Dirty Mind

Yes, this, Prince's third album, is made up of demos. Hence, it is one of the most stripped down dance-pop albums of all time. Not only that, but it ranks as one of Prince's shortest albums. So what's not to love? Sure, it's one of the most crazy-lusty albums of all time (and not in a particularly seductive kind of way, like Barry White or "Let's Get It On"-era Marvin Gaye), but it's FUN. And because it's comprised of demos, it's not as near-psychotically pretentious as some things that Prince would do later on.

The album kicks off with the title track, in which the Purple One declares "I Really Have a dirty mind," which also kicks off 20 years of the man proving it in other songs, though this album does justice to the hygienic state of his mind. "Sister," for example, is about incest. But it's danceable and fun. And the song titled "Head" needs no explanation. Subtlety was never one of Prince's main points, after all.

Then again, in the second track "When You Were Mind," it's almost unnoticeable that the song is about the aftermath of a three way. Sure, there are plenty of songs about break-ups and missing an ex… But after a three way?. That, my friends, takes something resembling a vision. It's also one of the standout tracks on the album with its catchy synth patterns and such.

"Do It All Night," "Uptown" and "Partyup" make sure Prince's intentions are made known, though. He likes his parties, apparently. And he likes sex. Some of it in odd ways. But despite their straightforwardness, they are fun, catchy tunes. "Partyup" is almost a segue-way to his next album, Controversy, as well. The "You're gonna have to fight your own damn war…" chance just reek of the political activism that would be one of the few things separating it front its predecessor.

Dirty Mind is Prince's first major work, and one of his most fun (unless you count preachy anthems like "Temptation," which really is the sonic form of masturbation to be "fun"). There isn't any form of over-production, self-praise or preaching that can be found in his later albums. Its score gets degraded a bit because it's so simple. But while this album doesn't go too far past "blatant songs about how I like it hard, fast and freaky," it's an enticingly well-written funk album. One of Prince's first classics.

Controversy

Well, alright, that's a half-truth. Only half because while Prince chose to follow up Dirty Mind with a more politically active album, there's some leftover lusting hanging around, particularly on the close, "Jack U Off." But all-round, the songs here are just as sparse, funky and well-written as before, earning it a rating equal to its predecessor.

Again, this album kicks off with its title track, which sets the tone of the album with a set of rhetorical questions and the Lord's Prayer thrown in for kicks (well, OK, it has a point). "I just can't believe all the things people say (controversy)/Am I black or white? Am I straight or gay? (controversy)/Do I believe in God? Do I believe in me? (controversy)," etc. The confronting attitude of "Controversy" sets the tone for the rest of the album, and it also marks the first (and definitely not the last) Prince song to go over the 7 minute mark.

"Sexuality" is a minimalist funk call to… arms… sexually… or something. Plus there's some anti-TV parenting advice from Mr. "I'm gonna do ya like ya wanna be done." Regardless of what it's about, though, it's still a fun dance-y song. "Do Me Baby" is a nice ballad whose greatness lies in the fact that there is nothing subtle about it. It even manages to sound rather romantic, despite its lyrics (which is quite an accomplishment), plus a smooth piano solo.

"Private Joy" is a fun rocker, and the first time I have personally ever seen the word "Orgasmatron" on a lyric sheet. "Ronnie Talk to Russia" is a song that, in premise, sounds a bit dated now, but is still an energetic song. "Let's Work" is another fun(ky) song whose premise is obvious by its title alone.

"Annie Christian" is another anthem that might have made more sense in 1981 but wins points for sheer unique-ness. While the rest of the album is mostly minimalist in execution, there are tons of vocals filters present, creating a really dense arrangement. Finally, "Jack U Off" is a mindless toss-off to close the album, and, for those keeping track at home, is the first time Prince replaced "You" with "U."

