Prince

Artist: Prince

Released: October 1979

Length: 40m 52s

My review:

After his poorly received debut For You failed to gain much commercial success or meet expectations, I believe that this substandard reception pushed Prince to create this masterpiece, both to show his worth, demonstrate his talent and to prove the industry wrong. This album was hastily recorded in just 5 weeks with all the songs being written, arranged, composed, produced and performed entirely by Prince, a considerable accomplishment, made even more remarkable by the fact that he was only 21 while doing all of this.

I Wanna Be Your Lover is the first track on the album and was also the lead single, released a few months before the album dropped, it just missed out on the top ten in the US Hot 100 and was barley a hit in the UK peaking at 41 in the Singles Chart, he followed up with shows in London to promote the album and had to cancel due to poor attendance. Looking back now at how famous he became and how much of a worldwide hit this song would become it is crazy to think how little people cared at the time, another indicator of Prince's passion and ambition to overcome, even in the face of adversity. One of the highlights for sure, the tune itself is a perfect mix of Disco, Funk and Soul, that must have been played over a billion times on dance floors around the world, initially I used to not really enjoy the long purely instrumental interlude for the second half, but now I love it, it is such a great riff and to hear him just jamming out on the piano and synthesisers is awesome. The second track the record is Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?, my stand out song which I go into more detail below, before we are treated to Sexy Dancer which sees a return to the more sultry and seductive tones of the first track, especially when compared with the questioning nature and contemplative themes surrounding love heard in the previous tune. There isn't much in the way of lyrics for Sexy Dancer, 80% of the words are in fact 'sexy dancer' with a few varied phrases mixed in for good measure, there is also the inclusion of a lot of heavy breathing and plenty of time devoted for Prince to let loose on the instruments. Next up is When We're Dancing Close And Slow, a piano heavy ballad that really slows the mood down for the end of side a, while simultaneously showcasing his talent and musicianship, but also his capability to effortlessly traverse several different styles of music, all on the same record. With You continues the slow and melodic vibes of the previous song before we are suddenly kicked back into life with Bambi another one of the big highlights on this album for me. Instantly switching gears, we open with a fuzzy Rock guitar, heavy with distortion followed by a few sparse drums and a scream before we settle into the track properly, adorned with catchy licks, guitar solos and of course Prince's signature high pitched vocals with sexually overt lyrics. Slowing things down again we have Still Waiting that again centralises around the main theme of love that encompasses all of this record. I Feel For You was originally written with Patrice Rushen in mind but she turned it down, then it was later covered by Chaka Khan in 1984 on her album of the same name, where it won 2 grammy's. The Chaka Khan version is arguably the more famous, but for me Prince's version will forever be my favourite, it is also another one of the highlights for me. Finally we have It's Gonna Be Lonely a soul inspired cut, filled with groovy melodies and heart felt lyrics of pining over a previous lover, it is a fitting end to an album that keeps love as the core concept, exploring its influence along with the many consequences that emerge from this single emotion.

Prince was a complete one of a kind musician, performer and person, his Super Bowl halftime show is incredible, one of my all time favourites only rivalled with Kendrick's performance this year, they are both extraordinary and for different reasons. Most artists usually use this time and platform to promote their own music, but Prince opted to only play Purple Rain from his countless famous hits, instead covering a handful of other peoples tunes and playing a few of his lesser known songs. He also played through a full on downpour, the rain was truly coming down throughout the performance, something that had never happened on that scale for a halftime show before and indeed hasn't since. His ability to use the weather, something beyond his control, to his advantage and to look as ridiculously cool as he did while doing it, is testament to the rock star and icon status that he rightly earned and deservedly holds. It is for these reasons that I have decided to include 3 more albums by prince in the 'If you like this try these' section at the bottom of the page, something that I usually try to actively avoid doing, as I want to introduce as many people as possible to new music, however as Prince is such a unique artist with such a grand and diverse catalogue I feel it is only right to include more of his work.

Stand out song: Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?

This was the second single released from the album and didn't even make the Hot 100 in the US, this became a bit of a curse that wasn't broken until 2 years (and 2 albums) later by Controversy from the album of the same name. It is an infectious song, ripe with a Rock overtones and a screaming guitar solo that would later become a staple in Prince's long and lucrative career. Maybe it came too early for people to properly appreciate the raw Rock and guitar element in this song but it was definitely heard later in his music and had a deep influenced on the successful 1999 album. The lyrics are relatable and the chorus comes nicely packaged in a easily sung style, it is also one of the songs that follows the classic approach and usual structure heard in Rock songs, with verses, bridges, a repeated chorus and a guitar solo before the fade out at the end. For me it is one of his best songs and one that is hugely underrated and under appreciated, lets see if we can change that.

When to listen:

I honestly can't think of a bad time to listen to this album, it is a bit of a strange one because it has the slow ballad style songs mixed in with the rest of the songs, that wouldn't feel out of place on the dance floor. As love is the emotion that is at the very heart of this record it makes sense to listen, either while with the person you love, thinking of the person you love or pining for the one you lost.

Spotify: Listen here

Vinyl:

I have the European reissue that was released in 2016, as with many of the reissues the covers have been slightly edited/updated and have a more vibrant feel than the originals. The music also feels to have been slightly altered, it is a quiet pressing but has a good dynamic range and is well balanced, it is nice to have a more recent copy of this that will survive another couple of decades of heavy rotation on my turntables. Check out the one I own here, along with the 130+ other versions that have been released - Discogs link

A.D.R.E.W.

A Different Record Every Week

Prince

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A.D.R.E.W.

A Different Record Every Week