Prince – Controversy

Why don’t people make records like that anymore? Music is brilliant. Bass is solid. Imaging is A+++. Treble is crystal. One of the best sounding LP I have.

If Dirty Mind was Prince's uncompromising departure from the coming-of-age pains and obsessions that were captured in 1978's For You and 1979's Prince, 1981's Controversy was the cerebral and slightly darker expansion of the brave template that he laid out for Dirty Mind. I can't fathom why it doesn't get many accolades as Dirty Mind. In fact, it's seen as a lesser work in the stunning pre-Purple Rain trifecta that began with Dirty Mind and concluded with 1982's double album opus 1999. It's clearly the misunderstood middle child of the masterstrokes that bookend it, but there's more to it. It solidified the unpredictable world of this unpredictable wunderkind, who was set to become one of the definitive post-modern visionaries of the Eighties. Proof of this fact is found on its grand first side in which its three songs perfectly illustrate Prince's game plan not only in the narratives of his unparalleled Eighties-period work, but for the trajectory of his entire career. The title track begins with a scathing denouncement to his critics, and boldly juxtaposes his message with a religious awakening when he recites 'The Lord's Prayer.' It was probably the first instance of religion in his work. Then, he reaffirms the utopian sexual liberation he covered in 'Dirty Mind''s "Uptown" for "Sexuality." Only this time, sexual expression is positioned with the call for societal uprising to incite anti-conservativism. Of all of Prince's early ballads, "Do Me, Baby" is inarguably his first great slow jam that set the pace for his future classic bedroom burners—the lustful drama, the exhilarating climax with its eccentric come-on monologue, and Prince's imioned vocal delivery. And this was only the first side, mind you. In the second half, political affairs, funk, and even more sex took on more adventurous extremes. Prince was onto something, and soon he would rule the rest of the era at every cost. A transitional classic for the ages,