Prince..... the exact point where it all started to go horribly wrong.

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Being one of those irritatingly clingy fans who refuses to accept that fact that his output has turned to shite... I'd like to ask the peanut gallery at what point in Prince's career did the music truly start to suffer (regardless of silly media stunts)...

I remember being really disappointed when Sexy M.F. came out. Seeing the video, the gun microphone, the embarrassing nods to gangsta culture... I remember thinking "the guy's a genius on his own merits, why is he doing something to 'keep up with the Joneses' instead of trudging forward and breaking new ground?" Then, Diamonds and Pearls happened, that Carmen Elektra period piece, and then suddenly he's become a vegan Jehovah's witness.

Damn.

― maria b (maria b), Saturday, 26 July 2003 19:17 (9 years ago) Permalink

:: playing "Dirty Mind" today in my office with tears welling in my eyes ::

― maria b (maria b), Saturday, 26 July 2003 19:19 (9 years ago) Permalink

batman soundtrack. ugh.

― heywood jablomi (heywood), Saturday, 26 July 2003 19:28 (9 years ago) Permalink

I will concur with the Batman Sountrack, but signs of trouble were already starting on Around the World in a Day and Parade, but those had some great songs that help outweigh the crap.

My personal view is that he needs to work with an outside producer. He's a very great musician, and can be a great songwriter, but his recordings still have a horribly dated sound. Also, he's a poor judge of his own talents (as evidenced by every time he's tried to rap)....I suspect he's too far gone at this point.

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Saturday, 26 July 2003 19:40 (9 years ago) Permalink

My personal view is that he needs to work with an outside producer. He's a very great musician, and can be a great songwriter, but his recordings still have a horribly dated sound.

you are really wrong with this. the quality of his recording sound has never been dated. its the songs that are weak.

― chaki (chaki), Saturday, 26 July 2003 19:48 (9 years ago) Permalink

Wow, I must be really clingy because I stayed with him buying every record up through Emancipation. I didn't even really dislike it all that much, though as we all know it should have been pared down to a single disc of the best songs. But there is good stuff on there. Matt, there were no "signs of trouble" on Parade - you've got to be kidding!! Man, you must have impossibly high standards for your pop records. Gee whiz. I think It's probably correct to say Batman was the first sign of impending decline, but the records after that still have value. I thought Diamonds and Pearls was great! I really liked that band he assembled.

I also picked up the One Night Alone thing, which I enjoyed quite a bit. So I guess I've only missed, what, 3 studio records? Some of the Rainbow Children music is really beautiful, but I was scared to pick up the album after hearing about how preachy and narrative-heavy it was, and the fact that he apparently uses the "Bob George" voice all over it. Still, the material sounded good on the live set.

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Saturday, 26 July 2003 19:57 (9 years ago) Permalink

"my name is prince (and i am funky)"

― Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 26 July 2003 20:01 (9 years ago) Permalink

(incidentally, i liked "bob george" that skinny motherfucker with the high voice!)

― Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 26 July 2003 20:03 (9 years ago) Permalink

Matos to thread! Woop woop!

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Saturday, 26 July 2003 20:06 (9 years ago) Permalink

Personally, it's all about the glyph. That fucking glyph.

Wasn't "Sexy MF" after Diamonds And Pearls. I'll fuckin' stand by "Gett Off" and "Cream." Maybe even "7." But once the glyph became his name...peeyyyuuuuh. Though in honor of Dan Perry I may actually try to listen to Emancipation again.

Thing is, 1980-1987 was SO FUCKING GOOD that I'd be eternally grateful even if he makes nothing but crap from now on.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 26 July 2003 20:12 (9 years ago) Permalink

also actually if you count that The Truth disc, which was packaged with the Crystal Ball set, as a discreet album - it might be the best thing he did in the 90's!

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Saturday, 26 July 2003 20:14 (9 years ago) Permalink

Batman was the turning point for me. There are many great songs which have come out since then but it's never been the same since then. (This is coming from somone who has almost all the albums and about 20 bootlegs as well.)

I'm still waiting for all the people who say Emancipation would make 1 great CD to boil it down to those songs. I can find a few songs but would have a really hard time finding stuff that adds up to one disc let alone three.

