I have never understood why Prince is so highly regarded. True he had two good albums twenty years ago (1999 and Purple Rain) but what has he really done since then? I don't even think the guy has had a hit album since the Batman soundtrack in 1989. Prince is nothing more then water under the bridge.

I used to like a few of his songs but I agree, he's overrated.

Yeah, There were some songs I enjoyed, but, I don't know, I guess I don't see what the big deal is. *shrugs*

I used to like a few of his songs but I agree, he's overrated.


One of Prince's biggest problems is his arrogance. He doesn't even realize that he is yesterday's news. He's still partying like it is 1984. :lol:

I have never understood why Prince is so highly regarded. True he had two good albums twenty years ago (1999 and Purple Rain) but what has he really done since then? I don't even think the guy has had a hit album since the Batman soundtrack in 1989. Prince is nothing more then water under the bridge.

Sign O' The Times is arguably a stronger album than either 1999 or Purple Rain. Diamonds And Pearls in 91 was a pretty big album for him, with the #1 hit Cream and other hits like Gett Off and Diamonds And Pearls. Musicology also performed exceptionably well. Prince doesn't seem the type to really care about duplicating the success of Purple Rain because he knows doing so would compromise what he wants to do.

Prince frankly doesn't care about reliving the glory days of 1984, and I respect him for that. Michael Jackson, on the other hand, has spent the last 20 years trying to duplicate Thriller, Prince knew that a success like Purple Rain was once in a lifetime and has successfully moved on from it instead of dwelling on the era, if anything, Around The World In A Day was purposely the antithesis of Purple Rain because he wanted to show that he wasn't about to stick in a rut and do a Purple Rain II.

Prince marches to the beat of his own drum and does what he wants to do, he's already established himself and has all the money he wants that he does what he wants, and sometimes the fans like what he does, and other times, they might think he's being too self-indulgent. I think without a doubt Prince is THE genius artist of the past 30 years, there are only a few in the same catagory as him in terms of talent, vision and drive, there's Stevie Wonder, there's John Lennon, there's Bob Dylan, there's David Bowie and there's Prince.

Mike, I wouldve thought about vashti before posting this thread

lol, actually I'm waiting for Vashti to come in here to break out some popcorn and watch

Can you say "hornet's nest," boys and girls? Because Mike just whacked it! :eek:

here's a short list of Prince albums that are worth checking out if you think 1999 and Purple Rain were the alpha and omega of his catalog...

Prince
Dirty Mind
Controversy
Around The World In A Day
Parade (extremely underrated, "Kiss" is not representative of the album)
Sign O' The Times (perhaps his greatest work)
Lovesexy
Graffiti Bridge
0+> (The Love Symbol Album)
The Gold Experience
Chaos And Disorder
Emancipation (a little self-indulgent, but there's some great material)
New Power Soul
Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (very hit and miss, but some great stuff)
Musicology

IMO, Batman and Diamonds And Pearls are two of his worst, even if both sold a lot.

I didn't really want to justify this thread by responding. People are entitled to an opinion that I don't agree with. And really, this is nothing new. Being a Prince fan as long as I have, I've long dealt with people who try to dismiss him. For over 20 years in fact. Amazing that someone who's supposedly irrelevant or overrated still warrants discussion all these years later. He's so "yesterday's news" that out of nowhere a thread was started about it by someone who's a fan of an actress who's biggest claim to fame was as a third banana on a short-lived sitcom from 1982.

But that's a diss for another thread. To answer the question of what Prince has done since Purple Rain, he's recorded over 20 albums himself (putting out that much music doesn't sound like someone "still partying like it is 1984" to me), as well as written songs that became hits for Chaka Khan, Sheila E, Sheena Easton, The Time, Sinead O'Connor, the Bangles, Martika and Tevin Campbell. He's worked with everyone from Chuck D., Q-Tip and Common to Madonna, Kate Bush and Gwen Stefani. He's earned praise from respected veteran musicians like Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis and George Clinton and artists who've followed like Lenny Kravitz and Musiq Soulchild.

