Dirty Mind?
Black Album?
Lovesexy?
Rainbow Children?
Others?

when i was first starting to get into prince, the one "oooh, this is deep" album i kept going back to was, surprise, surprise, CONTROVERSY.

the sexual ambiguity, the politics, the rants, the vulgarity...there was just so much STUFF going on and it all felt like it was coming at me at breakneck speed and i had to keep up with it.

and the videos - there was such a starkness to them (which i guess was fairly common in videos at that time) but it's kinda like we got a chance to really examine this guy under a microscope for the first time - we got to really study his funny facial twitches and his moves and his stage presence moreso than we were able to in the clips from his previous albums.

dirty mind might have made prince "dangerous", but i think controversy put a context to his whole sense of taboo. it was like a manifesto. "yes, i'm a freak, and now let me explain why."

i loved it. still do.
[Edited 1/12/07 19:21pm]

I see what you mean Anx but while I definately agree that Controversy became the prototype of classic Prince, I just don't feel as though it's as (ironically enough) controvercial as other projects, I'm still undecided as to which album though.

I think Dirty Mind (mainly because of Sister), or The Rainbow Children.

coolcat said:

I agree, it's out of that one or Controversy
upon first listen of both albums
both "Sister" and the album version of "Do Me, Baby"
had my ears glued to the speaker with the volume way low

then maybe Purple Rain because
of the whole "Darlin' Nikki" thing
I remember that being a BIG deal

then of course the album cover
for Lovesexy alone, stirred the masses up

wow...

I really can't pick

sitruk7 said:

Great List!

Honerable mention goes to alblum for it's subject matter.

unclenick1871 said:

Thank you.

News and Choas & Disorder are pretty controversial among some Prince fans.

Dirty Mind or The Rainbow Children

...both for different reasons, but they both stirred some shit up when they were released, one of them still does even now.

sitruk7 said:

well, maybe lyric for lyric it's not as controversial, but putting the lyrics and the sounds together with the way his image had evolved at that time (still kinda rough and raw, but getting closer to the 'archetypal' prince of fame and fortune), i think it was a really polarizing/fascinating/challenging point in his evolution. in its own way, i think the total sum of what he did with 'controversy' was more provocative than the nastiest stuff on 'dirty mind'.

That is such a complex question because Prince has always been notorious and talented. So, 1999, Around The World In A Day, and Dirty Mind would have to be three of his most controversial.

1999 because of much of the album's apocalyptic, frank, paranoid and freaky nature.

Dirty Mind because the title says it all- it's just dirty, steamy and raw.

Around The World In A Day because although it was such a eagerly anticipated and creative effort, it still alienated much of the fanbase he established with albums like 1999, Purple Rain, and Dirty Mind. That was because of its glossy, psychedelic sounds. And its songs Temptation (Prince arguing with God and confessing to "be good".) and Pop Life (Prince capturing the negatives of the celebrity lifestyle such as drugs, depression, and paranoia).

Dirty Mind.

a man wearing bikini underwear and legwarms singing about "head"....


nuff said.

Chaos And Disorder because it's basically an album-length Fuck You to the record industry.

Anx said:

Interesting and good point.

Rhondab said:

Can't really argue that,huh?

r1ghteousone said:

These are what I'm leaning towards for those very reasons.

The Rainbow Children-because people just couldn't accept that Prince had done a spiritual Cd.

Lovesexy,4 the cover alone!

sexxydancer said:

Very true

Se7en said: