Prince after '87

What does it mean for an artist to "lose what they had"?

I recently bought a copy of Come, Prince’s 1994 album of one word title songs that he saw as a bit of a contractual obligation to finish his Warner Brothers career as “Prince” before he embarked on his new phase as the “unpronounceable symbol” he performed as for about 6 years. I was talking to a friend about the album and he wrote to me:

This album came out as I was losing interest in Prince. I don’t think I I own it. In my opinion, it was the start of his diminishing returns era. Having said that, on reflection, it probably started much earlier, as I struggle to think of a truly great album that he released after Sign O’ The Times 🤔. A couple of good singles such as Alphabet St and Sexy MF, but album wise, nothing else for me.

So, my question: Is this true?

Were there any truly great albums after Sign O’ The Times? Below I’ll discuss some of his highs and occasional lows of the last 30 years of his career.¹