I know we've had some anniversary threads throughout the year but today is the actual birthday. So here's my review from a few years ago in celebration of the only Prince album that matters.

BTW, who the hell is Vashti? lol

1999 For The Muthafuckas

I wrote this in my "the freak" days on AMP while getting sexy with red wine (so Im cleared of all lawsuits of being weird and mispellings heh) back in 2001 so its old, but I still stand by what I wrote. I wrote it because folks were talking shit about 1999 and not respecting it back then. But its all about the velvet sweat for days.

Word is goin around that fools are disrespecting the album 1999 by Prince .Parade heads and SOTT people are so blinded. Sure SOTT was a pinnacle and Parade was just other people and THEIR influence..but 1999 was the sound of one man jerking off. Or one wunderkiind genius pervert new leader in his own private studio xanadu stroking himself. And everyone knows that your own person knows exactly how to get yourself off. U can have the most primo puzzy in front of you and tear that shit up and have a sammich after..you can have the hunkiest construction worker and do that deed..but everybody knows when they are all alone and get their mastabatory pleasure that all the right spots are fulfilled efficiently and its take no prisoners. And that's what 1999 is...it starts with---

1999---rips of Monday Monday melody but takes it to a synth fried guitar laden level..nothing made like this then or since. Futuristic sounding ..opening ominus voice telling you that this Prince guy is going to take you "THERE" so don't worry. It wont hurt..but u betta hang the fuck on and then the synths and cymbals hit, then the solid groove. Chicks singing, altered voice and Prince singing out of falsetto..goes on with some intense imagery, lions in pockets, destruction, and something about the year 2000 being out of time and dancin like its the end. Ultimate party song with chicken scratch, and a coda rave-up. War is all around us so the mind says prepare to fight. The ultimate host saying "if u didnt come to party then dont bother..." and "we're runnin out of time, everybody got a bomb we could all die any day". Forboding set to funk. Unprecidented to this day. Then the coda as mentioned..all kinds of mugs singing "Party!!"--we could all die anyday...then it sizzles down to a simple drum and guitar lick after the orgasm proceeding to the seemingly afterglow and soothing synths of..

Little Red Corvette-beautiful synths--simple yet they "sound" like actual velvet. Then the way he says "sideways" sounds like he stressed the syllable wrong on purpose..sideways. Ha! Then the cheesy factor of organ keys etc but a chorus that allows one to sing it loud and handclaps!handclaps! It was Saturday night--have u got enough gas? pocket fulll of horses? My god! This is sexual genius! The ultimate woman as a car metaphor song...fuck Pink Cadillac and Trampled Underfoot ( well maybe not Trampled),but the imagery is jammin. Then the chick isnt just a corvette--her shit is so good...it is sooo good that she isnt just a got-damn car, she's a mu-fuggin Limousine! A Limo! "girl u got an ass like Ive never seen"-who the fuck says that on wax!? A cornucopia of musical elements and ideas all meshed into one beautiful rock synth hybrid and Lisa singin "ride to the ground" at the end.Then...

Delirious-in concert real rock-a-billy sounding. Here on wax it sounds new wave. The into drum leads to the cheese organ or whatever --sounds like a rubber ducky synth. Prince singing in deep voice trying to be Elvis..yeah thats right he tries to be Elvis in this one. Talks about a woman drivin him to delerium. Take him for a little ride up and down in n out around HER LAKE---what a metaphor for down there where it counts! Then the ending with a baby coo-ing! Ha! Prince is in his essence..use what ya got--put it all in there. Its your world..then...

