Before I'd ever heard the album, the cover automatically attracted me

When I heard it .. well, that's a different story all together.

What can I say? The Prince catalogue would be incomplete without it

A great album, just has the bad luck to be sandwiched between two classics. Its very much a transistion between those classics, the stripped down punk and raunch of Dirty Mind meeting some of the cold electronic erotica of 1999. The strongest track on it, by far is Do Me Baby, it sits high on a plateau above everything else, Prince's first (And best) seduction ballad, full of catchy lyrics, sound effects and a believable authentic bedroom patois. Not far behind are Lets Work and the titke track, both seamless pieces of grown up Minneapolis funk with poppin chicken scratch bass and hellafunky lyrics. Sexuality is also quite good, but Jack U off and Private Joy are very average, they are enjoyable enough and the latter sees his first use of the Linn (A vein more successfully mined on the next album), but Jack U off is silly (What is he jackin off?) and Private Joy is lightweight fluff compared to the tight excellence of the first three trax, especially the superior Do Me Baby. These two jams are tolerable, but the ones that really let it down are Annie Christian, which is clumsy preaching mixed in with pornography (Taxi cabs, was Mplaya slang for vaginas). But the absolute weakest track is Ronnie talk to Russia with its silly lyrix, stop start organ and its rushed feel. Easily not as bad as some of his most self indulgent stuff of the 1990-2001 period, but next to Do Me Baby and Lets Work, Ronnie does not even belong on the same album.

Still overall its a solid B plus effort and it does have Do Me Baby and Controversy on it, so its all good. Still its never going to stand out from the classic Dirty Mind and the sheer brilliance and wizardry on 1999.

Adorecream said:

4 GOT 2 DO

Ratings

Controversy 9/10

Sexuality 8/10

Do Me Baby 10/10

Private Joy 7/10

Ronnie talk 2 russia 4/10

Lets Work 10/10

Annie Christian 5/10

Jack U off 7/10

Total 60/80 = 75% = B+

[Edited 4/4/11 2:44am]

Adorecream said:

A great album, just has the bad luck to be sandwiched between two classics. Its very much a transistion between those classics, the stripped down punk and raunch of Dirty Mind meeting some of the cold electronic erotica of 1999. The strongest track on it, by far is Do Me Baby, it sits high on a plateau above everything else, Prince's first (And best) seduction ballad, full of catchy lyrics, sound effects and a believable authentic bedroom patois. Not far behind are Lets Work and the titke track, both seamless pieces of grown up Minneapolis funk with poppin chicken scratch bass and hellafunky lyrics. Sexuality is also quite good, but Jack U off and Private Joy are very average, they are enjoyable enough and the latter sees his first use of the Linn (A vein more successfully mined on the next album), but Jack U off is silly (What is he jackin off?) and Private Joy is lightweight fluff compared to the tight excellence of the first three trax, especially the superior Do Me Baby. These two jams are tolerable, but the ones that really let it down are Annie Christian, which is clumsy preaching mixed in with pornography (Taxi cabs, was Mplaya slang for vaginas). But the absolute weakest track is Ronnie talk to Russia with its silly lyrix, stop start organ and its rushed feel. Easily not as bad as some of his most self indulgent stuff of the 1990-2001 period, but next to Do Me Baby and Lets Work, Ronnie does not even belong on the same album.

Still overall its a solid B plus effort and it does have Do Me Baby and Controversy on it, so its all good. Still its never going to stand out from the classic Dirty Mind and the sheer brilliance and wizardry on 1999.

A new wave funk touchstone. A classic. THere isno file ron this album. GO listen to R&B and funk right after release of this album and see how many times it was bitten by others. Let's WOrk and DO Me Baby alone are resoonsible for about half of what you hear from black funk/rock artists in the early 80s. Truly one of his underrated classics and vintage Prince.

I'll try and rate the album

Controversy 10/10

Sexuality 8/10

Do Me Baby 10/10

Private Joy 10/10

Ronnie talk to russia - 5/10

Let's Work- 9/10

Annie Christian- 7/10

Jack U Off- 7/10

Total 8.25 out of 10

I love the Controversy album.

