Prince: Classic or Dud?

CLASSIC. Anyone who says otherwise will receive my Unholy Snicker.

In all seriousness though, Prince in theory is a classic but I've found that in actuality he's got a lot more dud tracks than he has classic at this point. I mean, at his best, he's unstoppable - but what about Diamonds & Pearls for fuck's sake? His name changing? Argh.

If you're not sure, buy _The Hits_ (with the B-sides CD), and make sure you skip His version of "Nothing Compares 2 U". "Another Lonely Christmas"...oh, yeah. (Which album has "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"?)

*snicker*

[It's much more impressive in person. Honest.]

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man is on Sign 'O' The Times. I've never much cared for that track, though; in fact, I remember the whole middle two sides of that album being pretty weak. I usually treat 1999 - Lovesexy as Prince's classic period but the more I think about Around The World In A Day being the turning point between classic and dud the more sense it's making. Parade's kind of dull except for a couple of standout tracks, same with SOTT (for me anyway) and I have a headache so Lovesexy probably wouldn't be much good either.

So post 1985, dud, if only to receive half an Unholy Snicker.

always too prolific for almost anyone to get behind everything. I gave up trying to hear his new stuff long ago.

I generally agree with Dave, but I would never think of leaving out Sign O' the Times as a great record. After that it's quite patchy.

Imagine what his rep would be if he had died or retired around '87. Since then, his furious release rate has slowly diluted the greatness of his best years.

Prince's prolific nature does work against him, not because he releases stuff of wildly-varying quality, but because he has this tendency to oversaturate the market with whatever idea has struck him. I'm an insatiable fan, so I don't mind, but people who aren't as awestruck or committed aren't going to be as generous or as patient with the music.

That's my take on it, anyway. I honestly think he's the most brilliant artist to emerge on the popular music scene in the last 30 years.

Check out the cross. Gospel and Velvet Underground. VEry moving. On Sign o' the times.

Seems like a complete waste of time to me, just another way for Prince to make more money. If he was talking about improving them, then maybe fair enough, but he was apparently intending to rerecord note for note. Plus, 1999:The New Master didn't exactly rock the world, so whatever, it seems like a pointless project.

But, still, CLASSIC. At his best, the greatest pop star bar none.

Seriously?

He's a prodigy because he plays guitar, drums, sings, writes and dances so well. Not many people can do ALL of those things to such a generally high standard whilst creating this bizarre, inventive and intoxicating persona and mystique at the same time.

Please remove head from ass and listen again.

Jordan (and Mallory), this isn't just a swipe at you but I'm getting fed up with this increase in bullshit one word replies like "Seriously?" - how does it help me appreciate this more or add to the discussion if every time I give a self-expressed opinion about a band or style I'm not an authority on if I'm answered with an obtuse put-down?
I wouldn't be so mad only I've found that in the last few months, that's all people seem to be doing. This is a music forum for objective discussion, not some toy-comparing playground for who's got the snarkiest answer.

This is a music forum for objective discussion

seriously?

-- RJG (RJ...), August 2nd, 2006 5:20 PM. (RJG)

I could've put money on you showing up. Do you have an RSS Feed for every time I'm wound up?

crosspost

I guess if you put it all under the "pop/r&b" heading it sounds samey. It's not John Zorn or anything. Still, it's not like "When Doves Cry" and "Get Off" and "Adore" are all from the same bag.

That said, I'm sure the singles collection leaves off a lot of the weirder album tracks (like, I don't know, "3 Chains O' Gold" or "The Cross").

SO CLASSIC

i think the idea is that he and The Revolution were considered eclectic at the time by weaving disco and funk elements with synths and big rock in a way that no-one else was doing at the time. since then other artists e.g. Basement Jaxx, Beck, Andre 3000 have been deemed to be sounding like Prince in some way, indicating he defines this established method of merging all these elements for a high-level kind of pop (three aformentioned artists all also hailed as 'eclectic' in the past).

And why is eclecticism a virtue?

Look, he's great because he wrote and performed good three or four-minute pop/R&B songs, sang them better than anyone in his generation, and wrote and produced other good three-minute songs for other artists. That's the short version.

-- Adam Beales (prettymuchmyrealnam...), August 2nd, 2006.

Bingo.