Now, I could be a jerk and deduct points here because of the sheer idiocy some of Prince's titles would become later on, since it all started here ("(picture of an eye) Wanna Melt with U," for example). But this album in reality doesn't deserve any worse a rating than Dirty Mind. While it could be argued that there's "more of the same" on here, well, actually, it couldn't because this is a totally different album in terms of overall concept.

And besides, he's actually CLOTHED on this album's cover. That's got to make up for the titles.

1999

What race? I don't know, but Prince was really fast in becoming extremely pretentious really fast. This time, he decided to release a double album that really does not need to be a double album, but it all fits on one CD so it almost makes up for it. And that's really the main problem with the album: some of the songs are overlong.

Of course, the album kicks off with its two biggest hit singles: The title track, which extends nearly 7 minutes but feels much shorter (and that's a good thing) and "Little Red Corvette," a synth-ed up power ballad filled with some great double entendres and some great hooks.

Other highlights include "Let's Pretend We're Married," which runs out of steam a bit because of its 7-minute run time but is still fun for the most part. "Automatic," somewhere within its 900-minute (well, divide that by 100) has a great guitar solo (which, despite his proficiency at guitars isn't seen on most of his albums). "Delirious" is another funky song, and it would probably fit somewhere on Dirty Mind or Controversy. "DMSR (Dance Music Sex Romance)" features some great synth lines, and its sing-along chorus works fairly well.

"Lady Cab Driver" is the only song here that comes close to being really bad, but the only bad thing about it is the spoken-word part, which, while giving Prince a forum for his views on injustice, borderlines sounding like a rape (and it's a bit disturbing). The two ballads, "Free" and "International Lover" also pale to the dance/funk songs here, but they're not bad -- just not particularly memorable, either.

This album is a real leap forward for Prince in some ways: First, it began a pattern of Prince albums having songs that run too long. Second, the production is a major step up from the arrangements on his previous two albums. While that admittedly is not a major feat in itself, on 1999 Prince's ambitions begin to incarnate themselves well.

All in all, though, this album's highlights make themselves known better than any of the songs on Dirty Mind or Controversy. While the genre-bending that would occur later does not happen as noticeably here, 1999 is a fairly solid effort. It doesn't rank with other classic double albums, but it's still a fun record.

Purple Rain

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life…"

And thus, Prince's first true classic begins. All in all, Purple Rain has the consistency of Dirty Mind and Controversy, but reaches the heights of the best of 1999. Some of Prince's best compositions reside here: "Let's Go Crazy," "Purple Rain," "Take Me With U," "I Would Die 4 U" and, of course, "When Doves Cry."

If five classic pop songs not enough to earn this album a "Classic" rating (which, you're right, it shouldn't), it's not padded out with throwaway filler tracks, either. "The Beautiful Ones" is a compelling power ballad. "Darling Nikki" is the (sexy) track that set Tipper Gore off on her censorship campaign in the mid to late 80's. "Computer Blue" is more electronic than the synth-drenched arrangements of 1999, and it manages to work well in this setting, though it's mostly unremarkable other than an interesting guitar solo. "Baby I'm a Star" is an un-memorable but powerful rocker.

As for the "classics," "Let's Go Crazy" is a crazy, driven opener. "Purple Rain" is a great, pretentious (in a good way, for once) arena power ballad. "Take Me With U" is festive. "I Would Die for You" is incredible because it is so unique.

Speaking of unique… "When Doves Cry." It would be easily the funkiest song without bass if Prince hadn't repeated the no-bass trick on "Kiss" a few years later. But it is still a phenomenal(ly sexy) song, despite its "me me me," semi-autobiographical (yet still relatable).

The newly-recruited Revolution are also a competent band that would be Prince's backup during most of his creative peak. Of course, their whole purple is to "STFU and do what we're told," but they function well and provide some stability. I'll also give them credit for giving this album a sound that is far thicker compared to his one-man projects before this one, though it might just be coincidence.

Prince's ego here is still in control, and still at a size that most humans can handle. This album has been marked as "intentionally crafted to make Prince a superstar," and it worked. Very few Prince albums are both great and consistent, and Purple Rain manages to be one of them.

