Discography Review: Prince (1984 – 1987)

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Around The World In A Day, Discography Review, Parade, prince, Prince & The Revolution, Prince & The Revolution Around The World In A Day, Prince & The Revolution Parade, Prince & The Revolution Purple Rain, Prince and the Revolution, Prince Around The World In A Day, Prince Discography, Prince Discography Review, Prince Parade, Prince Purple Rain, Prince Sign O The Times, Purple Rain, Sign O The Times

In 1983, Prince did something he hadn’t done his whole career and wouldn’t do for another 10 years. He actually took a break! From his debut in 1978 up until his Masterpiece “1999” in 1982, Prince released an album every year. Of course we know now that he took 1983 off to film his first starring role in the future classic film “Purple Rain. The year off also gave a chance for the calm before the storm, because 1984 would be his biggest year ever, the year that would make him a World Wide Star and pop culture Icon. The albums following the immense success of “Purple Rain” would be a strange journey, but a fun and always changing journey.

So to continued what I started ages ago,  here are the next 3 years in Prince’s ever evolving Discography.

If you don’t know anything about Prince, you know of “Purple Rain“. The Academy Award winning summer blockbuster of 1984, and the accompanying album of the same name which spent 24 weeks at #1. This is definitely his most Iconic album in his Discography, and possibly the most overexposed because of it’s success. As a fan, the popularity of the album may affect feelings about the album overall, but it can’t be denied that the soundtrack packs some amazing music. The great thing is it doesn’t stray too far from his edgy prior work, keeping the sound still very much an experimental and genre-bending like the music he got famous for. The difference is it’s definitely a bigger sound, with more anthemic tracks for the film. It’s a bit more polished than his earlier work, but it still maintains a bit of the underground edge that made him stand out from the rest of the Pop crew of the time.
The album did give Prince some of his biggest pop hits in “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy”, and those are two great examples to show he could stick to his guns and write something introspective and emotional (“Doves”), and still make it something that millions would respect and relate to. Throughout the album Prince, and his band The Revolution continually surprise the listeners going from R&B ballads in “The Beautiful Ones”, to New Wave Rock hybrid in “Computer Blue” than onto more energetic Dance funk (“Baby I’m A Star”), Pop (“Take Me With U”), with the Epic title track being almost the definition of a Rock ballad. “Purple Rain” is a great representation of who he was as an artist for the bandwagon fans who bought the album because of the film or the popularity he achieved that year. This album made the world really appreciate Prince’s unique gifts.

Rating: 5 stars
Best: Let’s Go Crazy, Darling Nikki, I Would Die 4 U

Following his most successful era yet, Prince seemed to want to get away from that sort of fame with 1985’s “Around the World In A Day“. Not only was there purposely very little promotion surrounding the albums release, but the whole theme of the album seems to deal with him and The Revolution wanting to escape in so many ways. Going “Around the World” is a way to escape conceptually, and musically the album does escape a bit from his usual. Not to say this album is drastically different from his other work, there is definitely a stamp of the Prince sound imprinted here. There’s diversity, great lyricism and wordplay, and some great vocal techniques. However, from the albums beautiful artwork to it’s music there is a psychedelic and worldly influence on every track. And while there are some really great stand out tracks here, something about the album just feels off.

For one it doesn’t feel as cohesive as the other albums, when the album shifts from Introspective slow numbers to Pop to Funk to Rock… it just doesn’t flow quite as well as it did even on the prior album. And than not every song can stand on it’s own, as songs like “America” and “Condition of the Heart” (while nice songs) are almost pure filler. Of course the negative points of this album are more than made up for with the positive points. “Pop Life”, about valuing who and where you are in life, is arguably one of Prince’s best written songs. The sexy “Tamborine” is one of his funkiest, “Raspberry Beret” is one of his most catchy and fun singles and even “Paisley Park” stands out with it’s storytelling stance and Prince’s vocal delivery.
“Around the World In a Day” is nowhere near a Bad album, it’s just a hard read and doesn’t quite work as well as a whole as his early classics.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Best: Pop Life, Raspberry Beret, Tamborine