― H (Heruy), Saturday, 26 July 2003 20:33 (9 years ago) Permalink

"Black Album" was the foreshadowing, as was "Lovesexy". Both contain excellent singles and moments ("Le Grind", "Cindy C", "Alphabet St."), but are padded with his dumbest moments to that date. "Batman" was a nice little candy-industrial funk departure which his best moments at the time, IMHO. "Diamonds and Pearls" unfortunately got back into the banal gear.

However, I'm going to go with the predictable answer and say the axe truly fell when Prince became +()->. Aside from a couple of decent singles, I can't be bothered to go crazy in that territory of his discog at all.

― donut bitch (donut), Saturday, 26 July 2003 21:07 (9 years ago) Permalink

I still buy every Prince release. Along with Tom Waits and The Stones, he's the only artist I'm prepared to listen to regardless of horrifying crapness/dullness.

Emancipation is a crap double album and a really great single length one.

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Saturday, 26 July 2003 21:29 (9 years ago) Permalink

but HOW? WHAT?

i have it, I've listened to it, I can (maybe) come up with a good (not even great) EP.

What would the great single length album y'all put together from Emancupation be?

― H (Heruy), Saturday, 26 July 2003 21:31 (9 years ago) Permalink

jam of the year
white mansion
in this bed i scream
soul sanctuary
the love we make
one of us
joint 2 joint
new world
face down
style
my computer
emale

its still patchy. prince has always had bad songs. 'ronnie, talk to russia' anyone?

― chaki (chaki), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:04 (9 years ago) Permalink

my computer is the one great song from that album for me. all the other ones i liked initially have receded into the mists and don't stand out.

and yes, prince has always had some bad songs. nobody been disputing that - only question is whether the good still outweighs the bad/mediocre

― H (Heruy), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:09 (9 years ago) Permalink

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=18429

Sheila E. is planning a benefit concert in Los Angeles featuring the
alumni of Prince's many backing bands. Actress Carmen Electra,
discovered and named by Prince in 1991, will host. "It's going to be all the Prince band members from all the bands, together, for one night only," says Sheila, who goes back twenty years with Prince. "It's never been done before." All proceeds from the concert -- to be held at either the Los Angeles Forum or the Universal Amphitheater on December 13th or 15th ("we have the time on hold right now," Sheila says) -- will go towards the creation of the Compassion Care Center in Los Angeles, a safe haven for
abused or abandoned children that provides education, counseling and
mentoring. The members of the Revolution who've already signed on
include guitarist Wendy Melvoin, keyboardist Lisa Coleman, keyboardist Matt Fink and drummer Bobby Z. "It's fabulous because they haven't played together as a band in twenty years," Sheila says. Onboard from the Family ("the band that Prince had that never really toured") are saxophonist Eric Leeds, singer Susannah Melvoin (Wendy's twin), percussionist Jerome Benton and singer/keyboardist Paul Peterson. The one member who has not yet been invited is Prince himself. "There's no pressure on him, but we'd like for him to come," Shiela says. "He's why we're doing this, because he started
all of it." Prince first recruited Sheila to sing on "Erotic City,"
the flip side to his Number One 1984 single "Let's Go Crazy." He also
helped her land a solo deal with Warner Bros. and penned the title track to her debut album, Glamorous Life, a Top Ten single. After two more solo albums, (Sheila E. in Romance 1600 and Sheila E.) she rejoined Prince's band for 1987's Sign O' the Times tour. The building of the Compassion Care Center is just one of many projects of Sheila and business partner Lnn Mabry's Lil' Angel Bunny Foundation (LABF). Sheila herself was sexually abused by a babysitter, as was Mabry by a family friend. "We're
going to use music as a therapy for the children," Sheila explains.
Sheila also has her own line of drum kits for children, the Sheila E.
Player's Series, and she has donated instruments to foster homes. "A
lot the kids have been abused so severely they have not been able to
speak,"she says, "and since they've had the drums, they're talking." Sheila E.is touring as a member of Ringo Starr's All Starr Band through September 7th.
KAREN BLISS (July 24, 2003)

― chaki (chaki), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:10 (9 years ago) Permalink

I was a fan circa Sign of the Times and Lovesexy and hated Gett Off, so I guess that's where I lost faith.

