by Prince
Format: CD
Warner Brothers (3601-2)
When I looked over the songs on this CD, I saw several tunes that I didn't think were going to still work for me. This album does have a few tunes that probably would not work if you just downloaded them off iTunes and listened to them alone (in that crappy compressed mp3 sound). But if you put the disc in your CD player (or on your turntable), crank up the volume LOUD and let it play from beginning to end, the album really works. You might also consider inviting some close friends over (who aren't too uptight about explicit lyrics), and have a dance party. This is a solid half-hour plus of music that will keep you dancing the whole time. Of course, you could just send the kids away for the night, put the lights down low, slip into something more comfortable (or nothing at all...) and have our own dance party with your better half. It definitely can be more fun than dinner and a movie...but I digress...
Tonight, I listened alone upstairs during a blizzard, while my wife watched "The Sons of Liberty" on TV downstairs. While the above option is always better, I was moving there alone on the couch and groovin' away to the funky sounds in the dark. The album was over before I knew it.
The first thing you notice when you listen to this album in the sound: tight, clean, and with a satisfying low end that I'm sure is better on vinyl. Still, this isn't bad for early CD sound. I love the bass guitar work that really pushes the music forward. This sonic texture is perfect for dance music. You cannot listen to this music and sit still.
I really don't want to give you play by play on this one. For one thing, the lyrics are strange at times, but that doesn't matter. If I quoted some of his lyrics, they would sound pretty bad, but somehow when Prince say these things, they just sound cool. If I were to sing some of these lyrics, I'd look like an idiot, but Prince does it with such charm, you just smile at the naughty things he says. He's a bad boy for sure, but we love him that way.
Some highlights. "Controversy" gets things off to a great start with a pumping bass drum playing quarter notes. Simple, but it's a call to the dance floor. "Do Me Baby" is a date with Prince in the bedroom. It's a little weird when he actually seems to be...well...pick up the CD and see for yourself. Let's just say only listen to this with someone who really knows you well. Otherwise there will be some awkward moments at the end on the track. If you're with someone cool, you can both laugh at a guy who was young and went for it in the studio. Sorry to be so vague but to describe this would be inappropriately uncomfortable for me as well. Intrigued? Pick up the record.
"Private Joy" is a great 80's relic with beautiful back up vocals and when I hear it I want to sing it to my wife Shelli along with "Take Me With U" (more on that one in later blog). The last four songs on the album are the weakest but totally work in the context of the album. They all come one after another with no break, which helps a lot. Even in a weaker song like "Annie Christian," there's always an interesting sound or guitar line that grabs your ear. The album closes with a real goofball tune, "Jack U Off," which I can imagine Prince closing the evening at a club with, to get people to leave and go home with a smile on their face. It's undeniably silly, explicit and corny, but again, you can imagine Prince winking while he sings it. He manages to seem cool, funny and mostly non-offensive. Prince doesn't seem to be homosexual to me, but you have to wonder about the lyrics to this one...or maybe I don't really understand the term.
What I come away with from this album is not the lyric content. It's that funky, intimate, home-made groove Prince had going on back them. With 1999, he would go on to perfect this stripped down (no pun intended!) sound that would be replaced with a more produced and heavily layered sound starting with Purple Rain. Also the sound of digital instruments and production also began to creep in, which I think didn't help. But for now, with Controversy, his sound was tight and groovy. He'd revisit this sound later on with songs like "Kiss," but Controversy has it in spades.
Gotta' get this one on vinyl someday.
Next Up: Time to party like it's 1999!
