Prince
 

Hi,
I was wondering whether anyone out there could offer me some advice concerning the little pint-sized purple-loving chap known as Prince...

Sadly I've reached the stage in life where I've pretty much stopped buying albums and tend to just buy greatest hits collections. Perhaps fueled by Christine's love of Prince and Stevie's old friendship I bought his 'Very Best of Prince' compilation. I really like the diversity of his music and now want to get into him a bit more.

The problem is its just a bit daunting. Starting from scratch with an artist with such a huge back-catalog makes me wonder whether I can really be a*sed. When I do get albums I want to be able to play them to death. For me, the best albums take about 10 plays through before I properly connect with the music and then I become addicted forever (The Bends: Radiohead, Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness: Smashing Pumpkins). Going in chronological order therefore could take me the next 20 years.

With this in mind, are there any Prince fans out there who could recommend some of his records as a starting point? Could anyone suggest his best 5 albums for example?

cheers

I am far from an authority, but I am a fan. I personally love his later 80's stuff and for me my favorite records are Around The World In A Day followed by Under The Cherry Moon. Graffiti Bridge is also pretty awesome. Ok, then Diamonds and Pearls tied w/ The Batman soundtrack. Both are horribly dated, but damnit...good work.
You might also dabble in his side project fun stuff. Get some Apollonia or Vanity 6 (I just re-gained these after years, and though naughty-totally guilty fun!) He also wrote great music for the Bangles, Sheena Easton (OMG and their You Got The Look song!!!), the one song for Sinead O'Connor, Sheila E-maybe listening to varied artists w/ him accompanying vocally or solely singing a song he wrote might liven up your interest and not just feel like you are listening to one album after the next. A fan recently posted Prince & Apollonia singing Manic Monday. It's exactly as you know it-just not weird NOT hearing it by the Bangles. Was thoroughly entertaining.
His music of late is hit and miss and I really can't offer much in way of recommendation since Vibeology...or musicology...I can't recall. lol
Enjoy :wavey:

Many thanks for the recommendations.
I love Raspberry Beret so Around The World In A Day will be a good place to start.
Cheers

Some of my favourites are ~
Purple Rain for just being epic.
Sometimes It Snows In April.
Controversy.
The Holy River.
xx

The albums from the latter half of the 80s are my favorites, too. I'll recommend three: Parade, Around the World In A Day, and Sign O' The Times, which are all must-haves. Purple Rain & 1999 are very much essential albums too, but I tend to listen to the other 3 a lot more often.

Parade (soundtrack to the film Under The Cherry Moon) is actually my favorite album of the 80s (by any artist) and definitely my favorite Prince album. Very eclectic, colorful, and fun. Around The World In A Day was the first proper Prince album I ever got, and Sign O' The Times is pretty much a textbook example of how much musical breadth and variety he can incorporate into one album.

A few of my favorite Prince albums:

The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1999)

N.E.W.S. (2003)

LotusFlow3r (2009)

Planet Earth (2007)

Sign O' The Times (1987)

3121 (2006)

Emancipation (1996)