Harlepolis said:

The album was released only two weeks after my birth

What can I say about the 1999 era? Incredibly 80s as it was, take everything from the outtakes, to the survived triple threat tour soundboards, to the side projects, to the b-sides, to the albums itself, and you're bound to hear a song that don't sound dated at 2012.

I loved the arrogant, snarky, mysterious, animated, quirky personality that steeped in to all of the music associated with this era, as far as Prince was concerned. The rejection from the Rolling Stones crowd left him really hungry and filled with a F.U. attitude for daaaaays.

I agree with that, there's something about the felling of this album that is so compelling. A conceptual album. Like, to be honest, most of his 80's albums seem to be - most of them also sustain very particular (and, more importantly, relevant/consistent) concepts/aesthetics. You can really relate one song to the other and to its conjuct, the songs benefited from the conjunct. I couldn't think of a 1999 song in Sign o the times, or a Purple rain song in Lovesexy.

The album's lyrics are of rich imagery, I can really evoke the people called to dance on DMSR, the sex event (I mean the literal one) - Little red corvette, the cab ride with the Lady, the fortuitous flirt of Let's pretend we're married, the deep (but fleeting) hurt feelings of unresolved passions born in this party context (How come u don't call me anymore, Something in the water u drink). All episodes of this big party of adolescent hedonism with a bombastic proclamation on the opening title track.

Not to mention its sound, the Minneapolis sound, with its very particular flirts with pure-James Brown funk (very clear to me in songs like Controversy, 1999 and Dirty mind), its occasional flirts with rockabilly (Delirious, Jack u off), some cynical/lush (take it as you interpret it) feel in the soul infused ballads (Do me baby, International lover) - I think this dicothomic irony feel is very common in the Patti LaBelle records - , the dense timbre of its drum machines and synth lines, the strident guitars, the perfectly crafted pop hooks (think of the anthemic choruses of Little red corvette and 1999). It was a sound style brought to its perfection after some maturing in the Dirty mind and Controversy albums.

It has been brought to perfection to such a degree, that he would not come back directly to this aesthetics except in revival times, like the MPLSound album, for instance, which is strongly infused with this Minneapolis sound. 1999 was the best expression of it. And is a music pattern to this very day, like many of you said. Immediately after this, he would explore different territories and come with sequential strong concept albums (until the considerably weaker Grafitti bridge broke this sequence).

I just wanna do justice to Something in the water (does not compute). There's such a tension in its (instrumental, vocal and lyrical) crescendo, in its theme of a rejected desire (purelly carnal desire), and in its mixture of a turbulence of moods (desire, rejection, despise, servil love, humiliation, arrogance), still a mixture that is is very inaprehensible in its whole (which is almost like a literary quality - something he would also achieve, very notoriously, in the lyrical ambiguities of If I was your girlfriend). And also thinking of its instrumentation, the distinguished and prominent use of the drum machine and the synth riff, I think this songs is his closest and the only really relatable to what he would achieve in When doves cry.

[Edited 3/7/12 21:02pm]

[Edited 3/7/12 21:07pm]

I love every note on this fine funk album, amazing..

from start to end.....

My favorite 80s Prince album. Of course, this album would have never been possible without this machine:

[img:$uid]http://www.hollowsun.com/vintage/linn_lm1/lm1.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 3/8/12 8:37am]

runphilrun said:

My favorite 80s Prince album. Of course, this album would have never been possible without this machine:

[img:$uid]http://www.hollowsun.com/vintage/linn_lm1/lm1.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 3/8/12 8:37am]

Up until this point we get an image of Prince's 'ideas and world' but I believe it was the 1999 album and era that painted the picture

This album represented Erotic City & Uptown

we got Prince & the noituloveR the Time & Vanity 6

steamy music, lonely dark troubling music, horni music

wonderful Bsides leather lace steam and neon lights

All the Critics Love U in NY

Let's Pretend We're Married

Little Red Corvette

Automatic

1999

Horny Toad, Irresistable Bitch, How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore

(Prince was inspired by the movie Blade Runner with this era)

When I hear this album I think 'someones bedroom, night time on the street, long dark road 2 a house, a club full of neon lights and smoke a leather dungeon

BrazilianOnRaspberryBeret said:

Harlepolis said:

The album was released only two weeks after my birth

What can I say about the 1999 era? Incredibly 80s as it was, take everything from the outtakes, to the survived triple threat tour soundboards, to the side projects, to the b-sides, to the albums itself, and you're bound to hear a song that don't sound dated at 2012.

