It sounds like Prince sacrificed his body to perform the music that he loved and he was restrained by his religious beliefs to surgically remove the tremendous pain he was in. He died trying to stay alive. It got to be too much pain to live with.
This stuff about Prince having AIDS. I've seen headlines such as "Prince 'was diagnosed with AIDS six months before he died and refused treatment because he believed God would heal him'" And they go on to say "sources" told the National Enquirer. Y'know... the National Enquirer that makes claims like "Found! Elvis seven secret love children" and "Dying Cher's last Christmas!" I'd see what the autopsy results come back with before jumping to conclusions. Examples of their headlines > National Enquirer UK »
The albums became uneven, after Lovesexy. It's his last great one. I kindly suggest you give it another listen.
Well I like some of those including Lovesexy, actually I was spinning it today, japanese SHM-CD edition. It's just that it seems to me something breaks and then he goes on another road. Sign O is the last great, probably because it's a comp of several tracks recorded for several cancelled LPs.
He was that kind of boss before the Black Album, though. He was brutal and cruel going back to practically day one.
I got Art Official Age because of your comments and those of a few other members. Have to say it's one fine album, and I don't understand why a lot of people are indifferent to it. A terrific addition to the canon, so thank you Johnny. My copy of HitnRun Phase Two arrives on Tuesday.
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Ralph! That's because they're always comparing it to the masterpieces released during his prime. I view Art Official Age and HITnRUN Phase Two as later career "classics". You're in for a treat. I hope you like mocha lattes because that's the flavor of HITnRUN Phase Two. It's his best received album since "The Gold Experience".
I agree that The Black Album was arguably the most famous bootleg of my era... It was getting 4-star reviews in major publications and appearing on year-end lists like it was an official release. Similar to Dylan's Basement Tapes in the 60s or YHF by Wilco in 2001. (And I'm sure some of that was the coolness of "I have this album and you don't," but still.) Lovesexy was gonna suffer by comparison. Also, let's not forget that Prince in the 1980s was very much a pop artist... Despite making incredibly innovative ahead-of-its-time music, he also kept an eye on the charts. ATWIAD is a weird 180 left-turn experiment that sounds nothing like Purple Rain, but it still sold 2 million (partially) thanks to a huge single with "Raspberry Beret" (and "Pop Life" to a lesser extent). Parade is a dizzying genre-jumping kaleidoscope, but it went platinum off a monster #1 single ("Kiss"). SOTT didn't sound like anything else on the radio, but it sold because of two Top 3 singles (and about 3 other radio hits). Lovesexy had... One Top 10 single, and that was it. So the pop audience he usually brought in beyond his cult didn't buy that one, and hence some of the problem. The same thing happened with Graffiti Bridge... "Thieves In The Temple" wasn't a huge single, nothing else even hit the Top 40, and it only went gold. In between you had Batman... which isn't regarded as one of his better Eighties albums, but it sold better than either Lovesexy or GB, thanks to another #1 single and a Top 20 follow-up. The singles absolutely mattered... At least back then. (I think D&P might even be his second-biggest seller worldwide behind PR, and that's because it had 4 big singles, a feat no other Prince album besides PR can claim.)
Nelson George is a great writer, but that SOTT review was a bit disappointing. The rest are quite strong. Rolling Stone used to actually be a good music magazine back then, and I remember their Prince reviews were always strong. Definitely made me rush out to buy SOTT. (And also Batman, but that's another story...)
Prince: Dirty Mind Album Review | Pitchfork » (10) Prince: Controversy Album Review | Pitchfork » (9.0) Prince: 1999 Album Review | Pitchfork » (10) Prince & The Revolution: Purple Rain Album Review | Pitchfork » (10) Prince & The Revolution: Around the World in a Day Album Review | Pitchfork » (8.8) Prince & The Revolution: Parade Album Review | Pitchfork » (9.1) Prince: Sign "O" the Times Album Review | Pitchfork » (10) Prince & The New Power Generation: Diamonds and Pearls Album Review | Pitchfork » (8.3)
National Enquirer was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for its coverage of John Edwards, a story no mainstream media even tried to cover, and probably should have won. I don't care for their format and really don't care about fatuous celebrity gossip, but when they put their considerable resources into a story it's usually solid.
I thought it was a photo manipulation at first and that it was Prince himself, maybe in Camille mode.
Regardless, it's in very poor taste to post AIDS speculation when nothing has been confirmed yet, especially when your source is The National Enquirer.
Well, you know the saying about a broken clock. The nomination - not that it won - was probably the occasion where it received more journalistic kudos than it has enjoyed since its foundation in 1926. Overall, it's fairly dire.
They haven't published these reviews in sequence. So Lovesexy and Batman could still be in the cards.
I think it is says something about Prince's stature as a recording artist that Pitchfork are doing a major retrospective review of his albums.
Over the last week, I've played through Prince's entire discography, including the 5 CD Crystal Ball set. The only 2 I've yet to play are Purple Rain (saving that one for the Rhino vinyl probably last) and Batman, to which I'm very indifferent. I think I'll likely give the Family another spin as well, as that one really sounds like a Prince album marketed under a different name. I know St. Paul is credited as vocalist but are we sure it wasn't really Prince?
Hopefully they include The Black Album,Come,The Truth,Chaos and Disorder,Old Friends 4 Sale,The Rainbow Children & One Nite Alone...
