WTF!

When doves cry

Haven't bought any of his stuff for years and the last time I saw him live was in 1996. Yet I'm still surprised by how much this news has affected me. The guy was a freak of nature - in a good way.

I think it would be fair to say that those were the 'peak' Prince years. He probably released his most essential albums during that period. I was looking at Discogs earlier and realised that looking at his albums as "Prince" meant that I wasn't seeing stuff released as Prince & The Revolution, Prince and the New Power Generation or The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (TAFKAP). Put it all together - along with all the other aliases and there is a LOT of stuff!

I was lucky enough to catch Prince twice during his run at the O2 in London back in '07. I remember he priced the tickets at £31.21 to match the title of his recently released album..."3121". Mad as a box of frogs.

His more recent stuff hasn't been so easy to get into. Planet Earth is probably the last album by him that I found likable stuff on. But really I would urge anyone to listen to these albums:
Purple Rain [1984]
Around The World In A Day [1985]
Parade [1986]
Sign o' The Times [1987] (My personal favourite. Effortlessly creative rock, pop, funk, soul, and more. The concert film of the same name is great too.)
Lovesexy [1988]

An album every year. And he carried on like that into the mid 90's.

And if you like those, these are worth a go too:
The Black Album
Diamonds & Pearls
The Symbol album

Probably a lot of NO fans remember these from the 80's so, sorry for stating the obvious but for anyone who hasn't heard 'em, they're just so worthwhile!

Thanks, i listened to the part where Ashcroft talks about Prince and he said his favourite song was/is Raspberry Beret.I've found today with one of the music channels on, repeating over and over again all the old Prince videos Raspberry Beret was the one i was turning up the volume up to and watching the vid every time.I remember when it originally came out (around 1985?) and liked it a fair bit then but been enjoying it even more today, immensely.Such a quirky and irresistibly catchy song, funny lyrics with a great tune and great production.And just a pure great pop song if nothing else.And the video like many other Prince videos is everyone having one big fun and funky party.The guy always had some very sexy ladies (including Wendy and Lisa from The Revolution)hanging out with him.What a dude.He had so much talent at so many things musically and struck a perfect balance (at least in the 80s days) with musical excellence and commercial success and at the same time came across as massively intelligent yet , as Debaser said, mad as a box of frogs.You always got the impression the world of Prince was one great fun, funky and sexy party.



Quite liked that live acoustic version of This Is How It Feels with the Purple Rain added lyrics towards the end that Richard Ashcroft did.

Edited by user 22 April 2016 09:21:07(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Rating his albums can be tricky. One way is to check the ratio of brilliant tracks versus crap ones. Sign O' the Times (check the 1963 drum beat on It) definitely deserves the top spot in that regard but I would argue with a few others in their top 10.

I would rate 1999 and Purple Rain (check the Round & Round sequenced bassline on I Would Die 4 U) above Parade.

I also think Dirty Mind and Controversy, while musically innovative, have dated very poorly lyrically. Conversely, his self-titled (1979) album released just before them has a more timeless appeal.

Lastly, while not a top 10 contender, the Batman soundtrack definitely deserves a higher placing (though I must admit I haven't actually heard some of the LP's above it). It's a strong, consistant LP with the great, shoulda-been-a-single track Lemon Crush.

A few years ago I was informed by someone high up in Sony, that Prince was a big New Order fan. Who knew?

Saw him at the Roundhouse in Camden, 2014, entire audience enthralled by his brilliance. Never bought one of his records but recognised everything he played. Dead at 57? sheesh.

Here's a good snapshot of Prince: Makings of Rain. A live DVD of a benefit concert from 1983. He chose this show to debut 5 tracks from Purple Rain (including an epic 13 minute version of the title track) more than 10 months before the LP was released.

Among other tracks performed: A Joni Mitchell cover and a track destined to never be released (er, Electric Intercourse). It was also the debut of new band member guitarist Wendy Melvoin. She must have been shitting bricks.