This, for many, was Prince’s crowning achievement - his London Calling, White Album, Songs In The Key Of Life or Exile On Main Street, a sprawling, diverse double album that spanned genres and influences. As usual with Prince by now, it merged funk, soul, gospel, rap with rock, psychedelia, blues and folk to great effect.
Personally, I have always found a little too eclectic and find that I prefer other albums of his, but there is no doubting its influence, both contemporary and in later years. It was recorded without The Revolution for the first time since 1982’s 1999 album, with Prince playing most instruments himself. There are still a fair few musicians involved, however, it is not all one man band stuff. Regarding the tracks, I will deal with them in the four x four tracks sections of the original double album.
Sign O’ The Times is a triumph of a track to open with, overflowing with brooding atmosphere, chilling apocalyptic warnings and an insistent but low-key beat. It was one of Prince’s most mature, thoughtful and quality tracks released thus far.
Play In The Sunshine is one of those upbeat, if slightly muffled rock ‘n’ roll-ish numbers Prince came out with, full of madcap kitchen sink instrumentation and female backing vocals. It also has some searing lead guitar and would you believe, a brief, infectious drum solo. Everything is in there. Housequake mines a rap/hip-hop seam both in its beat and vocals. It is very contemporary to 1987. Its vibrancy never lets up.
The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker (or "Dor-thy") is a laid-back, appealing soulfully funky ballad in the 1987 “r’n’b” style, featuring a nice, deep, melodic bass sound. It is a chugging, industrial piece of electronic pop with synths swirling, new romantic-style all over the place around a huge, programmed drum beat.
Starfish And Coffee is a short, but quirkily attractive little number that strangely sticks in the mind. Slow Love is a typical slow, staccato Prince love song, the first on the album thus far. It sort of morphs into the jumpy sax-powered funk of Hot Thing. Then we get the most obvious sex-relationships section.
Forever In My Life has a catchy but brooding understated appeal. It is a track that is pretty impossible to categorise, though. U Got The Look is more archetypal Prince fare, very commercial and instantly recognisable as him. The same applies to the intuitively seductive and typical Prince of If I Was Your Girlfriend, while Strange Relationship is a thumping piece of lyrical paranoia.
The hooky I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man revisits the breezy, melodic pop of the Around The World In A Day album. It is the catchiest number on the album. It features some excellent guitar in its final part too. The Cross is possibly the album’s most beguiling track, with its haunting backbeat and U2-style dramatic build up. Prince’s vocal is decidedly Bono. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night is an extended live jazzy, funky rave up with The Revolution and Adore is a late night smoocher to end this perplexing, interesting but, for me, ultimately a little underwhelming album on.
I know I am in a minority but I could never perceive this as a work of genius - it sprawls here and there too much and there are far too few stand out moments. That is just me though, but there are several Prince albums I prefer over this one. No matter how many times I listen to the album it doesn't really get into my system, so it fails to make the cut for "work of genius", as I said. None of the tracks come close to the brilliance of the title track either.
