When Prince no longer ruled the world…

 

 

Back when I did college radio 25 years ago on any of my solo shows, it was mandatory to play at least 1 Prince song a show. He was and will forever be my favorite musician of all time. That stretch during the 80s was to me, the best stretch any musician ever had. He put it all together. There were huge hits, big sales, there was art, there was style, there was attitude, there was musicianship, there was blowing our minds and being ahead of the times. He was somehow pop, rock, funk and alternative all at once. He was cutting edge. Then at some point, he no longer was. It actually came suddenly in some ways. While the infinite talent remained, the influence waned. The hits dried up a bit and then completely. He lost something. He was no longer setting the trends or ahead of his time, he began to do what nearly everyone did and tried to keep up with them. And while the music was still very good at times, it ceased being mind-blowing and great. While it’s not the worst problem to have, to fall from being great to being very good, this is Prince we’re talking about. When did it happen? How long did it take? Why did it happen? These are things I’ve been thinking about for over a decade now and while I don’t claim to have the answers, I've listened to the music over and over and researched this is best as I can and I will tell you what I think.

 

I find it so fascinating that someone could string together 5 brilliant records in a row and then fall off a bit. How does one get to those heights, let alone stay there for 5 years and 5 albums? Then how does one lose it? I remember watching Michael Jordan during the “flu game” where he hit 9 three-pointers in one playoff game back when nobody did that and especially not Jordan, who was never a great long-distance shooter. He famously shrugged his shoulders because he couldn’t explain it. He was in the zone. But this was just one night. 2 hours of the highest high. Prince did it for 5 years! To me, I can’t think of another artist who had a better 5 album run than 1999 through Sign O The Times. Every record had hits, each one was critically acclaimed and on album of the year lists. Nobody sounded like him. He was larger than life, mysterious and the coolest of the cool.  

 

But then what happened? Did he get old? Did he run out of interesting things to say? Did casual fans just move on? Pop culture seemed to leave him behind. It all seemed impossible. His story was so extraordinary. Indulge me as we go all the way back to the beginning… his first 2 records were good and promising, but basic in many ways. It was soul and r&b with some funky elements. The talent was evident but he wasn’t challenging us a lot, more like he was proving he belonged. After all, he was a kid writing, performing and producing his own records. For his 3^rd record; Dirty Mind, he began to push buttons and challenge ideas. These were the first signs of the greatness to come. Songs like Head and Sister started conversations and asked questions. Others like Partyup and Uptown got people dancing. There was more funk and rock elements mixed in. He was finding his groove. He leveled up.

 

The 4^th record continued the journey. It had Controversy, bangers, ballads and was criminally underrated. He was ahead of his time. People weren’t quite ready yet. But his fascinating blend of creative music was slowly but surely breaking through. And while I consider his first 2 records as good and the 3^rd as very good, this record was bordering on excellent.

 

Then the 5^th record, 1999 began the string of genius level albums. There was pop for the radio, funk for the dance floor, sex for the bedroom and some artsy stuff for your brain to marinate on. This was the Prince method. On his best records he fused rock, funk, pop, soul, blues and alternative music in a way that challenged us. It was for your ears, your mind, your soul and your funky ass. His creativity blew minds and he became the superstar. Speaking of which, he went all in for the superstar vibe with the next record, the legendary Purple Rain, an album that removed any doubt that 1999 was a fluke. At the same time, he had the #1 movie and #1 record in the land, in fact, it was the #1 record for 24 straight weeks during one of the greatest years ever in music. But he wasn’t done. He pulled back the pop star and went down a different, more artistic path with Around The World in a Day and Parade and then it culminated with the 5^th genius level album in a row, Sign O The Times. Most artists would kill for 1 record of that level and magnitude. He had FIVE in a row. So what happened next? This is when he began the descent after the climb to the heavens. His stay at the peak was lengthy but the drop was inevitable. I mean, where else could you go after witnessing the highest highs and seeing the dawn?

 

Celebrity is a motherfucker. It’ll cause you to think certain things, overthink others, and believe silly things. Where it seemed Prince lived in his own world with musicians at his beck and call and the ability to write and record songs even while on tour, the outside world finally crept in. I think this is what ruined his peak momentum.

 

Prior to Sign O The Times, Prince was going in different directions. First it was the end of the Revolution. These were people the notoriously untrusting Prince trusted. He did keep a few of them in the fold but the highly influential Wendy and Lisa were gone. Then the next album Dream Factory became a 3-record release called Crystal Ball and elements of a planned “Camille” record were infused into that. All of it eventually became Sign O The Times but never had we heard of Prince scrapping whole records and projects. Perhaps there was some restlessness, a sign of his times, a sign of things to come. Maybe all of this was a need for a big change. Something was going on with Prince. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

 

The change began with most of the Revolution being let go and then putting out “Sign” but it wasn’t enough. The next record was going to be The Black Album, a funk bible meant to remind black audiences of who Prince was, as some folks had been whispering that his sound had gotten too weird or even too white over the last few records. Why Prince chose to listen to those whispers, we’ll never know. The Black Album was going to kick people in the teeth. It even had rap on it, while also poking fun at it. To many it was a bad sign in that Prince was letting the noise from outside influence his output. It was also the beginning of Prince becoming more reliant on incorporating fads or contemporary sounds into his music. Until then he was kinda telling us what was what. The quirky pop superstar was gonna to have to be put on hold. The artist who was searching for something found it. The Black Album was gonna silence some nonsensical critics… but at what cost?

