I used to hear 1999 on my walkman on my hourlong busdrive to and from school. I suppose Prince's screams on Something In The Water were quite audible to my fellow bus passengers, as I would always get stares through that part of the tape.

rdhull said:

I love your "affection" for this and "Controversy."

Moonbeam said:

oh here's my affection..a repost in honor of 1999 --we both are doing reposting lol
1999 got it like that


"I wrote this in my "the freak" days on AMP while getting sexy with red wine (so I'm cleared of all lawsuits of being weird and misspellings heh) back in 2001 so its old, but I still stand by what I wrote. I wrote it because folks were talking mess 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 wunderkind 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 errybody knows when they are all alone and get their masturbatory pleasure that all the right spots are fullfilled efficiently and its take no prisoners. And thats 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 dont worry. It wont hurt..but u betta hang the funk on and then the synths and cymbals hit, then the solid groove. Chicks singing, alter 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. Unprecedented to this day. Then the coda as mentioned all kinds of mugs singing "Party!!"--we could all die any day”...then it sizzles down to a simple drum and guitar lick after the orgasm proceeding to the seemingly afterglow and soothingness synths of..

Little Red Corvette-beautiful synths--simple yet they "sound" like they would feel like 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 full of horses? My god! This is sexual genius! The ultimate woman as a car metaphor song...fuck Pink Cadillac and Trampled Underfoot ( well mebbe not Trampled),but the imagery is jammin. Then the chick isn’t just a corvette--her stuff is so good...it is so good that she isn’t just a got-damn car, she's a mu-fuggin Limousine! A Limo! "girl u got an ass like I’ve never seen"-who the funk 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 that’s right he tries to be Elvis in this one. Talks about a woman drivin him delirious. Take him for a little ride up and down in n out around HER LAKE---what a metaphore 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 lesse--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 sah sah coo coo yeah--just like Michael said mamasaymmasaymaacoocoosa in Wanna Be Startin something--how odd they both came out at the same time. Negroes 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 lke 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 aint sayin this to be nasty.." etc. When he says I wanna fuck u that one synth goes "rrwwrerrt" like its crying lol...then you have

DMSR---ok- The funk--the beat--the synth--the wanton abandon of everything having a fit..him pronouncin 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 yur hands ohn 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 talkin hippy talk about freedom with soul. Then the coda endig 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 vanity6 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 isnt 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 torturing u now. Swirling all around with the synths and percussion and the singing getting all rushed--like your pumping and pumping.Prince singin about he will go down on u all night long and Lisa sayin "u will" "yes I will baaabe"..and the chicks come and bondage and heys screaming and 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 chicks 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 talkin about his great legs(thanks!) and an ominus low synth over a nerdy computer synth...then about it not computing..talkin shit about a woman.."u think your special" and 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 endig again after the coda orgasm to a whipser 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 whos 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 fo 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.. thats 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 extened 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 comdom 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 "waht 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 masterbating" lol and it all ends with weird synths, the voice, background heavy mnetal geetar to and edit and stop..and then..

International Lover--cheesey organ synth but in th e 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 gonna take a girl on a date..butmthey gonna 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 exteended 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 appraoch and she puts her legs in the up and locked postion 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 thea irport gate with a thanks. Prince tellin u next time u fly, fly Prince lol--in other words, next time u fuck, fuck me!..

His deep voice box vocoder starterd 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 isnt a bother to some. But to disrespect 1999 like that is some bullshit. If it wasnt for 1999, P wouldnt 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. Wasnt shit left to do but go Hollywood and change the script for something else. Respect 1999 please. Or it will kick your ass."
[This message was edited Mon Oct 27 18:43:41 PST 2003 by rdhull]

DigitalLisa said:

I've alweays said that this should have been the cover or at least the back cover! THIS...is THE Revolution.

rdhull said:

The defenders are in full force on this one! What I wrote today isn't a re-post though, just the links.

Moonbeam we gotta rate this a 5 star thread!

rdhull said:

Done!

Moonbeam said:

as always ian ...excellent post on your love of 1999.


1999 to me is prince as the lonely stud on the prowl ...trying to escape all b.s in his life.
thats why the music is cold but the lyrics or the vocals can be intense at times...

but thats my opinion

Christopher said:

You're right- that album has a lot of darkness and loneliness. A lot of the "badass" appearance is a facade. It's really quite sensitive when you begin to see it that way.

Moonbeam said:

exactly it took a long time for me to see it that way cause i stopped listening to prince for a while but now that im starting up again...it peeked my interest...rather just look at it as a more sex thing.

Christopher said:

The album has a lot of hidden messages. A lot of that sex talk is just to blow smoke to hide his vulnerability. Certainly, Prince was a horny little guy back then, but it wasn't just sex. You could tell he was aching for more, and that came to the surface on "Purple Rain."

Moonbeam said:

and grew into say lovesexy yrs..later?

but back to 1999 i dont anyone but another fan would even look that deep into it lol...i really sat there like "Ohh so thats what this cd is all about "

WickedDay said:

I know- it's a nice little secret. Prince's albums definitely followed a logical progression. The seeds for Lovesexy were planted on Controversy and were watered on each album up to that point. It's really fascinating!

Yes, this was truly an album from the "Golden Age" of Prince...back then the music was so MAGICAL and just seemed otherworldly in some way. 1999 is my favorite Prince album as well...SOTT may be stronger in some ways, but no album makes me as happy as 1999 when I listen to it.

This album deserves more props.

Moonbeam said:

yeah!!!

Soething In The Water (Does Not Compute)

This is my favorite Prince album in that it gives the best representation of the Prince that I, personally love. Its a confident, fun, sexy and musically assured album. Both very much of its time and yet ahead of its time. The live shows matched it. 4 me its almost perfect.
1999-Well what can U say. An absolutely brilliant, funky, fun tune and a brilliant opener 4 an album. U could say it was the 1st 'epic' Prince tune and prepares the listener that they're in 4 a good time listening 2 this album...then we have Little Red Corvette I defy any Prince fan 2 say that it doesnt make the hairs on the back of their neck rise. A perfect pop song with perfect clever lyrics and an un4getable chorus...cue Delirious-personally my least favorite song on the album yet all the same U cant help but get that catchy groove out of Ur. In my opinion they should have stuck the extended version on the album where U can really feel the bass more...Let's Pretend We're Married carries on this fun funky pace and shows that nasty side of Prince U cant help but like really 'I sincerely wanna fuck the taste out of Ur mouth'. Only our man could get away with a line like that...DMSR-another reason why I love this album and DMSR is becuz of that raw, dirty electro funk. This song soughtta defines that. Funky, cool and an ultimate call and response lyric!...Automatic-Listening 2 this song more, the more it blows me away. Gotta the video 2!...Something in the water (does not compute)-sees Prince in dark despair. I love this song in that it shows a human side 2 Prince in a way. When things dont go right 4 U in love Ur hurt is levelled against Ur partner. Vocally the track is superb 2...Free-although I would easily exchange outtakes ('Moonbeam Levels' most probably) here 4 Free its a great song when per4med live as its quality shines through...Lady Cab Driver-Man!!! How much do I this tune. Its absolute quality and 1 of my very favorites. The funky bass along with that catchy little melody is just perfection. Prince shows his true genious on this track and shows he was prepared 2 take risks and push boundaries in 1982. Peeps must have been thinking, 'man, this guy is something else!'. That wild guitar solo 2 climax track is also 1 of my faves...All the Critics Love U in New York-again Im give or take about Critics and preferably I would have selected Purple Music in its place. However, it creates a clever and inventive pace of New York life on the 1 hand and gives the listener a sense of Prince's relationship with the press. Tongue firmly wedged in cheek in that he isnt prepared 2 play by their rules...International Lover-OK sure, it is 2 some extent cheesy however, I think its a rousing finale 4 the album. In a way I like the end in that it does feel Uve been on a journey with Ur Pilote Prince and he with U is preparing U 4 Ur landing.

