Taken from the full article from Issue 60 of the Underground Sound Webzine @ http://undergroundrecords.org
Prince was said to be of my generation but he was actually born in the very last years attributed to the baby boomers. I'm in the very early years of Generation X. None of that matters, or is factual evidence of definition. Prince, his music and his legacy, like all iconic artists, belongs to the ages of all generations.
He did come of age professionally just as my generation was coming of age, during my last couple of years of high school when folks start to put their own marks upon the world. Purple Rain, both the movie and especially the music, was massive in 1984-85 and before that he had 1999, which together with Rain will always for the masses be the quintessential Prince records.. I much prefer the acid jazz and heavier funk leanings of later Prince work such as $ign 'o The Times (my favorite Prince album) to the psychedelic underground of The Black Album, of which the true version to this day remains a mystery. With compilations, ep's and best of types, including his over 39 studio albums, Prince did well over 50 albums in his career. Dying at age 57 is too young for anyone, especially someone so dynamic and talented, with Prince we can only speculate at the true loss.
Prince was said to be of my generation but he was actually born in the very last years attributed to the baby boomers. I'm in the very early years of Generation X. None of that matters, or is factual evidence of definition. Prince, his music and his legacy, like all iconic artists, belongs to the ages of all generations.
He did come of age professionally just as my generation was coming of age, during my last couple of years of high school when folks start to put their own marks upon the world. Purple Rain, both the movie and especially the music, was massive in 1984-85 and before that he had 1999, which together with Rain will always for the masses be the quintessential Prince records.. I much prefer the acid jazz and heavier funk leanings of later Prince work such as $ign 'o The Times (my favorite Prince album) to the psychedelic underground of The Black Album, of which the true version to this day remains a mystery. With compilations, ep's and best of types, including his over 39 studio albums, Prince did well over 50 albums in his career. Dying at age 57 is too young for anyone, especially someone so dynamic and talented, with Prince we can only speculate at the true loss.
With such a loss, we were blessed he hit it big those 30-some years
ago, for that gave us time to see Prince, The Artist, mature and be able
and capable of doing a solid body of work which defined not only his
sound, which he lent and crafted through a list of proteges in the
dozens, but also yes, a big part of the sound of my generation. We were
truly blessed. From the music to the mystery.
Mystery was a large part of the Prince persona, and being mysterious, to outright weird only increased after Prince became one of the largest "bands" on earth after the lightening that was Purple Rain. Purple Rain though was Prince's last true foray into "Pop" music. Immediately after he was on to something else, deeper, funkier, more "artistic" foretelling when, soon enough, after the pop culture success and the backlash against the industry he waged after obtaining one of the largest record and production deals ever, from just that industry, he became known as, simply, The Artist, and for a while, just a symbol. Prince didn't so much bite the hand that fed him as told the animal to back off, he'd feed the beast when he decided, and on his own time. Yet it was not his master and would never fully call the shots.
No, he was, Prince. His own master. RIP brother.
Mystery was a large part of the Prince persona, and being mysterious, to outright weird only increased after Prince became one of the largest "bands" on earth after the lightening that was Purple Rain. Purple Rain though was Prince's last true foray into "Pop" music. Immediately after he was on to something else, deeper, funkier, more "artistic" foretelling when, soon enough, after the pop culture success and the backlash against the industry he waged after obtaining one of the largest record and production deals ever, from just that industry, he became known as, simply, The Artist, and for a while, just a symbol. Prince didn't so much bite the hand that fed him as told the animal to back off, he'd feed the beast when he decided, and on his own time. Yet it was not his master and would never fully call the shots.
No, he was, Prince. His own master. RIP brother.