Ronie Talk 2 Russia is a great track with some great guitaring on it.

I would have loved to have heard the original Tick Tick Bang on Controversy IMHO it would have fit perfectly.

muirdo said:

I love the Controversy album.

Ronie Talk 2 Russia is a great track with some great guitaring on it.

I would have loved to have heard the original Tick Tick Bang on Controversy IMHO it would have fit perfectly.

I agree, Tick Tick Bang would have worked on Dirty Mind or Controversy, has that similar wild new wave feel of Sexuality

Again mixing the music of The Time & Controversy to get a good feel of his direction always works, + any other outtakes

NouveauDance said:

Spinlight said:

Can someone really question if "Sister" is a better track than "Ronnie Talk To Russia"?

These are my two all-time favourite P. tracks!

I think sometimes they get called filler because they're punkish/new wave rather than funky, and lyrically both cover individual ground at the time for Prince.

Oh I am so with you there...

And Jack U Off is definitely NOT filler to me!

I love this album so much. It's one that I don't listen to a lot but I'm really glad it's there.

I love the vibe on this album. It's so relaxed, chilled and Prince sounds like he's barely trying at all.

Yep someone else summed it up when they said vintage Prince.. It doesn't get much better than this...

NouveauDance said:

Spinlight said:

Can someone really question if "Sister" is a better track than "Ronnie Talk To Russia"?

These are my two all-time favourite P. tracks!

I think sometimes they get called filler because they're punkish/new wave rather than funky, and lyrically both cover individual ground at the time for Prince.

"Sister" ain't bad, it's one of the only ones I will seek out to listen to here and there. "Ronnie", though, seems to go completely over most people's heads.

Controversy - I think this is one of the "many" best tracks ever made. Just perfect from every angle. The live versions are so much funkier than the album version though. The French live performance in 2009/10 (?) was brilliant. Love the bass, it's gorgeous!

Sexuality - Another 10/10 Sure fire way to jack up your mind, body and soul.

Do me baby - Love this one. Perfect gem though listen to it in a certain playlist, not from the cd.

Private Joy - is a funky, happy track guaranteed to put you in a good mood.

Ronnie talk to Russie - the beginning sounds like chaos. A short track but not one I listen to it. It could be a version of "Michael row your boat ashore" same kind of repeated verse.

Let's work - Nice bass. I don't really listen to this track much. Is it the one he plays a lot in recent concerts? It lacks a strong introduction, meaty core and lyrics seem predictable.

Annie Christian - Rap. Repetitive Agonising Production

Jack you off - Nice vocals and melody, funny typical old Prince lyrics. I wonder what it would sound like today, just as an instrumental with more bass.

Annie Christian is unfairy getting lumped as throwaway with Ronnie IMO. It's an interesting experimental track which lays the foundations for many of the meandering soundscapes on 1999.

The whole album is funky and amazing!

The politics may be a bit dated nowadays but the meanings and music is forever TIMELESS!

That is why Prince's music is (and always will be) the best

It was my first so I don't think I can rate it fairly. Those first few albums are amazing.

My favorite Prince album. However, I can't lie, the first 4 songs are a step above the next four (although let's work is mah jam!). Sometimes I get the feeling that Controversy isn't shat on because it's between Dirty Mind and 1999, but it's more of a comparison between the more juvenile early MPLS sound period vs. the maturity and scope of the 86-88 years. We compare the songwriting of songs like Ronnie Talk to Russia and Annie Christian to more complex songs found on Parade and SOTT and deem them immature and "throwaway."

ROCK & SOUL * APRIL 1986

THE PRINCE INTERVIEW
Mr. Purple Discusses His Movies, His Music, His Musicians
And More, More, More.

By Michael Shore

A lot of observers have remarked on your apparent need for control, and only with your two most recent albums, you gave credit to your band for composing, arranging and performing. It seems to us, from what we know of your personal background, that the need for control arose from your childhood and early teen years when you had a total lack of control over your life and were shuttled from home to home. Is this the case? If not, how does the need for control and/or your current, more open stance relate to your music?

