"Jack U Off" is glorious in it's own way. The first thing that I realized upon discovering this song, is how much "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" sounds like this tune. From the beat, to the singing voice, to the melody, here was Prince tapping into his future sound.

bleutuna said:

'Can't Stop' is originally from 1982. He was doing a lot of those 'Rockabilly' type tracks through this period (Jack U Off, Delirious, Horny Toad, No Call U, etc, etc), so I see the connection you make.

Nice write-up too, I don't agree with everything, but it was an interesting read - these are two of my favourite P. albums, especially Controversy.

Obviously, I'm a Prince fan, like the rest of us here. But I'll confess to not having all of his albums. Especially his earlier, pre-Purple Rain material. Some of it I've had, and not listened to thoroughly, some of it I have.

Yesterday, I filled in the gaps in my collection and I decided to start listening from the beginning. From "For You" on - in order.

Presently, I'm at 1999 - and that's when I made a discovery, that many here may know alread, but I don't see many people talking about: Prince didn't become Prince until 1999.

Surely, he was Prince. Surely, there were moments of Prince-ness in Dirty Mind or Prince, but it wasn't until Controversy did I begin to see the seeds of who Prince would become and, more or less, remain. Before 1999, we're given a couple of glimpses into what we know as the Prince approach to music making - songs like "Do Me, Baby," "So Blue," "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover" in particular.

But the key factor in the fast majority of these songs is Prince's singing voice.

"Ronnie, Talk to Russia" is the *first* Prince song that isn't in the upper-octave, falsetto singing voice. It's sort of amazing to hear this voice - that is *the* Prince voice we all know, suddenly appear.

He falls back into the Funk/Disco fusion with "Let's Talk" but then we get the extremely awkward, extremely interesting "Annie Christian." This isn't a good song in particular. The lyrics are relatively puerile, the whole thing feels like a college cheer. There's no subtlety or nuance to the message or the style, but suddenly, as a fan - you see that Prince isn't happy with the music he's been doing. He's ready to move to the next level, he's ready to change things, and he's got some ideas.

"Jack U Off" is glorious in it's own way. The first thing that I realized upon discovering this song, is how much "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" sounds like this tune. From the beat, to the singing voice, to the melody, here was Prince tapping into his future sound.

As such, it's a great last track to go into 1999.

1999 is the arrival of Prince. The Prince we'd know for the rest of his musical history, up until at least this point. From the first notes of the title track - it's already different than anything he's done before.

The disco is gone. This is a new fusion - punk & new wave. And suddenly, we aren't treated with Prince falsetto. We've got Lisa singing the first words, Dex following her, and then Prince himself. But not the Prince we'd heard for years - this is the Prince singing the way Prince needs to sing. The way Prince would sing to change the world and the face of music.

"Little Red Corvette" is the final nail in the coffin of the old Prince. Even though he'd go back to the falsetto voice on occasion, to great effect on ballads and softer songs, "Little Red Corvette" is slow, powerful, and emotionally driven. It's a slow-churn, and Prince's voice is haunting. He's not trying to shock us any longer with discussion about his sister's panties, or a blatant exclamation of jacking someone else off.

Now he's using nuance. He's using his voice, his music, and his poetry to transcend beyond standard faire overt-sexuality, and enter the realm of seduction. "I'ma try and tame your little red love machine" is far more potent and powerful than "A blowjob doesn't mean blow."

By the time the chorus has kicked in, Prince has arrived. "Little Red Corvette" is the first Prince song. The vocal stylings alone are defined. From his powerful singing voice, to his high falsetto and his low grumble, Prince moves all over the vocal scale and it feels right. This is the birth of the Man. The Artist.

I wish Prince would write a biography. I wish he'd tell us all what he's gone through, how he was thinking about music at this time, how he made these transitions, what helped him change, what was going through his mind. All we can do is speculate, but man, it's fun.

