Welcome to my reviews of the albums of Prince and TAFKAP. I am only qualified by my personal appreciation of his music -- he is my favorite musician. I am not totally familiar with all of his albums, therefore the only ones you'll see comments on here are the ones I've listened to many, many times. These reviews are written in response to reading other peoples' reviews of his albums -- I've agreed with some, disagreed with others. This is how I see it.

If you want to know what Prince is about and where he comes from, 1999 is not a bad place to start. A classic album, 1999 contains some all-time great songs. The title track is simply fantastic -- unusual enough to keep you interested but also providing everything you expect in a great song. Little Red Corvette, on the other hand, was so trend setting that it suffers from the vast number of similar songs that were released in imitation. Still, its relaxed tone and clever lyrics make for a truly memorable Prince song. The "radio album" ends with the third track, the cheesy Delirious and 1999 begins in earnest with Let's Pretend We're Married. While I'm not a fan of the synthetic sound of the early eighties, the songs here are so good you understand why so many bad songs were released trying to make use of the sound. Some of the tracks, such as the dreamlike Something In The Water, are great examples of Prince musicality, while others, such as D.M.S.R., are really only good as killer dance music. Particularly outstanding is All The Critics Love U In New York, a cool and memorable example of the best of early eighties music. On the other hand, Free is one of what would become many great Prince ballads. The album ends with International Lover, a typical Prince vanity song that includes a reference to our favorite jewels, diamonds and pearls. Good for serious listening, great for parties, 1999 is over seventy minutes of worthwhile music.

 

Music From The Motion Picture Purple Rain is certainly one of the best movie soundtrack's out there. It suffers, however, from the fact that only music by Prince and the Revolution is on the album. There is nothing from The Time, which also has several great numbers in the movie. All the same, this is one of Prince's best albums. When Doves Cry has become one of the most recognizable Prince songs ever, and deservedly so. Despite what Tipper Gore says, Darling Nikki is a wonderfully funky song. Purple Rain, of course, is pretty good, although it has been extremely over played in the world at large, causing it lose much of its power. One of the most interesting numbers, however, is The Beautiful Ones, in which Prince shows off many elements of what he is. The Beautiful Ones starts as "just" a typical Prince song, similar to the ones he later did for the Batman Motion Picture Soundtrack. However, it winds up becoming a rock ballad with an amazing combination of guitar and vocals, foreshadowing future Prince albums to come. The one song on the album that is not a favorite is unfortunately the song Prince elected to perform at the Grammies -- Let's Go Crazy. To me the song lacks some quality, that I of course can't put my finger on, that would bring it all together. The rest of the songs, though, are all favorites of mine. This is a really great Prince effort.

  

While it is certainly the best work Prince did with The Revolution, Around the World in a Day is one of Prince's best albums in general. The title track, while a far cry from the best on the album, sets the tone for the album -- exotic, mostly light and fantastically musical. Around the World in a Day is home to one of Prince's best known releases, Raspberry Beret, but the whole album is so good that even that classic does not stand out from the others. One of the best tracks on the album is the wonderful Paisley Park. Its elaborate melodies, harmonies and instrumentation produce a song as only Prince could. Regardless of how well it is integrated with the album, when you come to it you can still just feel that Raspberry Beret is truly outstanding. Clever lyrics and clever music merge to form yet another Prince classic. The album is not limited to remarkable pop music, however. Ballads like Condition of the Heart feature large stretches of Prince-style instrumental solos and foretell the tone for future albums like Emancipation. Even more removed from the polished pop style of Raspberry Beret is the incredible, rhythmic Tamborine. Light-years ahead of future numbers like Sexy M.F., Tamborine is truly funky. One of my favorite numbers from the album follows on Tamborine's heels -- America is a great rock song, much more similar to The Revolution's previous album, Music From The Motion Picture Purple Rain. America displays Prince's vast talents in the art of the rock song. The album then bounces back from rock into pop, but not all the way. Pop Life has more of an edge than the casual Prince fan might expect -- it's not one of my favorites, but it infuses a lot more rock than a listener of pop would expect. The penultimate track is only okay, making it the low point of the album. The Ladder is reminiscent of the closers of future Prince movies, such as the song Grafitti Bridge. The album ends on a high point, though, with Prince super-funky rock song, Temptation. Similar to jazz-rock numbers on later albums like Chaos and Disorder and The Truth, Temptation is excellent. The only drawback to Around the World in a Day is that its only a little over forty minutes long, almost a half hour shorter than many Prince albums. All the same, what music there is is perfect. Much more than a musical cartoon, yet in keeping with that light style, Around the World in a Day is a truly great album.