Listen to Brian McKnight's "Love of My Life" you'll hear Prince's influence. Listen to Usher's "Do It To Me" you'll hear Prince's influence. Listen to D'angelo's "How Does It Feel" you'll hear Prince's influence. Listen to Andre 3000's "The Love Below" you'll hear Prince's influence. It's not for nothing that when he was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame two years ago that the artists inducting him, Alicia Keys and Outkast, were the hottest artists in music at the time. Prince has inspired a generation of music makers. And if you saw the induction ceremony at all, you would have recognized that the man knows how to put on a stage show.

Anyone who fails to understand why he's so highly regarded really doesn't care to find out why, so I won't waste time trying to explain it. Yeah, I'm not responding to this thread.

He's so "yesterday's news" that out of nowhere a thread was started about it by someone who's a fan of an actress who's biggest claim to fame was as a third banana on a short-lived sitcom from 1982.




:lol:

Though I was listening to Prince a lot more in the days up until Sign O' The Times, I still respect his work and the man as an artist.

But wow, he is a bit kookey (not necessarily in a bad way).

Dave Chapelle's (and Charlie Murphy's) take on him on Chapelle's Show is funny and I bet dead on close to truth.

And you have to see An Evening With Kevin Smith when he talks about his meeting with Prince. Priceless stuff.

And you have to see An Evening With Kevin Smith when he talks about his meeting with Prince. Priceless stuff.

Heavily embellished storytelling on Smith's part.

Yeah, I never much cared for Prince, or his music. Nothing personal, Iv'e just never understood the mass appeal. To be honest, I liked the stuff he came out with in the early 90's better than his earlier stuff. Especially 777-9311, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, and Diamonds And Pearls. Other than those three songs, I never really got into his music.

Yeah, I never much cared for Prince, or his music. Nothing personal, Iv'e just never understood the mass appeal. To be honest, I liked the stuff he came out with in the early 90's better than his earlier stuff. Especially 777-9311, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, and Diamonds And Pearls. Other than those three songs, I never really got into his music.

well, one thing about Prince is that he is definately an albums artist. With frankly every album he's ever recorded, the songs that were the big hits actually weren't the best cuts off the albums (even though I do think "Diamonds And Pearls" was an exception, he definately picked all the good tracks there to be singles), he's someone you really had to dig deeper into the albums to find the real gems. Plus, his catalog is so prolific that if you find he's to your liking, you have a lot of music to devour.

I think 1999 and Purple Rain are definately the best albums for newbies because those are his best known albums, and Purple Rain is easily his most accessable record, but at the same time, I don't think those are "it" when it comes to his good recordings, Sign O' The Times, Parade and Gold Experience (which had Most Beautiful Girl In The World) are up there and are as good as his most popular early 80's records.

well, one thing about Prince is that he is definately an albums artist. With frankly every album he's ever recorded, the songs that were the big hits actually weren't the best cuts off the albums (even though I do think "Diamonds And Pearls" was an exception, he definately picked all the good tracks there to be singles), he's someone you really had to dig deeper into the albums to find the real gems. Plus, his catalog is so prolific that if you find he's to your liking, you have a lot of music to devour.

I think 1999 and Purple Rain are definately the best albums for newbies because those are his best known albums, and Purple Rain is easily his most accessable record, but at the same time, I don't think those are "it" when it comes to his good recordings, Sign O' The Times, Parade and Gold Experience (which had Most Beautiful Girl In The World) are up there and are as good as his most popular early 80's records.

Yeah, that's probably alot of what it is, because Iv'e mostly just heard the Prince stuff that was played on the radio, VH1, and MTV, so yeah, you've definitely got a point there. I'm sure if I listened to some of his albums all the way through, I'd like him alot more. Like I said though, I have come across some of his songs that I liked, Most Beautiful Girl In The World being my very favorite, and actually one of my all time favorite songs period, so yeah, if I dug a little deeper into his archives, I'm sure I'd like alot of what I found. My mom has almost all his albums, so I'll have to borrow them from her sometime.

Prince was ok, at one time, but now I don't really like him.

