Controversy - Prince (CD)

Released in 1981, Prince s fourth album Controversy seems to have suffered in critical memory from being sandwiched between the artist-defining Dirty Mind and crossover successes "1999" and Purple Rain . However, it certainly shouldn t be ignored, and is another great musical excursion that continues to display Prince s talents and growth as a composer and performer. More than anything Controversy feels like Prince fully embracing his role in creating dance music, relying heavily on synthesisers to form the backbone of each groove and subtly overlaying them with guitar, bass and whatever...

One thing that never ceases to amaze me when listening to Prince's output from the Eighties is it's sense of daring. Particularly in today's musically conservative, beige era, you wonder how songs like "When Doves Cry" and "Kiss" got on the radio. Prince was (and still is) an extremely unique artist, drawing on multiple genres for a singular sound. Just when you think he's a rocker, he pulls you back with a seductive slow jam, and then he goes left again and drops avant-garde noise on you. By the time of "Controversy"'s 1981 release, Prince was quickly becoming a superstar. Although his first.

Now that the seediness of Saturday night is but a memory, now that we've all returned to our lives of respectable normalcy, it somehow seems fitting to cap it all off with a review of "Controversy". After all, any number of the things mentioned on this album could've come to pass in a shadowy little chamber in the heart of Manhattan but thankfully...didn't. Besides, the demon of speed is a Prince fanatic. So let's dedicate this one to him. I have owned this album for many, many years. It occupies side two of a tape cassette, the other side of which contains Prince's previous album, "Dirty...

Maybe I'm influenced because of its location in Prince's catalog, sandwiched between two of his better albums (Dirty Mind and 1999), but I consider Controversy to be merely an average Prince record. Oh, there is a talent behind the wheel here; the album is a playground of funk, rock, new wave, and soul thanks to Prince's multi-instrumental know-how. But the vital ingredients to his best work are sure-fire hooks and melodies, and Controversy doesn't have enough of them. Granted, an average Prince album would be a high point in the career of many artists. I'm reminded of reviews to almost every.