   

Sign Of The Times is a great album, although I do not believe it to be the best album Prince ever recorded, as some claim. There are a several great tracks on the album, however they are mixed in with many that simply are not remarkable -- not bad -- just not worth a second glance. Of course the exceptional songs on the album are just that, exceptional. It is perhaps the most striking song on the album -- it possesses the same clean sounding percussion that drives When Doves Cry, but elaborates upon the sound to make a really great song. Perhaps the most exotic Prince song ever is Starfish and Coffee, which recalls the cheerfulness of Raspberry Beret and possesses even more clever and amusing lyrics. Who'd've thought that Prince could be so downright happy? Additionally, The Ballad of Dorothy Parker is good musically and lyrically, if not as maniacally cheerful as Starfish and Coffee. Switching back to the more serious Prince, the title song, Sign Of The Times is simply a classic Prince song. Like the album itself, it is not one of my favorites, but it is certainly appealing to Prince fans. As far as apocalyptic numbers go, I think The Cross is much better. The Cross starts out as an acoustic song with bitter lyrics and gradually works up to a great rock song. Whether or not one goes in for the serious subject matter, the song is both impressive and expressive. Perhaps the most misunderstood and therefore image damaging Prince song ever is the classic If  Was Your Girlfriend. Really, the lyrics, and concept, are quite clever, and the song is pushed along by a wonderful and exotic percussion. U Got The Look is also deservedly a classic, although it has become so mainstream as to be more an Eighties classic than a Prince classic. Finally, I can't resist commenting upon Housequake and It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night. While both are pretty neat at first, they lack anything to keep you really interested in them. Lot's of other people seem to like the songs, but I just don't see it. On the whole, however, this is a good album that is well worth listening to.

  

I will always consider the Batman Motion Picture Soundtrack to be one of my favorite Prince albums because it is the first I ever owned. Every track on the album is pretty darn good, leaving nothing to be desired. First and foremost, however, is one of my personal favorites -- Electric Chair, which features a great beat, amazing guitar work and some really cool lyrics and vocal effects (including the "way-too-many-syllables-in-one-line" effect also present in Joy in Repetition). Close on the heels of Electric Chair is The Future, a pretty grim song reminiscent of Sing Of The Times that fits in really well with the whole album. Both Partyman and Lemon Crush are great dance numbers with a great deal of funk and a lot of everything else that is Prince. As far as funk goes, however, nothing is better than the infamous Batdance which, as it appears on the album, is many times better than the version distributed for the radio. Batdance is more or less the album's overture. When it comes to romantic ballads The Arms of Orion is okay, I guess, but I really prefer Scandalous over it. The only title from the album I haven't mentioned is Trust, which is also very good, but is perhaps too colored by the movie. Without exception, the songs on this album are great. Definitely check out the Batman Motion Picture Soundtrack if you get the chance.

 

Music from Graffiti Bridge is one of the greatest Prince album's ever. Since it features an amazing collection of musicians performing his music, the album acts as a sort of tribute to Prince. The assembled musicians include Mavis Staples, The Time and a breakthrough performance by Tevin Campbell. Of course, much of the music on this album is performed by Prince himself, along with the forerunners of The New Power Generation. As was also true with the opening number to Music From The Motion Picture Purple Rain, Can't Stop This Feeling  Got lacks the intangible quality almost all Prince song's possess which makes them so amazing. After this rocky start, however, the album quickly moves into full swing with the amazing song known as New Power Generation. If you don't like this song, you must not like Prince, because this is what he is all about. As a sort of overture to the album, New Power Generation (part II) is featured as the last track, and while a bit more muddled than the first part, it serves as an excellent reprise. New Power Generation (part II) also includes one of the first raps ever written by Prince, as performed by T.C. Ellis, clearly demonstrating that Prince's talents are not limited to rock. Foremost among the other amazing, non-Prince performances on the album are Tevin Campbell's rendition of the wonderful pop number Round and Round and Mavis Staples' number Melody Cool, which evokes the best of the old Motown classics. Not surprisingly, the best dance track and all around funk on the album was performed by The Time. Shake! is a really great number; it is yet another show stopper on this great record. Of course, Prince has many impressive tracks on this album, among which are The Question of You and Thieves in the Temple. Also on the album is my all-time favorite Prince number, Joy in Repetition, one of the most ethereal, yet driving songs I have ever heard. For all of these reasons and more, Music from Graffiti Bridge is one of the Prince's all-time bests.

