Listenin' to Prince

[chvrchbarrel]

Still to come this week:

Lovesexy (1988)
Batman (1989) soundtrack + movie party
Graffiti Bridge (1990) soundtrack + movie party

[zircona1]

Sign O the Times needs a good remastering.

[krentist]

I'm starting now. Just looking at the track list I would strongly disagree that this album is bloated. Maybe I'll change my mind but I come back to this one pretty often so I doubt I will.

Parade has more fat on it than this album and it's like half as long lol

[krentist]

I'd be amenable to the take that some of the songs on it are too long but I'd struggle to really out and out cut any

[chvrchbarrel]

Apr 1, 2020 15:15:26 GMT -6 krentist said:

I'd be amenable to the take that some of the songs on it are too long but I'd struggle to really out and out cut any

This is my take. It is. Too. Damn. Long. But none of the songs are really bad

[chvrchbarrel]

Oh wow Lovesexy is all one track on Spotify.

[chvrchbarrel]

Lovesexy (1988)

A challenging listen as just one track but there's plenty to like here. Eye No, Alphabet St, and Dance On are my personal highlights. This slot in Prince's discography should have gone to The Black Album, which didn't see the (brief) light of day until 1994 - but the label shelved that album and Prince gave them this instead. I think The Black Album, especially coming right out of SoTT and going right into Batman, would have made late-'80s Prince as trademark as early-'80s Prince. Instead, this feels like a bit of a lull. 

I'm not sure if I prefer this or Parade - probably this, at a glance - but they are definitely the bottom two albums so far.





Does anyone want to watch Batman later?

[chvrchbarrel]

Batman (1989)

Watched the movie yesterday, and Prince / Elfman playing off each other completely makes the film. I'd forgotten how much I love the sporadic middle of the movie...its sort of all over the place but its a lot of fun. I read that Michael Jackson was supposed to do all of the music for Batman's scenes (which obv didn't come to fruition), and Prince was to do all of Joker's. I didn't realize until yesterday that Prince's music is only in the movie during Joker's scenes.

This is a LOT of fun whether you enjoy Batman or not. The songs work on their own, and also have a fair amount of samples from the movie thrown in ("We've got a live one here!!" and "STOP." are two I can recall right off the top of my head).

I think I mentioned it previously in the thread somewhere, but I was at Berlin the weekend after Prince died and they played Batdance and the place just about exploded, one of the wildest cuts to hear there.

Much love for Batman <3




Graffiti Bridge is right around the corner. Anyone seen this flick?

[chvrchbarrel]

Circling back to some Sign o the Times trivia as well - I checked back in with that Questlove article to see if there was anything worth sharing on Batman (there isn't), and found this about how SoTT came together:

Sign is brilliant because its a catalog album. he took the best material of the past 5 years of creation and perfectly placed them. he had higher ambitions tho: first draft was Crystal Ball: a 3-record set, sounding more like Parade on steroids. then he got talked down off the ledge and made a 2-record set Dream Factory—but then the Revolution broke up (his last show with them in japan had him destroying guitar on “Purple Rain” Pete Townsend style to everyones shock and NOT to everyone’s shock—-but everyone i asked about that night already knew…..this was over. So now an album cut buried on side 5 of Crystal is now the title cut of the 3rd (and accepted by Warner Bros.) incarnation of this project. i mean its not a “Prince” album but its a “Prince” album. Ambiguity was his middle name so he blurred lined everything: funk was in his rock, poetry was in his funk, sanging was in his jazz, nastiness was in his spirituality, god was in his sex: he wore us down for 7 years so of course it makes sense that a 5″1 “whatever he was” was our spirit animal. the only thing i miss about vinyl are the sides.

i did not know that.

[sthubbins]

Listened to the s/t earlier. the opening run is really good and the other songs are also solid and have some great flashes but just hard to care that much about those when you know what he's capable of. Dirty Mind now

[monasterymonochrome]

Emma has been listening to a ton of Prince for the first time during this quarantine, so I decided to brush up on his full discog too. I was previously familiar with his album run from Dirty Mind thru Purple Rain, and then a smattering of other ubiquitous singles. I LOVE his early funk sound - added a few tracks from his self-titled to a playlist I'm building throughout this process. Dirty Mind might be my favorite of his records, purely from how much fun it is to listen to. Controversy is a'ight, but the title track is obvs great and "Jack U Off" is low-key a classic. Don't have much to add to the 1999 and Purple Rain discourse - they're all-time greats for a reason. And my thoughts on Around the World echo what was already said here - Paisley Park and Raspberry Beret are essential singles, and Temptation is a killer closer.

