In a message dated 7/16/01 2:22:25 AM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << Could anyone recommend which Prince cd to listen to as far as being the most inspired by Joni?> >> Well, that's such a hard question to answer because Joni had such an influence on Prince that it totally steered him in the direction of finding a hybrid of rock and soul that was completely his own (hence Joni's struggle with folk and jazz).........Lyrically as well, Joni has completely inspired him. Joni's vocals jumps into soprano (Prince's jumps into soprano), Joni's layers and layers of background vocals (Prince's layers of background vocals), Joni's experimental use of the synthesizer (Prince's etc.....) I think the song that inspired Prince the most was "Shadows and Light"..........his tribute "God" can be found on the The Hits/B-Sides collection.....and it's really interesting to hear his song because it's so obviously inspired by Joni. I remember hearing "God" on the original B-side to "Purple Rain" back in 1984 (when i was 5 yrs old.....I still have the purple vinyl) and I thought it was chilling........when I heard "Shadows and Light" a whole 17 years later, I was like "whoa.......Prince ripped this off!)... I really don't think there is a Joni-influenced album of his.......the closest that comes to mind would be PARADE or maybe SIGN O' THE TIMES. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" and "Starfish and Coffee" are definite tributes. PHIL