   

Diamonds and Pearls is a strong debut album for The New Power Generation who, even if lacking the energy of The Revolution, make up for it with sheer talent. The album starts off with a bang, or rather some Thunder. This is perhaps one of the all-time best opening tracks on a Prince album, and sets the album's tone as a series of songs not limited to single genre. Along with Thunder, Live 4 Love can also be readily classified as one of Prince's great rock-opera pieces. For the more mainstream tastes, this album includes one of Prince's all time greatest songs: Cream. This song's great beat, music and dryly sarcastic lyrics are a good example of what Prince is all about. Also on this album is the wonderful, extremely rhythmic Walk Don't Walk, another of my personal favorites. There are also two very good pop music entries (assuming there is such a thing as very good pop music) -- the somewhat overplayed title song, Diamonds and Pearls and the wonderful number Money Don't Matter 2 Night. I personally prefer Money Don't Matter 2 Night, as it is a much more meaningful ballad-style piece. There are also several songs that include great rap sequences on this album. Willing and Able and Jughead demonstrate how Prince wisely realized that rap was not something to be ignored and isolated, but to be worked into and compliment other types of music. On Push we finally get to hear Prince rap, along with other NPG members -- he is not disappointing. Finally, for those of us addicted to Batdance, there is the equally exciting dance number known affectionately as Gett Off. My only problem with this album is typified by songs like Daddy Pop and Jughead which seem to be more filler between the great songs than actually songs themselves. All the same, Diamonds and Pearls is a fun album.

 

As was true with Diamonds and Pearls, Prince's other New Power Generation effort,  opens powerfully. From the first few seconds of the amazing, yet unfortunately timed My Name is Prince, one can tell that it is one of the all-time great rock anthems. I call it unfortunately timed because soon after its release, Prince retired his name and I believe this contradiction prevented My Name is Prince from getting all the air-time it deserved. The only song that did receive most of the attention it warranted was 7. This song is so wonderful that none can get enough of it -- its lyrics are powerful and its music is moving. The only other track to get significant air-time is The Morning Papers which is one of the few ballads I truly enjoy listening to. The sound of  is by no means all ethereal and mellow, however. There are several great songs that are heavily loaded with classic Prince funk.  Want To Melt With You, Arrogance, and The Max are all great, up-beat songs. One of the more unusual songs is the reggae-like Blue Light which is, as always, lyrically and musically amusing. My only complaint about the album is the second number, Sexy M.F.. The song seems pretty pointless. Depending on whether or not you listen to the "clean" version of the album, the song is either a lot of swearing or a lot of squealing. Either way, I do not find Sexy M.F. particularly appealing. That is my one and only complaint, however. My favorite track from the record defies exact classification, 3 Chains of Gold is a sort of "Prince Sampler" -- it gives us a taste of just about everything he has to offer. Because of the widely varied, yet strangely cohesive segments of 3 Chains of Gold, it can only be described as a "Rock Opera". In fact, the entire album  has been often referred to as a "Rock Opera" -- it is an intricately pieced together collection of widely varied songs that all contribute to an overall theme. I believe that this album showcases the genius of Prince in a way that he was never able to with The Revolution. Although the NPG were not equal to those rock and roll powerhouses, they did allow Prince to make use of horns, rappers, and a wide variety of voices in a way he never had before. In my opinion,  is the greatest album Prince ever recorded.

   

  

 

There are two sides to the coin that is the reputation of Prince. On the obverse is the fame and recognition that his music commands. Depicted on the reverse, however, is the responsibility to maintain that standard. The greater the crests, the lower the troughs. Come is quite a let down after Prince's numerous successes. The album features a few songs that would serve as good support tracks on a typical Prince album, such as Space, Pheromone and the title track Come. However, most of the songs are remarkably unremarkable. They just are not good, and some, like Papa, brow-beat the listener with their messages in an unpleasant fashion. There are some good moments, like Race, and even one typically good Prince song -- Letitgo. On the whole, however, Come did not satisfy my craving for new Prince music. I got the distinct impression that little effort went into this album, and I later found out that I was correct. Essentially, this is an album of out-takes, released with minimal consent from Prince. Understandably, I was disappointed by the album.