Just like in the (crap!) film and Prince’s directorial debut “Under the Cherry Moon”, the accompanying album “Parade” is steeped in Parisian influences. Thankfully the album works infinitely better than the movie by being really funky and utilizing some really great production while Prince vocally is doing things he hadn’t done at that point. And on top of The Revolution sounding more harmonious than ever before, Prince adds more instrumentation, orchestration and even some elements of Jazz to make the overall feel very lush and full. Tonally, Prince had something in mind and it sounds like he executed every bit of that sound. Which, for me, lies the problem. Nearly everything here has a similar sound, not saying that each song is a carbon copy of the former, but it’s a lot less energetic and diverse thus making it a clear departure from his earlier work.  Besides the funk cuts, there isn’t a definable sound for the bulk of the album, and that’s basically Prince trying to form a whole new genre and sound which has to be applauded. When you get songs like “Girls and Boys”, “Mountains”, “Under the Cherry Moon”, “Anotherloverholenyourhead” and one of Prince’s signature mega-hits “Kiss” it’s really hard to complain about the album. Even the shorter “interlude” like songs “I Wonder U” and “Life Can Be So Nice” are more than stellar. “Parade” is simply just Prince’s biggest departure from his signature sound, and feels a little different. Still a great album, but as a Prince fan it just feels like something is missing.

Rating: 4 stars
Best: Kiss, Anotherloverholenyourhead, Mountains

And than, in 1987, Prince released another Masterpiece. After veering a off the path a little and trying new things with his last two efforts, Prince managed to recapture his strengths and what made him who he is as an artist. The double album “Sign O the Times” delivers on so many different levels and is easily his second best album to date (and on any give day, maybe his best!). The sound is really underground and especially grungy on certain tracks (“It” and “The Cross” come to mind) recalling the tone of “Dirty Mind”. This album maintains the edginess of that Prince, but 6 years later he displays much more maturity and and even better grasp of his musical talents.

What may be the most striking thing about the album is his lyrics. He includes plenty of his standard wordplay and double entendre’s on “The Ballad  of Dorothy Parker” and “Starfish and Coffee” and hit single “U Got The Look”. What stands out the most though is how intensely sincere and personal he gets on more of the stand out and classic tracks “Adore” “The Cross” “If I Was Your Girlfriend” and “Forever In My Life”.  Which is part of the reason this album is one of his best, Prince seemed to become a down to earth musical genius.

All the messages and concepts on this album, ranging from truly sentimental love songs to just fun jam sessions, are things every person could relate to. At the same time being a more humbled human effort, the production and musical direction on every track seems a bit super human. The extended jam session of the 9 minute opus “It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night”, the extended break down on the upbeat “I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man”. Even the stark and gritty arrangement of the title track show just how much he’d grown in the now 9 years in the business.

So after traveling “Around the World In a Day” and after playing a Parisian gigolo for “Parade”, Prince finally returned to what made us love him the most. His raw energy, his unapologetic experimentation, unfiltered emotional vocals and just insane musical genius. The diversity and versatility of his sound, his ability to switch concepts up on a dime and still make it work, it’s all there. A really triumphant return to form and easily one of his Top 2 (that settles it! *laugh) Albums of All Time.

Rating: 5 stars
Best: If I Was Your Girlfriend, Forever In My Life, I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man

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My Top 10 Songs of the Week! : MYFAVORITES

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Animal Collective, Biggie Smalls, Black Keys, Brandy, Brandy & Monica, Brandy and Monica, How To Dress Well, Mariah Carey, Monica, Notorious B.I.G., Notorious BIG, Panda Bear, prince, Prince and the Revolution, rihanna, The Black Keys, Tom Krell, Top 10 Songs, Top 10 Songs of the Week, U2

10. Mariah Carey “Vanishing”
Was watching the BET Honors on YouTube since I missed all of the telecasts. I was thinking if I was an artist what song I’d sing for her. It came down to this simple but powerful ballad from her debut album and 1995’s “Underneath the Stars”. This obviously won out.

