I was in the record store today for about 15 minutes and two older guys were talking about buying old Prince records becaue they saw the Harrison tribute performance!

I think this show may do for Prince what Motown 25 did for MJ when he introduced the Moonwalk. The world is back on the Prince ride and this show may realy lead to a massive comeback if he can make a good record.

As for me, I have never been so impressed or in awe of a live TV performance as I was on Sunday, since the Motown 25 TV special back in the ealry 80's when we all saw the moonwalk for the first time. Prince grammy performance in 84 comes close, but this one the other night really surprised me.

I think the Oscar performance is going to go down as a landmark moment in Prince's career - the whole look of it was just so iconic, and (generally speaking) nobody expected him to come on full-steam the way he did...the Hall of Fame performances will most certainly not be forgotten, but I think the Oscars has been his big comeback money shot thus far.

It was an amazing performance, but we've become accustomed to amazing Prince performances on TV over the last 20 years. This one was special, because it seemed like this was the time that the music community came together to give Prince his propers, and he gave them a big payoff.

I think the better comparison may be Elvis' 1968 TV special in that Prince, like Elvis, reminded the masses of his legacy while showing them that he still had the chops (which they woulda known had they kept paying attention after Purple Rain).

All that being said, if you're comparing RRHOF '04 and Motown '84, I still think the latter had a more monumental impact. In any event, the 1987 performance of SOTT and Play In The Sunshine on the MTV Video Awards was SPELLBINDING.

Damn sounds like was a mind blowing show and that the buzz bout prince is sumpten else at the moment.... .... unfortunatly i'm in Oz n' we haven't heard anything! i heard he was doing the RRHOF through this website but no coverage in papers/rags/TV as far as u would know the man is dead if u didn't know any better.

Actually, the moonwalk was a dance that was being done years before the Motown special, it's just that Mike introduced it to the masses who never saw it before, i.e., people who never kept up with the latest dance moves. But that was a different era, and on a channel everybody who owned a tv had access to.

Seems like everybody is talking about Prince lately, and that RRHOF performance. If you ask me he was the only ROCK and ROLL going on during the induction ceremony. Had I not been a fan, it would have made me a fan and I'd be out buying up his catalog. He gave that utterly staid audience the adrenaline shot they needed.

In other words, he did EXACTLY what he said he'd do when it was first announced that he was going to be inducted in; in an interview he specifically said he felt sorry for anybody that played after him. Gotta love that cocky attitude, because he's a badass who backs it up. He pretty much stole the show, and even Tom Petty fans are saying as much. It would have been pretty much a yawnfest without him. And most mainstream fans today who lost track of him after the mid to late '80s have no clue as to Prince's abilities.

The shame of it all is that his back catalog isn't getting the same remaster/reissue treatment that many of his contemporaries have been getting in recent years, and this year is the most opportune time to do it. Sonically some of it sounds terribly weak. This is one area where his stubborness hurts him, but it's his call (and it should be). He can change that whenever he wants. Who knows when/if he'll ever want to.

'
[This message was edited Wed Mar 24 12:04:13 2004 by Supernova]

namepeace said:

But recently? What was the last thing he played live on TV, like "Jam of the Year" or something?

Anxiety said:

That Oscar performance was terrific - the way he sat next to his wife - just amazing. I've been telling people for years, 'Look at how he can sit in a seat like no-one else - and he's still only 45!' and at last the whole world is talking about it, his posture, his relaxed pose, even the way he claps. We saw glimpses of this greatness with Ellen and Leno, but at the Oscars he was sitting down for hours. Think what he'll be like in 25 years time - he's only going to get better and better.

.

Wesco said:

That's not entirely true. The HOF performance was on Channel 10 news in Sydney, and was all over the newspapers, as was the Grammy performance.

Nuff Sed.

Geez, talk about over-zealous, delusional fans.

Motown 25 was an international talking point. Like Live Aid, because of MJ's performance it'll go down in history as one of the greatest moments in popular culture.

Are you really equating that with Prince's Hall of Fame induction?

I haven't heard a single person talk about that. None of the UK papers even reported on it.

There was a massive audience for Motown 25 - certainly not as many people saw the Hall of Fame performance, though I wish the whole world could see it!

Even after the Motown 25 show, which we didn't see in the UK until much later, the buzz in the UK about Jackson only came later when the videos started coming out.

I thought that this years grammies was Prince's Motown 25

I'm lost. What Oscar performance?

langebleu said:

langebleu said:

Yeah, 3 or so hours without recording some new music or playing live. It must have been torture for him!!!

Ristooth said:

You have a point. There have been few recent television performances of note from Prince, largely because he has been reclusive. But, back in '98-early '99, he did tear up "Come On" on Leno.

I guess I am looking at this performance on a "continuum." But it's clear that Grammies/RROF performances have been just the high-impact public appearances that Prince has needed for at least 10 years.

I like it that Prince finally disses MJ good.

Anxiety said:

Don't you mean the Grammy 2004 performance with Beyonce?

Or are you saying the Oscar 1985 performance with The Revolution?

Grammy-to-Oscar edit
[This message was edited Fri Apr 2 13:06:26 2004 by a2grafix]