I think those outtakes of the time-Moonbeam Levels, Extra Loveable, Purple Music which R excellent tunes themselves R testament 2 the fact of just how good this album really is. So here's 2 U 1999..Happy Birthday.

A-U-T-OMATIC

I owe a lot 2 this album...
I was leant a whole stack of 12" vinyl back in '83 when I got my first record deck, and discovered the amazing, cold electronic-funk delights of the title track, then played the flip side after getting everybodys nerves by playing it ova and ova...and was blown away by 'How Come U Dont Call Me Anymore'...and a love affair that has lasted all my life came 2 be.

I saved my pennies, and as soon as I was able, went and bought the 1999 album - and was floored by it. Then came Purple Rain, then I went back and bought Controversy, Dirty Mind, and worked backwards until ATWIAD came out.

1999 was seXy, dirty, smutty, funky: it was dynamic as all hell! THOSE lyrics! 4 a 12-goin-on-13 year old boy listening 2 Let's Pretend We're Married in his headphones, it was a whole illicit world that adults had only hinted at - and here was this guy delivering me tales of full-on wreckless sexual abandon and erotic adventures in his night-time world.

What a world it was. What a world he opened my eyes 2 - Thanx P. What a trip it's been...


YES:


NO:


CAN U RELATE?


1999
Don't worry, I won't hurt U
I only want U 2 have some fun
I was dreamin' when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this mornin'
Coulda sworn it was judgment day
The sky was all purple,
there were people runnin' everywhere
Tryin' 2 run from the destruction,
U know I didn't even care

'cuz they say two thousand zero zero party over,
oops out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999

I was dreamin' when I wrote this
So sue me if I go 2 fast
But life is just a party, and parties weren't meant 2 last
War is all around us, my mind says prepare 2 fight
So if I gotta die I'm gonna listen 2 my body tonight

Yeah, they say two thousand zero zero party over,
oops out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999
Yeah

Lemme tell ya somethin'
If U didn't come 2 party,
don't bother knockin' on my door
I got a lion in my pocket,
and baby he's ready 2 roar
Yeah, everybody's got a bomb,
we could all die any day
But before I'll let that happen,
I'll dance my life away

Oh, they say two thousand zero zero party over,
oops out of time
We're runnin' outta time (Tonight I'm gonna)
So tonight we gonna (party like it's 1999)
we gonna, oww

Say it 1 more time
Two thousand zero zero party over oops,
out of time
No, no (Tonight I'm gonna)
So tonight we gonna (party like it's 1999)
we gonna, oww

Alright, it's 1999
You say it, 1999
1999
1999 don't stop, don't stop, say it 1 more time
Two thousand zero zero party over,
oops out of time
Yeah, yeah (Tonight I'm gonna)
So tonight we gonna (party like it's 1999)
we gonna, oww

Yeah, 1999 (1999)
Don'tcha wanna go (1999)
Don'tcha wanna go (1999)
We could all die any day (1999)
I don't wanna die,
I'd rather dance my life away (1999)
Listen 2 what I'm tryin' 2 say
Everybody, everybody say party
C'mon now, U say party
That's right, everybody say (Party)
Can't run from the revelation, no (Party)
Sing it 4 your nation y'all (Party)
Tell me what you're singin', baby say (Party)
Telephone's a-ringin', mama (Party)
C'mon, c'mon, U say (Party)
Everybody, [two times] (Party)
Work it down 2 the ground, say (Party)
(Party)
Come on, take my body, baby (Party)
That's right, c'mon, sing the song (Party)
(Party)
That's right (Party)
Got a lion in my pocket mama, say (Party)
Oh, and he's ready 2 roar (Party)

Mommy, why does everybody have a bomb?
Mommy, why does everybody have a bomb?



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP


---

Little red Corvette
I guess I shoulda known
By the way u parked your car sideways
That it wouldn't last
See you're the kinda person
That believes in makin' out once
Love 'em and leave 'em fast

I guess I must be dumb
'cuz U had a pocket full of horses
Trojan and some of them used

But it was Saturday night
I guess that makes it all right
And U say what have I got 2 lose?
And honey I say

Little red corvette
Baby you're much 2 fast
Little red corvette
U need a love that's gonna last

I guess I shoulda closed my eyes
When U drove me 2 the place
Where your horses run free

'cuz I felt a little ill
When I saw all the pictures
Of the jockeys that were there before me

Believe it or not
I started to worry
I wondered if I had enough class

But it was Saturday night
I guess that makes it all right
And U say, "Baby, have U got enough gas?"
Oh yeah

Little red corvette
Baby you're much 2 fast, yes U r
Little red corvette
U need 2 find a love that's gonna last

A body like yours (A body like yours)
Oughta be in jail (Oughta be in jail)
'cuz it's on the verge of bein' obscene
('cuz it's on the verge of bein' obscene)

Move over baby (Move over baby)
Gimme the keys (Gimme the keys)
I'm gonna try 2 tame your little red love machine
(I'm gonna try 2 tame your little red love machine)

Little red corvette
Baby you're much 2 fast
Little red corvette
U need 2 find a love that's gonna last

Little red corvette
Honey U got 2 slow down (Got 2 slow down)
Little red corvette
'cuz if U don't u gonna run your
Little red corvette right in the ground

(Little red corvette)
Right down 2 the ground (Honey U got 2 slow down)
U, U, U got 2 slow down (Little red corvette)
You're movin' much 2 fast (2 fast)
U need 2 find a love that's gonna last

Girl, U got an ass like I never seen
And the ride...
I say the ride is so smooth
U must be a limousine

Baby you're much 2 fast
Little red corvette
U need a love, U need a love that's
That's gonna last
(Little red corvette)
U got 2 slow down (U got 2 slow down)
Little red corvette