Yeah, that's probably alot of what it is, because Iv'e mostly just heard the Prince stuff that was played on the radio, VH1, and MTV, so yeah, you've definitely got a point there. I'm sure if I listened to some of his albums all the way through, I'd like him alot more. Like I said though, I have come across some of his songs that I liked, Most Beautiful Girl In The World being my very favorite, and actually one of my all time favorite songs period, so yeah, if I dug a little deeper into his archives, I'm sure I'd like alot of what I found. My mom has almost all his albums, so I'll have to borrow them from her sometime.

if you can get past some of the overt sexuality of his earlier recordings (first time I heard "the other tracks" on 1999, I was stunned, it was like the equivilent of looking at porn for the first time), Prince has a lot of Christian messages in his lyrics that I'm sure you might appreciate. Two of his biggest hits from the Purple Rain soundtrack, "Let's Go Crazy" and "I Would Die 4 U" are basically loaded with religious text and he hasn't shied away from admitting that in interviews. LGC is all about Heaven and Hell, and I Would Die 4 U is about Jesus, even though I think most people didn't realize it until years later.

Conservative4Life Prince didn't sing 777-9311. The Time sang that.

:lol:

Cool. I see you liked that third banana comment. I'm glad to see you've embraced it. :thumbsup:

How can Prince be overrated when he barely makes any more albums and is rarely in the spotlight or the news?:rolleyes: You want to know who's overrated(singers)? Lindsay Lohan, Hillary Duff, Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Bobby Brown, Chris Brown, Ludacris, Ciara, Bow-Wow, and Usher.

Conservative4Life Prince didn't sing 777-9311. The Time sang that.

Prince sang it as well. Here's a page that'll show you. http://www.inlyrics.com/lyrics/P/Prince/80163.html.

Nevermind. I thought he sang it, but he just wrote it.

Since I have already stated my opinion that Prince is overrated I think that it is time that I tell you the things that I like about the man. First off, I only own three Prince Cds (1999, Purple Rain, The Very Best of Prince) so most of my knowledge of Prince comes from my older sister, who is a HUGE Prince fan.

I think that Prince had some good albums towards the beginning of his career like 1999 and Purple Rain. I think that the Purple Rain soundtrack is filled with quite a few great songs like the title track (my favorite Prince song), "When Doves Cry", and "I Would Die 4 U". And though I don't really care for any of the albums he did after this I still think he recorded a number of memorable songs like "Rasberry Beret", "Sign 'O' The Times" and "Thieves In The Temple" (pretty much every song on The Very Best of Prince is good).

I also respect how Prince is more concerned with growing as an artist and songwriter then selling tons of records. It is like when Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded his gritty and very uncomercial Nabraska album in 1982 when he surly knew it would never sell as well as The River had two years earlier...and it didn't. He wrote Nabraska in an atempt to grow as an artist... which he did.

He was terrible

He was terrible

you're kidding, right? Prince is one of the best!!!

A shot from Prince's next video:

A shot from Prince's next video:


Prince and his women :lol:

Prince and his women :lol:


And she's just one of a few. There was another pic with an even more attractive woman. I just posted this one 'cause Prince was in the shot.

I have never understood why Prince is so highly regarded. True he had two good albums twenty years ago (1999 and Purple Rain) but what has he really done since then? I don't even think the guy has had a hit album since the Batman soundtrack in 1989. Prince is nothing more then water under the bridge.thank you for starting this thread jami gertz fan i was around for prince maina in the 80s and even then i didnt like him in as far as purple rain goes it is one long self indulgant crapfeast and on the soundtrack his so called singing sounds like someone garling a combonation of marbles and glass

Sign O' The Times is arguably a stronger album than either 1999 or Purple Rain. Diamonds And Pearls in 91 was a pretty big album for him, with the #1 hit Cream and other hits like Gett Off and Diamonds And Pearls. Musicology also performed exceptionably well. Prince doesn't seem the type to really care about duplicating the success of Purple Rain because he knows doing so would compromise what he wants to do.

Prince frankly doesn't care about reliving the glory days of 1984, and I respect him for that. Michael Jackson, on the other hand, has spent the last 20 years trying to duplicate Thriller, Prince knew that a success like Purple Rain was once in a lifetime and has successfully moved on from it instead of dwelling on the era, if anything, Around The World In A Day was purposely the antithesis of Purple Rain because he wanted to show that he wasn't about to stick in a rut and do a Purple Rain II.

