Prince & the Revolution - Parade - 1986

Have to admit, although this was really fun compiling, it was also extremely difficult.  As most of you know, Prince's work during the 80s was voluminous, and a lot of it was unreleased, or released on different collections throughout the decades.  It wasn't so much of finding the music as it was identifying the proper era/session that it belonged to.  Of all of his releases, this one is probably the toughest.  Probably because you had to contend with the bootleg Black Album as well as all of the material for Sign O the Times (which is almost as bad.)  That being said, does the Black Album belong on it's own, or should the material be absorbed into the releases around it?  I still haven't figured that one out, yet.

After my love of Around the World In A Day, I had to get this album, and also see the accompanying film Under the Cherry Moon.  Well, yes, the movie sucked IMO, but the music was some of his best.  Along with the obvious singles, which were all some of his best, we also have Venus De Milo and Sometimes It Snows In April and Anotherloverholeinyohead and the list goes on.  At this time in my life, my love for this brand of Pop music was a secret hidden love (as my skater punk friends of the time wouldn't have approved) so I listened to this one mostly in my room, doing homework or reading comic books.  So, it is still an album that I listen to when I'm alone, or want some solace or during quiet times around our house.  To me, that's how it's meant to be, that's how I remember it.

So, there are two discs worth of material for this one, plus a "bonus" disc of demos (of differing quality) that were mixed differently than the other tracks so they didn't sound right being on the album proper.  So, three discs total from what I think is the majority of the Parade recording sessions.  PLEASE, if there are any additional tracks for these sessions that I may have missed... tell me!  And, if you feel some of the tracks belong on other albums, then we can make adjustments that way, too.  But, I think I got them right.  We'll see....

 

Disc One

Disc Two

Under the Cherry Moon...

 

 

Prince - Lovesexy - 1988

 

So, I haven't ever been this huge Prince fan.  For the longest time, his greatest hits albums were all I needed, as I couldn't connect with any of his music that wasn't drilled into me from the radio.  I always thought his music was a little too Soul, too R&B, for my tastes.  As time has gone by, I've grown to appreciate what a talented musician he was.  His death is a true loss to music in general, as he worked at it with such passion.

In the 90s I had a big kick of searching out 12" singles on vinyl.  I was always truly satisfied to find a Prince single, as there was always a remix, a b-side, and a remix of the b-side.  The singles were a must if you wanted to be complete.

The Prince era that I am most drawn to is his 80s albums - Around the World In A Day, Parade, Sign O the Times, Lovesexy, Batman and Graffiti Bridge. (I wonder why?  I mean, it wasn't like this was the time period in my life in which I was extremely receptive to music and my youth.)  Everything before and after is a loss to me.

This one is my second favorite behind Around the World, and just in front of my third favorite, Parade.  I've got all the b-sides, some demos, and all the remixes I could fit on one disc.  I had troubles coming up with a decent cover for the remix disc, as all the singles were packaged in those plastic sleeves with stickers.  And there aren't many pics on the net that I could find that would've been suitable.

I always thought this cover was hilarious...  What does that flower pistil on the white flower look like to you?  So close to Prince's lap?  Hmmmm...

Prince - Lovesexy - 1988

Prince - Lovesexy Remixes - 1988