'cuz if U don't, 'cuz if U don't,
U gonna run your body right into the ground (Right into the ground)
Right into the ground (Right into the ground)
Right into the ground (Right into the ground)

Little red corvette



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP


---

Delirious
I get delirious whenever you're near
Lose all self-control, baby just can't steer
Wheels get locked in place
Stupid look on my face
It comes 2 makin' a pass, pretty mama
I just can't win a race

'cuz I get delirious (Delirious)
Delirious (Delirious)
Delirious (Delirious)

I get delirious when U hold my hand (Delirious)
Body gets so weak I can hardly stand
My temperature's runnin' hot
Baby U got 2 stop

'cuz if U don't I'm gonna explode
And girl I got a lot

I get delirious (Delirious) {Yeah}
Delirious (Delirious)
Delirious (Delirious)

I get delirious whenever you're near (Delirious)
Girl U gotta take control 'cuz I just can't steer
You're just 2 much 2 take
I can't stop I ain't got no brakes

Girl U gotta take me 4 a little ride up and down
In and out and around your lake

I'm delirious (Delirious)
U, U, U get me delirious (Delirious)
Baby, lay me down
Delirious (Delirious)
The room, the room, the room is spinnin' around (Delirious)
Yeah, I'm delirio, yeah, oh I'm, oh I'm (Delirious)
Yeah, delirious, yeah (Delirious)
It's got me in repair, everybody u gotta (Delirious)
Everybody, oh Lord, oh yeah, I'm delirious (Delirious)
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah (Delirious)
(Delirious)
(Delirious)
(Delirious)
(Delirious)
(Delirious)
(Delirious)



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP



---

Let's pretend we're married
Excuse me but I need a mouth like yours
2 help me forget the girl that just walked out my door
Funny but it seems that you're alone like me
If U r go let's come see what we can see
Ooh, little darlin' if you're
free 4 a couple of hours (Free 4 a couple of hours)
If U ain't busy 4 the next 7 years (Next 7 years)
Say, let's pretend we're married and go all night
There ain't nothin' wrong if it feels all right
I won't stop until the morning light
Let's pretend we're married and go all night, tonight

Ooh-we-sha-sha-coo-coo-yeah
All the hippies sing together

Excuse me but I need your chemistry
Don't U wanna be my fantasy?
My girl's gone and she don't care at all
And if she did -- So what? C'mon baby, let's b-b-ball

Ooh little darlin' if you're
free 4 a couple of hours (Free 4 a couple of hours)
If U ain't busy 4 the next 7 years (Next 7 years)
Oh I say let's pretend we're married and go all night
There ain't nothin' wrong if it feels all right
I won't stop until the morning light
Let's pretend we're married and go all night, tonight

Ooh-we-sha-sha-coo-coo-yeah
All the hippies sing together

Let's just pretend we're married, tonight

Excuse me but I need a mouth like yours
2 help me forget the girl that just walked out my door
Let's pretend we're married and do it all night
I won't stop until the morning light

Let's pretend we're married and go all night
Ooh, little darlin' if you're
Free 4 a couple of hours (Free 4 a couple of hours)
If U ain't busy 4 the next 7 years (Next 7 years)
Oh darlin', let's preted we're married and go all night
There ain't nothin' wrong if it feels all right
I won' stop until the morning light
Let's pretend we're married and go all night, tonight
(Ooh-we-sha-sha-coo-coo-yeah)
Pretend we're married
Let's pretend we're married

Ooh-we-sha-sha-coo-coo-yeah
All the hippies sing together
Ooh-we-sha-sha-coo-coo-yeah
Oh everybody yeah
Ooh-we-sha-sha-coo-coo-yeah
All the hippies sing together
Ooh-we-sha-sha-coo-coo-yeah
Yeah, yeah
My girl's gone and she don't care at all
And if she did -- So what? C'mon baby, let's ball

I wanna fuck U so bad it hurts, it hurts, it hurts
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna fuck U
Yeah, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna wanna, I wanna fuck U
Look here Marsha, I'm not sayin' this just 2 be nasty
I sincerely wanna fuck the taste out of your mouth
Can U relate?

My girl's gone and she don't care at all
And if she did -- I wouldn't care. Let's ball

Whatever U heard about me is true
I change the rules and do what I wanna do
I'm in love with God, he's the only way
'cuz U and I know we gotta die some day
If U think I'm crazy, you're probably right
But I'm gonna have fun every motherfuckin' night
If U like 2 fight, you're a double-drag fool
I'm goin' 2 another life, how 'bout U?



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP



---

D.M.S.R.
Everybody, get on the floor
What the hell'd U come here 4?
Girl it ain't no use, U might as well get loose
Work your body like a whore
Say everybody -- Get on the beat
We're gonna show U mothers how 2 scream
People everywhere, loosen up your hair
Take a deeper breath and sing along with me, yes
Are U ready?
Everybody everybody ooh (ooh), alright (alright), dance music sex romance
Oh, everybody say ooh (ooh), alright (alright), dance music sex romance
Everybody (everybody) -- Loosen up
Shake it like U just don't care (Shake it like U just don't care)
Nevermind your friends, girl it ain't no sin
2 strip right down 2 your underwear
I say everybody (everybody) -- Screw the masses
We only want 2 have some fun (Have some fun)
I say do whatever we want, wear lingerie 2 a restaurant
Police ain't got no gun, U don't have 2 run
Everybody ooh (ooh), alright (alright), dance music sex romance
Everybody say ooh (ooh), alright (alright), dance music sex romance, oh

Everybody clap your hands now

All the white people clap your hands on the four now
One two three, one two three, one two three, one two three, listen 2 me
I don't wanna be a poet
'cuz I don't wanna blow it
I don't care 2 win awards
All I wanna do is dance
Play music sex romance
And try my best 2 never get bored
If U feel all right lemme hear U scream

Somebody say dance (dance), music (music),
sex (sex), romance (romance)
Somebody say dance (dance), music (music),
sex (sex), romance (romance)
Everybody say dance (dance), music (music),
sex (sex), romance (romance)
Everybody say dance (dance), music (music),
oh say sex (sex), romance (romance)
Everybody dance (dance), music (music),
everybody say sex (sex), romance (romance) ((D.M.S.R.))
Everybody dance (dance), music (music),
sex(sex), romance (romance) ((D.M.S.R.))
alright

Jamie Starr's a thief
It's time 2 fix your clock
Vanity 6 is so sweet
Now U can all take a bite of my purple rock, can we stop?