Listening to Parade for the first time now. Gonna do one album a (week)day until I finish his discog or I get bored. All first-time listens from here on out (even SotT). Cowabunga!

[alady]

Four years ago today.

[chvrchbarrel]

I watched Graffiti Bridge like two weeks ago and it was abysmal. I did not like the music either. That's all I care to write about it.




Diamonds and Pearls (1991)

Introducing...The New Power Generation! The NPG name originates from a line in "Eye No," from Lovesexy. This is another group put together entirely by Prince and they backed him until the end, in varying capacities. 

Diamonds and Pearls is mostly a miss for me, but this is a welcome leap forward from Graffiti Bridge. "Gett Off" is mostly goofy but fun at its core (Prince's trademark?). The title track is a little too much for me, but I'm pretty sure if I had a few drinks in me and Prince busted it out live, I would get down.***

My biggest blind spot here was absolutely "Cream" - I know it's a single, I know he played it the night I saw him, but I couldn't honestly say I had any familiarity with it. It is perfect. I love it so much. I have listened to it many times this week.

The music videos from this era are truly something else, but there are plenty from the symbol album that all fit the same vibe so I think I'm gonna do a music video compilation post and round a few of them up. 

Highlights: Thunder, Cream, Money Don't Matter 2 Night

 ***I had the album on while I was writing this and Diamonds and Pearls (to be hereby referred to as D&P) came on and i deff fuck with that song now, guess its a grower

[alady]

Aw Diamonds and Pearls is a jam! Imagine they're playing it at your junior high dance and you're not sure if it's a slow dance or not.

[chvrchbarrel]

Please - D&P

[chvrchbarrel]

Love Symbol (1992)


So, I'm a little foggy on some timelines here, but I'm gonna tackle this 92/93 output the best I can.

Throughout 1992, Prince and the NPG record the Love Symbol album. Prince, frustrated with both his record label and the general reception of his recent work, decides to change his name to an unpronounceable symbol to piss off Warner Bros. Although Love Symbol was released in late 1992, it seems like his name wasn't changed until 1993 when he began publicity for the album. Prince would also appear in public with "SLAVE" written on his cheek, referencing his contract with Warner Bros. During this period he is usually referred to as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince" (TAFKA Prince) or simply "The Artist."



Perhaps as a really big "fuck you," Love Symbol leads off with "My Name is Prince," even though...it...wasn't. The album was intended as a sprawling concept album about an Egyptian Princess entrusting Prince with an ancient artifact that he must protect from 7 assassins. Like most albums that focus on Egyptian artifact theft, its hard to determine when there's any development in the story, due to all of the ass-shaking. "3 Chains O' Gold" certainly provides the most overt exposition.

That's not to say there aren't highlights; honestly the first half hour or so leading up to the first segue bangs. Oh yeah, and those segues...two appear on the album (both featuring Kirstie Alley, neither contributing much) but there were originally supposed to be up to eight. I'm sure the others would have helped flesh this story out a bit better. As it stands, it sort of sounds like "some decent Prince songs and there is also an Egyptian Princess thing going on."

I would kick myself for writing this much about Love Symbol and not mentioning "7," right up there with "Cream" as Prince's best single releases of the early '90s. Until today, I did not know that song was referencing the 7 assassins trying to chase Prince and his artifact. I'm not sure I needed to.

Highlights: Love 2 the 9's, The Max, The Continental, 7

[chvrchbarrel]

small bonus post of other things I've been meaning to put in here:

Album Power Rankings (so far)

1. Purple Rain
2. 1999
3. Sign 'O the Times
4. Controversy
5. Dirty Mind
6. Around the World in a Day
7. Prince (s/t)
8. Batman
9. Diamonds and Pearls
10. Parade
11. Love Symbol
12. Lovesexy
13. For You
14. Graffiti Bridge


Early '90s Video Compilation 

Cream


Gett Off


Diamonds and Pearls


Sexy M.F.