― N. (nickdastoor), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:11 (9 years ago) Permalink

I'm sorry chaki, but all the filler in the world from 1982-83 still trumps everything on Emancipation. I just remember the days when I'd go to the record store just to get the 12" singles, the ones that would have all the exclusive kick-ass B-sides... "Erotic City," "17 Days," "Irresistable Bitch." Okay that settles it... I'm going to drag out my old VHS copy of Prince and the Revolution Live (Syracuse, 1985).

― maria b (maria b), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:11 (9 years ago) Permalink

(I think the "let a woman be a woman and a man be a man" refrain upset my delicate teenage sensibilities.)

― N. (nickdastoor), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:12 (9 years ago) Permalink

"Thieves in the Temple" was a great song. Maybe Graffiti Bridge was the swansong, where at least 50% of the record didn't suck.

― maria b (maria b), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:13 (9 years ago) Permalink

Well, I think even Prince's "bad" songs from the early days were at least odd or interesting. by that token, that Vanity 6 album is all bad, and < AlexInNYC > I WOULD NOT TOLERATE SUCH BOLD FACED BULLSHIT!!!!< /AlexinNYC >.

― donut bitch (donut), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:13 (9 years ago) Permalink

chaki's list looks good. I also like "Get Yo Groove On" from Emancipation. "Courtin' Time" is fun, no different than the type of fun throwaway shit he always used to put on his records. Um... I like both of the Philly soul covers, so keep those too.

Honestly, I'd have to listen to it again. And uh, the prospect of that doesn't really excite me at the moment...

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:14 (9 years ago) Permalink

"Gett Off." :: CRINGE!!! :: I'm remembering the Arsenio Hall show performance from 1991 now....

― maria b (maria b), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:15 (9 years ago) Permalink

i really hated emancipation for a long time until i talked to dan perry about it. gett off is fucking heavy funk and is still fresh sounding.

― chaki (chaki), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:16 (9 years ago) Permalink

if Vanity came back i'd be there for that concert in an instant, flying across oceans and deserts

this of course makes that scenario unlikely http://www.denisematthews.com/homepage2.htm

― H (Heruy), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:17 (9 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, I guess I don't like heavy funk.

― N. (nickdastoor), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:18 (9 years ago) Permalink

H, oh my god... I feel so wrong for saying this, but she makes me want to live life for Jesus sooooooooo good.

― donut bitch (donut), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:20 (9 years ago) Permalink

but you like lovesexy? heres an old thread where we discuss emancipation:
Prince live in chicago by ALAN LEEDS!

― chaki (chaki), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:21 (9 years ago) Permalink

I had the greatest sex of my life to Diamonds and Pearls, so I'll always have a place for that one. "Cream" still makes me feel all funny inside.

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:25 (9 years ago) Permalink

Lovesexy has more grace. And 'Alphabet St'.

― N. (nickdastoor), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:25 (9 years ago) Permalink

yah it does. d&p is still a pretty great album too. i really like (the music) on the rainbow children alot. the lyrics make me feel really uncomfortable though.

― chaki (chaki), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:27 (9 years ago) Permalink

I like the Batman thing. The exact point must have been the moment after in ends.

― OleM (OleM), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:28 (9 years ago) Permalink

chaki, yr post of March 6 is abour right.

the original Crystal Ball is better than the released verion, Emancipationis boring etc etc.

I'm with maria b. upthread, after Graffiti Bridge nothing really worthwhile. Prince live will still be incredible and he could still produce albums that are stunning, but I would need serious convincing that his 90s albums are of that much worth. Even Diamonds & Pearls which is a more solid album can't stand up to the older stuff. Gold was errible as was C&D.

arrr, must stop before start ranting

― H (Heruy), Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:31 (9 years ago) Permalink

batman. no question. 'lovesexy' was kind of 'hang on..'
at a couple of points but batman mostly really stinks.
the mark moore rmx of 'the future' still rox but doesn't count.

then the album went number one
the same day 'on both sides of the atlantic'.
the public eh ?

course the career turnaround is scheduled 2 kick in at
10.30 p.m. on sunday the 27th of june
at the glastonbury main stage.

i'm already excited !