Whatever "eclecticism" really "means" is unimportant - (hold on, pulling my ass out of my head) what matters with Prince is that he combined styles and formats, crossed genres willy-nilly and got on Pop, R&B and Dance playlists / charts because HE DOESNT SOUND LIKE ANYONE ELSE. He could straight rock it ("The Cross" "Rock N Roll Is Alive and Well and It Lives...") play jazz and jazz-inflected takes on his own "sound" (see neglected N.E.W.S. and gigs with Miles Davis, hit the R&B charts like a titan, get covered by Tom Jones / Art of Noise, and come back with a single that draws from modern hip-hop production without sounding like an old man playing a young man's game ("Black Sweat"). Name another artist that's as frequently-mentioned a touchstone amongst modern black music, white music, hipster bullshit, the avant-garde, etc. and I'll be mighty impressed.

DON'T LISTEN TO THESE GUYS SHEILA I LOVE YOU MORE

Heard "Housequake" on the radio this morning, the only time I can remember having done (they tried unsuccessfully to censor out the "bullshits.") Damn, what a fun song. Happy birthday, your former glyphness.

ready for the world oh sheila to thread.

i love her more though.

she still looks so so good.

Have they gotten around to releasing the Sign 'O' Times concert film on DVD yet? Because if they have, I'm buying it on my lunch break and watching it tonight.

Nope, don't think so. :(

Dammit that makes me mad.

Looks like there are some used bootlegs/imports on amazon though...

No shit? Me go look--

Sweet, thanks man. I'm ordering one. It'll be a good occasion for a TV party.

Meanwhile I believe I will celebrate The Kid's birthday with a playing of Parade.

Yeah, those are some of the worst songs on 3121, but the horns/band make them sound a lot better.

did anyone else spot Fred Wesley in the horn section?!? Does Prince have ALL the key JB horns now?

collect 'em all

Man, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE "How Come U Don't Call"

And all the covers are great, too...

both

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/elscorchoicons/prince/kiss/huh.gif

thats not a very good animated gif at all

I dunno, it cracked me up.

Maybe I'm easily amused.

Eat some cornbread, Rev.

Good idea. My feast isn't ready, tho. : (

is that 12 Inches To The Yard thing a fan-made MP3 comp or does it actually exist on CD? Some of those long mixes have really been rocking my world lately, especially "Gett Off".

fan mix

All total dud. Destroy all.
-- the pinefox, Thursday, 12 July 2001 00:00 (6 years ago)

good grief.

pinefox is SUCH a jackamo.

Can someone more in the know than I am tell me if there's an extended version of "1999"? Maybe a 12" version? Some kind of remix somewhere of any kind? I'm completely aghast at how good that song sounds after all these years. I would have totally thought it would be played out...I don't get it. And I still haven't had the pleasure of seeing the video again on You Tube.

There's an extended version, a zillion remixes and a re-reissue single ep of the song that prince did IN '99 with all sorts of bad reworkings of the thing.

"even albums that people universally accept as duds (_Emancipation_, _Come_, _Graffiti Bridge_, _Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic_) are slow-growing classics"

err you can make a brilliant 1-cd album of emancipation, same for GB but the other two, despite a few moments of greatness, have too many duds, especially rave.

But wait...the video for 1999 isn't on You Tube. It isn't on iTunes. I can't find it anywhere. Why is this happening to me?

You don't understand how bad I need to see Lisa et al on keyboards. It's not funny.

AHHHH! I found it! I found it!

For some reason Youtube, or more likely Warner, or even more likely Prince himself, are all bitch about Youtube vids.

'Come' is a great album, you're nuts.

To Alphabet St

MOUNTAINS EXTENDED MIX

ok this sounds like it was fun, but wtf at this:

Humor has never been a strong suit of Prince’s

??????

Well, a sense of humor about himself has definitely never been a strong point, but yeah, that's a weird thing to say.

I haven't been able to get the "Another Lonely Christmas" lyrics out of my head for months, since I finally got the "I Would Die 4 U" 12". Let us read together this instance of pure genius (I copied these from a lyrics site so don't hate me if they're not totally correct):

Last night I spent another lonely Christmas
Darling, darling, U should've been there
Cuz all the ones I dream about
U are the one that makes my love shout
U see, U are the only one I care 4

Remember the time we swam naked in your father's pool
Boy, he was upset that night
But boy, was that ever cool
Remember that night we played pokeno 4 money
And U robbed me blind
Remember how U used 2 scream so loud cuz U...
U hated that number 9
Hey, I saw your sister skatin' on the lake this afternoon
Good heaven, how she's grown
She swoons the boy skaters cuz she's so tall
But of all your father's children
All your father's children, baby
U know U are the finest of them all
U are brighter than the northern star and I...

