Reasons #208-199: Prince In The 1980’s
I try to compose and schedule the majority of these posts months in advance, because the only quiet “me” time available to do these kind of things is at night…VERY late at night, usually. This post is no different. It’s publishing today, Friday July 8th, but it is being written Thursday, April 21st. You may recall that this was the day the world learned Prince was dead.
I was and remain a casual fan, but his death made me go back and listen to much of his late ’70’s and ’80’s LPs and I gotta say he put out some of the most memorable music of any decade. The man truly was a genius. Part James Brown, part Michael Jackson, part George Clinton, part Jimi Hendrix, and yet a true original.
The 10 albums he released in the ’80’s were: Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999 (my favorite), Purple Rain, Around The World In A Day, Parade, Sign O The Times (2nd fave), The Black Album, Lovesexy and the Batman soundtrack. Not all were top to bottom classics, but a good half of them were, and all have their moments, all are worth your time.
I won’t go into detail about these as more capable people have already said what I would have, but much, much better. So I’ll let Allmusic have the last words:
“One of the most singular talents in music, a multi-talented pop/funk/rock performer who showed remarkable stylistic growth and musical diversity.”
R.I.P.
Just an astounding body of work. And the run continues into the early Nineties with Graffiti Bridge, Diamonds & Pearls and the Love Symbol album. And the B-sides…it’s pricey, but the 3-CD collection The Hits1/2/The B-Sides is amazing – many of these b-sides are as good if not better than the songs that made the album (“Erotic City”, I’m looking at you).
It’s murky how much he did for the other bands in his stable, but he at least collaborated, if not orchestrated, albums from Vanity 6, Appolonia 6, Sheila E, The Family, and one of my favorite bands, The Time. He wrote songs for The Bangles and Sheena Easton… and who knows what’s still in the vault.
I’m not normally a big fan/supporter of the major record companies, but comparing his output before and after his break with Warner Brothers, I have to wonder – maybe they helped him by forcing him to focus on the best songs. Like most of his albums, the triple sets like Emancipation have excellent tracks, but they have many that are “just” good. And that is a lot of music to digest at one time.
I heard Controversy on some late night TV show and at the roller rink when I was in junior high. I heard cuts from 1999 on my local college radio station alongside Depeche Mode and Thomas Dolby. Purple Rain blew my high school mind. I had heard the elements of his music in other bands but I had never heard anyone take so many different elements, throw them together into a coherent whole and then own it. Every album is different but every album is so clearly Prince.
He made it both personal and accessible. Usually when an artist goes off and does his own thing, it’s inscrutable or unlistenable. Lovesexy, for example, has the obvious hit in Alphabet St., then after that goes off into Prince’s own little world. But it’s still an enjoyable album. Around the Word in a Day, as well. Who follows up their career-making album with such a completely different album? But it still has Raspberry Beret and Pop Life to keep the suits at WB happy. . I didn’t get Sign of the Times at first. I thought it was just good. I put it in my car’s tape deck and drove home for spring break with the windows down and that tape blasting, and I finally got it. Now it’s one of my favorites. I’m going to resist the urge to go into detail about each and every one of his albums now…
The deaths of Prince and David Bowie have taken 2 of my musical heroes this year. But Prince hit me particularly hard because his career much more closely paralleled my musical awakening. Bowie had a career that I had to work backwards into (Space Oddity came out a month before I was born). But Prince was of my time. Even when he wasn’t my #1 favorite musician (starting around Diamonds & Pearls) I almost always picked up his new album as soon as I saw it. I was always there when hi career revived (Musicology, Plectrumelectrum)
Because of the silence after Reality, I thought Bowie had retired. The Next Day and Blackstar seemed like bonuses. Prince never stopped. Even if his latest music wasn’t my cup of tea, he was never not there. Always touring, always putting out new music…months later, it’s still hard for me to believe he’s gone. Sometimes It Snows in April.
Wow. Until I posted it, I didn’t realize I’d written that much. Sorry.
Good God, no need to be sorry. That was a very thoughtful response and is very much appreciated here. Prince meant a lot to a lot of people, truly evident he inspired you. Thanks for the comment!
E
What a prolific & terrific decade for a true one-of-a-kind
Hi Ian, I’ve nominated you for the inaugural Treasure Trove Award! There are no rules or tasks involved. You can find your award here: https://danicapiche.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/treasure-trove-award/
If you prefer not to be involved with awards, please accept this as a gesture of my appreciation.