Around the World in a Day

Around the World in a Day marks Prince's third stylistic change in 3 albums (1999: Dance-Funk, Purple Rain: Funky Pop-Rock, Around the World in a Day: Psychedelic Funk). This time, he moves slightly into the territory of psychedelic funk. The title track kicks things off as more of an introduction than anything else, but it also has Indian influences and colorful arrangements that point toward the direction of the rest of the album.

"Paisley Park" continues with the psychedelic arrangements and spinning, circling compositions. The song is absolutely hypnotic from the first word out of Prince's mouth until the last note. The gentle ballad, "Condition of the Heart" follows with a light and loving (albeit pretentious) croon from The Purple One. The piano melody and the light gongs, bells and (figurative) whistles makes this track a great ballad. The subtlety of the arrangements, yet their fullness save this ballad from being "just another Prince ballad."

"Raspberry Beret" is the big hit off Around the World in a Day, and rightfully so. It's funky, lyrically clever, extremely catchy, simple yet complexly arranged (not to mention downright sexy). Simply put, all these factors (dig those strings, man) make this one of the greatest odes to "the first time" ever.

"Tamborine" continues the pattern of clever arrangements, this time with more computerized synths, though it gets overshadowed by "Raspberry Beret" and the track following: "America." "America" is one of Prince's best political commentaries. Featuring some interesting use of "America the Beautiful," some great layers of guitars, synths, pianos and the funky rhythm only Prince could bring, "America" is an unjustly under appreciated song.

And at the same time, "Pop Life" is the second-best known song here, and it equals "Raspberry Beret" and "America" in terms of quality. It's one of the finest, most fun songs Prince ever crafted in his career.

The last two songs, "The Ladder" and "Temptation" bring the "Pretentious-O-Meter" (an invention of Jere Enterprises, inc.) into some new territories. "The Ladder" is a soulful, epic piece of self and social-examination and reassurance. It works and does not come off as overbearing, but it tiptoes dangerously close to the "sappy universal anthem" territory of, say, "We Are the World."

"Temptation" is an odd number that manages to be decent while also destroying any feasible measurement of pretentiousness. On one hand, it's got one of the funkiest grooves featuring deep, booming drums, jazzy saxophones, hard rock guitars and the abnormal excess of lust (for most people) that one would (and should) expect from Prince.

Then, things change halfway through the song. Around the 5:00 mark, things slow down a bit… and one of the most ridiculous "scenes" (for lack of a better word) in an album develops. From a personal standpoint, I believe that there is no way Prince could have no realized how silly the whole "'Silly man! You have to love her for the right reasons!' 'I do!' 'You don't! Now die!'" exchange is. Then again, the whole name thing…

Either way, it doesn't completely spoil the song, (let's just say 1/3 of it…) and it is rather funny in its strangeness. Around the World in a Day is a vastly underrated album. While sometimes the increased theatrics can be somewhat of a turnoff, Prince proved his mastery as a producer and a hooksmith (that is, someone who makes hooks) with this album.

Parade

Parade is the soundtrack to Prince's second film project, which I have no seen and will probably never see, and thus, has somewhat of a running theme. Well, OK, that's a lie… The name "Christopher Tracy" just happens to be used in the opener and closer. Mostly, though, it's a solid album that is less consistent than Around the World in a Day, but reaches plenty of peaks higher than the highlights from that album ("Raspberry Beret" aside). It's also the first Prince album since Dirty Mind to not have any tracks run past the 7 minute mark.

The album kicks off with the stomping psychedelia of "Christopher Tracy's Parade," which is unremarkable but catchy and weird. "New Position" is punchy and, in some ways, feels like it could be longer. Especially since the track that follows, "I Wonder U" is a less-than-2-minute throw away. "Under the Cherry Moon" is a plodding but decent and, again, weird ballad with something resembling a hook.