― piscesboy, Saturday, 26 July 2003 22:35 (9 years ago) Permalink

Horribly wrong or not, he still releases great stuff. True, his early-80s run was so hot it's hard to keep that kind of thing up. Emancipation only has a few patchy moments to me. Played disc by disc, as opposed to all of it at once, I think it's real good.

― Sean (Sean), Saturday, 26 July 2003 23:01 (9 years ago) Permalink

I didn't read a damn answer to this thread (or really take the question into consideration), but it did inspire me to listen to that LMLYP Ween song and download "Pussy Control", if that matters at all.

― Helltime Producto (Pavlik), Sunday, 27 July 2003 00:10 (9 years ago) Permalink

I still buy all his stuff -- been a fan since I was 9 and bought Controversy. But his decline certainly began with Graffiti Bridge onwards. At that point his quality control slipped big time. Batman actually has a few great tracks on it (The Future, Electric Chair, Lemon Crush) and, for something that was supposedly written in a few weeks time (!), is leagues ahead of most major label pop released in '88. It was also probably the the last truly sonically innovative of Prince's records - you can tell most of it was put together on samplers.
I'd love to hear what an outside producer with vision would do with Prince. I'd love to lock him in a studio for a month with Trevor Horn or Timbaland -- or maybe Pharrell + Chad, if only to show 'em how it's done.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Sunday, 27 July 2003 00:24 (9 years ago) Permalink

"Lemon Crush" is really, really, fantastic.

_Emancipation_ songs that people seem to sleep on that I really, really love:

"Somebody's Somebody"
"I Can't Make You Love Me"
"Mr. Happy"
"Holy River"
"Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife"
"Slave"
"Human Body"
"Sleep Around"
"Da Da Da"

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Sunday, 27 July 2003 00:49 (9 years ago) Permalink

i wanna hear that mark moore remix yo (note to self - stop sayin yo at the end of every sentence yo)

― stevem (blueski), Sunday, 27 July 2003 01:01 (9 years ago) Permalink

I'll tell you a secret. Ain't no way Prince is a Jehovah's Witness. He may think he is, but he would very definitely be "disfellowshipped" if he was ever actually baptised into the religion (which I seriously doubt). He's more into some weird personal translation of the bible, probably a combination of JW's believe in armageddon, their lack of belief in hell and a little kabbala thrown in there or something.

― Scaredy Cat, Sunday, 27 July 2003 01:18 (9 years ago) Permalink

bought 'rainbow children'--
anti-semitic...and dull!
NOW I'm off for good

― Haikunym, Sunday, 27 July 2003 01:26 (9 years ago) Permalink

anti-semitic

Is it really? Wow! What did that freak say? I never heard Rainbow Children.

― Scaredy Cat, Sunday, 27 July 2003 02:32 (9 years ago) Permalink

does he go door-to-door doing the "please read this pamphlet" thing?

no? then he ain't no witness.

― Tad (llamasfur), Sunday, 27 July 2003 02:34 (9 years ago) Permalink

I read some web-site from a x-Jehovah's Witness that said Jehovah's Witnesses are more obsessed with sex than any other people he had ever met. So maybe he really is a Jehovah's Witness.

― Al Andalous, Sunday, 27 July 2003 02:37 (9 years ago) Permalink

Actually The Rainbow Children be his first genuinely dire record - even New Power Generation and Chaos and Disorder have goodies on 'em. At least his sexism used to serve as an aspect of his torrent-like ego and likely as not would make her cum despite herself, but on TRC it is oppressive.

Prince's decline began when hip hoppers began to sample in the late 1980s. Before then Prince had a monopoly on hard pop-funk with avant-garde textures, but hip hop made his big advantage available to all sorts of young kids with ears. This has enriched our collective culture but made Prince's job harder.

― plebian plebs (plebian), Sunday, 27 July 2003 08:35 (9 years ago) Permalink

I like that analysis.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 27 July 2003 09:21 (9 years ago) Permalink

When did it all go wrong? The very moment "Jughead" hit my ears.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Sunday, 27 July 2003 13:32 (9 years ago) Permalink

AAARRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!! Jughead!!!