Are U ready? (Hey!)
Everybody sing this song now, ooh (ooh), alright (alright),
dance music sex romance
Everybody sing it, ooh (ooh), alright (alright),
dance music sex romance
Negroes say ooh (ooh), alright (alright),
dance music sex romance
Puerto Ricans say it, ooh (ooh), alright (alright),
dance music sex romance
Everybody sing this song, ooh (ooh), alright (alright),
dance music sex romance
All the white people in the house say ooh (ooh), alright (alright),
dance music sex romance
Japanese say 1 time ooh (ooh), alright (alright),
dance music sex romance
Everybody sing together, say ooh (ooh), alright (alright),
dance music sex romance
Somebody call the police (Somebody call the police!)
say ooh, ooh, yeah (Help me! Someone please help me! Somebody help me)



© 1982 Contoversy Music - ASCAP



---

Automatic
U ask me if I love U, it's automatic
'cuz every time U leave me, I die, that's automatic 2
U ask me 2 forgive U, when U know, I'm just an addict
So stop the music baby, U know, You're all I wanna do
Hey
A-U-T-O-matic, just tell me what 2 do
A-U-T-O-matic, I'm so in love with U
U ask me if I'll kiss U, it's automatic
And if U cry, me cry, boo-hoo, that's automatic 2
I would never leave U, no matter what U do
Stop the music baby, U know, I'm an automatic fool
Hey
A-U-T-O-matic, just tell me what 2 do (And don't stop)
A-U-T-O-matic, oh, I'm so in love with U

I'll rub your back forever, it's automatic (A-U-T-O-matic)
I'll look 4 a needle in a haystack, that's automatic 2 (A-U-T-O-matic)
I'll go down on U all night long, it's automatic,
(I will, yes I will babe)
And even when I'm right, I'll be wrong,
that's automatic 2 (A-U-T-O-matic)
Hey
(A-U-T-O-matic, just tell me what 2 do)
Tell me what 2 do babe
(A-U-T-O-matic, so in love with U)
Hey
So in love with U, yeah (A-U-T-O-matic, just tell me what 2 do)
Tell me what 2 do babe (A-U-T-O-matic, so in love with U)
Hey
So in love with U, baby, yeah (A-U-T-O-matic, just tell me what 2 do)
Alright, alright,
tell me what 2 do baby (A-U-T-O-matic, so in love with U)
Yeah yeah yeah
Hey
A-U-T-O-matic
A-U-T-O-matic

C'mon baby
A-U-T-O-matic, tell me what to do
A-U-T-O-matic, so in love with U

Don't say no man has ever tasted your ice cream
Baby you're the purple star in the night supreme
You'll always be a virgin for no man deserves your love
I only pray that when U dream, I'm the 1 U dream of
I pray that when U dream, U dream of how we kissed
Not with our lips but with our souls
Stop me if I bore U
Why is it that I think we'd be so good in bed?
Can U hear me? Why do I love U so much?
It's strange, I'm more comfortable around U when I'm naked,
can U hear me?
I wonder if U have any mercy, don't torture me

Stop the music baby, automatic fool

When it comes 2 U I'm automatic baby
There's no 1 else like me
I'm the best you'll ever find
No 1 else could understand U, you're 2 complex
They say nothing's perfect, but they don't know U
That's automatic 2
Can U hear me? (A-U-T-O-matic)
Yes, I'm addicted 2 your pleasure
I'm addicted 2 your pain
It's automatic (A-U-T-O-matic)
Automatically insane
Undress me (A-U-T-O-matic)
(A-U-T-O-matic)
Hey (A-U-T-O-matic)
(A-U-T-O-matic)
(A-U-T-O-matic)
(A-U-T-O-matic)
Hey
Fasten your seat belts
Prepare 4 takeoff

(I remember how U kissed me)
(Not with your lips but with your soul)
(With U I'm never bored, talk 2 me some more)
(I can hear U, I'm going 2 have 2 torture U now)



© 1982 Controversy Music -ASCAP


---

Something in the water (does not compute)
Some people tell me I got great legs
Can't figure out why U make me beg
Does not compute (Does not compute)
Don't not compute (Don't not compute)
U think you're special, well so do I
Why do special women make me cry?
Does not compute (Does not compute)
It don't not compute (Don't not compute)
Must be something in the water they drink
It's been the same with every girl I've had
Must be something in the water they drink
'cuz why else would a woman wanna treat a man so bad?

Some people think I'm kinda cute
But that don't compute when it comes 2 Y-O-U
It don't compute (Don't not compute)
Somethin' mama don't compute (Don't not compute)
What's the hangup? What's the scam?
Guess U think I'm just another 1...1 of your fans
It don't compute (Don't not compute)
Somethin' honey don't compute (Don't not compute)

Must be something in the water they drink
It's been the same with every girl I've had
Must be something in the water U drink
'cuz why else would a woman wanna treat a man so bad?

I've got 2 get 2 U, baby
Some people think I'm kinda smart
Why must a fella stop with U before he starts?
It don't compute, mama (Does not compute)
Somethin' don't compute (Don't not compute)
I'd buy U clothing, buy U fancy cars
But U gotta talk 2 me, baby, tell me who U really r

Must be something in the water they drink
It's been the same with every girl I've had
Must be something in the water U drink
Why else would a woman wanna treat a man so bad?

(Must be something in the water U drink)
(Does not compute)
(Don't not compute)
(Don't not compute)
(Must be something in the water U drink)
Bitch -- U think you're special? (Must be something in the water U drink)
So do I
(second coming) (Must be something in the water U drink)
Why in God's name
do U wanna make me cry?
Why? Why? (Must be something in the water U drink)
I'd do anything 4 U, anything (Must be something in the water U drink)
Why don't U talk 2 me? (Must be something in the water U drink)
Tell me who u r (Must be something in the water U drink)
don't do this 2 me (Must be something in the water U drink)
please don't do this (Must be something in the water U drink)

Why? Why?
I do love U. I do.
Or else I wouldn't go through all the things I do



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP



---

Free
Don't sleep 'til the sunrise, listen 2 the falling rain
Don't worry 'bout tomorrow, don't worry 'bout your pain
Don't cry unless you're happy, don't smile unless you're blue
Never let that lonely monster take control of U
Be glad that U r free
Free 2 change your mind
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime
Be glad that U r free
There's many a man who's not
Be glad 4 what U had baby, what you've got
Be glad 4 what you've got

I know (my?) heart is beating, my drummer tells me so
If U take your life 4 granted, your beating heart will go
So don't sleep until you're guilty, 'cuz sinners all r we
There's others doing far worse than us, so be glad that U r free

Be glad that U r free
Free 2 change your mind
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime
Be glad that U r free
There's many a man who's not
Be glad 4 what U had baby, what you've got
Be glad 4 what you've got