Lets Pretend Were Married-now who''s ol' skool hasn't used this line when they were undressing gettin ready to do the dirty deed. Um let's see--tongiht lets pretend were married..in other words lets fuck with no guilt and like we are in love n together. Crude but it works. Opening drum and the Linn trademark "CAK" sound. I love that! Begins to pulsate and Prince singing low again talking to a chick. Then the ooh we sha shah coo coo yeah--just like Michael said mamasaymmasaymaacoocoosa in Wanna Be Startin Something--how odd they both came out at the same time. Negros were in a zone or sumfin back then. But Prince saying excuse me I need a mouth like yours and the synths to the fore and just drums it seems..and in the middle a "smackk-kisss ugh!" and Prince beggin with the beat still pulsing makes it seem like one big stroke session then Prince finally lets lose and does that scream ..and then says lets pretend were married and boom!...just da drums, just da drums..and the long version ending with the coda of Prince declaring who and what he is with an out there declaration. This isn't your fathers soul record. This Prince cat is on some out there level..tellin the hippies to sing ..and he is a hippy--he has that sensibility of love not war etc..and the salicious pre Nikki lets ball talk and the ultimate "I wanna fuck u so bad it hurts..look Marsha..I'm not sayin this to be nasty.." etc. When he says I wanna fuck u that one synth goes "rrwwrerrt" like its crying lol...also sounds like Wheelie from Wheelie and The Bunch cartoon. Then you have

DMSR---ok- The funk--the beat--the synth--the wanton abandon of everything having a fit..him pronouncing his kingdom of The Time and Vanity 6...the guitar causing blisters...sort of a slow grind type of song..you can strip to this..you can funk to this--you can love to this..the call and response of "ooo -alright" and Prince teachin people how to clap. Right after the "all the white people clap your hands on the 4 now" part comes this one synth part that belongs on The Times first album...then comes...

Free--the prototype for the song Purple Rain. Moonbeam Levels first cousin. Gentle piano, basic verse chorus verse structure but starting with the army marching...chrous utilizing dirty guitar then back to piano only for chorus..Prince talking hippy talk about freedom with soul. Then the coda ending with everyone singing Free and Prince gettin down like Jimi on the vocals..when he says "free to change my mind" that one synth part that cries comes up that belongs on Vanit y6 album and guitar finishing up to a drumbeat with a little guitar scaled ending and the pre Purple Rain like piano just doodling...then..

Automatic--hmmm. Linn drums, cheese synths that takes off on a flight. Prince singing in stressed proper voice. This isn't music its a trip..for real. Synth and drumbeat. Dramatic phrasing and the girls screaming "hey!!"--then the sex s&m scene..and chicks talkin about torturingyo u now. Swirling all around with the synths and percussion and the singing getting all rushed--like your pumping and pumping. Prince singing about he will go down on u all night long and Lisa sayin "u will" "yes I will baaabe"..and the girls come with bondage and ' heys' being screamed with the drums still steady and more pressured singing "alright! alright!" and the girls starting to cry til u get dizzy and then boom..just the drums and the robotic girls singing automatic. Torture scene and the ending taking off to the stratosphere and drop...then...

Something Does Not Compute--pow! Drums pushing you out of the way immediately after the carnal afterglow of the romp of Automatic. Then Prince talking about his great legs(thanks!) and an ominus low synth over a nerdy computer synth...then about it not computing..talkin love/shit about a woman.."bitch..u think your special" and he states "so do I." What a sweet way to put it lol. How it must be something in the water for all the bullshit that woman give him..then the vocals get kind a wild in the middle with Prince just releasing the most uninhibited screams and howls..primal scream like a muthafucka...and the part where it stops and "I gotta get to ya baby"--and he also says "bitch! u think yur special? well so do I!" ( I got in trouble for that once) sounds like its all done in a sterile jar or sterilized pressurized room..and ending again after the coda orgasm to a whisper of him saying in all exasperated after came breath.."I do love u..I do.."..then we have..

Lady Cab Driver--this is Prince funk--Pop Life precurser..this is what his terminology of funk is--live drumming mixed with the Linn, the beat, him screamin for a taxi to pick his black ass up and minimilist instrumentation. Drums, and bass and the falsetto..talkin to the lady who's driving about escape..then the middle where he has a rape-sex-love scene in the back seat where each thrust is for the atrocities of the world (tourists at Disneyland) and then the thrusts are then for sweet things like the stars the moon and for her--the cab driver.. that's who one is for..for women who are complex, love without sex etc and ends with them at the beach, u can hear the sea-gulls..then the good part really comes..u get these bells ringing,flute synth dooing jazzy stuff, this extended part and ...and a big azzed battle between synth and geetar!! I play this air style..a big battle between the two with the guitar screaming for vengeance at the end of the battle..and then this ..this..gurggle? Sounds like something under water or a used condom being removed..then the drum and CHICKEN SCRATCH GUITAR and Time razor synths..and back to the original beginning and it ends with street sounds..the city..then...

