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Excellent doc on Prince's formative years.

And I must conceed that the four tracks that comprise N.E.W.S. work best as a complete album. Still, North, the first cut, is one of my favorite stand-alone Prince tracks.

And if you have the time Prince has The Ride.

Have to say it, but 4 pages in and not one word about his movies.

The only one I'd consider seeing again is Sign O the Times - quite good. From Robert Christgau:

We shrugged when friends told us Prince's Sign "O" the Times was the greatest rock concert movie ever. There are limits to how great a rock concert movie can be, and we figured Jonathan Demme's--and Talking Heads'--Stop Making Sense had stretched them as far as they were liable to go. But even though Sign "O" the Times was directed by the artiste, whose previous cinematic exploits haven't exactly put him in Demme's class, Prince has come up with a contender. Where Demme goes for a sinuous, almost elegant clarity, Prince's movie is all murk, scuzz, steam, and, oh yeah, sex. With all due respect, which one sounds more like a real rock concert to you?

I don't like any of his movies outside of the performance footage, which doesn't leave much. I'm giving Under The Cherry Moon another go tonight. The IFC here in New York is showing it at midnight on May 7 and 8. But it doesn't have that kind of pull for me - goofy fun but not much else aside from the musical numbers.

Purple Rain is one of those that I've seen on cable just surfing around. Usually stopping for some of the performances, but tune out at the drama bits. You have to give him props for seeing the potential in videos beyond the low-budget muck a lot of them were swirling around at the time. He wasn't the only one but what he did stood out because of what he gave to it.

And I've got to share the Kevin Smith story for those who may not have seen it here.

Wow. I almost wish I hadn't watched that, fly, but thanks.

The new headlines are like something off the cover of his Controversy album:

New Developments: Prince Received Out-Patient Treatment, Bank Trustee Drills Prince's Vault Open

Picked up Cherry Moon today for a completely justifiable 5 bucks. Don't think many people will be clamoring for a Blu-Ray restoration of this one. A small challenge - but I did manage to find a reasonably positive review of it from a few years back. Most famous scene.

All The Critics Love U In New York.

Course, if you don't care for Prince you'd probably feel otherwise but this issue of The Village Voice is one of the best I've read in a while. I actually stopped reading it, competing (as it seemed to me) with the streamlined/less than disposable AM New York. While I don't expect The Voice to return to the precocious delights of its forrmer glory I do hope it's turned the tourist corner.

ando wrote:
First good one today. Selections from a very good concert he headed a few years back.

Holy crap, those 'Motherless child' solos! He was a such a bad ass guitarist and most people didn't really know.

Lachino wrote:

ando wrote:
First good one today. Selections from a very good concert he headed a few years back.

Holy crap, those 'Motherless child' solos! He was a such a bad ass guitarist and most people didn't really know.

So it seems. Musicians (& other artists, in general) always had a good word, tho.



Billboard recently sponsored a panel discussion among showbiz types on Prince and his musical legacy.

ando wrote:Wow. I almost wish I hadn't watched that, fly, but thanks.

The new headlines are like something off the cover of his Controversy album:

New Developments: Prince Received Out-Patient Treatment, Bank Trustee Drills Prince's Vault Open

Picked up Cherry Moon today for a completely justifiable 5 bucks. Don't think many people will be clamoring for a Blu-Ray restoration of this one. A small challenge - but I did manage to find a reasonably positive review of it from a few years back. Most famous scene.

It's notable for giving Kristin Scott-Thomas her first film role.

He did a long form video for the Symbol album, which was released in the early 90s, which, along with the Sign O The Times concert film, are my personal favourites film wise. The Purple Rain performances are excellent, but the dramatic scenes let the film down for me.

I'm amazed he didn't leave a will, considering his obsessive control of his music, and the much heralded vault. Baffling really.

Sadly, the lack of a will may have been a product of not having anyone he fully trusted.

God, I'd love to hear a Steely Dan cover in those vaults. I always felt the line in 1999 was a reference to Deacon Blues. "I was dreaming when I wrote this, so sue me if it goes too fast." / "I cried when I wrote this song, sue me if I play too long."

I really dug a recent viewing of Cherry Moon, then again I was aided by some edibles sent by a friend from Colorado...

I had forgotten how many films he was responsible for. Purple Rain is really the only one that’s lingered in collective memory, but there at least four other feature-length films and videos—the last few essentially "visual albums" with thin fictional conceits à la Lemonade. Sign O The Times is probably his finest cinematic moment, Graffiti Bridge the most desultory. The former is available on a Japanese Blu-Ray that I’m tempted to splurge on.