Soldiers are a marching, they're writing brand new laws
Will we all fight together 4 the most important cause?
Will we all fight 4 the right 2 be free?
Free (Be glad that U r free)
Free 2 change my mind (Free 2 change your mind)
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime (Free 2 go most anywhere,anytime)
I'm just glad, I'm just glad I'm free, yeah (Be glad that U r free)
There's many a man who's not (There's many a man who's not)
Glad 4 what I had baby, (Be glad 4 what U had and)
Glad 4 what I got, oh yeah (for what you've got)
Oh I'm just glad, I'm just glad I'm free,yeah (Be glad that U r free)
Free 2 change my mind (Free 2 change your mind)
Free 2 go most anywhere, anytime (Free 2 go most anywhere,anytime)
(Be glad that U r free)
(There's many a man who's not)
I'm so... (Be glad 4 what U had and for)
(what you've got)



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP



---

Lady cab driver
Taxi! Taxi!
Lady cab driver -- Can U take me 4 a ride?
Don't know where I'm goin' 'cuz I don't know where I've been
So just put your foot on the gas -- let's drive
Lady -- don't ask questions
Promise I'll tell U no lies
Trouble winds r blowin', I'm growin' cold
Get me outta here -- I feel I'm gonna die

Lady cab driver, roll up your window fast
Lately trouble winds r blowin' hard, and I don't know if I can last

Lady -- I'm so lonely
I know that's not the way 2 be
Don't want isolation, but the air it makes me cold
Drive it, baby, drive it, drive this demon out of me
Take me 2 your mansion
Honey, let's go everywhere
Help me girl I'm drownin', mass confusion in my head
Will U accept my tears 2 pay the fare?

Lady cab driver, roll up your wndow fast
Lately trouble winds r blowin' hard, and I don't know if I can last

Lady cab driver -- Can U take me 4 a ride?

Lady cab driver, roll up your window fast
Lately trouble winds r blowin' hard, and I don't know if I can last

This is 4 the cab U have 2 drive 4 no money at all
This is 4 why I wasn't born like my brother, handsome and tall
This is 4 politicians who r bored and believe in war
This -- Yeah, that's 4 me, that's who that 1's 4
This is 4 discrimination and egotists who think supreme
And this is 4 whoever taught U how 2 kiss in designer jeans
That 1's 4-- That 1's 4-- 4 U have 2 live
This 1's 4 the rich, not all of 'em, just the greedy --
The ones that don't know how 2 give
This 1's 4 Yosemite Sam and the tourists at Disneyland
And this 1-- ooh! Yeah -- That's the 1.
That's 4-- that's 4 the-- the creator of man
This is 4 the sun, the moon, the stars, the tourists at Disneyland
This is 4 the ocean, the sea, the shore
This is 4-- and that's 4 U, and that's who that 1's 4
This is 4 the women, so beautifully complex
This 1's 4 love without sex
This is 4 the wind that blows no matter how fast or slow
Not knowing where I'm going
This galaxy's better than not having a place 2 go
And now I know (I know)

Lady cab driver

Lady cab driver
Lady cab driver
Lady cab driver
Lady cab driver
Lady cab driver
Lady cab driver



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP


---

All the critics love U in New York
U can dance if U want 2 -- All the critics love U in New York
U don't have 2 keep the beat, they'll still think it's neat -- in New York
U can wear what U want 2, it doesn't matter -- in New York
U could cut off all your hair, I don't think they'd care -- in New York
All the critics love U in New York

Why U can play what U want 2 -- All the critics love U in New York
They won't say that u're naive if U play what U believe -- in New York
Purple love-amour is all u're headed 4 -- but don't show it
The reason that you're cool
is 'cuz you're from the old school, and they know it

All the critics love U in New York

U can dance if U want 2 -- All the critics love U in New York
U can dance if U want 2 -- All the critics love U in New York
All the critics love U, all the critics love U
All the critics love U in New York

It's time 4 a new direction
It's time 4 jazz 2 die
4th day of November
We need a purple high

Don't give up -- I'll still love U

All the critics love U in New York
All the critics love U in New York
All the critics love U, all the critics love U
All the critics love U in New York

body don't wanna quit, gotta get another hit
body don't wanna quit, gotta get another hit
body don't wanna quit, gotta get another hit
body don't wanna quit, gotta get another hit

([fuck me over])

All the critics love U, all the critics love U
All the critics love U in New York

Whaddayou lookin' at, punk?
Look out all U hippies, U ain't as sharp as me
It ain't about the trippin', but the sexuality -- turn it up

U can dance if U want 2

All the critics love U in New York

All the critics love U in New York

(Yes, we're certain of it, he's definitely masturbating)

All the critics love U in New York
Take a bath, hippies!
All the critics love U in New York
All the critics love U in New York
All the critics love U in New York
All the critics love U in New York
New York
New York
New York
New York
New York



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP


---

International lover
May I have this dance?
Darlin', it appears 2 me
That U could use a date tonight
A body that'll do U right
Tell me -- Am I qualified?
[I say?] Baby, I know it's hard 2 believe
But this body here is free tonight
Your very own first class flight
My plane's parked right outside, baby
Don't U wanna go 4 a ride? (yeah)

I'm an international lover, yeah that's right
Let me take U 'round the world
I'll buy U diamonds and pearls
Only if you're good girl

Darlin', I know it's been a long time
Since you've been satisfied
I can tell by the look in your eyes
U need it real bad (real bad), U need it so bad, so bad (real bad)
Baby, maybe if you're good girl
I'll introduce U 2 my ride
Don't U wanna come inside?
C'mon baby, I won't fly 2 fast, I've got so--
(C'mon baby, I won't fly 2 fast, I've got so much class)

(International lover)
that's right baby
Let me take U 'round the world, yeahyeah
(I'll buy U diamonds and pearls)
I will buy U diamonds and pearls, baby
(Only if you're good girl)
Gotta be good, U gotta be good, yeah, yeah, please

Good evening. This is your pilot Prince speaking.
U r flying aboard the Seduction 747
And this plane is fully equipped with anything your body desires

If 4 any reason there is a loss in cabin pressure
I will automatically drop down 2 apply more
2 activate the flow of excitement
Extinguish all clothing materials and pull my body close 2 yours
Place my lips over your mouth, and kiss, kiss, normally
In the event there is overexcitement
Your seat cushion may be used as a flotation device

We ask that U please observe the "No Letting Go" sign
I anticipate a few turbulence along the way

We r now making our final approach 2 Satisfaction
Please bring your lips, your arms, your hips
Into the upright and locked position
4 landing -- Can U feel it? Can U feel it?
Yeah

{ Let me take it around }
{ Let it all hang out }

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Welcome 2 Satisfaction
Please remain awake until the aircraft has come 2 a complete stop
Thank U 4 flying Prince International
Remember, next time U fly, fly the International Lover



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP


---

Horny toad
If I had your number
I'd call u on the phone
I'd breathe a little heavy [...] word maybe I'd start to groan
I don't love u
I'm just a horny toad

I don't want your money
'cause I got all I need
All I want is to rub your body until u start to bleed

I don't love u
I'm just a horny toad

If I had your address
I'd come right 2 your door
I'd knock all day till u let me in and then I'd knock some more

I ain't crazy
I'm just a horny toad

If u think I'm nasty
U ain't seen nothing yet
Y'see I'm the kinda brother that the more u scream the nastier I get

I can't help it
I'm just a horny toad

Now watch me dance!

