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Prince (aka The Artist) |
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The Artist, Prince, His Royal Badness, Victor, Christopher Tracy...are some of the many names Prince Nelson went with over his 20+ yrs. in the music business. One thing fo' sure that remained constant was his wonderful music that came outta him. Few muscians can constantly evolve over their careers. His Royal Badness has done so since 1978. Although most would say his (1980-1988) period was his best I think you'd be surprised to find out the diamond quality tracks from his latter albums. This page has a taste of his albums with reviews. There are a shitload of bootlegs out there...too much for me to handle but there are some that are worth noting. Check it out ya' all. |
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For You (1978): A good first album by the 19 yr. old genius. Word has it that the men at Warner Brothers didn't realize that the demo versions were done just by Prince himself (they thought it was a band!). The good tracks are Soft and Wet and Falling in Love. Baby is not too bad either. This album subtly shows his potential of what was yet to come. **1/2 |
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Prince (1979): The self-titled showed more tracks that were geared for the airwaves. Heard he recorded this one fairly quickly and the hits "I Wanna Be Your Lover," and "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad," are classics. I actually have the performance of these on American Bandstand in the archives...wow. Also, "I Feel For You," and "Still Waiting," are gems too. A fun album to listen to...His Royal Badness is starting to open up. ***1/2. |
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Dirty Mind (1980): The best album of his pre-Purple Rain dayz. This album sounds like it was recorded in a garage which gives it a flair for dirty funk and some outrageous lyrics that were too hot for the radio. The title track was the first song I had ever heard from him, while "When You Were Mine," "Uptown," "Do It All Night," and "Let's Work," are first rate stuff. The clincher is "Sister." Listen to it and you'll know why! His best yet and of all of his discography. ***** ...easy. |
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Controversy (1981): A good album to further feature the talents of his band comprising of Dez Dickerson, Andre Cymone, Lisa (?), Dr. Fink and Bobby Z. Best songs are the title track, "Private Joy," and "Jack U Off." A bit scattered compared to Dirty Mind, but a good album nevertheless. ***1/2 |
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1999 (1982): The break through, ambitious double album that brought out the title track and "Little Red Corvette," which were huge singles at the time. Let's not forget the rest of the first album with "Delirious," "Let's Pretend We're Married," and "DMSR." Great stuff. The second half has "Lady Cab Driver," "Free," and "All the Critics Love U in New York," are gems as well. I would almost call this indulgent by his Royal Badness, but not quite...it just shows other aspects of his talent. ***** |
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Purple Rain (1984): The album that made Prince a icon and one of the best soundtracks ever...period. All of the tracks are superb (to say the least)! The title track rocked MTV's airwaves like "When Doves Cry," an innovative track that featured a bass-less groove. Imaginative and it worked. Other tunes like "Take Me With U," "Computer Blue," "The Beautiful Ones," and the groovy "I Would Die 4 U/Baby I'm a Star," are just sensational. "Darling Nikki," is a funny tune that epitomizes some of those scenes in the accompaning movie. The set ends with the title track...a great ballad. Never has his previous and future albums have been so ambitious and focused with a mixture of his Funk/R&B roots combined with rock and heavy metal to make such a crossover album. Was it really only 4 yrs. ago that his Royal Badness & Co. was booed off the stage for opening for the Rolling Stones? A majestic album (one of the best in rock history) that I still manage to listen to quite a bit still after 15 yrs. I don't even want the CD! ***** |
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