Things really pick up with "Girls and Boys," which is a hot, funky song with some excellent horns and guitars. The near-hot streak continues when "Girls and Boys" segues into "Life Can Be So Nice," a fun song that doesn't really leave an impression, but sounds great while it's playing. The near-hot streak ends with "Venus De Milo," a dull instrumental that is thankfully short, even though that might be why it builds to nothing. Even more annoying is that "Life Can Be So Nice" really starts to get going and abruptly cuts off for it.

"Mountains," though, picks things up with some loud, stomp-worthy drums and some horns for some instrumental hooks. It's not particularly catchy (though any occasion when Prince uses is falsetto is welcome) so it's understandable that it was only a minor hit. "Do U Lie" is alright, though sandwiched between "Mountains" and "Kiss," it can't help but be shadowed. Prince gives a great vocal performance, though, on that relaxing song.

The next song, "Kiss" is to Parade as "Raspberry Beret" is to Around the World in a Day (anyone else notice that, after Purple Rain, Prince only had one major hit per album, Sign O' the Times and Diamonds and Pearls aside, until The Gold Experience?). Like "When Doves Cry" before it, Prince utilizes the bass-less technique, producing another astonishingly funky song, and probably the most anti-misogynist song of all time ("You don't have to be beautiful/to turn me on"… Taking on all comers, eh? No pun intended).

"Anotherloverholenyohead" (which has to be one of the coolest song titles ever) follows it, and matches the catchiness and funkiness of "Kiss," possibly even surpassing it. It's surprisingly Mick Jagger-ish in delivery, and thankfully, beats the crap out of anything Mick had done from '85-'87. The album closer, "Sometimes It Snows in April," is a moving, sad ballad about a friend's death (specifically… yes… Christopher Tracy's).

As a whole, the album could have been equal to Around the World in a Day, but it's hampered by some throwaway tracks that do nothing to establish themselves in a listener's memory. However, it's still an excellent album from an artist (Or "THE Artist," a-ha ha ha ha. I slay me.) on an artistic hot streak and commercial decline.

Sign O' the Times

Prince returns to consistent top form (see… since Purple Rain he was in mostly top form but the albums were somewhat inconsistent). Gone is the crazy psychedelia. Gone is The Revolution. Gone is the happy go lucky attitude, a-la "Christopher Tracy's Parade" and "Around the World in a Day." Things are dark and messed up, at least as Prince sees it. Prince hit the studio solo to follow up Parade. Originally conceived as a triple-album (and his self-declared master work) titled Crystal Ball, it was cut down to the double album because of record company objections. Despite being cut down, though, it is still Prince's best work, hands down.

It kicks off with the dark funk jam, "Sign O' the Times." In it, Prince paints the state of the world (as-of 1987) as Armageddon-in-Progress (AIDS, drugs, gang violence… fun stuff). It's followed by its polar opposite -- "Play in the Sunshine." And thus, the tone and theme of the album is set: The world has gone to crap, but it doesn't mean you can't have fun.

The other hit (the first I mentioned being "Sign O' the Times") is "U Got the Look," a fun duet with Sheena Easton. It manages to be a great song, despite the unfortunate line "your body's heck-a-slammin'." Other highlights include "The Cross," "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker," "Forever in My Life," "It," "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" (featuring the Revolution), "Hot Thing," and "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," though there are no bad songs here.

"If I Was Your Girlfriend," too, is a great song. It's a leftover from Prince's "Camille" project (think: Garth Brooks' Chris Gaines thing, except female and meant to trick the public), where his voice is sped up electronically to sound like a woman (and let's be honest: I cannot have been the only person to not notice the difference). The gender-bending nature of its premise (and the disturbing - in a good way - spoken outro) make it a song that only Prince could have pulled off without falling on his face.

Sign O' the Times encapsulates everything Prince is about. The mix of different genres present throughout, a live track (the aforementioned "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night"), the funk, gender-bending and, most of all, the fact that it is a mostly solo work make it the quintessential Prince album. He would never again make a full album as exciting, consistent and wide-reaching as this. Sign O' the Times ranks with Exile on Main Street, The Beatles and London Calling as one of the greatest double albums of all time.