Prince marches to the beat of his own drum and does what he wants to do, he's already established himself and has all the money he wants that he does what he wants, and sometimes the fans like what he does, and other times, they might think he's being too self-indulgent. I think without a doubt Prince is THE genius artist of the past 30 years, there are only a few in the same catagory as him in terms of talent, vision and drive, there's Stevie Wonder, there's John Lennon, there's Bob Dylan, there's David Bowie and there's Prince.
I so agree with you. I can see this thread being made if he didn't do anything since those two albums which were mentioned in the initial post, but he is a musical genius. Not just in front of the audience but behind the scenes as well. He will not issue anything if it is not suitable to his liking. He wouldn't want to release something just to release it. He put the sound of Minneapolis on the forefront. He may not have been the first to produce that sound, but he is the one to thank for being the leader.
His last album was praised by critics as one of his best, although alot of non-Prince fans can't even name it. It made it's sales on the internet. Alot of non-prince fans can easily say he may not be doing anything, but he is always working on something and he reigns as one of the few black guitarists that fall under the caliber that Prince does.

A shot from Prince's next video:

That lady looks like a drag queen Oprah impersonator. :lol: Just kidding.

Does anyone know the name of the Prince song that has these lyrics: "All 7 and we'll watch them fall, stand in the way of love and we will smoke them all." That's actually my favorite Prince song. I never understood the lyrics until recently. Anyway, that songs awesome!!

Does anyone know the name of the Prince song that has these lyrics: "All 7 and we'll watch them fall, stand in the way of love and we will smoke them all." That's actually my favorite Prince song. I never understood the lyrics until recently. Anyway, that songs awesome!!


It's called 7

It's called 7

Thanks Vashti!! :) I should have just P.M.d you. I knew you'd know the answer.

I guess this is a question for either John or Vashti. Though I guess any Prince fan can respond. Let's say I was looking to learn a little more about Prince's music. What album would be my best bet (not counting 1999, Purple Rain or The Very Best of Prince as I already have them)?

I guess this is a question for either John or Vashti. Though I guess any Prince fan can respond. Let's say I was looking to learn a little more about Prince's music. What album would be my best bet (not counting 1999, Purple Rain or The Very Best of Prince as I already have them)?

I would say Sign O' The Times, I wouldn't be too surprised if Stacy picks that one too.

Sign is a total artistic triumph for Prince. It's a real meshing of everything that's great about him, you have some slow jams (like If I Was Your Girlfriend and Adore), you have great funk (Hot Thing), you have some party tunes (It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night, Housequake), there's rock (The Cross), a number of hits (U Got The Look, Sign O' The Times, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man), some good storytelling songs (Starfish And Coffee), great production values (Forever In My Life), etc.. It's definately everything to love about Prince in one package and I think a lot of people consider this, NOT Purple Rain, to be his crowning achievement, also next to 1999 or Purple Rain, it was his third biggest seller.

There are many, many other great ones, but Sign is definately the most accessable one IMO

I would say Sign O' The Times, I wouldn't be too surprised if Stacy picks that one too.

Sign is a total artistic triumph for Prince. It's a real meshing of everything that's great about him, you have some slow jams (like If I Was Your Girlfriend and Adore), you have great funk (Hot Thing), you have some party tunes (It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night, Housequake), there's rock (The Cross), a number of hits (U Got The Look, Sign O' The Times, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man), some good storytelling songs (Starfish And Coffee), great production values (Forever In My Life), etc.. It's definately everything to love about Prince in one package and I think a lot of people consider this, NOT Purple Rain, to be his crowning achievement, also next to 1999 or Purple Rain, it was his third biggest seller.

There are many, many other great ones, but Sign is definately the most accessable one IMO


Thanks, John :)

There'll also be a new two-disc collection that features some rare extended versions and remixes available on cd for the first time coming soon. Weird that the article says 22 tracks when I count 29 on the list.

Rhino Rounds Up 'Ultimate' Prince


February 02, 2006, 3:50 PM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

A week before Prince's new NPG Music Club/Universal album, "3121," hits stores on March 21, Rhino will unveil a two-disc collection of remastered hits and remixes. The 22-track "Ultimate" follows the 2001 release of the single-disc "The Very Best of Prince," which has sold 1.2 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Beyond must-haves such as "I Wanna Be Your Lover," "I Would Die 4 U," "Controversy," "Sexy Mutha" and "Purple Rain," the album includes the NPG remix of "Cream," an acoustic version of "7," dance mixes of "Little Red Corvette," "Let's Go Crazy" and "Pop Life," an alternate mix of "Gett Off" and extended versions of "Kiss" and "Hot Thing."