 

We got to hear the Black Album 7 years later when Warner released it. It was fun in parts. Half the songs were reminiscent of Housequake, It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night and the funkiest parts of “Sign” but the rap stuff was awful. Dead on It and Bob George while maybe meant to be funny, were lame. It was beneath Prince. He was trying too hard and doing too much. But the biggest problem with the Black Album was that there were no hits on it at all. Maybe that was by design as this record seemed to exist to send a message rather than be a classic. To me, the message was the end of his great run and while not terrible, it was possibly the worst record of his career to this point.

 

Not long before The Black Album was to come out, Prince had some kind of spiritual epiphany. Some say it was due to bad drug trip on ecstasy and a deep conversation with Ingrid Chavez provoked it, but no one knows for sure. Blue Tuesday is what some called it. Just days before release, Prince was suddenly convinced The Black Album was evil. Even though some early promos had gone out and a few hundred thousand copies were pressed prior to the record’s release, the album was pulled and most of the copies were destroyed. Prince then spent almost 2 months and created another record; Lovesexy. Lovesexy was very different than The Black Album. If that album was the devil or “Spooky Electric” as he called it, then Lovesexy was the light. It was God. Lovesexy was infused with this new spirituality and positivity complete with a gorgeous shot of a naked Prince on the cover. It was like he was reborn. But why did he need to be? Lovesexy was generally well received, it even salvaged one track from the Black Album; I Wish You Heaven. However, Lovesexy didn’t do as well on the charts and in sales as the previous few records had done. It just wasn’t as accessible. This was the beginning of the drop from the highest highs. I would not call this a genius record by any means although there was still some excellent songs on it. I’d grade it two steps down from genius level, past excellent and back down to very good. Radio and the charts reflected this as only the catchy Alphabet Street was a hit. The rest of the album was full of messages of spirituality and seemed more narrow minded in vision and sounds than the glorious buffet that Sign O The Times was. Young people don’t want an overly weird and spiritual offering and maybe that’s why this didn’t connect. It was the end of Prince being an innovator and cutting edge in terms of the music media and powers that be. He was no longer ahead of the trends, he was now chasing them like pretty much everyone else.

 

For his next release, it became time to go back to the movies again as Prince made his next project the Batman soundtrack. Director Tim Burton wanted a few Prince songs for the film but ended up with a Prince record. And while the silly but fun lead track Batdance became the biggest hit, there was some great ones on the record like Trust, Partyman and Scandalous. As a whole, it was another very good effort and was a bigger hit than Lovesexy. It wasn’t as great as that legendary 5-record run, but this was a soundtrack and it was for someone else’s movie, so slack should be cut.

 

Next was Graffiti Bridge and Prince’s last film. This one is hard for me. I’ve had to come to grips with the fact that it is not a very good film but I’ve always wanted it to be because of Prince and the cast of characters, many of which I admire as musicians more than actors. 20 years ago I would have told you it was a good film but as the years go on, it’s harder and harder to pretend. The soundtrack has some wonderful moments but once again as a whole it’s probably very good at best. I know it keeps sounding like very good is a bad thing but in the context of the genius level work Prince did from 82-87, it is a distinct drop. That said, it’s still better than most artists out there. The bar is very high with Prince.

 

Perhaps because he had a new band, The New Power Generation, Prince sounded rejuvenated on his next few releases; Diamonds and Pearls and the Love Symbol record. I’d rate them both as excellent or close to it… that is, better than the 2 recent soundtracks and Lovesexy but not as amazing as Sign O the Times. They weren’t as full of sounds and as creative as his peak records. The good news was he embraced pop music again to some extent and it paid dividends as both records had hits. To me, the reason why these 2 records don’t compare with 1999 thru Sign is because it’s not groundbreaking. There are samples, raps, dance sounds and a few cliché elements consistent with what was popular at the time, which again was not something Prince needed to add to his records at his peak. There were moments of brilliance but then other more cookie cutter moments where it sounded like he was trying to keep up with the times. To me, those inconsistencies hurt the records, just a little.

