I was skeptical of Prince when I was younger. I thought he was some washed up pop-rock star from the 80s who hadn't had a hit in decades. Perhaps he was just that greedy guy who never let his music be on streaming services. I believed that right up until his death.
Something clicked in me a few days after his death. Maybe it was seeing downtown Minneapolis lit up in all purple for a whole week, maybe it was seeing First Avenue shut down downtown Minneapolis and have a full on block party that lasted for days despite city regulations, maybe it was just me experiencing FOMO. Either way I took a look into his music and I was stunned.
Everything was funky, just how I like it, and every note of it was composed and played by him in the studio. It wasn't just Raspberry Beret on the oldies station for the umpteenth time. This was some fire shit that holds up to this day against almost anything. Even past his heyday he put out some great stuff.
Selected recordings:
Recommeded albums:
Crystal Ball
Purple Rain
Prince
Love Symbol
The Rainbow Children
This guy was a legit musical savant, and I think everyone should check his whole catalog out. He really only had a few mediocre albums in the late 80s to early 90s plus his debut. Almost everything else is good. RIP Prince.
Good post, RIP Prince, the sheer range and prolific releases are amazing