As previously reported, Prince will perform as the musical guest Saturday (Feb. 4) on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." His newest musical protege Tamar's debut, "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed" is expected to hit stores the same day as "3121."

Later this year, Tamar will serve as the opening act on Prince's world tour, dates for which have yet to be announced.

Here is the track list for "Ultimate":


Disc one:
"Purple Medley"
"I Wanna Be Your Lover"
"Uptown"
"Controversy"
"1999"
"Little Red Corvette" (dance mix)
"Let's Go Crazy" (dance mix)
"Erotic City" (12" version)
"Purple Rain"
"When Doves Cry"
"I Would Die 4 U"
"Pop Life" (Fresh dance mix)
"She's Always in My Hair" (12" version)
"Raspberry Beret" (12" version)

Disc two:
"Kiss" (extended version)
"Sign 'O' the Times"
"U Got the Look" (Long Look)
"I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
"Hot Thing" (extended remix)
"Alphabet St."
"Thieves in the Temple" (remix)
"Diamonds and Pearls"
"Gett Off"
"Money Don't Matter 2 Night"
"Cream" (NPG mix)
"7" (acoustic version)
"Sexy Mutha"
"Nothing Compares 2 U"
"My Name Is Prince"

that doesn't sound bad at all..

quick question tho. Since Warner released Gold Experience, why isn't Most Beautiful Girl In The World on either Very Best Of Prince or Ultimate Prince? it was definately one of his biggest hits ever and i think it merited a spot on VBOP more than Money Don't Matter 2Night did.

Since Warner released Gold Experience, why isn't Most Beautiful Girl In The World on either Very Best Of Prince or Ultimate Prince?

It may be because the single version of TMBGITW was released on Bellmark Records. Prince had it distributed independently a few months before the version that was included on the Gold Experience. That song may be a special case. But then Rhino always licenses from other labels, so I'm not really sure why that hasn't been included. Nothing from Batman has been included either, on Hits/B-Sides, Very Best or Ultimate.

I think with Batman, it really doesn't hold up. Batdance is fun to hear every once in awhile, but it definately was only a #1 because the movie was so hot at the time, it definately hasn't become one of his standards. I kinda understand why none of the tracks have made compilations because it really wasn't one of his better recordings and he has so much else more worthy, but Beautiful Girl was such a big hit for Prince that you'd think Rhino would pay a little extra to license it since it is one of those songs everyone knows and loves.

that doesn't sound bad at all..

quick question tho. Since Warner released Gold Experience, why isn't Most Beautiful Girl In The World on either Very Best Of Prince or Ultimate Prince? it was definately one of his biggest hits ever and i think it merited a spot on VBOP more than Money Don't Matter 2Night did.


I sort of remember "Most Beautiful Gril In the World". It never gets any air play around here. Not too surprising since with the exception of the songs from 1999, Purlple Rain, "Kiss" and "Raspberry Beret", Prince doesn't get a whole lot of airplay in Chicago. I have to say I love the song "Money Don't Matter 2 Night". I think it is one of his best.

Prince is nothing more then water under the bridge.

his first performance on SNL ("Woman Scorned"?) was awesome!!! he is one of the few artists out there who really knows how to give a performance.

his first performance on SNL ("Woman Scorned"?) was awesome!!! he is one of the few artists out there who really knows how to give a performance.


Yes it was! DYNAMITE!!! I love it when he rocks out like that. That's why I had to be reminded of that statement above.

Prince was the musical guest on SNL this week and as most of their musical guest I fast-forwarded through his two songs.

that's a shame... his first performance was breathtaking. His second performance was good too. I actually thought it was great to see an actually established artist doing SNL, SNL's music guests are supposed to be edgy and groundbreaking... what is so edgy and groundbreaking about Hilary Duff?

Go back and watch the music performances, I thought he was the best thing about SNL last night, easily Steve Martin's weakest SNL outting IMO.

I loooove Prince! He is a beautiful man and i saw his performanc on SNL and it was AAWESOME! he is not overrated either Michael Jackson is overrated and so is madonna but none of my friends have evn HEARD of Prince and they only know Purple Rain (the song not the movie but I love the movie too lol) and everyone in the WORLD has heard of Michael and madonna. I dont even know any Madonna songs and I only know like thriller and bad and billy jean and Beat it thats all.