2freaky4church1 said:

Been sleeping on this album for years. The title is better than I first guessed. "Ronnie Talk 2 Russia" is trash but that's it. Annie Christian is the truth.

That's straight up his punk funk vibe. If it wasn't on there, I'd be surprised. It's a little banger, and is one of hte first times (aside from "Partyup") where Prince really dug into social issues. That album is the first full album of songs like that. Title track, "Sexuality," "RT2R," "Annie Christian" - all very specific moments in history being noted.

TrivialPursuit said:

Did you listen to the Controversy 40 year anniversary collection yet?

LoveGalore said:

If you can't get into "Ronnie Talk 2 Russia," you don't get Prince. Controversy in it's entirety is the definitive statement on his punk-funk era.

THAT PART!

"Annie Christian", "Ronnie, Talk To Russia" and "Jack U Off" are embarrassing but the rest is top notch.

homesquid said:

"Annie Christian", "Ronnie, Talk To Russia" and "Jack U Off" are embarrassing but the rest is top notch.

.

Embarrassing?

Says more about the listener than the songs so why?

udo said:

homesquid said:

"Annie Christian", "Ronnie, Talk To Russia" and "Jack U Off" are embarrassing but the rest is top notch.

.

Embarrassing?

Says more about the listener than the songs so why?

I'd agree. "Jack U Off" is embarrassing, but "Sister," "Head" etc are fine?

Folks gotta remember Controversy had a lot of things going on. It didn't necessarily have a "sound" the way other Prince albums did. It was eclectic and varied. It also was one of the first times Prince really addressed something outside of sex and love. He really pushed into politics in at least four tracks (out of 9; arguably half). He was 23 and started to notice things more and was being bold enough to actually talk about them.

The album could almost be considered a satirical or sarcastic look at society, but not cynicism. I don't think people even know what ABSCAM was about, but they'll shout it in a Prince song. The album is educational, provocative (more than Dirty Mind, to me), and a must-listen.

udo said:

homesquid said:

"Annie Christian", "Ronnie, Talk To Russia" and "Jack U Off" are embarrassing but the rest is top notch.

.

Embarrassing?

Says more about the listener than the songs so why?

Both "Annie" and "Ronnie" suffer from silly, hackneyed lyrics. Naive and almost nonsensical. "Jack U Off"? Rather obvious.

homesquid said:

udo said:

.

Embarrassing?

Says more about the listener than the songs so why?

Both "Annie" and "Ronnie" suffer from silly, hackneyed lyrics. Naive and almost nonsensical. "Jack U Off"? Rather obvious.

.

Context my dear, context.

You and I ain the now may think so.

But please do some research into the context of when or why these songs were written, what Prince's sttae of mind, knowledge, etc was.

udo said:

homesquid said:

Both "Annie" and "Ronnie" suffer from silly, hackneyed lyrics. Naive and almost nonsensical. "Jack U Off"? Rather obvious.

.

Context my dear, context.

You and I ain the now may think so.

But please do some research into the context of when or why these songs were written, what Prince's sttae of mind, knowledge, etc was.

Yeah, sweetie, I'm aware of the context. The lyrics are still wack.