9. The Black Keys “Money Maker”
Earlier this week I was on a serious “El Camino” kick, I like pretty much every song, but this Doors-ish number became another favorite.
(Sorry — or maybe not sorry — but I can only find Live versions of this song right now!)

8. Animal Collective “My Girls”
My #2 Single of 2009, I was listening to Panda Bear’s “Tomboy” album randomly and had to go to “Merriweather Post Pavilion” and hear this totally mesmerizing and psychedelic track one more ‘gain.

7. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris “We Found Love”
Ugh. This song is STILL so incredibly basic to me, but … that build up to the hook ALWAYS gives me life.

6. How To Dress Well “Ready for the World”
Moody Indie R&B! It had been a minute since I listened to How To Dress Well’s album “Love Remains” so I re-visited it, and it’s only right that this song makes the list this week because it’s the song that made me intrigued to check it out in the first place.

5. U2 “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
I probably need to up my U2 collection. I have only one full album by them in my iTunes and only a few songs from their “Greatest Hits” collection. Meanwhile, this song had me rocking the other day at work.

4. Panda Bear “Slow Motion”
I remember first hearing the album “Tomboy” and thinking… ‘wow! they are so biting off of animal collective’, turns out it’s just the same guy under a different moniker. Knowing that the album a lot more enjoyable and this Hip Hop influenced chant-y Indie/Electro/Psychadellic track is a clear stand out on the album.

3. Prince & The Revolution “Computer Blue”
As I prepare for part two of my Prince Discography Review (part one here), been listening to a lot of Prince late this week. And this wasn’t necessarily one of my favorites growing up… but over the past few years has become a stand out. It’s all about that guitar break down in the middle.

2. The Notorious B.I.G. “One More Chance/ Stay with Me”
It’s the anniversary of Biggie’s death today, (thanks Twitter for reminding me)… so of course I had to show some love today. I mean “Notorious Thugs” is his best song ever… but I just remember getting in trouble over this song. I ran up a pretty high phone bill requesting this song on The Box (y’all remember that!?). I still love it though, this is classic Hip Hop.

1. Brandy & Monica “It All Belongs To Me”
When I first heard this song about a month ago, I thought it was cute but it left a bit of a lukewarm impression. The music video was released this week, and even though it’s a simple standard video it just made me appreciate the song a little more, and now I’m hooked!

My Top 10 Songs of the Week! : MYFAVORITES

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Amerie, Amy Winehouse, Billy Idol, Chris Brown, Drake, Fleet Foxes, LL Cool J, m83, Mark Ronson, Mashonda, Michael Jackson, prince, Swizz Beatz, Talking Heads, Tamia, The Police, The Weeknd, Tina Turner, Top 10 Songs, Top 10 Songs of the Week, Violent Femmes, Whitney Houston

Interesting (quasi-embarrassing) tidbit about me ; when I was in Junior High I started to make my own Top 10 Music Charts. Who really knows why, but I started one day in my 7th grade Math class just ranking my favorite current songs. And from than it took a life of it’s own… and I consistently updated my chart every week until I was 20 when I finally got a bit of a social life and had to let it go.

Now, 12 years later, I’m bringing it back!! Of course things have changed, instead of this being a list of my favorite Current songs… it will just be a ranking of songs that stood out to me during the week. Whether it be new current singles, or songs I loved growing up that I’ve just re-discovered, or older songs that I never knew about. Anything could make this list, and I’m going to try to update it every week with a brand new set of 10 to keep it exciting.

10. Swizz Beatz Feat. LL Cool J & Mashonda “Ghetto Love”
I pulled out a CD I burned in 2002. This song was one I totally forgot about, while it’s not amazing it’s a nice relaxing song that I always dug.

9. The Police “Hole in My Life”
Simply for this line : “Be a happy man, I try the best I can, Or maybe I’m just looking for too much”

8. Whitney Houston “My Name is Not Susan”
Whitney could tackle ballads, house records, pop songs and soulful R&B. But this track, one of my favorites at the time, showed she could also attack the early 90’s New-Jack-Swing stuff and own it.