I loved the arrogant, snarky, mysterious, animated, quirky personality that steeped in to all of the music associated with this era, as far as Prince was concerned. The rejection from the Rolling Stones crowd left him really hungry and filled with a F.U. attitude for daaaaays.

I agree with that, there's something about the felling of this album that is so compelling. A conceptual album. Like, to be honest, most of his 80's albums seem to be - most of them also sustain very particular (and, more importantly, relevant/consistent) concepts/aesthetics. You can really relate one song to the other and to its conjuct, the songs benefited from the conjunct. I couldn't think of a 1999 song in Sign o the times, or a Purple rain song in Lovesexy.

The album's lyrics are of rich imagery, I can really evoke the people called to dance on DMSR, the sex event (I mean the literal one) - Little red corvette, the cab ride with the Lady, the fortuitous flirt of Let's pretend we're married, the deep (but fleeting) hurt feelings of unresolved passions born in this party context (How come u don't call me anymore, Something in the water u drink). All episodes of this big party of adolescent hedonism with a bombastic proclamation on the opening title track.

Not to mention its sound, the Minneapolis sound, with its very particular flirts with pure-James Brown funk (very clear to me in songs like Controversy, 1999 and Dirty mind), its occasional flirts with rockabilly (Delirious, Jack u off), some cynical/lush (take it as you interpret it) feel in the soul infused ballads (Do me baby, International lover) - I think this dicothomic irony feel is very common in the Patti LaBelle records - , the dense timbre of its drum machines and synth lines, the strident guitars, the perfectly crafted pop hooks (think of the anthemic choruses of Little red corvette and 1999). It was a sound style brought to its perfection after some maturing in the Dirty mind and Controversy albums.

It has been brought to perfection to such a degree, that he would not come back directly to this aesthetics except in revival times, like the MPLSound album, for instance, which is strongly infused with this Minneapolis sound. 1999 was the best expression of it. And is a music pattern to this very day, like many of you said. Immediately after this, he would explore different territories and come with sequential strong concept albums (until the considerably weaker Grafitti bridge broke this sequence).

I just wanna do justice to Something in the water (does not compute). There's such a tension in its (instrumental, vocal and lyrical) crescendo, in its theme of a rejected desire (purelly carnal desire), and in its mixture of a turbulence of moods (desire, rejection, despise, servil love, humiliation, arrogance), still a mixture that is is very inaprehensible in its whole (which is almost like a literary quality - something he would also achieve, very notoriously, in the lyrical ambiguities of If I was your girlfriend). And also thinking of its instrumentation, the distinguished and prominent use of the drum machine and the synth riff, I think this songs is his closest and the only really relatable to what he would achieve in When doves cry.

[Edited 3/7/12 21:02pm]

[Edited 3/7/12 21:07pm]

Well put my friend. My only problem with Prince's war with warner bros, was knowing that no other label would have given him that much freedom and time to come up with 1999. We have to remember this was his 5th album.

This is for me THE quintessential Prince - all the hallmarks of what I associate with Prince came together during this period: rude boy, glam funk-rock star with an attitude and fire in his belly to destroy the competition! IMO, his best look too before descending into OTT farce in PR.

CrabalockerFishwife said:

LifeCanBeSoNice21 said:

I love [...] All The Critics Love U in New York

glad that someone else considers this song a highlight. Whenever people talk about worst 80s songs, this one always gets mentioned; but it's one of my top 5 all time favorite Prince songs.

This song title is my yearbook quote!

This album after Controversy and with the Time and Vanity 6 albums solidified me going

to HARDCORE fandum.

Ramzoo said:

CrabalockerFishwife said:

It is a great album, and I doubt you'll find many people here who disagree. My favorite songs are "Lady Cab Driver", "All The Critics Love U In New York" and "Little Red Corvette".

However, I'm not really a fan of.. "Something In The Water" or "International Lover". I would've preferred "Irresistible Bitch" and "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" in their place.

Something In The Water demo sounds better for me...

I agree. It's more organic and not as cold and mechanical as the album version.