 

From here things began to get especially messy as Prince dug his heels in for the fight against Warner Brothers owning his music. He began writing the word “slave” on his cheek. He changed his name to the love symbol and began to be known as the artist formerly known as Prince. The output here was mixed as releases came out just to appease the record label as an uncooperative Prince edged closer to the end of his contract. “Come” was nothing memorable, neither was “Chaos and Disorder”. Warner finally released the Black Album but 7 years later and it felt dated as by the mid 90s we were in the midst of grunge and gangsta rap. This kind of 80s fun was no longer allowed. The only real noteworthy release was 1995’s The Gold Experience. There were some Prince classics on there; Pussy Control, Shhh, I Hate U and Prince’s last top 10 hit; The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, which was actually released a year earlier on the Beautiful Experience EP. At the time I loved everything Prince did but if you had asked me if Gold Experience was as good as 1999 or Sign, even then, at the peaks of my fandom, I honestly would have said no.

 

When Prince finally got free of Warner Brothers and his “Emancipation” record was announced, I had never been so excited for a record. The first chance I was able to get to Media Play I bought it. When I heard it was a 3-disc set, I couldn’t believe it. The first single dropped and it was a cover of the Stylistics “Betcha By Golly Wow”. Prince doing covers? There were actually 4 in there. I listened to that record for months. I had some favorite songs on it and told everyone it was great. I think I believed that then. Looking back on it, I admit I might have overreacted to it. It was a good to very good release but I surely got swallowed up in the novelty of it. Prince was free. He was doing covers and had no restrictions from the record label. But to this day, there are no real classic songs from this album. Sure, there are several I remember and love but a casual fan would have no memory of this record at all and that makes me sad. It’s not his best work but it may have been one of the happiest times in his life. That said, the record wasn’t that great. Back then I couldn’t see it. I was so drunk on the purple kool-aid and would never say anything but positives about my favorite artist. To me, Prince could do no wrong. Over the years, it dawned on me that he didn’t do everything right and it’s okay. There are pretty much no perfect albums, certainly no perfect careers. With far more hits than misses, and most of the hits being all time classics, please keep in mind that this isn’t negative. This isn’t complaining or betraying my youth. This isn’t talking shit. I just want to try to figure out how someone becomes one of the coolest, baddest muthafuckas of all time and then isn’t as cool. I’ve pinpointed the time; 1988ish… now what’s the reason?

 

Did he get old? Absolutely not. He turned 30 in 1988 and was far from a has been. We’ve seen many legends get old and provide diminishing returns. It’s natural and happens to everyone. While I’d say this was more of a factor in perhaps the 2000s, I can say in 1988, age wasn’t the issue.

 

Did he run out of things to say?  I can’t say this was the main reason, although one could argue he ran out of cool, clever, artsy things to say once the Revolution was dissolved. I could buy that. Mountains, Raspberry Beret, Dorothy Parker, Starfish and Coffee… those songs aren’t happening after 1988 and we were worse for it. After Sign O The Times Prince pretty much turned in his Bohemian card in order to focus on other things.

 

Did he lose the balance? Ever notice a lot of Prince songs are often about sexuality, spirituality or both? Prince referred to Lovesexy as a gospel album. On Sign he’d balance The Cross with Hot Thing. On Lovesexy the scales tipped harder towards spirituality and that made it harder to connect with young audiences. During his peak years he’d drop many metaphors where the listener is wondering if he is talking about something erotic or something godly, or both? There was this playful ambiguity about sex and god without forcing any beliefs or organized religion on the listener. This wasn’t always the case later in his career. So yeah, I do think he lost the balance a little starting with the Lovesexy record.

 

Did the times pass him by? Sure. It happens to all who stay around long enough. The audience that drives pop culture has always been young and while Prince was royalty to Generation X, to Gen Y he was respected but not as adored. He wasn’t exactly corny but was seen more as a weird artist rather than the epitome of cool and there’s a fine line between weird and cool. The step back from what was considered stylish and at the forefront of pop culture happened to all the greats of those times: Bowie, Michael Jackson, Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Lionel Richie. Most would say he had 5-6 years at the tip top. I would argue “his time” lasted almost 40 years. Even though the charts no longer loved him and he was no longer “hip”, he was always Prince. There will never be anyone like him again.

 

That last paragraph makes me think of another artist I love, Billy Joel and how he got out close to his prime and just stopped making records. You gotta respect that.

 

Conclusion: It was a combination of factors that stopped Prince’s rule of the world. But it’s my opinion that it was something that began in 87/88. What he did after Sign O The Times may have saved his soul… but it also hurt his career. Considering all that Prince had and did, I’m surely nit-picking, overthinking, asking a question that maybe doesn’t need to be answered but it’s something that I’ve wondered about for a long time as a curious superfan of a curious superstar. You can decide for yourself. One thing I think we can all agree on is the greatness of the man and if I could get a message to him, I would tell him: Thank U 4 a funky time.

 

What do you think? Do you think Prince lost something after Sign O The Times? Do you have any theories about why his pop culture influence and chart domination waned? Was it anything he did or do you think it was fickle external forces? I’d love to get your opinions.