7. Tina Turner “Whole Lotta Love”
A few months ago I listened to Tina’s second official solo album “Acid Queen” for the first time, it’s pretty amazing and this remake of a Led Zeppelin classic is sexual, soulful and just perfection.

6. Talking Heads “Mind”
I can’t seem to get over early Talking Heads, and this funky laid back track became one of my favorites this week out of nowhere.

5. Michael Jackson “Stranger in Moscow”
Such a beautiful and underrated single from the King of Pop.

4. Fleet Foxes “Blue Ridge Mountains”
I listen to the Foxes whenever I want to chill and zone out, and this song is always the stand out from their debut album.

3. Chris Brown “Turn Up the Music”
With the recent release of two Breezy/RiRi remix collabs being hyped, I ended up downloading the original version of this song that I had never heard. Yeah the lyrics are basic, but it’s fun and the track is pretty insane.

2. Drake Feat. The Weeknd “Crew love
Easily one of my least favorite tracks from Take Care at first, it has really grown on me. It’s mainly the track which is very simple but deep at the same time (make sense?)

1. Prince “Let’s Pretend We’re Married”
Recently re-visited what I consider one of my favorite albums of all time (maybe the #1) “1999”. This track, that I have always loved but wasn’t necessarily a favorite, really grabbed me this week.
(can’t figure out how to embed right now, i’ll come back later and fix it)
let-pretend-we-re-married-1zno5_2ifa7_.html

#Confession…
I started to post this last Friday, but got busy with work and didn’t finish it. so here’s the list from last week…

1. The Police “Invisible Sun”
2. Tamia “Officially Missing You”
3. Billy Idol “Dancing With Myself”
4. Talking Heads “Cities”
5. Amerie “1 Thing”
6. Mark Ronson Feat. Amy Winehouse “Valerie”
7. Whitney Houston “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay”
8. M83 “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire”
9. TLC “Creep”
10. Violent Femmes “Gone Daddy Gone”

(I’m gonna post this, but I think YouTube is acting kind of crazy right now so the videos might not work… I’ll re-edit when they get themselves together!!)

>Discography Review: Prince (1978-1982)

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1999, 1999 Review, Album Review, controversy, Controversy Review, Dirty Mind, Dirty Mind Review, Discography Review, For You, For You Review, prince, Prince 1999, Prince 1999 Review, Prince Album Review, Prince Controversy, Prince Controversy Review, Prince Dirty Mind, Prince Dirty Mind Review, Prince Discography Review, Prince For You, Prince For You Review, Prince Review

>I want to introduce something that I’ve been meaning to start since I began this blog. I listen to a lot of older music to get perspective on the music industry and music itself, and I thought it would be fun to do a Discography Review of different artists that I’m into, or learning more about. To start, I want to talk about an artist I’m well-versed in, Prince. I come from a family of Prince fans, and I was born in the 80’s so he was an ever present artist throughout my whole life. Thus the reasoning for him topping my All Time Favorite Artists list. When I was in my early 20’s I sort of re-discovered the genius and timeless-ness of his music, especially in his early work which is what this post is mainly about. His first 5  years in the industry and what he managed to do in the span of just 5 albums.

Prince’s debut album “For You” from 1978 has always been regarded as the lesser early Prince album, so I really never heard it, until this weekend. Thanks Youtube! The album shows quick glimpses of the magnitude of music knowledge he possesses, but really only scratched the surface. Largely coming off as a radio accessible Disco/Funk/R&B album, it works as just that. He sings about love throughout, over both uptempo numbers and slower styled ballads, however it’s still not the typical album of that era. The extended Funk of “Just as Long as We’re Together”, and the sexy Disco/R&B hit “Soft and Wet” show there is definitely enough on the album to keep you entertained and dancing. Even the more laid back R&B and acoustic bits like “Crazy You” and “Baby” are nice calming moments in between the uptempo. He closes out with a bit more of a Rock edge on “I’m Yours” to show some of the versatility that would emerge later in his career. And like all of his following albums, he wrote produced and arranged everything on here, giving a hint of the musical genius he has. Not a great album, or anywhere near his best, the album is a fun time capsule of the popular styling of black music at the time. And a modest beginning to an amazing career.

