but when people talk about Stevie criticism that is the first thing that came to mind. it was more or less a consensus I've read about his career in nearly every critical write-up ("after SITKOL, Stevie fell off").

Prince got a good deal of the same in the 1990s, despite the success of Diamonds and Pearls, especially in the "Symbol" era. though I think people were more about the changes in his on-stage persona (like the name change) more than anything else.

I don't think it's that much different, really. For every maxx in the crowd there about 10 others who continue to worship the ground he walks on.