― maria b (maria b), Sunday, 27 July 2003 14:31 (9 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 203 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

I think it happened gradually. Still consider the Prince tracks on the "Grafitti Bridge" quite good, and "Diamonds And Pearls" had its moments too. The (Symbol) album wasn't quite up to his standards though, and it was to become worse.

I would say somewhere between the formation of New Power Generation and changing his name to a symbol. But, again, it did happen gradually.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 29 November 2004 21:16 (8 years ago) Permalink

I still stand by the Matos stand of Lovesexy being it, if you had to declare an "it". After that, it's a been a very gradual slide down of albums with great moments, but not full experiences IMHO... although Musicology is his best album since Sign 'O' The Times (IMHO).

― donut christ (donut), Monday, 29 November 2004 21:19 (8 years ago) Permalink

TS: Musicology vs The Gold Experience

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 29 November 2004 21:41 (8 years ago) Permalink

goldexp >>>>>>>>>>> musicology

― peter smith (plsmith), Monday, 29 November 2004 21:44 (8 years ago) Permalink

Peter OTM. The first really dispensable track was "When 2 R in Love," though.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 29 November 2004 22:43 (8 years ago) Permalink

Nah, while the worst song on both "Black Album" and "Lovesexy" it still has at least one good idea/justification for the track's existence in the vocal effects placed over the phrase "drip drip drip water water want her" (dodgy lyrics straight from dodgy memory).

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Monday, 29 November 2004 23:26 (8 years ago) Permalink

OK, then I'll choose that moment on 'Lovesexy' when Prince, in the character of a junkie, mutters "I've got more holes in my arm than a gold course."

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 29 November 2004 23:52 (8 years ago) Permalink

Regarding "Lovesexy", having every track on the album put together as the same track on the CD, C/D?

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 00:20 (8 years ago) Permalink

I'd say "Emancipation" is the one where he went awry, and even that one has some nice stuff on it. "Gold Album" and "Diamonds and Pearls" are both really good. He'd already gone awry with "Around the World" anyway. But with someone whose output is so vast, the usual quibbles vanish, he's still mighty slick if you ask me.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 00:32 (8 years ago) Permalink

diamonds and pearls was where it all started to go drastically wrong. when prince got rappers on his records and in his band, thats when he started to to doubt himself and it all went downhill from there.

― titchyschneider (titchyschneider), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 00:39 (8 years ago) Permalink

OK, then I'll choose that moment on 'Lovesexy' when Prince, in the character of a junkie, mutters "I've got more holes in my arm than a gold course."

Uh, isn't that on Grafitti Bridge, in the intro to "Joy In Repetition," which is the best song on the whole record? And I don't think the quote is right anyway--I always thought it was "My name is Andre Crabtree III, I got more HOES than a golf course."

― J (Jay), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 01:01 (8 years ago) Permalink

yeah, how many holes does a gold course have??? what the hell is a gold course anyway?

― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 01:02 (8 years ago) Permalink

it's a place where you play gilt.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 01:18 (8 years ago) Permalink

Unless I'm reading his take wrong, Matos seems to think that the flaw of Lovesexy is that it was not a pop album in the universal sense but one that catered to Prince's increasingly bizarre personal interests. Which I suppose is a fair argument, particularly should you believe that Prince's great crime thereafter was losing his innate sense of the charts and popular taste.

I'm not sure I "disagree," per se, in the sense that one of the great things about Prince's music has always been its commercial appeal. There's no denying how powerful his music is to an incredibly broad range of people -- music nuts like us and people in clubs alike.

But on a musical and technical level (from a compositional standpoint, that is), Lovesexy is an astonishing fucking achievement -- and were the times to have merely passed him by as he made 15 more records of its quality, I don't think we'd be having this discussion.

Rather, the slide seems more a matter of self doubt creeping into his work. I wrote about this in my "Welcome 2 The Funk Bible" piece in Stylus a few years ago on the work he did in 1987-88. The thing is, the same self doubt that drove him to record the rapper-baiting "Dead On It" from The Black Album and fire his band also drove him to go nuts with the Camille character and do insanely schizophrenic records like Sign o' The Times.