It is always hard for fans to point out flaws, but without objectivity, praise for strengths is meaningless. Therefore, while this review has received more response than all the rest combined, I stand by it. After all, if you carefully study the background of the liner notes to  you will notice several one-liners on Prince trivia. Among these is a warning: "Don't Buy The Black Album!" Despite Prince's well documented sense of humor, The Black Album is without a doubt the worst Prince album I have ever heard. Originally intended for release in 1987, Prince backed out at the last moment, and sat on the album until 1995 when Warner Brothers released against his wishes. The album attempts to be dark -- which, in a way, it is -- but it is about as successful as most gangster rap albums when it comes to profundity. There are some great dance songs like Cindy C, but many of the tracks simply lack any sort of edge, and border on being offensive. The elements of Prince are still there -- Bob George has a great beat and Prince's typical, dry humor -- but they do not gel into good songs. The only song I really enjoy from the album is When 2 R In Love which is quite a cool ballad. However, most of The Black Album is simply unpleasant. Some have tried to shrug off Prince's own warnings because it was written by "Spooky Electric", but this argument is a great misinterpretation. "Spooky Electric" was a phase of Prince, one I truly believe he regrets, along with this album.

The transition from Prince to The Artist Formerly Known as Prince was followed by two lack-luster albums and I began to get scared. However, with the release of The Gold Experience, TAFKAP rededicated himself to the same principles of music making that guided the earlier years of his career to greatness. From the very onset of the album, the listener can tell it is a good one. P Control is a great number that is everything one of his songs should be -- it is musically wonderful. Unfortunately, the lyrics prevented P Control from gaining a large audience, but you can sure enjoy it at home. As is true with all the albums of TAFKAP, the songs on The Gold Experience are widely varied. Shhh is a very cool number that recalls the finer qualities of 3 Chains of Gold in a way that surpasses that classic. Shy, on the other hand, is a wonderfully rhythmic song with the power to ensnare any listeners attention. TAFKAP again raps on this album in the hard paced, yet easily listenable number Now. On the other hand, 319 is a pretty funky song that to this day makes me smile when that number shows up in everyday life. My least favorite track on the album is not even all that bad -- The Most Beautiful Girl in the World only suffers from too much syrup. However, the single release's b-side, the simply entitled Beautiful, is a fabulous remix that is far superior to the original. Beautiful set the tone for a great deal of 1990's music. My absolute favorite track on The Gold Experience is the rock number know as Dolphin. This song is musically great in general and specifically has some of the best guitar I have heard in a long time. The album closes with a mild call to arms entitled Gold, that is not bad, but is certainly not as impressive as most of the other tracks on the album. Any way you look at it The Gold Experience is a great album.

  

My favorite track on Chaos and Disorder typifies the whole album. Zannalee is a short but sweet rock song with amazing guitar. It was expected that as The Artist's last album for Warner Brothers Chaos and Disorder would be lacking effort. Instead, the album is musical dynamite, just much shorter than usual. From the opening strands of the first, title track there is no question that this is going to be good. Chaos and Disorder, song and album, feature great guitar, fun lyrics and are all around great for parties. Unusually, the entire album focuses on the same genre -- rock. All the same, the typical mixing and matching of styles is still present. I Rock, Therefore I Am speaks the truth -- it fuses rock and rap in fashion rivaling My Name Is Prince. Wonderfully juxtaposed with it is a rock ballad as only The Artist can make -- Into The Light. Unfortunately Into The Light is too reminiscent of Gold for my tastes. Either one is great, together they seem redundant. More to my liking is the classic sounding I Will. It is smooth without being sappy. Also typically "Prince" sounding, although of a completely different mold, is the ideological track The Same December. About two minutes in, this song has one of the funkiest transitions I have ever heard. This song is great. For the 319 crowd there is the magnificent Dig U Better Dead -- an ideal funk. One of the strangest tracks is Right the Wrong. I have no idea what to compare it to as it blends bland, mainstream sounds into a unique, listenable song. I Like It There is a good but uninspired rock song and it is followed up by the even blander, although not necessarily bad, Dinner with Delores. Chaos and Disorder ends with the cool sounds of Had U -- a decent end to a good album.