I was horrible. To be perfectly honest, I was surrounded by my friends, but nevertheless, we had a difference of opinion in a lot of situations -- musically speaking, that is. A lot had to do with me not being quite sure exactly which direction I wanted to go in. Later on toward the Controversy period, I got a better grip on that. That's when we started to see more and more people participating in recording activities. Boom.

Ronnie Talk to Russia and Annie Christian are taking a beating here. I guess it is so if looked at from today. But at the time, in context, they made a lot more sense. The tittle of the album is CONTROVERSY. At that time we were dealing with The Cold War, Atlanta child murders, prayer in schools, the end of the sexual revolution, military advisors in Central America and many other things that were addressed on the album. Grab a newspaper from 1979 through 1981 and give it another listen. It is a protest album in the finest tradition of Marvin Gaye's Whats Going On.

KemiVA said:

Can't believe "Controversy" is 30 years old! I feel ancient.

Why would you feel anicent, you're not 150 years old.

thedance said:

If Ronnie Talk To Russia wasn't included, this album would be perfect.

Controversy, great sound and brilliant songs especially side 1 of the vinyl

THIS^!!!

leonche64 said:

Ronnie Talk to Russia and Annie Christian are taking a beating here. I guess it is so if looked at from today. But at the time, in context, they made a lot more sense. The tittle of the album is CONTROVERSY. At that time we were dealing with The Cold War, Atlanta child murders, prayer in schools, the end of the sexual revolution, military advisors in Central America and many other things that were addressed on the album. Grab a newspaper from 1979 through 1981 and give it another listen. It is a protest album in the finest tradition of Marvin Gaye's Whats Going On.

Good points and arguments, but I just don't really like Ronnie and Annie, they are just not as great as the rest of the gems on this album.

Adorecream said:

Good points and arguments, but I just don't really like Ronnie and Annie, they are just not as great as the rest of the gems on this album.

Pah!

Adorecream said:

Good points and arguments, but I just don't really like Ronnie and Annie, they are just not as great as the rest of the gems on this album.

Annie Christian if understood from it's New Wave foundation, is a very good song.

And it's as dangerous as his cover picture looked.

I've always had a 'I love this album', 'This album is weird' vibe back when I first heard this album and now. Controversy is one of P's most eclectic albums with a hybrid of Funk, Rock N' Roll, Alternative / New Wave appeal. I remember back in the day when this album dropped I considered myself Chicago Preppy with my straight leg jeans, penny loafers and short round afro. When I listen to this album now, I think he's saying somethin' but, what ... LoL

TonyVanDam said:

thedance said:

If Ronnie Talk To Russia wasn't included, this album would be perfect.

Controversy, great sound and brilliant songs especially side 1 of the vinyl

THIS^!!!

"Ronnie" isn't even 2 minutes long and some people still don't want it on the album! I like how it starts from the guitar solo at the end of "Private Joy" and then just ends with an exlplosion and goes right into "Let's Work". "Ronnie" wasn't meant to be a radio single, but I think it fits as an album track.

CONTROVERSY

This is the album that introduced me to Prince. I was 8 years old and watching tv when I say this video clip for a song called Sexuality. I was drawn by the beat and groove of the track and the next week went out and bought my first 7” record.

A few weeks later I saved my pocket money to buy the album, and so began my own private purple experience.

I can still recall getting home with the album in my hands and rushing to put the headphones on and drop the needle. And out came the opening to CONTROVERSY. From the first jolting synth stab to the final rip I was hooked. That relentless beat and bubbling synth that seemed to be ready to boil lead me into the track with its crawling synth bass line and what would become classic Prince funk guitar riff. Lyrically it was all about the rumours swirling around Prince at the time, and they holds strong to the distorted notion many still have about him to this day. Boldly he lays them out, straight, gay, black white? But rather than confirming of dismissing he just lets them hang maybe knowing all to well the power wasn’t in the truth but in the mystique. The chorus just lifts you with the progression of chords and then drops you back in the funk soup. Although it feels sparse in comparison to later releases, the music is littered with little aural hooks, a double guitar riff here, a synth blip there.