The rest of 1999 is eye-opening. Prince plays with musical styles. "Delirious" continues the slow, bass-heavy thump. "D.M.S.R." is our first Prince-party JAM! Like "Housequake" or "NOW!" or "There will never be another like me."

He continues to play with new sounds, new song-stylings that we'd hear throughout the rest of his career. "Something in the Water" is "My Computer." 15 years early. And with "International Lover" Prince lets all of us know that he can still bring it like he used to, but that things have changed. You'll have to open your mind from now on. He's discovered his voice, and he's going to do things you've never imagined. But he can still give you that old-style disco/funk/falsetto ballad you fell in love with.

This is long, so most of you won't read it. Don't bother wasting time telling me it's too long or you need Cliff's Notes. Just ignore the thread if you don't want to talk about something more than 'What Prince Song Makes You Wanna Poop the Most??'
[Edited 1/8/09 10:55am]

Compelling piece. I must admit that a number of pre-1999 songs are among my favorites. Most of them are sort of disco; I Wanna B Your Lover' Uptown, When U Were Mine. One of those, not quite disco is Still Waiting. That has more of a 70's slow song feel to it. Still, I think there is one early peek into the real Prince from the pre-1999 albums; Soft and Wet. It didn't really fit with For You, but I have trouble deciding where it would fit.

My take on "the importance of Controversy and 1999" is similar to yours but different as well. I agree that Prince seemed to be not into what he was putting out. However, I think it was present throughout the entire disc. Of all of the early albums, I think that Controversy was the weakest. That is not to say that I don't like it; it is still better than a lot of other productions. But the mediocrity of Controversy made 1999 that much better.

Darwintheorgangrinder said:

I think that's due to Controversy being right in the middle. Rarely do you get to see this from a musician - to see basically the evolutionary link between what they were and where they went next. It wasn't a straight up transition, from one album to the next, because Controversy itself is a hybrid.

It's the new, the old, and in some cases, what will be.

There are bits and pieces of Prince before the 1999 album - like I mentioned, with Controversy, there were a good number of elements.

But at 1999 - it's a massive difference. I noticed this more today than before, because I literally listened to the albums in order, and heard the musical progression. Suddenly, at 1999, you say 'wow...there he is.'

i disagree. but not about the importance of these 2 albums. they are two of my faves. but as someone who just recently went back and got For You, i heard inclings of where Prince would go even then. i think on the Prince album he showed us different vocal stylings. Bambi and Why U Wanna Treat Me So Bad aren't Prince falsetto. so to say Little Red Corvette debuted a new singing voice for him is inaccurate. I even think Soft and Wet was quite risque lyrically for its time. It was a sneak preview into Prince too given how women/sex have infused his music. its less "romantic" than the light pop on For You. so i think you see a progression on those albums that was natural and probably aided by changes in music technology, instruments and trends, (kinda like pre and post synthesizer Stevie Wonder) but nothing definitive enuff to say he ARRIVED then.

datdude said:

o_O

He sings in falsetto on BOTH "Bambi" and "Why U Wanna Treat Me So Bad."

Bambi, however, gives a glimpse into the guitar stylings to come. It's extremely hard-rocking.

But there's nothing slow or natural, in the standard sense of evolution, from Dirty Mind to 1999. The two albums sound drastically different. Controversy bridges that gap, which is why it's so odd and interesting.

Vain: I see what you're saying about being a fan since 79, but that's part of the reason it's harder for you to see how sudden it was. I'd just never taken any time to go back and listen to the this stuff in order, with a critical ear.

"1999" and "Little Red Corvette" have far more in common with his music in the 90s and even stuff from 3121 than it does the work from Dirty Mind back. The sounds, tone, feeling, energy, are drastically different.

And you like OLD Prince. I like the old stuff too, but it feels extremely dated, and much of the first 3 albums felt the same. He started experimenting in Dirty Mind, to some degree, but really played with it all with Controversy. And apparently liked what he discovered.
[Edited 1/9/09 10:09am]

MajesticOne89 said:

datdude said:

bleutuna said: