PRINCE

Whether by design or happy coincidence this self-titled album is truer to the artist Prince would become that his debut album. Again this is an album that I didn’t buy until well into my Prince journey, and whilst I knew the singles I wasn’t overly familiar with the other tracks until much later.

I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER is quintessential Prince. It’s all here. An infectious grove, a melodic hook, a passionate vocal, and a beautiful layering of instruments in the production. The way the track builds to the bridge and then takes a decidedly left turn, it almost splits the track into two songs, with the latter being a dirtier funk and the former being a beautiful slice of pop. It’s almost as if Prince looses himself in the new groove and has abandoned the original song.

I remember thinking the first time I heard WHY YOU WANNA TREAT ME SO BAD? Was a little bit try hard, but I can’t deny its appeal, even if it is a little bit play by the numbers.

SEXY DANCER again is a song that almost on first listen says destined to be a classic. The funky bass that underpins the track is creeps up on you by stealth. Once again the track feels more like a party Jam than a fully fleshed out song, and for me that’s the appeal of the track. Every few bars it seems to change its mind on where it’s headed with the final few minutes of the song moving into a joyous Rhodes solo. Prince at his unstructured best.

As a kid I never really got into the Prince ballads, and I can remember skipping WHEN WE’RE DANCING CLOSE AND SLOW when it would play. Once again this feels more like an exploration in an artist finding his way than a fully-fledged song.

The way I felt about WWDSAS carried over to WITH YOU. Again it just seems a little bit generic and maybe more expected as a ballad. Once again I was reaching for the fast forward button, and sad to say I still do.

Thankfully, any concerns about the rest of the album fading off to generic balladeering were knocked out of my head with the opening strains of BAMBI. The song just has this raw passion about it that is echoed in the soaring guitar and vocals that it’s hard not to be drawn in. Major props for Prince for laying down the whole bi-lover vibe on here, something I doubt many artists have tried to tackle, let alone one two records into a career.

Sadly Bambi was followed by STILL WAITING. And again I would just shake my head in dismay and wonder where the promise of the previous track had gone.

And as if to see that I was paying attention Prince pulls out I FEEL FOR YOU. The song still holds up as a favourite (thanks in part to Chaka Kahn’s masterful cover) and just has a happy vibe that seems to leap off the groove and take over your body. Here you can really start to see how accomplished Prince is as a musician, although not overly tricky, the song holds together so perfectly and seems to show someone beginning to understanding the crafting of a perfect piece of pop.

Closing out the album with another ballad, I felt like Prince was just torturing me. Maybe he wanted to be seducer as well as sexual predator. But IT'S GONNA BE LONELY just didn’t grab me and listening now it’s not as saccharine as I recall, and the drum pattern with the tom rolls is a hint to how he would program that classic prince drum machine beat in the future.

This album felt more of a Prince album than the debut, and offered further insight into an artist who was ready to push boundaries and explore.

[Edited 9/14/10 0:57am]

Bump. Nice thread as always.

Surely other's must have opinions on this album.

Beuller Beuller???

No one else has love for Prince?

This and for you are my two least favorite albums of his entire career. Yes in my opinion they are nowhere near as good as the rest of his music. That does not mean I dont like them. I like some of the songs on both of them. They just come across as sort of bland.

More of a Prince album than the debut? What the hell are you talking about?

the basic foundations of Prince's future music

Love the simplicity of it, you hear this music in most of his following 1980's music, real underlying

Love it

PRINCE
Warner Bros.

By Stephen Holden

Not only does Prince possess the most thrilling R&B falsetto since Smokey Robinson, but this nineteen-year-old. Minneapolis-bred Wunderkind is his own writer-producer and one-man band, playing synthesizer, guitar, drums and percussion. Whereas Prince's debut album (last year's For You) stressed his instrumental virtuosity, Prince teems with hooks that echo everyone from the Temptations to Jimi Hendrix to Todd Rundgren. But Smokey Robinson's classic Motown hits, in which the singer's falsetto signified his erotic thrall, are Prince's chief models.