Now dig if you will a picture of an 8-year-old kid hearing the Lord’s Payer in a song, and then a moment later lines like “I wish we all were nude”. It was more than this little brain to handle. I didn’t know what it all meant, but I knew it was better than a lot of the other music I was hearing. Today the dichotomy seems more obvious with the spiritual and sexual meeting more to expose the duality of Prince much like the questions of the verses do. And is this the first time we hear that Princely scream?

Not a breath is taken between the end of Controversy and the relentless grove of SEXUALITY pounds in your ears. The songs raw energy and pace is almost like the song is trying to outrun the groove of the record. This song will always take me back to being that little kid flipping out on the sound of a musician in their element. Again all the soon to be Prince trademarks were there lyrically and sonically – the pop clap, the funky guitar riff, the layered beat, the haunting backing vocal stabs, To this day the song sound fresh and is close to perfect.

Now as a kid not only did I not get DO ME BABY lyrically, but I also just didn’t gravitate to it as a song. Over time I have come to appreciate it’s arrangement and recognise it now as a truer Prince ballad than previous albums. Listening now you can almost here a hint of Adore in there. Here is someone learning quickly how to craft a ballad that doesn’t stray into being overly smaltchy and even gives us a glimpse of how explicit (or erotic depending on your point of view) he can get with the drawn out orgasmic climax.

PRIVATE JOY was also a song that didn’t overly grab me. It seemed too bubblegum pop with it’s bouncing beat and synth line. It was too bright musically, maybe a deliberate ploy to let the suggestive lyrics get by. And while I don’t rate it as one of his best songs, I can’t deny my toe is tapping right now, so maybe he has won this one. (oh and it’s interesting to hear this track and the obvious influence it had on Ready For The World’s “digital display”.)

Going from happy pop to the nuclear war fearing apocalypse rocker of RONNIE, TALK TO RUSSIA. Whilst taking on a stronger political viewpoint on this album and voicing the fear that many had the song can’t help but sound dated now. This fear of a nuclear doom is revisited more convincingly on 1999.

And just when the paranoia seems overbearing Prince pulls out the funk on LET’S WORK. Now, years later in a fortunate meet and greet Prince told a group of us how this was the start of his frustration with the way record labels were run. As he tells it, Let’s Work was originally entitled Let’s Rock and inspired by a dance going around at the time called The Rock. Writing what he though was a topical hit, he wanted Warner’s to release it, but they were worried about flooding the marking with something new from Prince while Dirty Mind was still out there. So instead of throwing the track away, he just reworked it into the classic we have right now. This again is an instant classic, that bass line just reeks of funk, and those sliding synth stabs just create this irresistible mix that you can’t stand still to. As a kid I remember thinking it was so strong and just filled with cool. The track swaggers and knows it’s the joint.

For ANNIE CHRISTIAN we hear for the first time a stronger reliance on a drum machine and synth leads, and Prince exploring how he can record his vocals to create a sparser feel. We also see lyrical Prince’s love of playing with names to describe the person (Annie Christian = Anti-Christian). Now lyrically there is a fear expressed but seems to suffer from a need to rhyme more than to explore a story, and what was all that about living his life in taxi cabs? Musically though it points us to 1999’s something in the water and automatic.

And always one to not make it too heavy, Prince follows up with JACK U OFF (the first appearance of Prince shorthand) with its rockabilly vibe. Now as an 8 year old I had no idea what he was singing. To me sounded more like I’M A JAGUAR. And revisiting the song later as a teen hearing him say jack u off the penny dropped. And as if closing the album with a deliberate bit of controversy he doesn’t alter the phrase to make it more heterosexual, but lets it just play around in the mystique that was the whole Prince gay/straight persona.

When the needle finally came to rest I placed it back on side one and listened to my favourite cuts. Listening again years later, some have weathered the passing of time considerably well, while others seem a little more dated and throwaway, but it all an album that is possibly a truer reflection of an artist finding his voice at the right time.

Swa