DEEP DIVES – Album Review: Graffiti Bridge by Prince

I am doing a deep dive into the work of the musical artist Prince.  Each week until December I will post my thoughts on albums released by Prince (and his bands and side projects) focusing on one year of his career. 

This week I’m focusing on the soundtrack for Graffiti Bridge from 1990.

Album: Graffiti Bridge
Artist: Prince
Release Date: August 20, 1990
Label:  Paisley Park | Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

• Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got
• Release It
• The Question of U
• Round and Round
• Shake
• Thieves in the Temple
• Melody Cool
• Graffiti Bridge

Thoughts:

A new decade, new band, new movie, and new soundtrack. Is it also a new sound for Prince?  Kind of.  Prince embraces the New Jack Swing popular at the time but flavors it with his own brand of funk and rock.  The album is spangled with guest artists including the Time, Tevin Campbell, George Clinton, Elisa Fiorillo, and Mavis Staples, not to mention Prince’s new band New Power Generation.

I’m not sure what it says that I like the songs from Prince’s guest artists more than the Prince tracks. The positive interpretation is that Prince is still excelling as a producer and a songwriter, and the man who so long worked as a one-band is becoming more comfortable as a collaborationist.  This sprawling album looks backward more than forwards, channeling the sound of Prince’s earlier works as well as soul/funk/rock classic of the 60s & 70s.  But this album also sounds like a transitional work. What exactly Prince is transitioning to I will discover in the upcoming weeks.

Rating: ***1/2

 

For You	1978		***
Prince	1979		***1/2
Dirty Mind	1980		****
Controversy	1981		****
1999	1982	Prince and the Revolution	*****
Purple Rain	1984	Prince and the Revolution	*****
Around the World in a Day	1985	Prince and the Revolution	****
Parade	1986	Prince and the Revolution	****
Sign “☮︎” the Times	1987		****1/2
8	1987	Madhouse	***
16	1987	Madhouse	***1/2
Lovesexy	1988		***1/2
Batman	1989		***
Graffiti  Bridge	1990		***1/2
Diamonds and Pearls	1991	Prince and the New Power Generation
Love Symbol	1992	Prince and the New Power Generation
Goldnigga	1993	The New Power Generation
Come	1994
The Black Symbol	1994
The Gold Experience	1995
Exodus	1995	The New Power Generation
Chaos and Disorder	1996
Emancipation	1996
Kamasutra	1997	The NPG Orchestra
Crystal Ball	1998
The Truth	1998
Newpower Soul	1998	The New Power Generation
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale	1999
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic	1999
The Rainbow Children	2001
One Nite Alone…	2002
One Nite Alone… Live!	2002
Xpectation	2003
N-E-W-S	2003
Musicology	2004
The Chocolate Invasion	2004
The Slaughterhouse	2004
C-Note	2004
3121	2006
Planet Earth	2007
Indigo Nights	2008
Lotusflow3r/MPLSound	2009
20Ten	2010
Plectrumelectrum	2014	with 3rdeyegirl
Art Official Age	2014	with 3rdeyegirl
HITnRun Phase One	2015
HITnRun Phase Two	2015