Rating: 3 Stars
Best: In Love, Soft and Wet, Just as Long as We’re Together

“Prince“, released in 1979, follows the same general pattern as the debut, just slightly amped up.Still singing largely about love, and still a commercially acceptable album, he does experiment with his musical arrangements and his vocals to make this effort a little stronger than the previous. This album is heavy on the R&B/Disco/Funk sound but takes more risks here and there as opposed to his debut, like the extended synth play on the hit single “I Wanna Be Your Lover” or the seamless mix of R&B and Rock on “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?”. Lyrically he gets more flirtatious as well with “Sexy Dancer” his extended Disco ode to strippers. Even this albums ballads are a step up from the previous, with “Still Waiting” and “It’s Gonna Be Lonely” being really beautiful and well-written. This still isn’t the Prince that the world has come to love, but it’s definitely an improvement.

Rating: 3.5 Stars
Best: I Wanna Be Your Lover, Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?, Sexy Dancer

In 1980, Prince switched up his whole style and that’s both music and image wise. No longer the perfectly coiffed hippie child, he transformed his style into a grungy sex-thing. And the music on the accompanying album “Dirty Mind” is the perfect match. From his gritty vocals, to the distorted and sometimes washed-out sounding production, this third album is definitely meant to feel more Underground and rebellious than his previous two albums. The entire vibe of the album makes the listener feel like they are having a night hanging out with the Underground Minneapolis Music scene. A group of people with no racial or sexual boundaries who’s only goal is “being free” as he sings on the Funk cut “Uptown”. The most groundbreaking thing about the album is that Prince totally blurs the genre line here, incorporating not only R&B and Funk but also relying heavily on Rock and Punk influences. The sounds are all mixed into one on nearly all the tracks starting with the title track. Freedom and no judgment is a big theme here, but also different sexual perversions get most of the attention. He talks about both incest and prostitution on the salacious Punk number “Sister”, and orally pleasing a soon to be married woman on the Funky “Head”. His lyrics on this album get even more clever as he talks about the woman who “let all my friends come over and eat” on the Classic “When You Were Mine”, talking about a cheating and not very discreet girlfriend (“you didn’t have the decency to change the sheets”). “Dirty Mind” is easily the most cohesive album by Prince thus far and the riskiest as well. The risk paid off though because it showed the music world his versatility in production and his playfulness in songwriting and vocals. Easily one of his all-time best.

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Best: Dirty Mind, When You Were Mine, Uptown

Following with the theme of a world of freedom and no judgment talked about in “Dirty Mind”, Prince gets a little more political on 1981’s “Controversy“. He makes a call for a “new breed” to erase stereotypes and racial and sexual boundaries on the stellar club cut “Sexuality” and when he’s not asking this “new breed” to “stand up, organize”, he’s addressing the than powers that be in the quick Punk-ish song “Ronnie Talk to Russia” and talking specifically about social concerns on the haunting “Annie Christian”. Still Prince knows how to have fun, and that’s evidenced in the Pop-y “Private Joy” and his sexual libido is still present on the cleverly flirty “Jack U Off” and the slow burner “Do Me Baby” which is the first in a long line of Bedroom anthems. The sound is a little more polished on this outing, but still mixes all types of genres and shows his early work playing with his drum machine that would come to define his sound later in his career.

