Prince - where do I go from here?

[AKA]

A few months ago (after his performance at the Grammys), I started getting into Prince. I bought Musicology when it came out and loved it.

Now I'm wondering what I should get next. Should I go all the way back to For You? Or should I start picking up the essential albums and go from there? Perhaps I should buy a greatest hits album.

I was actually thinking of buying a New Power Generation album, because I remember liking that stuff when it came out. "7" was one of my favorite songs when I was twelve.

So what say you, Vashti (or any other Prince experts we might be fortunate enough to have hanging out here)?

[Dean Winchester]

Sign O The Times, I think Vashti will probably agree also.

Prince's 1987 album, a total masterpiece, plus it does have a few big hits as well (U Got The Look, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man and the title track)

or if you wanna spend a little less, opt for 1999 or Purple Rain. 1999 is more funk, and also more explicit, and Purple Rain is Prince's "rock god" album. Both are must-haves also.

[vashti1999]

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
Sign O The Times, I think Vashti will probably agree also.

Prince's 1987 album, a total masterpiece, plus it does have a few big hits as well (U Got The Look, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man and the title track)

or if you wanna spend a little less, opt for 1999 or Purple Rain. 1999 is more funk, and also more explicit, and Purple Rain is Prince's "rock god" album. Both are must-haves also.

I'd definitely agree, Sign is probably the one that best displays Prince's artistry. He'd recently broken up his band the Revolution at that time, so most of Sign is Prince alone, and listening to how that album contains funk (Housequake) and rock (I Could Never...) and soul ballads (Adore) and pop (Strange Relationship) and songs about imagination (Starfish & Coffee) and a higher power (The Cross) and desire to the point of experiencing it as a different gender (If I Was Your Girlfriend), obviously I can go on and on about how great it is, it's got everything. And that he did most of all that alone, calling him a musical genius is an understatement. I'm biased but I don't care. It's tough to say how it may sound to fresh ears years later though, but as a Prince fan and following his music's progression, you knew that cd was something special when it came out. Definitely a landmark type of album for him.

Along the lines of Musicology, you'd probably also like Purple Rain and Gold Experience. Good examples of rock and funk on both cds. Gold Experience unfortunatley isn't one of his most popular cds, but it's very strong. 1999 is a favorite of mine too, though I'm not sure if you're interested in extended jams, a number of tracks are 7 and 8 minutes long, plus there's probably a bit of weirdness on there. Like BuffySlayer said, it's more explicit. As popular as it was, 1999 wasn't necessarily the "mainstream" album Musicology is. I'd say definitely Sign O The Times, Purple Rain and Gold Experience then 1999 for the catchiest, most accessible of Prince's music.

[vashti1999]

If you do go for a collection of hits, skip the single disc "Very Best of Prince" that came out a year or two ago and go for "The Hits/The B-Sides". It's the best representation of Prince's career up to that point (1993). It has all the hits, except Batdance (which, trust me, you don't need.) Listening to this collection should give you a good idea of what "era" of Prince's career you might want to discover further. Here's a tracklist:

Disc: 1
1. When Doves Cry
2. Pop Life
3. Soft and Wet
4. I Feel for You
5. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?
6. When You Were Mine
7. Uptown
8. Let's Go Crazy
9. 1999
10. I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
11. Nothing Compares 2 U [Live]
12. Adore
13. Pink Cashmere
14. Alphabet St.
15. Sign 'O' the Times
16. Thieves in the Temple
17. Diamonds and Pearls
18. 7


Disc: 2
1. Controversy
2. Dirty Mind
3. I Wanna Be Your Lover
4. Head
5. Do Me Baby
6. Delirious
7. Little Red Corvette
8. I Would Die 4 U
9. Raspberry Beret
10. If I Was Your Girlfriend
11. Kiss
12. Peach
13. U Got the Look
14. Sexy M.F.
15. Gett Off
16. Cream
17. Pope
18. Purple Rain


Disc: 3
1. Hello
2. 200 Balloons
3. Escape
4. Gotta Stop (Messin' About)
5. Horny Toad
6. Feel U Up
7. Girl
8. I Love U in Me
9. Erotic City
10. Shockadelica
11. Irresistible Bitch
12. Scarlet *****
13. La, La, La, He, He, Hee
14. She's Always in My Hair
15. 17 Days
16. How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?
17. Another Lonely Christmas
18. God
19. 4 the Tears in Your Eyes
20. Power Fantastic

[Dean Winchester]

Originally posted by vashti1999
Along the lines of Musicology, you'd probably also like Purple Rain and Gold Experience. Good examples of rock and funk on both cds. Gold Experience unfortunatley isn't one of his most popular cds, but it's very strong.

only problem with Gold Experience is that it's been out of print for several years, so used copies on ebay usually fetch a pretty penny.

I find it odd Gold is deleted while Come, Chaos & Disorder and The Vault (when is a pt. 2 coming out? I thought it was to be the beginning of a series) are still available

[AKA]

Thanks, guys. I've decided I'm going to go with The Hits/B-Sides.

And I agree, "Batdance" isn't his best work.

[SBTB Geek]

I don't want to start a new thread, so I'll just post my question here...

Have you guys heard Prince's song, "319"?... If so, what does "319" exactly stand for or mean?

[vashti1999]

Originally posted by SBTB Geek
Have you guys heard Prince's song, "319"?... If so, what does "319" exactly stand for or mean?

I always figured it refers to a hotel room number.

[SBTB Geek]

Originally posted by vashti1999
I always figured it refers to a hotel room number.

Interesting POV, thanks for posting.

[Mr. Stefani]

I like the song he did with No Doubt, "Waiting Room". Most people think it's the worst on the album, but it's pretty catchy. I guess you have to like his voice.