Run and go tell your boyfriend
His loving has got you bored
Might as well pack his things and get his bad ass on the road

Tell him u live on a lilly pad
With a horny toad



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP


---

How come U don't call me anymore?
I keep your picture beside my bed
And I still remember everything u said
I always thought our love was so right
I guess I was wrong
I always thought u'd be by my side
Mama, now u're gone
What I wanna know baby, what we had was good
How come u don't call me anymore?
Yeah

Listen
I still light the fire on a rainy night
I still like it better when u holding me tight
Now hold it
Everybody said, everybody said that we should never part
Oh yeah
I always did think we looked kind of cute together myself
Say to me baby, baby, baby, why, why u wanna go and break my heart?
Why'd u wanna do it?

All I wanna know baby, what we had was good
How come u don't call me anymore?
Why don't u call me girl?

Sometimes it feels like I'm gonna die
If u don't call me, mama, girl, u gotta try
Down on my knees beggin' u please, please

Why can't u call me sometime baby, yeah

Just one lousy dime, baby
Why can't u call me sometime?
Oh, no, no
Why on earth can't u just pick up the phone? Yeah
U know I don't like bein' alone
Why?
Why must u torture me?
Why u gotta torment me so?



© 1982 Controversy Music - ASCAP



---

Irresistible bitch
Let him sing
Turn it down a little
Every friday night I call your butt up on the phone
A deeper voice answers and says you're not at home
Now if u think that I'm a fool who'll go 4 any line
Then honey, put down all your money, u win every time

Irresistible bitch
I love the way u walk
Irresistible bitch
I love the way u talk
Irresistible bitch
And I really dig the way u kiss
Irresistible
Oh mama, I wish I could resist

All my partners ask me why I take so much abuse
Why am I so faithful, honey? Why are u so loose?
They say why am I the one who never gets to take u home?
But they don't know the things u do 2 me when we're alone

Irresistible bitch
I love the way u walk
Irresistible bitch
I love the way u talk
Irresistible bitch
I really dig the way u kiss
Irresistible
Oh mama, I wish I could resist

Hurt me, hurt me

Stole all my honey
Played it off like it was a joke
You're stealing all my honey, baby, keep u by my side
Bleed me till I'm broke.

Sugar

Hell if I know why I let u drive my car
Don't I know that walking won't get me very far?
Sure I know that crying over u is just in vain
But all things I lose don't add up to all the things I gain

Irresistible bitch
I love the way u walk
Irresistible bitch
I love the way u talk
Irresistible bitch
And I really dig the way u kiss
Ain't it a shame? (Irresistible)
Oh mama, mama, I wish I could re-
Hurt me!

Stole all my honey
Played it off like it was a joke
Stealing all my honey, baby, keep u by my side
Bleed me till I'm broke

Everybody, everybody dance
Everybody, everybody
Everybody, everybody dance
Everybody
Irresistible bitch
Irresistible bitch
Everybody, everybody dance
Everybody
Irresistible bitch
Everybody, everybody dance
Everybody
Irresistible bitch

'nana

bananacologne said:

I did my best Paul Gambucinni and all U can do is post lyrics. Im surprised at U sir! ...and Ur praising him Dansa?!?!? I will say good day 2 U both.

JDINTERACTIVE said:

Im SURE Dansa MEANT you - not me JD...aint that right Dansa?

Besides, it took me fookin ages 2 type that chit out!
[This message was edited Tue Oct 28 14:19:16 PST 2003 by bananacologne]

JDINTERACTIVE said:

paul who? what'd i do??

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

I think someone's feelings are hurt.

Poor JD worked all hard n chit on his post, and u didnt tell him how utterly fabulous his was...sorry - IS , I meant IS!

bananacologne said:

Anybody who posts love for this album gets nothing but the utmost respect from me.

VARIOUS ALBUM REVIEWS FROM THE TIME:
(1982 - not the band)

PRINCE PONDERS THE FUTURE OF THE PLANET

1999 - PRINCE
Warner Bros.

BY MICHAEL HIL
After the critical success of his Dirty Mind LP in 1980 and the subsequent notoriety of the last year's Controversy, Prince, at the tender age of twenty-two, has become the inspiration for a growing renegade school of Sex & Funk & Rock & Roll that includes his fellow Minneapolis hipsters Andre Cymone, the Time and Vanity 6. Yet regardless of the jive that he hath wrought, Prince himself does more than merely get down and talk dirty. Beneath all his kinky propositions resides a tantalizing utopian philosophy of humanism through hedonism that suggests once you've broken all the rules, you'll find some real values. All you've got top do is act naturally.

Prince's quasi-religious faith in this vision of social freedom through sensual anarchy maken even his most preposterous utterances sound earnest. On the title track of 1999, which opens this two-LP set of artfully arranged synthesizer pop, Prince ponders no less than the future of the entire planet, shaking his booty disapprovingly at the threat of nuclear annuhilation. Although that one exuberant dance-along raises mor big questions than Prince can answer on the other three and a half sides combined, the entire enterprise is charged with his unflaggin will to survive - and a feisty determination to eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow, given the daily news, we may die.

Before "1999" whooshes into life, Prince assumes an electronically altered, basso-profundo voice and impersonates the imagined authoritative tone of God himself, creator of libidos as well as souls, prefacing the song's Judgment Day scenario with this reassurance: "Don't worry, I won't hurry you. I only want you to have some fun." This intro serves Prince well, since 1999 lacks the tight focus of Dirty Mind, his best and most concise LP, which had the feel of emotionally volatile autobiography disquised as vividly descriptive sexual fantasy. Yet the new album doesn't fall prey to the conceptual confusion that plagued the second side of Controversy, during which Prince raced from politics to passion, funk groove to rock blitz, as if there weren't room enough for all his inspiration. This time there is, and then some.

Prince develops eleven songs, basically a single album's worth of material, over the four sides of 1999, with each side comprising two or three extended tracks. Both discs are distinguished by palpably individual moods - the first contains the funkiest, most playful cuts, while the second is made up of slower, more introspective pieces. Two tracks, "D.M.S.R." and "All the Critics Love U in New York," qualify as unadulterated filler, and gone are any attempts at the classic three-minute pop song - Dirty Mind's "When You Were Mine" was the last word on that, I guess. On 1999, size counts.