Last night I spent another lonely Christmas
Darling, darling, U, U should've been there
Cuz U see, of all the ones I dream about
U are the one that makes my love shout
U see, U are the only one I care 4, listen

Do U still like banana daiquiris
boy we used 2 get so touched
U use 2 get so horny
U'd make me leave the lights on
I'd pay money just 2 C
your happy dancin silouette upon the pier
Sometimes I think I hear U smilin
Sometimes I think your here
I find myself holding every pillow
N the bed U and I used 2 share
Last night I spent another lonely Christmas
Darling U shouldn't B
U shouldn't B there, cuz U C

Last night I spent another lonely Christmas
Darling, darling, U, U should've been there
Cuz U see, of all the ones I dream about
U are the one that makes my love shout
U see, U are the only one I care 4, yeah

My mama used 2 say always trust your lover
But now I guess that only applies 2 her
Cuz baby, U promised me
Baby, U promised me U'd never leave
Then U died on the 25th day of December

Oh baby, last night, oh, I spent another lonely, lonely Christmas
Darling, baby, U, U should've been there
Cuz all the ones I dream about
U are the one that makes my love shout
U see, U are the only one I care 4, yeah

Your father said it was pneumonia
Your mother said it was stress
But the doctor said U were dead and I...
I say it's senseless
Every Christmas night 4 7 years now
I drink banana daiquiris till I'm blind
As long as I can hear U smiling, baby
U won't hear my tears
Another lonely Christmas is mine, yeah, mine, yeah
Another lonely Christmas is mine

Last night, yeah, I spent another lonely, lonely Christmas
Darling, darling, U should've been there, yeah
Cuz all the ones I dream about
U are the one that make my love shout
U see, U are the only one I care 4

This part in particular, it don't get no better. Half absurd, half heartfelt:

"Your father said it was pneumonia
Your mother said it was stress
But the doctor said U were dead and I...
I say it's senseless
Every Christmas night 4 7 years now
I drink banana daiquiris till I'm blind
As long as I can hear U smiling, baby
U won't hear my tears
Another lonely Christmas is mine, yeah, mine, yeah
Another lonely Christmas is mine"

I always thought it was "I stood senseless". Huh.

Does anyone else here find Soulseek strangely bereft of Prince? Why would nothing come up for Dirty Mind or Controversy? Thanks in advance for any ideas (and I only download things I've already bought on LP and feel entitled to)

Can someone more in the know than I am tell me if there's an extended version of "1999"? Maybe a 12" version?

As far as I know there is no extended version of "1999" in existence. The 12" single version is the same as the one on the album. The only official remixes of "1999" are the ones on 1999: The New Master, but they aren't particularly good (though not bad either). It's weird considering how remix-friendly 1999 (the album) sounds, that there seem to be only a handful of remixes from it. Someone should do a proper house mix of "Automatic" or "Let's Pretend We're Married".

a friend of mine had a great bootleg which was all the 12" mixes from 1978 up to the early 90s or so. if warners had some brains (and well if prince was less idiotic) theyd release it officially. i should try and find a torrent of it.

a while ago there was a blog post up with all kinds of prince 12" mixes, i listen to the "erotic city" and "i would die 4 u" ones all the time

I've compiled a collection of 320kbps quality MP3 files of all Prince 12" mixes and B-sides? Should I maybe share them here?

Please do not share them here. Prince is very litigious when it comes to online copies of his music.

Ok.

Most of it is available on Soulseek anyway, you just have to search a bit.

if you could email me a link to it that would be amazing.

i have that cd single warners put out ages ago with erotic city and IWD4U on it - IWD4U is about half an hour long!

Okay, anyone who wants this stuff, email me at lixnixn at yahoo dot co dot uk.

Lixnixn (at) yahoo.co.uk that is. Or just send me a webmail via ILX. (Remember to put your email address to the message though, since the ILX mail robot doesn't automatically reveal it.)

there was a fan mix called "12 Inches To The Yard" that was like this, but it was all at 160kbps.