I became disinterested with Prince when Graffiti Bridge came out in '90. All I know is The Symbol album and some of Diamond and Pearls. I haven't listened to it in 10 years, but it had some good stuff on it. I think Prince's popularity started to cool off with the rise of rap and grunge. He tried to put some rap stuff in his work and it wasn't' good. But Get Off, Sexy MF, and Cream are good songs. Get Controversy and the rest of the '80s stuff. Do you own any Funkadelic and Parliament beside the hits? It's better than Zappa. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/002-2788466-9095226
MEOWGI: I actually have 2 Funkadelic albums in "Maggot Brain" and "One Nation Under a Groove" as well as "Computer Games" by George Clinton. Add that to greatest hits compilations for Parliament, George Clinton, and Bootsy Collins and that is all I have for the P-Funk. But I have been thinking about getting some individual Parliament albums.
Great post, Kelly. I've long felt Bowie losing Mick Ronson (albeit to my favorite band - Mott the Hoople) was the beginning of his downslide. For sure, Diamond Dogs and Low (with Enos' help - funny how he keeps popping up, eh Manny?) are good albums, but not like Aladin Sane, Ziggy and The Man Who Sold the World are. The one album he and Ronson did that no one has mentioned is Pin Ups - which I absolutely LOVE!!!
How great was Ian's last solo album? "Rant" was an amazing return to form. I was lucky enough to work one of his shows on that tour and he was in high spirits. "Schizophrenic" was great, but he also has some really underrated rockers ("Short Back and Sides," and the first two especially). I'm probably the only guy in the world with more Ian Hunter albums that Mott the Hoople albums.
Kelly, I Could not agree more about Ian's return to form with 'Rant'. Must admit I'm stunned (gratified) you or anyone else within earshot would even be aware of it. I missed his latest tour as he did not make it all the way down So Cal to San Diego (cool gig you got there ), though heard from someone else who saw him in Santa Ana (I think) who enthusiaticalyagreed with your opinion. At least I did see him back in the day at Cullen when Ronson was still his sidekick. If you can find it, he has a great book he wrote duiring Mott's 'All the Young Dudes' tour -'Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star' that I highly recommend. BTW, Ronson has a few solo albums. The stand-out is 'Play Don't Worry'. He does a blistering version of the VU's White Light/White Heat and a cool rave-up of 'The Girl Can't Help It' with Ian as well. and THEN there are the REALLY good songs I did not mention. I just killed this thread. Didn't I...
Prince may bring people together but Bowie blows his doors off. From Hunky Dory to Scary Monsters is the best and most influential run of consecutive great albums over a nearly a decade since the Beatles.
I am a big Prince fan but have not been as impressed with his most recent stuff. It's good, just not what I am used to from him. I pretty much love everything he did prior to 1990 The albums I dig and my favorite tracks on them. Dirty Mind- Dirty Mind Head For You- Soft and Wet Crazy You Just as Long as We're Together Controversy - Controversy Sexuality Do Me , Baby Let's Work - (One of the funkiest jams of all time) 1999 - Lady Cab Driver A-U-T-O-matic All the Critics Love you in NY Let's Pretend We're Married Purple Rain - Take Me With U Computer Blue Darling Nicky(sp?) Around the World in A Day- Around the World in a Day Tambourine America Parade - "Under The Cherry Moon" Soundtrack New Position/I Wonder U Girls and Boys Do You Lie Kiss Sign o the Times House Quake Ballad of Dorothy Parker Forever in My Life If I was your Girlfriend Strange Relationship Adore - (this was my wedding song) LoveSexy Just listen to the whole damn thing After this point, Prince is still good, but just doesn't grab me like he used to.
You're oversimplifying, AB. By definition, Bowie has never been and never will be any one thing. But yes, at times, Bowie has been funky.
i like them both, in part. don't like everything they did. not their biggest fan. but they've both made good music i still enjoy hearing.
Ditto on SRV As for Prince, I liked the Purple Rain album. Perhaps a few before because that was when I attended HS.
i think it's apples and oranges. i guess it also depends on your age. prince was at his peak when i was coming of age, by that i mean wanting to hit every hot chick that moved. prince's early 80's output was my soundtrack.
I was just being provocative in response to a few simmilar posts by Fatty and others. This usually gets me into trouble. You are absolutely right. I think Prince was really great in his prime and one of the best concerts I've ever seen. Having said that, I think his sound dates rather badly. The doctor in scrubs who played keyboards in the revolution did him wrong! And the New Power Generation stuff is so slick and over-produced that it often ruins some great songs. I think Prince has had trouble dealing with the explosion of hip-hop and it kind of freaked him out. He's turned into a preachy old man about "real music" when it's really about "my records don't sell anymore without being included in the price of a concert ticket." I think Bowie has aged more gracefully (although he has screwed up too...Tim Machine was nearly as bad as "Never Let Me Down" ugh). Bowie's work does not sound dated at all...Diamond Dogs and Young Americans and Station to Station and Low and all of those still sound like the future. Bowie's work for the last 15 years has been solid, too. He definitely peaked earlier, but it is serviceble. Bowie was only briefly a pop star like Prince (at least in America) so I think it is sort of odd that you hear more Bowie influences around than Prince. I think PM Dawn was the last artist that reminded me of Prince. Every British pop band since 1980 sounds like Bowie at some point in their careers.
I listened to "Heroes" and "Scary Monsters" today with still "Hunky Dory" and "Low" to go. I like both - maybe even more than "Ziggy Stardust". If I had to pick one, I would go with "Scary Monsters" as it seems that it takes the electronica of albums like "Low" and "Heroes" and combines it with some of his other earlier albums. To the Bowie fans - what do you think of the album "Station to Station"? I have seen that one commonly cited as one of his best albums but don't know more about it than that (compared to knowing that "Low" and "Heroes" had stuff collaborated on with Brian Eno and that "Ziggy Stardust" was glam rock, etc.)
David Bowie released his first new song in about 10 years. Not bad. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FOyDTy9DtHQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If you listen to the PRINCE station on Pandora, you'll never forward any song. They're all good. I'm a PRINCE fan. I listen to the "HITS" album while I work out.
Crap. Thread necromancy. Nevermind. Bowie's music became much less interesting once he got off the coke and smack.
Bowie has different "phases," so it's possible to have a favorite among his rock, electronic, and pop albums. Believe it or not, I go back to Let's Dance frequently- but I'd have to say Hunky Dory, Station to Station, and of course Ziggy, those are all great. Prince? I agree with the other poster- possibly one of the greatest artists of all time. Although it's been played ad nauseum, to the point where some won't consider it a favorite, Purple Rain is still the crown jewel- When Doves Cry was one of the most innovative songs of the 80s (no bass line), and it has the perfect beginning and ending. For a broader scope, though, 1999 has a wider variety of styles and that could easily be a favorite. Many mention Sign of the Times, and it's certainly got a lot of great songs- but I'm not a big fan of him distorting his voice so that he sounds like a mini-chipmunk on songs like Housequake.
Anyone doubting Prince's guitar abilities, just watch this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilgbWaG7G0Q ... from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction of George Harrison, with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne, and Dhani Harrison.
