i wanna be your lover, bambi, why u wanna treat me so bad? every slow ballad is beautifully done. prince was only 21 when this came out. a very solid piece of work

A definite fave! I love every song on it!

Totally!!!

I've stated on here SEVERAL times in the past that I personally think this is one of Prince's best albums. As far as songwriting goes, it's very consistent. It's very cohesive as well. Prince wasn't really trying to showcase his "style" here. He saved that for Dirty Mind. Here is just a cool batch of songs that flowed well together all the while showcasing that he can rock as well as croon.

This album is No. 10 on my Top Ten Prince album list.

This is a very good album and showcases what is to come from Prince.

1. Crystal Ball
2. SOTT
3. Emancipation (Only because there is a mass of material. It's about 50/50)
4. Purple Rain
5. New Power Soul (yeah I know 99% disagree- so what. My list)
7. Parade
8. Graffiti Bridge
9. Dirty Mind
10.Prince (sorry P, I know and understand how you feel about this one but . . )
[Edited 6/25/08 12:54pm]

I think its an impressive, and fairly consistent album for such a young artist.

On the other hand, it lacks the 'character' and own style and vision he brought at first with the Dirty Mind album.

Somehow The Prince album reminds me a lot of the Diamonds and Pearls album.

Prince has said in interviews that he wanted to make a 'hit-album' with 'Prince', because he had spent way too much (perfectionist) time and budget on his debut-album.
Without really 'selling out' he delivers a bunch of well composed, rather traditional / conservative sounding, but nonetheless enjoyable songs on the album.

The same goes for Diamonds and Pearls. Prince did went off the commercial radar (especially in the USA) with Lovesexy and the Graffiti-Bridge project (album and movie).
Diamonds and Pearls sounds as a deliberate attempt to write and produce less 'difficult' and more 'straightforward' material. With that it misses the stylistic and 'sonic' experiments of the albums that came before it, but on the other hand: songs like the title track, Cream and Money don't matter tonight, show he can be also quite great when it comes to more traditional songwriting and arrangements.
[Edited 6/25/08 13:42pm]

"Bambi" is a great track - a real eyeopener next to the other tracks on the album, which to me sound more traditional - poppy, r and b, disco, very "with" the times. Bambi was a great way to show fans what was to come - the dirty rock sound and groundbreaking themes he would showcase on Dirty Mind and the guitar virtuoso skills he would tap into for Purple Rain and 1999.

blackguitaristz said:

Word.

rusty1 said:

Pure garbage, badly produced

For you is much better...

krayzie said:

I love FOR YOU a lot more than PRINCE.

What's up Brutha B? I love this LP. Hearing the long versions of "Lover" and "Sexy Dancer" on the radio back then was unreal. P was slick enough to have his sound blend in with everything that was happening (musically) at that time, but it still sounded different.

Patrice Rushen (who played uncredited on the LP) was supposedly the inspiration behind "I Wanna Be Your Lover"...(or was it "I Feel For You"?). I think P was the 1st artist I ever heard use synths as "horns".

I love everything about this album. From the cover to the songs to the subsequent videos. it is an underrated masterpiece. I just wanna Kiss Prince everytime I play It's Gonna Be Lonely. It's my JAM.

SUPRMAN said:

What about When We're Dancing Close and Slow...isn't that song from this album, or is that bum info?

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

me too . at least every song on that album is tight, unlike prince which has two or three to put a brother to sleep!
[Edited 6/25/08 23:11pm]

Twinkly1 said:

Blondie,
That is not the album track list. Those are Prince album titles.
But yes, you are correct. 'When We're Dancing Close and Slow' is on the Prince album.

SPYZFAN1 said:

What's up player? Actually he wrote I Wanna Be Your Lover and I Feel For You both for Patrice for her to do and she turned them down. So he was like "Oh well...fuck it. I'll do them myself." Funny how things turn out. I'm glad he did them.

SUPRMAN said:

it's been in my top 3 favs for more than a decade now
love the vibe of the whole album

I pretty much throw rose petals all over Prince's nude body in my mind, no matter what the record iz.

guarinigirl2000 said:

Totally agree! It's one of those albums I could listen 2 over and over again. I never grow tired of it. And I love the cover too.

And I was born in 1979!