Rating: 4 Stars
Best: Controversy, Private Joy, Jack U Off

Prince had shown us his versatility on his previous albums, but the musical genius and forward-thinker he was is on full display on his 1982 double album “1999“, which was his first universally acclaimed opus and the catalyst to his mainstream crossover. And this all came from him being at his riskiest and most experimental time, probably the riskiest of his entire career. This album is a true culmination of all the great things that were displayed on his first 4 albums, but elevated even higher. His great songwriting, his production skills, his vocal play, all of these things are at their best here. Even the vibe and concept of the album is strongly felt, it is set in a world that’s nearing it’s end, and the tone of the music, lyrics and vocal delivery is very frantic like he’s attempting to get out so many thoughts and emotions in the fastest time available. The album deals with a variety of topics, from liberation on “1999” “D.M.S.R.” and the lush “Free”, to heartbreak on “Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)” and the classic hit single “Little Red Corvette”.
These are all laid over very futuristic New Wave inspired beats courtesy of the aforementioned drum machine that he utilizes throughout the album. Though that’s not to say that he ditches his traditional instruments, as there are plenty of great guitar solos and musicianship displayed aside from the electronics. Lyrically and Vocally Prince pushes himself further than ever before, the devastation of seeing “pictures of the jockeys that were there before me” on “Little Red Corvette” is felt as well as the agony on “Something in the Water” that results in him screeching out of emotion near the end. Some might argue that the album is a little over long, but in my opinion that is not the case as nothing on the album would really constitute as filler. And the thing that makes this his first true Classic Album is that 29 years later, each and every song could be played alongside any current hit and still sound futuristic and groundbreaking. This album has truly stood the test of time and is my personal favorite of his.

Rating: 5 Stars
Best: Little Red Corvette, Something in the Water (Does Not Compute), Lady Cab Driver

>Album Review: Quick Update/The 80’s Reborn???

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20Ten, 20Ten Review, Album Review, Devo, Devo Review, Devo Something For Everybody, Devo Something For Everybody Review, prince, Prince 20Ten, Prince 20Ten Review, Prince Review, Something For Everybody, Something For Everybody Review

>Okay my many followers (LOL!!), I’m dying to write an article about next years Grammy’s and who I think will be nominated and who I think should be nominated. However, this summer and beginning of Fall has been filled with alot of music I’ve yet to review. I have about 13 albums I want to review, and in trying to power-through I’m gonna do just a quick/SUPER-quick recap of what I’ve been listening to.
Note: I’m gonna use a rating system on this and future album posts, but I might not stick with that style of rating so just know that it might change (probably next year)
So I’m gonna power-through and get these quick reviews done, than I have to post about the Grammy’s and than I have an updated Top 25 Favorite Artists of All Time to post. The Grammy nominations are announced in December so expect an article about that, and than ofcourse we’ll have our big Year-End post which will be better than the excellent one last year.

So let’s start with the reviews!
Devo “Something for Everybody“

The New Wave Kings Devo return after 20 years with an album that actually does in fact feel like a true return to form, and feels like the classic Devo the world fell in love with in the 80’s. And the group actually does this in a way that doesn’t feel forced, which is one good thing about the album. Tracks like “What We Do” and first single “Fresh” are fun and full of “pep” like their 1980 “Freedom of Choice” album and more of their more commercial outings in the 80’s. However the album falters because there’s no sense of experimentation or them trying anything new which is the best thing about their early music. Still a fun listen overall.

Rating: Three Stars
Best: “What We Do” “Fresh“”Later is Now“

Prince “20Ten“

This album was actually released only in the UK, and for Free in their Weekend Edition newspaper. I’m not in London and I don’t subscribe to that paper but thank god for the internet. This album finds Prince giving sonic homages to his work in the 80’s, but as always he mixes those sounds with more contemporary elements. The overall feel of the album is not much different from the vibe of his 2009 3 Disc outing, there’s Funk (“Act of God”), there’s Pop/Rock (the pretty awful “Everybody Loves Me”) and there’s wannabe-Hip Hop (“Laydown”). The highlights of the album are clearly the slower tempo R&B songs “Walk in the Sand” and “Future Soul Song”, and even those come off sounding a little dated for him. It’s time for Prince to either bring in some new Producers to get a fresh perspective or just take more time off in between albums. The album on the whole is enjoyable, but like Devo there’s just a bit o originality lacking.

Rating: Three Stars
Best: “Future Soul Song” “Sticky Like Glue” “Walk in the Sand“

>Top 25 All-Time Favourite Artist … #1!!!

Tags

25 Favorite Artists, prince, Top 25 All Time Favorite Artists

>I’m back!
This year started off really horribly, I won’t go into all the gritty details but some very eye-opening things happened, although I’m now realizing sometimes you have to go through extreme hurt to come out stronger and wiser. And you have to go through hurt and see people for who they truly are so you can move on with life.

