93 Prince - 1999 - Streaming on Apple Music (Just the original tracks - not the laundry list of still excellent demos and live extras on the deluxe version)
Both the song 1999 and Little Red Corvette made a huge impact on the UK music scene, this was the Prince we had been aware of, but now that sexy funk of early singles was infused with synths.... it genuinely was a new sound and at least for me cemented Prince as a talented curiosity with a lot of interesting ideas to offer. So let’s fast forward to 1989 when the genius of Sign ‘O’ the Times and Parade had genuinely started to win me over and I went back to properly listen to the back catalogue... from that point forward this and Purple Rain have become firm favourites. So this is very much reviewing looking back....
And it’s just astonishing. ALMOST.. a concept album.. IF you can stretch that idea to the concept being “we are all going to die in a nuclear war..... f**k it .... let’s f**k”.
And that’s the genius, we genuinely get a major glimpse of Prince’s social commentary, that was to feature so heavily later on... but infused with Princes’ sexual egomania and sly sense of humour (a Purple nuclear fallout....the dust cloud is falling but I’ve got a lion in my pocket....”mommy, why does everybody have a bomb”?)
Some of the indulgences are still too much unless you laugh along with them .... “International lover” is totally filthy and “Lady Cab Driver” would never wash in the Me Too era. But alongside this is lyrical genius and thought provoking brilliance well ahead of it’s time “Free” and “All the Critics Love U in New York” are inspirational and cutting respectively.
Most of all... the musicianship is jut amazing, clearly Prince spent plenty time playing with his new electric toys, but as well as the synths, as with many of his other recordings, he plays large chunks of this himself... but the genius is how well he blends his own skills with the early incarnation of the Revolution ... Wendy and Lisa are both here and the interchange between Prince and Dez Dickerson on guitar is perfect. We think of Price as a lead guitar and Piano player...but the bass playing on this, all from his Purpleness is high energy funk excellence. If I had one criticism... the Drums are lifeless (mostly anonymous drum machine loops with simple fills).
Admittedly, some of the longer groove based noodling (D.M.S.R and Automatic) are far better live... where band members are given space to improvise rather than just letting the groove wander but it still fits together so well and somewhat forgotten tracks like Something In The Water are so atmospheric that you are pulled back in just as your attention might lapse.
My friend Pete B pulled my further into the Purpleverse in 1990 when we both headed to Maine Road to see the little man on the Graffiti Bridge tour... “Batdance” “Nothing Compares to You” and the title track from this are seared in my memory as some fo the best live performances I’ve ever seen! There is no doubt that he falls into the category of artists where once you have seen their genius live in action... it’s easy to re-evaluate all their work in a more positive light... but wither way you cut it... this real start of Prince’s Purple patch.... in SO many ways.
My friend Pete B pulled my further into the Purpleverse in 1990 when we both headed to Maine Road to see the little man on the Graffiti Bridge tour... “Batdance” “Nothing Compares to You” and the title track from this are seared in my memory as some fo the best live performances I’ve ever seen! There is no doubt that he falls into the category of artists where once you have seen their genius live in action... it’s easy to re-evaluate all their work in a more positive light... but wither way you cut it... this real start of Prince’s Purple patch.... in SO many ways.