Having graduated in record time form postdisco, garage rock to high-tech studieo wizardry, Prince works like a colorblind technician who's studied both Devo and Afrika bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, keeping the songs constantly kinetic with an inventive series of shocks and surprises. As "1999" proceeds, for example, he geometrically increases the overdubs until there's a roomful of Princes partying almost out of bounds, then deftly brings it down to rhythm guitar and percussion while a childlike chorus asks, "Mommy, why does everybody have a bomb?" until -boom!- the groove disappears at its hottest.

Prince's funniest and slyest effects are reserved for "Let's pretend We're Married," a string of offhandedly vulgar suggestions transformed with the most basic tools into a quintessential Princeian comic - erotic peci. He first employs minimal but propulsive synthe riffs to conjure the atmosphere of a computer-age arcade, pickup bar or, maybe, a space-station lounge. Then he chooses his most angelic falsetto to lure a prospectieve partner ("My girl's gone and she don't care at all/And if she did..."), suddenly switching to his gruffest lower register to complete the couplet: "...So what? C'mon, baby, let's ball!")

Between his ever nastier entreaties, the breezy non sequitur of a chorus ("Ooh we sha sha coo coo yeah/All the hippies sing together") rushes by like a snatch of transmission from another galaxy, until most everything drops out except a pulsing synthetic bass and Prince himself, desperately aroused, liberally sprinkloing his come-ons with the f word. But before his pleas fade into lonely space, he pulls out one last gimmick, a phalanx of cloned voices testifying that he is indeed the Prince of Uptown U.S.A. in a rap wildly mixing the sacred and profane: "Haven't you heard about me? it's true/I change the rules and do what I want to do?I'm in love with God, he's the only way/'Cause you and I know we gotta die someday/You might think I'm crazy and you're probably right/But I'm gonne have fun every motherfucking night..."

1999 reaches its climax, however, with Prince's shortest and sweetest offering, "Free," which concludes the moody, dub-style third side without any electronic pyrotechnics whatsoever. Prince steps form behind the clinking machinery like a sentimental Wizard of Oz to remind us that "if you take your life for granted, your beating heart will go." More important, he restates his utopian vision in hte most inspirational terms, as if all the battles had been won and he could finally be a lover, nog a fighter. "Free" reeks of skewed patriotism, describing the state of the union as much as a stage of mind, its march-of-history grandiosity recalling Patti Smith's "Broken Flag." Like Smith, Prince is not afraid to be misunderstood - or wrong.

But I think Prince can separate a vision of lige from a version of it, as the disturbing postscript "Lady Cab Driver" illustrates. A sequel to Controvery's "Annie Christian," in which Prince tried to duck fate by living "my life in taxicabs," "Lady Cab Driver" finds him bidding his cabbie to oll up the windows and take him away because "trouble winds are blowin", hard and/I didn't know if I can last." But midway through the song, the pain of both personal and public injustice wells up inside him, bursting out in an angry litany of verbal thrusts - "This is for the cab you have to drive for no money at all/This is for why I wasn't born like my brother, handsome and tall/This is for politicians who are bored and believe in war" - suggesting an ugly backseat orgy of sex or violence. Prince, the lover, not the fighter, then retreats to the demilitarized zone of the bedroom, where he can safely bid us goodbye under the guise of "International Lover." A natural goodbye for Prince, but hardly as powerful as the final moments of Dirty Mind, when, during the antidraft "Partyup," he challenged, "All lies, no truth/Is it fair to kill the youth?" before defiantly commanding, "Party up!" Just as Prince must face the contradiction of creating music that gracefully dissolves racial and stylistic boundaries yet fits comfortably into no one's playlist, he must also decide whether he can "dance my life away" when everybody has a bomb. All you need is love?
December 9, 1982

***************************************************

New Musical Express
November 20, 1982

Flasher in the Pan

Prince - 1999
(Warner Brothers)

DEAR Mixed-Up of Minnesota.
Well - don't you have problems!
Being the sole son and heir of Barry White and Jimi Hendrix is no easy burden for a young boy to bear, but when the only people who like you are the people who get their records free... Well, then comes the hour when the record company, in one last mad gasp of magpie marketing, puts out the "Specially-Priced Two Record Set" and almost audibly screams "Come and buy it, you bastards! It may stink, but at least it's free!"

You saw, you conquered, you came; that used to be your preoccupation, Prince, you pup! You were the Reeperbahn of rock; but now as you and your countrymen sit and contemplate your cold stores in the U.S.A.H (After Herpes) I detect a more chaste worldview, full of partying and vague romantic sadness rather than blow by blow cornporn. Yet even this can have its complications; you use partying, like many of your nasty nationality, as a carwash for the brain, having fun to hide from fear, most graphically in the title track. The end of the world, don't worry your pretty little head about it, Prince, leave the social comment to Grandmaster Flash and revel in your role of pretty boy's pin-up!

I also notice that you have one song, "Little Red Corvette", which implies that you want the world to know that you are a regular guy and not just a sex freak, a regular guy pace Noble, New Jersey, who always fall back on singing love songs to lumps of metal when he wants to show that he is as capable of having fun as the next guy; though falling in love with a lump of metal is a rather recherche way of having fun, I would venture, and far from normal!

I still remember your first communique, "I Wanna Be Your Lover", with som affection. You were the carnal castrati incarnate, there was a gurgling, glorious exuberance about you, all those sweet soaring runs and that nifty backcombed backchat, you were out of the closet and in your element, being just what you always wanted to be... a girl group! But now your songs sound like an interminable string of Fame B-sides, and considering how Fame A-sides sound, that's some insult.

There is an ancient Leninist dictum heeded in the early days of the Russian Revolution and kept alive by many Third World freedom fighters; the One Glass of Water theory, which young revolutionaries applied to S.E.X., your very own cottage industry, in deciding that sex is of no more importance than one glass of water to a thirsty man. Well, I'm sure these baby Spartans enjoy their sparkling sustenance when they get it more than you and your countrymen have enjoyed the rather joyless orgies in which you have been partaking for the last couple of decades and albums. Your problem, Prince, is commercial post-coital triste on a cosmic scale.

The antidote? Get thee to a nunnery, or at least to Donna Summer's songwriter. Few things are such bets chartwise as a Bible-bashing black, Born Again. Sex is no manifesto, no saviour and certainly no shock. As my colleague Confucius likes to say, "Nothing sadder than a flasher who no one notices."

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PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Sunday, November 21, 1982
Section: FEATURES ENTERTAINMENT
Page: L14

POP TOPICS
THIS TRIO OF ACTS WITH SEXUAL VERVE
CRANKS OUT A NEW KIND OF FUNK

By Ken Tucker
Inquirer Popular Music Critic

Warner Bros. Records, Minneapolis and sex. What do these three items have in common?