So that being said, I’ve moved on with my life. And I’m now moving on with this blog. I actually expect to make a few changes to the blog. And mainly the changes are I’m not going to be so particular about what I write here. So you might see short stories in addition to Music and Movie reviews and Pop Culture Editorials. Hopefully I can keep it updated more frequently than I did last year. We’ll see.

One of the things I do have to change is my Top 25 All-Time Favourite Artists list. I first completed the list on my Myspace blog in 2008. I updated the list at the top of 2009 and that’s what I’ve been posting on this blog. However even during my posts on this blog, I knew I had to make some changes to the list. Before I do that (which will be pretty soon) I wanted to complete the list and reveal my #1 All-Time Favourite Artist and why they are #1.

1. Prince

Like I said before, I’m a child of the 80’s. I grew up at the start of the MTV Era where style was becoming more important than substance. When sex and androgyny were the “IN” things for Pop Music. The 80’s were all about Excess, and that’s evident in a lot of the top acts of the time. Culture Club, Rick James, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Pat Benatar, even Whitney Houston and Patti Labelle’s Mountains of Hair are examples of this idea that the smoke and whistles are greater than the actual music. In the midst of all of that, Prince emerged for not only giving the public that same 80’s Excess in image, but also for being a truly revolutionary and ingenious musician to back it all up. There wasn’t any artist of that decade, or even since than that has marched to the beat of their own drummer more than Prince. From the very beginning he wrote, produced and arranged all of his 100% Original music on his own.
He started out in 1978 with two very R&B/Disco inspired albums, his third album “Dirty Mind” released in 1980 totally switched up his entire style.
While there was some heavy funk in “Uptown” “Partyup” and “Head”, the bulk of the album is really a drastic change over to an edgier Punk almost Alternative sound. His career continued in the 80’s with him always being one of the more diverse acts of the decade. He was certainly Pop on some songs, definitely R&B on others. In the 80’s Prince flirted with everything from Rock to New Wave to Disco to Blues. He managed to be all of these things without ever sounding forced, like he’s tackling a certain genre just for the sales. Everything he did felt completely organic, yet very contemporary and very out there.
I listened to loads Prince in my youth. Not only was my High school aged aunt a Huge Super Fan, about half of my family members were Prince fanatics. I totally didn’t understand the lyrics at the time, but I loved the music and I loved the artist. Seeing him on TV live was always amazing, as he had Incredible energy and always did something you couldn’t forget. For instance on his 1987 Concert Film “Sign O The Times” you can see Prince tackling EVERY instrument on the stage… piano, drums, guitar… and all effortlessly. And let’s not downplay his voice and the things it can do. Though he seems to be famous for his falsetto, Prince has a very underrated vocal range that has been shown time and time again. There’s not an artist that has come since (maybe even before) Prince that has displayed as much raw talent on top of being so influential and original. In fact he was so influential that much of the early 80’s sound in Music was more or less orchestrated by Prince. He was the mind behind The Time Vanity and Appollonia 6. He wrote and produced hit tracks for artists ranging from Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples, Sinead O’Connor and The Bangles. And there have been countless remakes of Prince’s many gems.
Prince in the 80’s can’t be touched, literally by any other artist. Prince in the 90’s started to dip in quality a bit. He had a huge legal issue with his record label and it obviously hurt his music, but he still had a good handful of classic songs in that decade. Prince in the 00’s was less important and less original, though he famously had a huge comeback with 2003’s “Musicology” and it’s sold out tour. He hasn’t taken such a bad turn in his career though that has ruined him, his albums still are enjoyable (if sometimes a little inconsistent) and his 2006 turn as the Superbowl Halftime entertainment proved that he’s still one of the most electric and dynamic Live performers in the industry. Definitely a Living Legend, in fact he became a Living Legend about 20 years ago, because he has done what a lot of artists only wish they could do.

myTop3FavouritePrince albums 1. 1999 (1982), 2. Sign O The Times (1987), 3. Dirty Mind(1980)