 

You cannot help but like Emancipation, for a very good reason. No matter what your taste in music, this three disc set has it. Emancipation shows what it is that makes The Artist Formerly Known As Prince special -- he can do it all. In fact, the only drawback to the set is not that there are too few songs you will like, but that there are so many styles represented that there may be some you don't enjoy as much as others. For instance, the album swings from beautiful rock ballads to wonderfully funky raps. All the same, Emancipation may finally allow many people to realize what the unifying elements of, say, a rock song and a rap that make them both equally great. "The Artist" very definitely wanted to make a "comeback" with Emancipation, and for his long time fans, this may be a problem. There is a great deal of mainstream music influence on some of the tracks. For instance, Right Back Here In My Arms, Joint 2 Joint, Face Down, and Emale, all excellent funk numbers, all have been clearly influenced by modern rap. While the influence is not detrimental in any way to the quality of the songs, it is still disappointing to me as a fan of "The Artist's" innovative genius to see him so obviously influenced by other musicians. Regardless, of the aforementioned songs, Emale stands out as especially good, with its vocals and NPG accompaniment. The mainstream influence is not limited to the funk numbers, as there are also a few great "rhythm and blues" tracks such as One Kiss At A Time and Dreamin' About U that are good songs, but not fresh sounding. Continuing the rap influence, Mr. Happy is a great rap, but at the same time it is heavily laden with a not quite original feel. Emancipation also includes a mainstream "rock" song, Damned If  Do. Additionally, "The Artist" does the once unthinkable, and covers four songs by other musicians, the best of which is  Can't Make U Love Me. The others are La, La, La Means  Love U, Betcha By Golly Wow!, and One of Us, all of which are good, but they weren't written by "The Artist" himself. Finishing the outside influenced songs is one of the true gems of the set, a swing number known as Courtin' Time. Courtin' Time is completely incongruous with the rest of the album, and completely wonderful. It is the Starfish and Coffee of Emancipation. Although I have lamented the external influences, there is also plenty of "Prince" music on Emancipation. In fact, Emancipation itself is a great song, clearly demonstrating that while exploring new venues "The Artist" will also continue to produce songs of the style we know and love. On the first disc, Now and We March merge to form We Gets Up -- a typically fun party song. On the second disc appears one of the best, uninfluenced songs of the set, Soul Sanctuary. While I have never been a fan of ballads, the rhythms and melodies of Soul Sanctuary are simply excellent. Perhaps the most striking piece in the set is Curious Child. It is an amazing departure from anything one would normally associate with "The Artist", other than being excellent. The piano and other accompaniment are amazing, synthesizing folk and modern music beautifully. As far as ballads go, Let's Have A Baby is excellent. When it comes to easy listening, however, I prefer songs with a little more of "The Artist's" spark, such as Savior -- a great song. The third disc is extremely reminiscent of  because it combines a number of different sounds and styles into an interlocking whole. The defiant Slave is a great jam, similar to It in its amazing combination of great percussion, instrumentation, and vocals. Following the classically styled Slave, New World is even more of a surprise than it would be alone. New World is almost techno, with enough of "The Artist's" style to make an amazing groove. Continuing the techno influenced numbers is The Human Body, a song that evokes memories of the early eighties in a way that only a key player such as "The Artist" could do. Style is a great, smooth number, similar in sound to the fabulous P Control of The Gold Experience, it is simply a fun song. Perhaps the most unquestionably "Prince" song in the set is My Computer. Any and every fan of "The Artist" out there will like it. Finally, one of my absolute favorite tracks from Emancipation is the heir apparent to Purple Rain -- The Love We Make. From a relaxed lead-in the song smoothly builds into one of the great rock ballads of all time. All told, the only real problem I had with the set is that it was divided into three discs -- making it impossible to listen to the entire album non-stop. This is a small price to pay, however, for the sheer number of great songs. Do not miss Emancipation.

  

If you want, visit my home page: http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte402s/

Lyrics for the reviewed albums, available by clicking the album covers, are courtesy of The Prince Lyrics Transcription Team.

I am not in any way affiliated with The Artist, nor do I have information on upcoming albums or concerts.