What they have in common are three other items: Prince, The Time, and Vanity 6, pop acts that will appear at the University City Center on Tuesday night. All three bands are from Minneapolis, all have highly popular new albums on Warner Bros., and all three groups use sex as a crucial, if playful, theme in their music.

Prince is a young man in his early twenties who has already exerted a one- man revolution in pop music. Prince's "Dirty Mind" album in 1980 offered up the most exciting rock 'n' roll that anyone had heard in years, and the most sexually explicit lyrics anyone had ever heard.

Prince sang in a cat's-purr falsetto about dancing and having a good time - but there were also tunes about resisting the draft and the joys of incest. "Dirty Mind" shook up a lot of people, and Prince tried to face up to that in his next album, last year's "Controversy," on which he asked everyone to become more tolerant while framing his argument in driving, tough rock melodies. The fact that he was still choosing to appear onstage attired only in a raincoat and black bikini underwear didn't lessen the controversy that he was generating.

Prince's new album, "1999," begins on an apocalyptic note, as the author suggests that nuclear war is imminent and there isn't a single thing we can do about it - even the protest that he advocated on "Dirty Mind" now strikes him as useless in the Reagan era. Indeed, "1999" is a disconcertingly listless Prince release: two records-worth of warnings, sighs and moans about the state of the world and the state of Prince's mind - when he sings "Let's Pretend We're Married," the phrase takes on an air of desperation.

A DISHEARTENING WASTE

Like all his previous records, "1999" has been written, produced and arranged entirely by Prince, and he's played most of the instruments on the album. Until now, he has avoided all the self-indulgence that sort of freedom often inspires in an artist, but "1999" has its lapses, such as a tedious funk-guitar coda appended to a trivial tune called "Lady Cab Driver" and a vague slap at some of his most enthusiastic supporters in a diatribe called "All the Critics Love U in New York."

It's disheartening, because Prince is squandering the most prodigious gifts of any current pop performer. He's flirting with foolishness, and he didn't even put his best new song on "1999." If you buy the single of that title song, flip it over and play the B-side, "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" It's an extraordinary performance, one that confirms Prince's amazing gifts -- a slow, passionate ballad featuring rich piano playing and a romantic croon that we've never heard from him before. It's a classic song, and a year from now no one will know that it existed.

As disappointing as "1999" is, however, I would unequivocably recommend Prince's show at the University City Center. Despite the uneven new material, and despite that skating-rink's poor acoustics, Prince is likely to put on an exciting show. I've seen him under even more trying circumstances -- such as a performance in a crammed, trendy roller-disco emporium in Los Angeles a year ago -- and he and his terrific touring band delivered a wonderful, provocative show.

Prince's opening acts this week, The Time, and Vanity 6, aren't nearly as ambitious as Prince is - they're dedicated primarily to making smart dance music that celebrates the ephemeral joys of making out. At first sight, Vanity 6 seems like a put-on: three attractive women whose stage costumes consist of negligees and high heels, and whose big hit is called "Nasty Girl," a bit of suggestive funk music, to put it mildly.

THREE AGGRESSIVE WOMEN

Vanity 6's self-titled debut album was produced by Prince under a pseudonym, and their instrumental backing was provided by The Time, so the rhythms are crisp and the suggestiveness has a certain amount of wit. Vanity 6 is still more of a novelty act than anything else - their pouty come-ons and jokey tunes like "He's So Dull" prevent you from considering them with anything but a smile or a sniff of derision. Still, it's nice to hear women being sexually aggressive in a pop world where they're too often made the victims of men's power, and as an opening act, Vanity 6 may prove to be a lot of innocent fun.

The Time occupies the middle ground staked out by Prince and Vanity 6. Its songs of wild partying have a more driven, obsessive edge than Vanity 6's, but its music is less eclectic than Prince's. The Time, led by lead singer Morris Day, makes garrulous, witty dance music, working a similar bass-guitar groove into a variety of moods. As such, the band's latest album, "What Time Is It?," is a more unified record than Prince's "1999" - less ambitious, but more pleasantly conceived.

The Time's music is all about style - how to get it, how to use it, how style becomes power. Onstage, Morris Day's battle cry is "Bring me a mirror!" - he's probably the only pop star around whose personal valet scurries onstage in mid-song to hold a looking-glass up to his employer so that he can comb his 'do before launching into the next verse.

But The Time is more than a bunch of poseurs - when the album kicks off with "Wild and Loose," the music measures up to that song title. The essence of the band's strategy is to build each song around a big, implacable bass rhythm, but spinning around that are dithering guitars and Day's twitchy, sarcastic vocals. Unlike a lot of dance music, there's nothing monolithic about The Time's music - it's airy, light stuff that doesn't limit itself to a rigid beat.

In general, the music made by Prince, The Time and Vanity 6 is a new sort of funk music - expansive, open to new rhythms and off-beat ideas. Best of all, it's a radical sound that's commercially successful, something adventurous music rarely achieves these days.

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Thanx 2 Brenhow's invaluable resource:
http://princetext.tripod.com

and this one from online (recent years):
With Dirty Mind, Prince had established a wild fusion of funk, rock, new wave, and soul that signaled he was an original, maverick talent, but it failed to win him a large audience.

After delivering the sound-alike album Controversy, Prince revamped his sound and delivered the double-album 1999. Where his earlier albums had been a fusion of organic and electronic sounds, 1999 was constructed almost entirely on synthesizers by Prince himself.

Naturally, the effect was slightly more mechanical and robotic than his previous work and strongly recalled the electro-funk experiments of several underground funk and hip-hop artists at the time. Prince had also constructed an album dominated by computer funk, but he didn't simply rely on the extended instrumental grooves to carry the album -- he didn't have to when his songwriting was improving by leaps and bounds.

The first side of the record contained all of the hit singles, and, unsurprisingly, they were the ones that contained the least amount of electronics. "1999" parties to the apocalypse with a P-funk groove much tighter than anything George Clinton ever did, "Little Red Corvette" is pure pop, and "Delirious" takes rockabilly riffs into the computer age.

After that opening salvo, all the rules go out the window - "Let's Pretend We're Married" is a salacious extended lust letter, "Free" is an elegiac anthem, "All the Critics Love U in New York" is a vicious attack at hipsters, and "Lady Cab Driver," with its notorious bridge, is the culmination of all of his sexual fantasies.

Sure, Prince stretches out a bit too much over the course of 1999, but the result is a stunning display of raw talent, not wallowing indulgence.
~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
[This message was edited Tue Oct 28 14:43:41 PST 2003 by bananacologne]

Just wanted to give props for Prince's creative artwork for the cover of 1999. It wasn't until last year tho that I noticed the 1 was a penis . . . . . . .

Thanks for the reviews! I love reading reviews of my favorite album.

4everYoung said:

reminds me of when i first seen the album cover...i was like, "that '1' ain't what i think it is...?"

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

it is
i took that chit 2 a christian school,crap