In short, I don't think you can pinpoint it, but the seeds were probably sown around that time.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 05:05 (8 years ago) Permalink

Apparently, I killed this thread by answering it perfectly.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 1 December 2004 20:12 (8 years ago) Permalink

If you define "horribly wrong" as "not making his absolute very best work, and some of the very best work ever made to boot," then Sign O' the Times is a perfect answer.

If you define "horribly wrong" in any way that has some relation to the dictionary, then the answer is 'never,' cos he's still putting out good music. He just ebbs and flows like any other artist does over the course of 25 years. The whole decline and fall narrative is a short-sighted cliche perpuated by people who haven't been listening since the late 80s in the first place.

― just saying, Wednesday, 1 December 2004 21:08 (8 years ago) Permalink

Well, unless you consider charts to count at all.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 1 December 2004 21:18 (8 years ago) Permalink

I still think Daydream Nation is his best.

― Gascan Charlie, Wednesday, 1 December 2004 21:53 (8 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

Um, I cannot seem to find that recent favorable thread where folks talked about the special Prince shows in the UK and in Los Angeles, and Prince on that Latin tv award show so:

Prince charming at the Roosevelt
For fervid fans, it was a fantasy come true: an intimate night with the pop star (for an eye-popping price).
By Ann Powers, L.A. Times Staff Writer
June 25, 2007

Photo Gallery
Prince: Look back in purpleTHERE are shows, and then there's the pop fantasy realized. Having Prince practically sit in your lap as he takes a guitar solo midway through his debut at the Roosevelt Hotel? As the credit-card commercials say: Priceless.

Eyebrows have been raised over the exorbitant ticket prices for the artist's seven nights of shows, billed as "3121 Live," at the Hollywood hot spot — $3,121.00 for dinner and tickets for two; move the decimal point one space to the left and you've got a standing-room spot — but once the funk-rock maestro hit the stage Saturday, all questions of money melted away.

The 200 beautiful people perched on couches or crowded into the corners of the lush Blossom Room had purchased the right to forget that Prince was there to do his job. Arena shows are often so rote; the chance to see one of the great arena-level musicians playing in an intimate (and, therefore, casual) setting was as rare as getting a soft seat at Staples Center, and it needed to feel that way.

Prince knows this. Always one of the hardest-working — if most unpredictable — men in show business, he's recently figured out a way to reinvigorate the live experience for himself and his audience.

His trick has been to transform often denigrated gigs — the Vegas run, the hotel engagement — into rare opportunities. He squashed the idea that appearing at a casino is for has-beens with his recent tour de force at the Rio; now, he's reclaiming a space once reserved for wedding bands and also-rans and making it a private domain where royals play.

On Saturday, he began his set sniffing a flower and ended by triumphantly throwing down the microphone. In between, he performed a few hits ("Kiss," a hard rock version of "U Got the Look") but mostly concentrated on getting his powerhouse band in the pocket on material that stayed funky even when it simmered down to a slow jam.

Horns come marching in

The show started late, which is Prince's way. Absent the main attraction, a horn section anchored by funk founder Maceo Parker marched in playing "When the Saints Go Marching In." The quartet wound through the room, which had been equipped with leather couches and coffee tables to hold $400 bottles of Patrón tequila, and the mood suddenly turned from Hollywood fabulous to Crescent City warm and rowdy.

After the horns joined the rest of the band, which included the hard-hitting drummer Cora Dunham and the noted Brazilian keyboardist Renato Neto, Prince finally strode out.

Within moments, he was in the audience. This was a constant: Everyone not anchored to the stage by an instrument got out and pressed the fan flesh. The festive mood broke down audience expectations and kept the excitement high, even when Prince focused on newer or more obscure material.

Only one awkward moment emerged during Prince's forays into the crowd. He approached the daunting bunch on what could have been dubbed the "hip-hop power couch" — it included Diddy, Death Row Records founder Suge Knight, Erykah Badu and Nas, among others — and tried to hand the microphone to Nas.

