Bob: Right out of the gate on Controversy, Prince plays explicitly in the extremes of his spiritual/sexual divide. We had to look for it a bit on Dirty Mind, but it’s front and center here. I read that Dirty Mind taught him that he could do whatever he wanted, so maybe that freed him to explore his dichotomy completely openly. … Read more »
Bob: The first track is like the Buggles. The second is like the Cars. Is this a new wave record? Okay, “Do It All Night” is Prince. So, three songs in, Prince resolves his identity crisis (which is actually cool, because that very crisis is part of what makes him so good). Each record has gotten progressively tighter. When Prince… Read more »
Bob: I’m not quite through my first listen, but I checked allmusic’s review since I knew they rated this higher than For You. “Expanding the urban R&B and funk approach of his debut, Prince is a considerably more accomplished record than his first effort, featuring the first signs of his adventurous, sexy signature sound.” Did allmusic and I even listen… Read more »
Bob: After one listen, I think this album is a solid 3-3.5 star record taken on its own. There is some good disco stuff and it foreshadows electro a bit. More importantly, it hints at where Prince will go in a few years. He’s clearly not there yet, but the ideas seem to be forming on a few tracks. Chuck:… Read more »