Like so many artists’ early work, I’ve come to this Prince album backwards. And I suspect that a lot of my issues with it come from all the later Prince I’ve heard. Because, on first listen, this record just sounded like Prince in utero or, um, proto Prince.
Tag: Synth Funk
Future Shock (1983) by Herbie Hancock
I thought Herbie Hancock made this!?!?! What’s a jazz musician doing embracing emerging culture?!?! Sacrilege!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quick Step and Side Kick (1983) by Thompson Twins
Now this is more like it.
Thriller (1982) by Michael Jackson
Much like Bad, so many of the songs from Thriller were hits when I was a little kid that I know more of this record than I could have ever imagined. That knowledge once again puts me in a weird position, having the memory of what some of these songs sounded like to me as …
Computer Games (1982) by George Clinton
Though credited to George Clinton, this is a Parliament album in all but name: it is performed by the same people and the general vibe of Parliament permeates everything. The only difference really is the context: it’s the ’80s, and technology has changed and “Planet Rock” is a thing.
Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome (1977) by Parliament
So i didn’t love Clones of Doctor Funkenstein at all. In the interim, I don’t know if I’ve changed (I think I am more accepting of the general zaniness of P-Funk now than I was) or maybe this is just a lot better.
1999 (1982) by Prince
Listening to this record immediately after Marvin Gaye’s Midnight Love is instructive: Prince shows how cutting edge musical technology can be used without permanently dating a record. Hint: it helps if you write good songs and it helps if you’re idiosyncratic. Prince has written a bunch of really catchy songs – even the songs he …
Midnight Love (1982) by Marvin Gaye
I don’t know Marvin Gaye at all, beyond his most famous singles. I guess his Motown stuff is just too slick for me, so I never bothered. I still mean to listen to What’s Going On at some point but I just haven’t gotten there. I don’t know much about his personal life, either, beyond …
Bad (1987) by Michael Jackson
I grew up with “Fat” and have a hard time separating the real song, the title track of this record, from its parody. But I haven’t listened to “Fat” in so long. Listening to Bad for the first time (and to the remaster, no less), I can’t help but wonder, “does “Fat” sound this terrible …