The rapper declined to ad-lib, however, simply muttering, "I love Prince," and handing back the hot potato. Prince then tried to work his charm on Badu; she gave up a half-hearted rhyme about sisterhood, but it fizzled out. About half of those seated on the couch then abruptly departed (although Nas and Badu both stayed).

Other loose-limbed celebrities made up for that aloofness. Laker-turned-actor Rick Fox danced goofily with his sister; actress Penélope Cruz got one of those front-row hugs. And singer Nikka Costa even joined Prince onstage, belting out a rather metallic rendition of "Purple Rain."

The stars could let loose because of the house-party atmosphere Prince established by leading his band into the place where grooves and group interaction matter more than delivering sing-along choruses.

Gems among friends

Digging into his song bag and pulling out such gems as the carnal "Shhh" and the proto-electro "Girls and Boys," he was like a host running down to his wine cellar and pulling out that special bottle for good friends.

The house party is, after all, the model for Prince's current live act. After staging several legendary fetes at the West Hollywood manse he once rented, Prince clearly decided that their mood could be translated to more a formal setting.

It's as if this former hit machine, tired of playing the commercial game, has redirected his focus on the informal process of making music with friends — and then decided to let his fans (those with enough green, that is) in on the fun.

One flaw not unlike what might happen at a real house party marred the evening: The sound needed work. Prince's spoken asides were barely decipherable through an echo-prone microphone, and his singing also sometimes got lost. Such kinks can be worked out, though, and could be expected in a room that's also been used for bar mitzvahs.

The sound got better during the jazzy jam session that the most elite members of Saturday's audience witnessed after Prince's initial 90-minute set.

Moving into the hotel's cordoned-off lobby, audience members perched wearily on different couches as the band unwound with a tasty selection of jazz standards. Solos impressed, but the absence of the night's leader dulled the mood at first.

Prince finally showed up at nearly 4 a.m., teasing the crowd with a fiery guitar solo and then decamping to the back of the room. Twenty minutes later, he returned, sunglasses affixed on his head, and picked up a five-string bass. The crowd started to dance.

Perhaps not everyone who'd scored this special ticket expected a dream night that would end with Prince, the great original, leading the crowd in a rousing version of "Brick House" by the Commodores. Isn't that what karaoke nights with pals are for? But this didn't sound like karaoke.

Seeing Prince rip it up three feet away, and getting to sing along too? Priceless.

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✧✧✧.pow✧✧✧@lati✧✧✧.c✧✧

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 02:55 (5 years ago) Permalink

I think the love symbol album is being underrated here. The Morning Papers is one of his greatest songs, and 7, The Continental and 3 Chains of Gold are all a load of fun.

― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 06:43 (5 years ago) Permalink

OK, My answer:

I was a Prince fan (not nutzo style, just bought the records, you know...) and "Sign of the Times" up to "Diamonds & Pearls" I'd be gettin without hearin...

"Gett Off" is all about the six track remix/different songs thingy (Violet the Organ Grinder, etc). "Cream", similarly.

"D&P" the album was "yep, it's nice but a bit easy listening" but still played it plenty. After that, didn't buy any more (I think)... But still liked what was on't radio.

Still haven't played "Emancipation" after getting it for £3 at Fopp.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 08:19 (5 years ago) Permalink

"you are really wrong with this. the quality of his recording sound has never been dated. its the songs that are weak."

no, the production is dated and so are the songs these days. that new 'my guitar' song is embarrassing.

― titchyschneiderMk2, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 10:14 (5 years ago) Permalink

Guitar might be his best single in 10 years, in my opinion.

― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 10:32 (5 years ago) Permalink

thats not saying much.

― titchyschneiderMk2, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 10:50 (5 years ago) Permalink

the guitar sounds like the edge. the verses are about 3 lines long. and the production sounds plastic. sounds like he turned it out in about 5 minutes.

― titchyschneiderMk2, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 10:51 (5 years ago) Permalink

that's a good thing, right?

― Mark G, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 10:52 (5 years ago) Permalink

i got a tik to da roosevelt :)

― chaki, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 10:57 (5 years ago) Permalink

check out the song 'da bang' from the crystal ball set. thats a 100 times better than this new song as far as princes modern 'guitar' songs go.

