“How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?” is such an intimate song, you can close your eyes and feel like Prince is right next to you, hashing his thoughts about a recent breakup out on the piano. The only percussion is Prince’s feet kicking away at the pedals. It would be within reason to think… Read More “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?” by Prince (1982)
“Housequake” isn’t so much a song as it is a groove. And what a groove it is. Prince’s appreciation for the music of James Brown was never a secret (and it certainly isn’t now, as revelations of hours-long rehearsals with The Revolution where they just grooved on JB’s “Bodyheat” have come to light), and “Housequake”… Read More “Housequake” by Prince (1987)
As my last few posts have made clear, I’m quite fond of lyricists who are able to capture a specific mood. “Help Me” finds Joni Mitchell falling for a guy who’s unquestionably a cad. He’s a smooth talkin’ ladies man, and he loves his freedom more than he loves love. So why is Joni falling… Read More “Help Me” by Joni Mitchell (1974)
I’m attempting to think of a creative way to discuss Prince’s “Head”, and it might be the fact that I’m a bit under the weather, but the only way I think I can explain it is just to talk about its, uh, plot. Prince is chillin’, as one does, when he passes a young lady… Read More “Head” by Prince (1980)
If you wanted to make a kickin’ dance record in the mid ’80s, you were going to have to follow Prince or one of his acolytes (like the amazing production duo of Jimmy “Jam” Harris and Terry Lewis). George Michael certainly had the Minneapolis sound Prince, Jam, Lewis and others created on his mind when… Read More “Hard Day” by George Michael (1987)
I’m pretty sure we’ve already had a “Prince’s B-sides were better than most people’s A-sides” discussion somewhere before, right? So no need for me to go that route again. As Prince was on the verge of breaking through in the UK with the Dirty Mind LP, Warner Brothers released “Gotta Stop” in that territory. It… Read More “Gotta Stop (Messin’ About)” by Prince (1981)
Prince’s demo version of “The Glamorous Life” (released on the Originals set earlier this year) is illuminating if only because it provided proof of what he brought to the table on this song, and what Sheila E. added. His soon-to-be protege shaded in what was already a monster track with her powerful percussion. The end result… Read More “The Glamorous Life” by Sheila E. (1984)
Under The Cherry Moon was Prince’s second film, and expectations were high after the surprising success of Purple Rain. I mean, I think they were? I was 10, what the hell did i know about critical expectations? I’m sure that there were many people who expected Cherry Moon to be a Purple Rain sequel of… Read More “Girls & Boys” by Prince & The Revolution (1986)
Players can be vulnerable, so sings Morris Day on The Time’s 1982 track “Gigolos Get Lonely Too”. Released as the second single from the funk band’s sophomore album, “Gigolos” slowed the pace down from their previous three hits, “Get It Up”, “Cool” and “777-9311”. It offered Morris the chance to do something resembling actual crooning,… Read More “Gigolos Get Lonely Too” by The Time (1982)
By the beginning of 1991, Prince found himself more estranged from contemporary youth culture than he’d been at any point in his career. “Gett Off” (and the Diamonds and Pearls album it appeared on) was a deliberate attempt to re-engage the center of pop culture, which had shifted quite a bit in just the previous… Read More “Gett Off” by Prince & The New Power Generation (1991)
Five Star Jamz 