All The Critics--new wave, pulse pounding, bass noodlings, Prince speak-singing listlessly..play this one loud! Chorus with cheesy spooky synths allto the same "wicka wocka" synth and beat..monotous but like trance..trance...a get high song..a zone song..and every now and then a guitar line comes on and Prince talking about jazz dying with geetar screaming in the back..."body dont wanna quit-gotta get another hit"..more wicka wocka zone trance...then he yells out "what are u lookin at punk!?" and his testament that all the hippies arent as sharp as him and "aint about the sexuality-turn it up!"..more circus music synths and him as a cop speaking into a handset that "he's defintiely masturbating" lol and it all ends with weird synths, the voice, background heavy metal geetar to and edit and stop..and then..

International Lover--cheesy organ synth but in the background some pop bass and a doo wop piano beat that u can barely make out. Then his falsetto real real high ..a slow lounge beat..Prince doo woppin old fashioned sigin that he's going to take a girl on a date..but they are goinga go on a plane instead of drivin because he loves internationally..the chorus and the doo wop begins...then Prince promising he wont fly to fast and screaming a hoot as release and him screaming the rest right before the coda long extended has P getting the woman ready as if in flight--seat cushions used for floatation devices, no
smoking signs, and Princes' seduction. In Do Me Baby he was in a room and all shy etc...here Prince has grown up and become a man of the world and "knows" how to take her there. This mufucka is a trip. Ends with the landiing of the plane, the orgasm, no time for afterglow like on Do Me Baby..he makes the final approach and she puts her legs in the up and locked position for..landing lol with Prince SCREAMING in ecstasy lol...and after he hums and the synths slowing and the drums crashing to an end and the piano and synth noodling and Prince letting her off at the airport gate with a thanks. Prince tellin you next time u fly, fly Prince lol--in other words, next time u fuck, fuck me!..

His deep voice box vocoder started here on 1999 and he used it as Bob George,God in Temptation , on TRC etc...he first did his dramatic ending talks on Intl Lover here, and Temptation etc...and yes some songs go on for a while..but in 82 that was the thing. Extended play for extended dancing.."you can sing and dance cant you?"..so it isn't a bother to some. But to disrespect 1999 like that is some bullshit. If it wasn't for 1999, P wouldn't have realized all what he had at the tip of his hands..the world. He had sex with a woman on wax! He realized it with 1999 and wrecked shit and decided that he could do this and take it on the road, then he could make a movie after this. This was what made Purple Rain. He had reached the apex with 1999,he conquered. Wasn't shit left to do BUT to go Hollywood and change the script for something else. Respect 1999 please. Or it will kick your ass.

Classic album.

Damn I'm old.

I remember many things from my youth and one moment in particular involved this album. I was ten and had my little box with this cassette playing and my friends and I were waiting for the bus home. As a kid I should have known better that to play the music while on the bus but the driver was cool with it and it was not a long ride anyway, all of the passengers got to hear D.M.S.R before my stop to get off. A classic album if there ever was one, career defining calm before the obvious storm to come.

Wow, that's a long write up. Here let me make you an abridged version: I love the album.