― titchyschneiderMk2, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 11:01 (5 years ago) Permalink

its weird reading all these great amazing reviews of prince live these days. i think a lot of that is just cos hes still out there doing it. cos his show these days is pretty vegas. and not in a good way.

― titchyschneiderMk2, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 11:02 (5 years ago) Permalink

I think the love symbol album is being underrated here. The Morning Papers is one of his greatest songs, and 7, The Continental and 3 Chains of Gold are all a load of fun.

I'd also add "Blue Light" and "I Wanna Melt With U." There's some forgettable ballads and the sounds-worse-with-every-year "Sexy M.F."

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 13:26 (5 years ago) Permalink

"Black Album" was the foreshadowing

True enough. Lovesexy was his last great album. I wrote a big piece about all this here -- put as simply as I can, The Black Album was where he began to play to his audience more than his muse.

But it doesn't really materialize until Batman.

― Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 13:46 (5 years ago) Permalink

Nas declining to freestyle is like one of those you-knew-there-was-no-Santa-Claus-but-why'd-they-have-to-go-and-say-it moments :(

― J0hn D., Tuesday, 26 June 2007 15:08 (5 years ago) Permalink

Haha.

I haven't heard the new record, but about half of 3121 was really great and he's still unbeatable live (judging from videos/tv appearances, I haven't gotten to see his show :( :( :( ).

― Jordan, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 15:44 (5 years ago) Permalink

My friend Tom got to go to one of those house parties, courtesy of another friend who found a "golden ticket" in his copy of 3121. He is still talking about how fucking dope Prince was live and in such an intimate space. All the beautiful people etc.

― Dimension 5ive, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 15:47 (5 years ago) Permalink

are there any fans crazier than prince fans?

― titchyschneiderMk2, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 15:48 (5 years ago) Permalink

how about fans of crappy music? NOW THAT'S CRAZY>

― Dimension 5ive, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 15:52 (5 years ago) Permalink

When I was Brooklyn a couple days ago I watched the Sign o' the Times movie on a projection screen, so I'm still in full-on worship mode. :>

― Jordan, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 15:52 (5 years ago) Permalink

SOTT = best concert film ever.

― titchyschneiderMk2, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 15:55 (5 years ago) Permalink

When I was Brooklyn a couple days ago I watched the Sign o' the Times movie on a projection screen, so I'm still in full-on worship mode. :>

I got to do this a couple weeks ago, with similar results.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 20:09 (5 years ago) Permalink

SOTT is all mimed to the soundtrack of an actual concert btw.

― chaki, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 20:24 (5 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, it really is a shame he only got to rule for one decade. Poor guy. *rolls eyes*

― nicky lo-fi, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 20:49 (5 years ago) Permalink

<i>SOTT is all mimed to the soundtrack of an actual concert btw.</i>

Seriously? I assumed that some parts of it were overdubbed later for precision/sound quality reasons, but none of the video + sound is live? :(

― Jordan, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 21:31 (5 years ago) Permalink

nope. prince didnt like the concert footage so he staged a fake concert at paisley park.

― chaki, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 21:38 (5 years ago) Permalink

Right, but was the "fake" concert recorded live?

― Mark Rich@rdson, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 21:38 (5 years ago) Permalink

no. he mimed to audio from an actual concert.

― chaki, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 21:42 (5 years ago) Permalink

So the actual concert was recorded in the studio?

― HI DERE, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 21:44 (5 years ago) Permalink

Wow, then it's pretty dead-on!

xpost

― Jordan, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 21:45 (5 years ago) Permalink

isnt it that it was filmed at paisley park as a real gig but then overdubbed later? either way, its amazing you can barely tell and it *feels* so live.

― titchyschneiderMk2, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 22:48 (5 years ago) Permalink

is SOTT the one where he pees on the audience with his penis-guitar-hose or am I mixing it up with some other Prince concert

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 22:51 (5 years ago) Permalink

haha thats the purple rain tour.

― titchyschneiderMk2, Tuesday, 26 June 2007 22:54 (5 years ago) Permalink

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