I have almost everything before 1997, but I haven't bought a Prince album since Crystal Ball. If I wanted to pick up an album or two from the last 7 years or so which do I purchase?

Also is 1-800-New-Funk or Exodus worth purchasing?

The Rainbow Children, first and foremost.

TRC and Musicology.
Third would be ONA...Live!

IMO, Exodus is far better than 1800 NF.

From the last 7 years, get TRC for sure. Also Musicology and One Nite Alone (piano & voice) and One nite alone (live).

They're the essentials, for me.

The Vault is great. It has a kickass extended version of "She Spoke 2 Me" and fantastic songs like "Five Women" and "When The Lights Go Down."

This album gets knocked a bit around here, but I recommend it highly.

FunkMistress said:

Oh yeah, that too!

Ima gonna be CONtroversial here, but.....

I'd say NEWS, TRC and MUSICOLOGY.

Not everyone's gonna agree wit NEWS but i think if you are going for stuff that is representative of the last 7 years i'd say thats a must.

schoolsinsession said:

I just ordered NEWS and MUSICOLOGY from Tower Records. They aren't offering The Rainbow Children so I guess I'll pick it up from a local store if I can find it.

phlix said:[quote]

schoolsinsession said:

You definitely should. It has some of Prince's most beautiful and stirring spiritual songs ever (Last December, Everywhere) as well as some funky-ass shit (1+1+1=3, Muse 2 the Pharaoh) and a rapturously gorgeous instrumental (The Sensual Everafter). Mmkay?

Good post...I was a Prince fan from about 1979 to about 1989...I fell out of like with Prince, so I am also trying to build up a collection of P's work from the last 15 years. What cd is the song "Sometimes It Snows in April" on?

PurpleCharm said:

Parade/Under The Cherry Moon Soundtrack-- 1986.

sometimes is snows in april is on Parade..

definately check out teh rainbow children.. it may be his best ever, in a musically experimental sense..

if you havent followed prince in a while you should be warned the news is an instrumental album...

musicology is great..

and if you dont own the gold experience or crystal ball you need those...

Sadly I can't find The Rainbow Children in stores in my town. Amazon.com only has the Australian import version for $30.00. NPG doesn't even offer it for sale on the website. Apparently it is out of print. Sigh.

[EDIT]

Hurray. I just ebayed a near mint copy. I can't wait till it gets here.

[This message was edited Thu Apr 8 14:38:44 2004 by phlix]
[This message was edited Thu Apr 8 14:58:08 2004 by phlix]

Okay. This is not a list of prefrence. Just some albums that really stand out to me.

1. Girl 6 soundtrack - for fun. It has Prince, the Npg, Vanity, Shelia E, Sheena Easton, and the Family. You'll find edited but lost gems like Sugar Walls, Erotic City, Nasty Girl, Screams of Passion.

2. N.E.W.S. and the Rainbow Children - for intellectual stimulation. Words can not express the marriage of funk, rock, and jazz.

3. Rave unto the Joy Fantastic - but buy from the website. The store copy suck sooooo bad.

4. Musicology and Chocolate Invasion - how could you not?

5. NPS strictly for the mystery track "Wasted Kisses" and songs like Freaks on this side and The One.

If you just want a couple of suggestions then yes, I too would say the Rainbow Children and Musicology. Don't bother with Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic or NEWS.

Cosign on The Vault and TRC. When the Lights Go Down is great.

Other than that check out NPS to give yourself a dose of alternate reality.

honestly: get it all. There's something worthwhile on every prince record.


But to choose one, post-Crystal Ball - - Musicology is probably the best place to start. It's probably the most cohesive and consistently good release since Crystal Ball. But Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic is right behind it - alot of great songs.

The Rainbow Children, in my opinion, has a few classic songs and alot of impenatrable filler. But it's worth it for the Last December and She Love Me 4 Me alone.

JonSnow said:

I totally agree with you there.

Buy a couple of albums off of ebay of great live stuff from 2002. I can't use the "b" word, but you know what I mean.
[This message was edited Thu Apr 8 20:46:15 2004 by RupertZ]

get the rainbow children !!!!!

If you want just one disc...The rainbow children is a must. I would actually go to his website and seek out the CHocolate Invasion...though it's only downloadable. The other stuff kinda depends. Rave (only get from his website...seriously! it's the better version) is a little uneven but has some really good songs. And news is probably too experimental if you want to get into Prince immediately.

of course if you want to hear the new Musicology...that too is in downloadable form on his website. It gets released in stores on April 20. It is quite good and a very solid piece of music. I like it a lot. But given a choice on which downloadable album...I would choose The Chocolate Invasion...theres a few songs on there that blow Musicology away IMO.

Get them in this order:

01. Musicology;
02. Girl 6;
03. One Nite Alone;
05. The Rainbow Children;
04. Newpower Soul;
05. Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic;
06. One Nite Alone (Live);
07. N.E.W.S.

As for the NPGMC tracks, if you can't buy them, find them from someplace!