Aside from the fact that I'm a Prince fan, I'm a music fan. And, as a music fan, I strongly feel that 1999 must be in the most select list of the essential albums ANY music lover MUST have.

happy 30th anniversary to prince's small of his back and set of paints

The awesomeness of the music is forever in my soul and the beauty of this image

[img:$uid]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e70/SexyBeautifulOne/Prince%20Gifs/tumblr_ma0jkp7MBK1qeecewo2_1280.jpg[/img:$uid]

is forever in my brain.

timeless, fearless, genius.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

The awesomeness of the music is forever in my soul and the beauty of this image

[img:$uid]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e70/SexyBeautifulOne/Prince%20Gifs/tumblr_ma0jkp7MBK1qeecewo2_1280.jpg[/img:$uid]

is forever in my brain.

eeeeeeee!!!! Truly "The Artist"

littlemissG said:

Damn I'm old.

Still no remaster

It sounds like it's 60 years old. Great jams, though.

alphastreet said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

The awesomeness of the music is forever in my soul and the beauty of this image

[img:$uid]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e70/SexyBeautifulOne/Prince%20Gifs/tumblr_ma0jkp7MBK1qeecewo2_1280.jpg[/img:$uid]

is forever in my brain.

eeeeeeee!!!! Truly "The Artist"

^The picture that caused some confusion in my male teenage brain............If you know what i mean ?

As far as 1999. I was never the same after i heard that album.

alphastreet said:

JoeyC said:

alphastreet said:

eeeeeeee!!!! Truly "The Artist"

^The picture that caused some confusion in my male teenage brain............If you know what i mean ?

As far as 1999. I was never the same after i heard that album.

tell me

BarbieJones said:

alphastreet said:

eeeeeeee!!!! Truly "The Artist"

I fell deeper. [Edited 10/30/12 6:05am]

feels so good I'm gonna cryyyy

Now this is truly something to celebrate!!

Prince's best album

All any Prince fan has to do, is ask themselves 1 question. If there is only 1 Prince album you can take with you to the beyond, which one would it be?

1999 was the second Prince album I got, later it was the first CD I put in my then new CD player. It is the album and era that I always go back to. Unlike SOTT, 1999 is consistent and has aged beautifully. It is also full of depth and complexity, Rainbow Children is in my opinion the only other album that competes in this way.

All in All it is probably Prince's ultimate masterpiece...

Whitnail said:

All any Prince fan has to do, is ask themselves 1 question. If there is only 1 Prince album you can take with you to the beyond, which one would it be?

1999 was the second Prince album I got, later it was the first CD I put in my then new CD player. It is the album and era that I always go back to. Unlike SOTT, 1999 is consistent and has aged beautifully. It is also full of depth and complexity, Rainbow Children is in my opinion the only other album that competes in this way.

All in All it is probably Prince's ultimate masterpiece...

word

its my desrt island prince disc

dated as it is..production needing remastering as it is....this is all one needs to have a complete purple package

Loved that era so much

Whitnail said:

All any Prince fan has to do, is ask themselves 1 question. If there is only 1 Prince album you can take with you to the beyond, which one would it be?

1999 was the second Prince album I got, later it was the first CD I put in my then new CD player. It is the album and era that I always go back to. Unlike SOTT, 1999 is consistent and has aged beautifully. It is also full of depth and complexity, Rainbow Children is in my opinion the only other album that competes in this way.

All in All it is probably Prince's ultimate masterpiece...

I agree partly. I think 1999 was a great concept album, referrening to what you pointed as consistency. 1999 is a hedonistic adolescent party statement, full of episodes regarding this main theme. It amazes me that it evokes so much images of this unified narrative universe, like Purple Rain does (with its a star in the making, Apollonia love affair story), even though there was no movie made or even a vast photografic set for 1999, contrary to Purple Rain.

But I don't think Sign o the times lacked in consistency, comparatively to 1999. It works as a concept album as well, but of a totally different style: I see SOTT as a collage of the many styles Prince could range in his palette, its more a statement of the variety of his artistry. Also, it brings some new edge to what he was primaly known for, for instance sheer funk, in songs like Housequake and It's gonna be a beautiful night, minimal drum-machine synth funk, in songs like It and the title track, and rockabilly, in I could never take the place of your man. And, parallelly, remarkable new sonic, genre-blending experimentations, in songs like The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, Play in the sunshine and If I Was Your Girlfriend.

