>but I think the difference with late '70s/'80s Prince is that
>the persona was very closely tied to the music itself.
>
>like it was part of the performance.
>Prince's songwriting is such (IMO) that he could have
>Holland-Dozier-Holland-ed it and he'd still be GOAT class
>
>but really, if some "regular looking" dude did a song like
>"Controversy" I don't think it would make sense.
>
>that's also why, years-past-his-prime Prince disappoints more
>often than not. there's been a disconnect with his image and
>his music ever since ... well, Graffiti Bridge if we want to
>keep it funky but to be more kind, around the time he and
>Warner Bros. parted.
>
>Basa says it all the time. he looks like a BAMMA now.
>(so does Stevie, and his stylist needs his ass whipped, but
>that's neither here nor there)
>
>with Prince, that's a BIGGER deal than some tend to think.
>
>I think Dirty Mind flat doesn't work if Prince ain't out there
>with the "gimmick"


This^^^^is pretty intriguing stuff....I think there is some truth here...

In terms of gimmicks, both Stevie and Prince were not shy about embracing their respective hooks....I do believe that Prince's "thing" added to his mystique more than Stevie's blind musical shaman thing...

But in terms of Prince's "BAMMA"ness, I truly believe that boils down to who he has been surrounding himself with....The Plectrum Electrum album was just some painful shit...The AOA was moving in the right direction...very "Princey"....But then he had to go BAMMA it up with this HitNRun shit....

To me it's less about his image and style and more on the caliber of musicians that he has been surrounding himself with these days....I was not shocked at all during that recent Paisley Park with Madonna in the first row that he switched up the drummer (ol' girl has gotten better; but she ain't funky...) and the bass player (oddly enough I like Ida)...But really Prince needs to just ditch that Josh kid and start believing again in his own mojo....

All this to say, at Prince's advanced state dude needs some real musical inspiration from members of his band....Every once in a while you will get a gem like "June"....But too much Romper Room bullshit for the most part....