Lovesexy

Let me get this straight… Prince wanted to have this album in a certain order… so… he made the CD one track!? Not even Pink Floyd was pretentious enough for that. To make matters worse, each song is a distinct separate entity from the others, so it is not like the album flows like one 40 minute song. And that is why I said it's pointless to choose a best song: You're going to have to put effort if you want to listen to a particular song (because that fast forward button won't hold itself down).

But anyway, as a whole, the album is pretty good. There was no way Prince would topple Sign O' the Times, especially because this release was constructed to replace the aborted Black Album. However, despite being quickly thrown together, Lovesexy is a solid effort from Prince.

It kicks off with "I No," a great religious rocker, beginning the album and, again, setting the tone: religious self-discovery. Nothing is really preachy (like, say, The Rainbow Children over 10 years later), but supposedly the inspiration for this album was a religious vision, also rumored to be a bad trip on some E (the same "vision" that led to the cancellation of the Black Album).

"Alphabet Street" is the hit from here, and it's a bare-boned (sexy) funk song. "Glam Slam" is another catchy rocker that delivers what its title promises. "Anna Stesia" is another highlight, a power ballad with a beautiful melody and some religious chanting to boot. Actually, it should be mentioned that the interlocking melodies throughout the album are beautifully crafted.

"Dance On" sounds like a leftover from Sign O' the Times with its "Lots of wrong in the world, but forget your troubles for the next 3 minutes" message. The song is not particularly notable, though. The title song is an exercise in funk with horns, harmonies, guitars and some dense production. And the "speeding up the voice" trick is even re-used here to segue a woman's voice with Prince's "Camille" voice, then his normal voice. "When 2 R in Love" is a beautiful R&B-style ballad recycled from The Black Album. Great vocals.

"I Wish U Heaven," again, has great vocals is somewhat repetitive, but still entertaining with great usage of synths and Prince's falsettos. "Positively" closes the album out on a decent, spacey funk note.

Lovesexy is a damned good album, and a decent follow up to the masterpiece Sign O' the Times. While some might bemoan the cryptic, sometimes odd lyrical style this time around (I personally choose to bemoan the whole 1-track thing), it manages to rise above the pretensions. The positive attitude throughout the record is refreshing after the darkness of Sign O' the Times. Still, as a whole, Lovesexy is not as interesting as it could be. It's solid, but lacks too many highlights.

Batman

I'll keep this review relatively short. Batman is, of course, the soundtrack to the 1989 Batman movie that gave the franchise a much-needed swift kick in the behind to let it live another few years before it ran out of steam 2 movies later.

But film criticisms aside, the soundtrack to Batman is a fun throwaway. It works as a fun look into Prince just going into the studio to make fun, commercialized songs. While doing such would be a sin for most artists, it becomes forgivable when looking at the bombardment of ambitions Prince gave the public during the 80's. Prince finally scaled back for this album to deliver an album one can just listen to and not have to think through. There is no theme (other than some sampled dialogue from the movie), no religious preaching, and no message (other than maybe "See Batman," but not really).

Not much can be said about the individual songs. There are two syrupy ballads ("The Arms of Orion" and "Scandalous") and some synth/drum-driven funk songs (everything else). "The Arms of Orion," a duet with Sheena Easton, is probably the better of the two ballads, and the sample-drenched "Batdance" was a number 1 single. And "Trust" might have been used in the actual movie, because I'm sure I've heard it somewhere before.

Since its released, Prince has seemingly crossed this album from his discography, unofficially. None of the songs have been released on his "greatest hits" compilations, and his name only appears in the credits of the album. One cannot blame him; it was made to make some quick cash (and, rumor has it, to battle cash flow problems). It also makes Prince one of the few artists to have released an album for (almost) every year of the decade (and he cut 2 double albums in that decade, so who can blame him if he missed 1982?). Batman is in no way a classic, but it is a fun album anyways.