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1999

Prince

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iTunes Review

Almost from the start, Prince’s rock credentials were as strong as his funk ones. But it wasn’t until 1999, his fifth album, that the real commercial crossover began. The masterfully building “Little Red Corvette,” with its New Wave beat and hard-rock guitar solo, was the track that did it. Elsewhere, Prince mixed and matched as he pleased. “D.M.S.R.” (“Dance, music, sex, romance”) is a club banger that brings together a repetitive synth vamp and a classic soul guitar riff. “Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)” is one of his many experiments in minimalism. The back-to-back “Free” and “Lady Cab Driver” are a dizzying display of shifting moods; the former is as content as can be, while the latter is one of Prince’s most existentially angry moments. Finally, “International Lover” signals that the artist isn’t afraid to lampoon either himself or R&B’s love-man conventions. “Screw the masses,” he declares on “D.M.S.R.,” but he was moving ever closer to them while doing it all his way. Next stop: Purple Rain.

Customer Reviews

Album is 5-star - but iTunes edits the title track...

The album is fantastic - but having owned it for 15 years or so I'm disappointed that iTunes is posting this as a complete album, when the title track is clearly the single edit, rather than the superior, complete 6:20 version. Regardless, if you only buy one track, buy DMSR and pump it up load (and repeat).

This was the first Prince album I bought

As a 14 y/o, I thought this was it. Right in the middle of 80's pop, mods, and big hair, I spied this album. The guy at the record store said it was one of the best albums he'd ever heard, not that he was just selling anything. When you think of Prince music, think of the opening to "1999: 'Don't worry I won't hurt you. I only want you to have some fun.'" This album is fun, especially Delirious, DMSR, Automatic, and Lady Cab Driver.

Listen to this and you'll realize...

...why Prince still has so many fans, despite the poor quality of his last several releases. 1999 is a towering work of songwriting and musicianship, and its virtuosic blending of musical styles yielded music that was unlike anything anyone had ever heard. 1999 was the album that cemented Prince's standing as the most talented, badass, hippest, and without question the coolest figure in contemporary music. Thinking back on the reactions this album elicited still blows my mind. John Cougar, then a huge star, actually interrupted a concert and played "Little Red Corvette" to the audience because he so badly wanted to turn them onto this major new talent. Prince practically drove Rick James (then really popular) mad with envy; he was the only artist who struck fear into Michael Jackson; I remember Eddie Murphy, at the height of his fame, saying that Prince was the only person in the world he'd trade places with. Miles Davis gave Prince huge, huge props, saying he could be his generation's Duke Ellington. Really, all the other pop titans of the era -- people like Bruce Springsteen and a little later, Madonna, etc. -- acknowledged that there was Prince and then there was everyone else. And all that adulation took root in this overwhelmingly funky, freaky, astoundingly innovative album. I recommend listening to it when you're alone and otherwise unoccupied, because the more attention you pay, the more it rewards you.

Biography

Born: June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, MN

Genre: R&B/Soul

Years Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

Few artists have created a body of work as rich and varied as Prince. During the '80s, he emerged as one of the most singular talents of the rock & roll era, capable of seamlessly tying together pop, funk, folk, and rock. Not only did he release a series of groundbreaking albums; he toured frequently, produced albums and wrote songs for many other artists, and recorded hundreds of songs that still lie unreleased in his vaults. With each album he released, Prince has shown remarkable stylistic...
Full Bio

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