These Prince reissues are killing me. Piano/Mic and Originals are worthwhile releases/listens. Rave Un2/In2 are middle Prince, IMO. Planet Earth is forgettable. 3121 and Musicology were high middle highlights of later career.
Heck, I'd take N.E.W.S. and Rainbow Children with zeal. Admittedly, these saw Prince in the middle of his jazz fusion dilettantism, but he was such a talent that he could pull it off with credibility. Plus "East" has some drumming by John Blackwell that is worth admission alone. And, while Rainbow Children saw him in the opening moves of his JW evangelism, it had some beautiful songs and the title track's guitar solo is scorching.
Versace Experience is doo doo. Chaos & Disorder is slightly better and Emancipation is the most exciting of these but bloated.
What are we really waiting for....Graffiti Bridge, Batman, Love Symbol, Diamonds & Pearls, The Black Album. Remember when there we pre-orders for all of these (except D&Ps)? Oh the halycon days when we were naive and ignorant and thought Warner Bros and The Prince Estate could get their shit together.
I say this all with a huge love of Prince. One of the best live shows I've ever gotten to see, the biggest singular artist in my collection, and YES I will pre-order them after trashing them 'cause...it's Prince and Prince is THE drug. But seriously...fuck these releases.
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