I saw Purple Rain in the theaters this week - really didn't want to go, but I placed my hopes in the sound, and it is indeed pretty great to hear this music from a good DCP (presumably with the soundtrack remastered from the original sources) on a top notch theatrical sound system.

Much more powerful than listening to it at home that's for sure, and with the numbers by the Time (both excellent), the music takes up more or less half the film, so the movie really is saved by the tremendous soundtrack.

The rest, not so hot. Prince gets by on his sheer presence alone, Morris Day isn't bad and even Wendy Melvoin does okay with her brief but demanding scenes, but it does play like a student film - many actors who otherwise wouldn't be acting if it wasn't for this, a patchy script that refurbishes the plot of God knows how many bad Elvis movies for its foundation, and filmmaking that is at best workmanlike with barely a creative spark to it. Really, it's a massive credit to Prince & the Revolution that this film can light up whenever they're on stage, even when they're lip-synching to pre-recorded material. Too bad the Live 1985 concert video remains out-of-print, it's a better testament.

Yeah - frankly, you could see that he was battling something (unbeknownst to many) in his face with his last public appearances.

One of the best docs on Prince - Prince, The Glory Years - was put out by the BBC years ago. Remains pertinent.

At Montreux. Good set.

Nice write-up.

I always found this song by Bill Callahan ("Smog") strangely moving, even moreso now, of course.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geK2tWWzCp0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Prince alone in the studio
It's two a.m. and all the girls are gone
The girls thought they were going to be able
To have sex with him
They wore their special underwear
Once the tracks were laid down
Prince's back turned around
Raspberry headphones on his head
On his ears

Prince alone in the studio
It's three a.m.
Prince hasn't eaten in eighteen hours
Dinner's burned on the stove
But prince, he doesn't even know

Prince alone in the studio
It's four a.m.
And he finally gets that guitar track right
And it's better than anything any girl could ever give him
Because prince is alone
Prince is alone
Oh prince, you are so alone

And when it's all complete
He feels like a hunter on the street
And when it's all complete
He feels like a hunter on the street

Thanks. The video was linked with Dick Gregory's "They Killed Prince". Oh boy.

Think Prince was at his physical and creative apex here - Live in Rio, circa '91.

Prince on Prince. Didn't know half of this kind of thing went down with "the industry".

ando wrote:Thanks. The video was linked with Dick Gregory's "They Killed Prince". Oh boy.

I clicked on this too the other day when watching some other Prince thing and remembered when he said a laser killed Michael Jackson. I love Gregory and he's an important figure, but he's way past due for a very long nap.

This interview he did with of all people Mel B is really good and a laugh riot. He was very smooth here, blatantly flirting with her and taking advantage of her attraction to him.

For completely different reasons his interview with Veronica Webb during the height of his TAFKAP/Symbol period with his face covered, refusing to speak looking like Edith Scob in Eyes Without A Face is even more hilarious. Webb did pretty well, but showed her frustration around the 16 minute mark.

I still can't believe Prince is gone.

Thanks. The interview with Mel B revealed the origin of some of the NPG jams. I'd always wondered why there was such an emphasis on extended, loosely constructed, funk hook inspired music and art featuring him with assorted mics. He was attempting to reproduce the party vibe establshed on live dates. But it's obvious looking back at the live dates readily available to watch now that a missinig ingredient in a lot of the music is the audience. He never offically released a live album of which I'm aware. That Montreux set could easily have been a best seller but Prince was apparently putting his creative and financial focus elsewhere.

ando wrote:He never offically released a live album of which I'm aware.

There's the One Night Alone. . . Live box set from 2002. Typically eccentric Prince release: a multi-disc live tie-in for an album that wasn't even commercially released!

The other live album, Indigo Nights from 2008, collected a bunch of aftershow performances (so you get Prince covering Aretha's 'Rock Steady' and Zep's 'Whole Lotta Love'). That one was only released with a coffee table book of photos.

Yes, One Night Alone is a live set. Do you own a copy? It didn't have what I'd consider an "official" release; I was actually thinking more in terms of a wide release but in the case of the distribution of Prince material, post-Time-Warner, terms go out the window.

I have been looking for a filmed version of One Night Alone. Anyone know if one exists?

One Nite Alone...Live is more of the tour for The Rainbow Children album (a commercially released album) and not One Nite Alone, although One Nite Alone was release between the two (which is confusing enough to still reflect the eccentricity's of Prince ). One Nite Alone...Live was released commercially and available in many brick and mortar stores and not just the NPG website (unlike One Nite Alone). I always meant to pick up One Night Alone...Live as I love The Rainbow Children album (jazzy arrangements and some good tight funk), but never got around to it. I see the prices it is going for now and really regret that move. Sorry if this is pedantic. Just wanted to clarify. BTW, thanks ando for your postings. I have really enjoyed them.