The biggest difference between Robinson and Prince is the latter's blatant sexuality. Prince sings exclusively in falsetto. Instead of narrative ballads that trace the progress of relationships, Prince's songs are erotic declarations issued on the dance floor or in bed, virtually interchangeable arenas here. These compositions begin and end in sexual heat. The garish, synthesized textures of such tunes as "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" don't so much imitate a band backing a singer as enclose his voice in a feverish calliope of the mind, underscoring the urgency of lyrics like "I wanna be the only one you come for," "Sexy dancer, when you rub my body/...it gets me so hot" and "I want to come inside of you." The simplicity of Prince's words, hooks and rhythms are pure pop. With a trace more sophistication, he could become a solo Bee Gees of the libido.

ROLLING STONE

January 26. 1980
American Bandstand w Dick Clark:
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?





Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?

There's some talk going 'round town
That U really don't give a damn
They say U really put me down
When I'm doing the best I can
I gave U all of my love
I even gave U my body
Tell me baby, ain't that enough?
What more do U want me 2 do?

I play the fool when we're 2gether
But I cry when we're apart, yeah
I couldn't do U no better
Don't break what's left of my broken heart, baby

CHORUS:
Why U wanna treat me so bad when U know I love U?
How can U do this 2 me when U know I care?
Why U wanna treat me so bad when U know I love U?

U know I try so hard
2 keep U satisfied
Sometimes U play the part
Sometimes U're so full of pride
And if it's still good 2 ya
Why U wanna treat me so bad?
U used 2 love it when I'd do ya
U used 2 say I was the best U'd ever had

I play the fool when we're 2gether
I give U everything I can, yeah
And if it's still good 2 ya
There's just somethin' that I can't understand

CHORUS

© 1979 Ecnirp Music Inc. - BMI

Prince & camp at the ROXY

it's cool to see pictures of the people that you read about during those times with Prince

I totally was pulling from previous eras with his Lovesexy look

interesting how he didn't look much different

I really like the album Prince. It is my favourite among the pre-1999 albums.

Funky tunes, great musicianship and also some songs that he chose to keep performing well into his career.

I think it is a great album.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Oh My. I love the um.... balls... of this guy to just POSE like that with a tight ass t-shirt, zebra underwear and legwarmers. I love this dude, seriously!

My fav song on this album is Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad which I think has more to do with the live performances I've seen, rather than the album track itself.

Plus he had great hair during this time. The hot comb/wash and set.

Incredible album!!!!

The only song wich didn't grab me from the start was sexy dancer.
The ballads are thrilling, especially the first of them.

Terrible cover though LOL.

I first listened to this album in late 1984, but then I loved it right from the start. Especially I Wanna Be Your Lover, When We're Dancing Close And Slow and It's Gonna Be Lonely were the tracks that grabbed my attention, and When We're Dancing Close And Slow is one of my most loved favorites of Prince's entire career so far.

This album sits in my collection & rarely gets played, but when i do play it i think, Why don't i play it much? It's not the songs cuz i enjoy listening 2 them, sexxy dancer is my fav, i think because i've got so much material i just don't get around to it. Like not enough hours in the day! Shame,Shame, Shame on me . Actually im goin 2 put it on right NOW!!!!

I so love this album!! It was my first Prince album that I remember seeing in my moms albums and it got played alot when I was a little girl!! All of the songs on this album are worthy and the best and I never skip anything off of the album!! My faves are..I Wanna Be Your Lover, Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad, and Still Waiting. Prince was and still is the man, and hmmmm, the man was BEAUTIFUL!!!!

jaybendy said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Oh My. I love the um.... balls... of this guy to just POSE like that with a tight ass t-shirt, zebra underwear and legwarmers. I love this dude, seriously! Plus he had great hair during this time.

That's what I just thinking to myself. Prince makes me feel like I can do anything!!! He has such confidence and don't care what folks think! That's really admirable, gotta love him!! He is so darn inspiring!!!!!!!!!

squirrelgrease said:

Bump. Nice thread as always.

he wants to help her to come out from the hell ( Angelika )

and i support it whenever i can.