to say this.....I think that's why so many people still want to hear some of the old stuff, because we missed 10 years of live music from him, therefor many of us have never heard a lot of the old stuff. I remember going crazy hearing Housequake for the first time Live on the JOTY tour. Star Fish and Coffee, Raspberry Beret, and Mutiny, on the Hit n Run tour blew me away. Tears fell when I heard Sometimes It Snows in April on the One Night Alone Tour.

It's practically impossible for Prince to play everything he has ever recorded Live in concert...I'm well aware of that. But Some have to also understand that a lot of Prince's fans don't Live in Minneapolis, or Los Angeles, or New York, where he has seemed to perform the most. There is a LOT of music many of his fans missed and would still love to hear them in Concert.

Note- I know I strayed a little but I really wanted to get that off of my chest. Now I will be able to sleep tonight.

scrambledeggsaresoboring said:

damn true!!

Firing Lisa And Wendy

Releasing Graffiti Bridge this way...

Ripping up The Gold Experience...

Not releasing The Black Album togehter with Lovesexy...remember the two sides...

Peace

Juize

1 thing is hard..... Not being with the revolution is a big 1 4 me, Id undo anything that eventually broke them up if i could

and doing what ever i could to have made sure he never met larry graham.... you know... when he was truely emancipated and not FACE DOWN!

Meeting Larry Graham, Forgetting his roots (re-writting his lyrics... ), That fucking ugly ass SYMBOL guitar "habibibi"?!?!?! , Turning "JAZZ" into an ugly word....(4th day of November..mutha fucka)

I'm sure there is more by the way, but it's early in the morning...and the coffee hasn't done it's magic yet...

CinisterCee said:

It was brilliant PR...old Hollywood style: no publicity is bad publicity. If you remember, he was on TV on shows everywhere...kinda like now. Oprah, Rosey, etc. And on Oprah, that's where he stated that he was two people (Gemini - duh!). I have that on VHS somewhere.

scrambledeggsaresoboring said:

He blew it by not coming back to the States to support Anotherloverholeinyohead...then for If I Was Your Girlfriend. His funk base (read: black who were turned off years before) was all over those songs. UNTCM on opening night in Westwood, CA (when that fool tried to run over peeps), when Anotherloverholeinyohead came on, why did people jump up and start dancing? Hilarious.

Then with If I Was...that's one of the few (only?) Prince songs I've EVER heard from a gangsta car sittin on Daytons blastin DAT! (I was so thrilled)

The Graffiti Bridge project. Stupendously miscalculated.

I'd undo his adversiveness to constructive criticism.

The Lovesexy Cover following SOTT

the name change

ATWIAD too close to Purple Rain

Releasing Under The Cherry Moon in Black and White

writing slave on his face

fighting with Warner Bros

not using his guitar more often on albums

poor choices of lead off singles in the 90's

The last 10 years.

1. Putting "Joy In Repetition" on Graffiti Bridge when it should have been on SOTT
2. Not releasing Roadhouse Garden
3. Not putting enough 80's tracks on Crystal Ball, not releasing Crystal Ball 2

Nothing, I dig were he is now. The last releases were so mature and focoused, it was were I predicted he would be just not a soon. I look back on the slave thing and it was pretty dope.

He would have released Dream Fractory late 86 or SOTT would have been triple cd with in a large room, power fantastic, crystal ball, wonderful ass..

Disappearing, to the majority of the public, after finally getting free of Warners.

After all that moaning about them inhibiting his music, he didn't really come out with anything kick-ass to show them up. Emancipation was good but just too large and sprawling for people to absorb - I don't think there's much on their that Warners wouldn't have been happy for him to release - apart from the 3 disks at once! It seemed like he tried to prove his point by quantity more than quality.

After that failed to make much of a mark, he kind of disappeared onto the internet, which was very fore-thinking of him - but has mostly mucked that up too - he should be king of music on the internet, having a massive thriving business or something.

It only seems like now he is back on track as far as publicity and status goes... There again, I was quite happy to have him all to myself doing experimental stuff, what am I saying?!

1. I wish he hadn't sued all the fan-clubs. I think this brought his fanbase down considerably.

2. He should have brought the European Tours to the States. As someone has said. The US was without a concert for years.

3. Definitely meeting up with Larry Graham. I' voiced my opinion on this before and will not again.

4. I wish the split up with the Revolution had gone a little better.

5. Never even tried to do that musical thing. What was it? Waste of money and time. (Someone refresh my memory on this one)


However, the name change thing although he said was "spiritual" I already knew it was a publicity ploy to release his music, his way. So that really didn't bother me.

butterballz84 said:

:ROLL:

He wasn't on E when he wrote those songs!!

It's hard to pick just one thing,so I'm gonna list several things that I would undo,if I had the opportunity...



***Releasing 'ATWIAD' so soon after 'Purple Rain'---Of course,back then I had NO problem with getting a new Prince album that soon...lol...but in retrospect,it was a bad idea.Prince should have taken 1985 off,not released any albums that year,and then bounced back in 1986 with a major follow-up project.

***Not bringing his 'SOTT' tour to the States---he had alot of momentum with that album,and the tour would have been amazing.He did give us the SOTT concert film,but there's nothing like the real thing.

***Releasing the wrong singles---beginning with 'Parade',he started releasing the wrong singles from some of his albums.For example,the title track to "Lovesexy" really should have been a single instead of the mediocre "Glam Slam".

***Graffiti Bridge---this film and soundtrack should have never been made.Ironically,at the beginning of 1990,Prince was riding high.....his 'Batman' soundtrack had sold millions,his song "Nothing Compares 2 U" was recorded by Sinead O'Connor and became one of the year's most successful singles.It was a perfect time for him to just chill and plan his next move.But he had to blow it with this lackluster project,and thus,he ended 1990 on a low note.

***The name change---this move did alot of damage to his career.It basically turned him into a joke throughout most of the 90s.

***The war with Warners---don't get me wrong,I do think that Prince had some valid points.But he went about it the wrong way.He spent much of the 90s whining,bitching,badmouthing Warners and wearing the word "slave" on his cheek.To many people,he appeared to be a spoiled,childish,multi-millionaire who throws a tantrum when things don't go his way.If he had behaved in a more mature and respectful manner,he probably would have eventually got what he wanted: his freedom AND his master recordings.

Juize said:

- Wow....I even forgot.....the Gold Experience thing was insane! Imagine if Days of Wild, The Ride and Interactive replaced We March, 319 and Shy! Or if TGE was a double album.
But the name change was the most ridiculous thing.

Not Touring for the Parade and SOTT albums was painful.

Grafitti Bridge movie was like getting hit by a sack potatoes.