7



Prince - The Nude Tour - July 29, 1990 - La Coruna, Spain

Before completing Diamonds and Pearls, Prince embarked on his first greatest-hits tour. Production was stripped back (though for 1990 it seems like there's still plenty going on) hence the tour's name, but the real reason this was necessary was because Prince had been spending so much money on his live show that it was barely making any money.

[neader]

I was about to make my own thread for this but then I remembered this

The Prince Estate, in partnership with YouTube, will host a three-day streaming event of Prince and the Revolution: Live, a historic concert captured at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY on March 30, 1985.

To celebrate the streaming release of Prince and the Revolution: Live, The Prince Estate and YouTube will host a watch party on Thursday, May 14, at 7 p.m. CDT. An hour before the watch party, at 6 p.m. CDT, fans will have the opportunity to participate in a special pre-stream Q&A with Revolution drummer Bobby Z moderated by Andrea Swensson of Minnesota Public Radio 89.3 The Current.

Prince and the Revolution: Live will be available on Prince’s official YouTube Channel for three days only (through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 17). In collaboration with YouTube and Google, the streaming event will run in support of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization (powered by UN Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation). Any viewer donations will include a matching component from Google (Google.org will match $2 for every $1, up to $5 million).



covid19responsefund.org/

[chvrchbarrel]

I think this is the only time I’ve heard him do the full intro to Let’s Go Crazy. Always heard it shortened to the first line on other shows - but I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anything from 85.

This show is fucking great, there isn’t a low moment in the first 30-40 minutes

[chvrchbarrel]

Listening thru The Black Album today. This one is as fun to read about as it is to listen to. 

will write about it tmw

in the meantime,

[chvrchbarrel]

They have also added the live ‘85 show to spotify!!!

[krentist]

May 16, 2020 6:51:26 GMT -6 chvrchbarrel said:

Listening thru The Black Album today. This one is as fun to read about as it is to listen to. 

will write about it tmw

in the meantime,

Bob George GOAT

[krentist]

The video quality for this show is awful but it's 85 Prince. I'll take it

[clouddead]

Big fan of Prince pretending to take nap during the show and then throwing the pillow into the crowd.

[alady]

This was a friend of mine's first concert. Can you imagine?

[concertgoer]

Just finished watching. That was a goat performance.

[krentist]

Very good concert.

[chvrchbarrel]

The Black Album (1994)

Trying to be a Black Album historian is a full-time job in itself, so instead I'm going to break down some of what I've read into concise points.

• Originally recorded in 1987, intended a a follow-up to Sign 'O the Times
• Prince made the decision to recall the album after 500,000 copies had been pressed, citing a visit from a ghost called "Spooky Electric" that told him the album was pure evil.
• The Lovesexy Tour program elaborates on this; Prince states "I realized we could die at any moment and we'd be judged by the last thing."
• It may have originally been called "The Funk Bible" but the only real proof of this I can find is the lyric in Le Grind...much like The Beatles' self-titled, it is pretty much only referred to by the color of its jacket.
• A promo copy of this record sold on Discogs for $15,000.
• Five copies of the record were found in a WB vault and auctioned - the highest selling copy went for over $42,000
• Despite it being one of the most valuable records of all-time, I've read many first-hand accounts that say the sound quality is absolute ass.

Look, there's really only one thing you need to know,

this fucking slaps

People have mentioned it throughout the thread, but Bob George is worth the price of admission alone. This whole thing is wild. It's definitely Prince's darkest output and it works on just about every level. Would Prince have ever stooped to Graffiti Bridge if he had followed this trajectory post-SotT?

If The Black Album were to ever be remastered and see the light of day, I would be elated.

I just hope it wouldn't upset Spooky Electric.

Every song on this is a highlight. Bob George is obviously the best one and I have soft spots for Le Grind and Superfunkycalifragisexy, but just let this fucker run.

OH YEAH, and in the video for Alphabet St., a message flashes on screen that says "DON'T BUY THE BLACK ALBUM I'M SORRY"....he was REALLY convinced this thing was evil.

[clouddead]

That skinny motherfucker with the high voice?

[chvrchbarrel]

new coat huh