[Edited 10/31/12 22:53pm]

BrazilianOnRaspberryBeret said:

Whitnail said:

All any Prince fan has to do, is ask themselves 1 question. If there is only 1 Prince album you can take with you to the beyond, which one would it be?

1999 was the second Prince album I got, later it was the first CD I put in my then new CD player. It is the album and era that I always go back to. Unlike SOTT, 1999 is consistent and has aged beautifully. It is also full of depth and complexity, Rainbow Children is in my opinion the only other album that competes in this way.

All in All it is probably Prince's ultimate masterpiece...

I agree partly. I think 1999 was a great concept album, referrening to what you pointed as consistency. 1999 is a hedonistic adolescent party statement, full of episodes regarding this main theme. It amazes me that it evokes so much images of this unified narrative universe, like Purple Rain does (with its a star in the making, Apollonia love affair story), even though there was no movie made or even a vast photografic set for 1999, contrary to Purple Rain.

But I don't think Sign o the times lacked in consistency, comparatively to 1999. It works as a concept album as well, but of a totally different style: I see SOTT as a collage of the many styles Prince could range in his palette, its more a statement of the variety of his artistry. Also, it brings some new edge to what he was primaly known for, for instance sheer funk, in songs like Housequake and It's gonna be a beautiful night, minimal drum-machine synth funk, in songs like It and the title track, and rockabilly, in I could never take the place of your man. And, parallelly, remarkable new sonic, genre-blending experimentations, in songs like The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, Play in the sunshine and If I Was Your Girlfriend.

[Edited 10/31/12 22:53pm]

If I hadnt been so tired last night I would have added somthing similiar to the highlighted bit in.

I used rate SOTT as his best album for years but over the last 10 yrs it is an album I have rarely played as a collective. Although most tracks are very strong individually I find it does not gel together and has an almost greatest hits feel to it but as you point out, it is a collage of styles and variety of his artistry.

Most Prince music I listen to now tends to be out-takes or live shows etc There are certain albums I listen to on a regular basis but I reckon if I had a tracker of which I played most, 1999 would win hands down. Back in my teens I used track which albums I played most and it tended to be PR that lead the pack followed by SOTT and 1999.

rdhull said:

Whitnail said:

All any Prince fan has to do, is ask themselves 1 question. If there is only 1 Prince album you can take with you to the beyond, which one would it be?

1999 was the second Prince album I got, later it was the first CD I put in my then new CD player. It is the album and era that I always go back to. Unlike SOTT, 1999 is consistent and has aged beautifully. It is also full of depth and complexity, Rainbow Children is in my opinion the only other album that competes in this way.

All in All it is probably Prince's ultimate masterpiece...

word

its my desrt island prince disc

dated as it is..production needing remastering as it is....this is all one needs to have a complete purple package

Something we are very unlikely to see happening any time soon. Even if WB and Prince agreed to do this, I am sure it would be PR which would get the nod first. The other option would be for Prince to re-record his back catalogue, which we all know would be a disaster.

the album is excellent...

1999, is just fantastic from beginning to end.

There are certain albums I listen to on a regular basis but I reckon if I had a tracker of which I played most, 1999 would win hands down. Back in my teens I used track which albums I played most and it tended to be PR that lead the pack followed by SOTT and 1999.

Thinking of the albums as a whole, not putting more weight on the highlights, and instead, in the whole package, I feel his strongest are these three: PR, 1999 and SOTT.

Funny enough, as much as 1999 is pretty much an agreement among Prince fans as one of his highest achievements, the critics, regarding the first phase of his carreer, seem to always prefer Dirty Mind over 1999. I like Dirty Mind too. But I don't think 1-it's that far from Controversy and 2-it's superior to 1999, as most critics state.

Other critical mystery regarding Prince is the bad reviews ATWIAD got when it was released and on revaluations even now. I just don't get it. It's not as cohesive as a whole as PR, 1999 or SOTT, or even Parade and Lovesexy, but it's still one of his best, imo.

[Edited 11/1/12 10:47am]

Yea,

"1999"