Tag: R&B

DEEP DIVE – Album Review: 1999 by Prince and the Revolution (1982)

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

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 reviewing 1999 from 1982.

Album: 1999
Artist: Prince and the Revolution
Release Date: October 27, 1982
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • 1999
  • Little Red Corvette
  • Delirious
  • Let’s Pretend We’re Married
  • D.S.M.R.
  • Free
  • All The Critics Love U In New York
  • International Lover

Thoughts:

Prince has a band.  The Revolution are acknowledged in small print and in reverse on the album cover, a small step to recognize the contributions of fellow artists by a man who preferred to work alone in the studio.  This is also Prince’s first masterpiece.  “1999”/”Little Red Corvette”/”Delirious” must rank among the best opening trio of songs of all time.  I’m also quite fond of “D.S.M.R.” and “All the Critics Love U In New York.”

Musically this album moves among every genre that was popular in 1982 and Prince excel at all of them – Rock, funk, New Wave, synthpop, R&B, and dance.  The Minneapolis Sound is fully codified as a genre of its own.  Prince’s lyrics continue to have a raw eroticism while also engaging with religious faith, two things that Prince would find both conflict and unity throughout his career. From the title song onward, Prince also expresses his philosophy of partying even on the verge of annihilation.

Rating: *****

 

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 O’ the Times 1987
8 1987 Madhouse
16 1987 Madhouse
Lovesexy 1988
Batman 1989
Graffiti  Bridge 1990
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

50 Years, 50 Albums (1984): Private Dancer by Tina Turner

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to listen to and review one album from each year of my life, 1973 to 2022.  The only qualification is that it has to be an album I’ve not reviewed previously. 

1984

Top Grossing Albums of 1984:

  1. Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen
  2. Purple Rain – Prince and the Revolution
  3. Like A Virgin – Madonna
  4. Reckless – Bryan Adams
  5. 1984 – Van Halen

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 1984:

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 1984:

Album: Private Dancer
Artist: Tina Turner
Release Date: May 29, 1984
Label: Capitol
Favorite Tracks:

  • I Might Have Been Queen
  • What’s Love Got to Do with It
  • Show Some Respect
  • Better Be Good to Me
  • Let’s Stay Together
  • Steel Claw
  • Private Dancer

Thoughts:

Tina Turner died last week so I thought it would be a good time to revisit her seminal 1984 album Private Dancer.  Tina’s personal story of escaping the abuse of her husband (and boss) Ike Turner and emerging as a successful solo artist is something that can’t be separated from the greatness of this album.  If you weren’t around in 1984 it’s hard to explain just how huge this album was and Tina’s quick rise to superstardom.  A woman in her 40s suddenly becoming a rock star was something that just didn’t (and doesn’t) happen.

The first single off this album, a cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” was my introduction to Tina Turner (and I didn’t know who Al Green was until years later).  It’s still one of my favorite of Tina’s songs and a terrific interpretation that I’d argue is better than the original.  “What’s Love Got to Do with It” was Tina’s first and only Number One song and really one of the most perfect pop songs ever. I’ve always thought of the title track (written by Mark Knopfler and originally recorded but not released by Dire Straits) as a sympathetic story song from the point of view of a woman who works as an exotic dancer, but metaphorically it also works as a story of Tina’s experience with Ike and for the mistreatment that many women suffer in show business.  My other favorite song on this album is “Better Be Good to Me” especially the soulful call-and-response she sings with the music towards the end.

This album sounds very 80s with keyboard synths and a soft rock vibe.  A lot of artists from the 60s, Tina’s contemporaries, were trying to fit in to the New Wave/synthpop sound in the 80s and flopped.  But Tina makes it work, most likely because her voice is so expressive and she never lets it get overwhelmed by the instrumentation.  I’m glad I revisted this album because in my mind I know that Tina Turner was a great musical artist, but listening to it makes me realize she was even better than I remembered.  She will be missed but I’m glad her voice will live on.

Rating: ****1/2

DEEP DIVE – Album Review: Controversy by Prince

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

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 reviewing Controversy from 1981.

Album: Controversy
Artist: Prince
Release Date: October 14, 1981
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • Controversy
  • Sexuality
  • Ronnie, Talk To Russia
  • Let’s Work
  • Jack U Off

Thoughts:

The title of this album is dead-on since Prince’s music and public persona attracted a lot of controversy.  On the title track Prince questions why he is the subject of so much controversy, recites the Lord’s Prayer, and chants “People call me rude / I wish we all were nude / I wish there was no black and white / I wish there were no rules.” This album exudes the raw sexuality we’ve come to expect from Prince but also addresses political and social issues.

Rolling Stone music critic Stephen Holden wrote “Prince’s first three records were so erotically self-absorbed that they suggested the reveries of a licentious young libertine. On Controversy, that libertine proclaims unfettered sexuality as the fundamental condition of a new, more loving society than the bellicose, overtechnologized America of Ronald Reagan.” This is particularly true  on “Ronnie, Talk to Russia,” a song where Prince expresses his fear of nuclear annihilation, anticipating “1999.”

The album is a time capsule of the 1981 zeitgeist including references to the assassination of John Lennon, the shooting of Ronald Reagan, the murder of Black children in Atlanta, and the Abscam scandal.  The tenuous nature of being a Black artist who challenges the status quo underlies the album and foresaw the racist, sexist, and homophobic abuse Prince and his band received from Rolling Stones fans when opening a concert in Los Angeles just before this album was released.

Musically, Prince continues to expand on the funk sounds of P-Funk with New Wave and pop sensibilities.  “Ronnie, Talk to Russia” channels early rock and roll under layers of sound effects and synth sounds, while “Jack U Off” updates rockabilly.  Prince once again recorded the album almost entirely on his own, with contributions from Lisa Coleman, Dr. Fink, Bobby Z, and Morris Day.

Rating: ****

 

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 O’ the Times 1987
8 1987 Madhouse
16 1987 Madhouse
Lovesexy 1988
Batman 1989
Graffiti  Bridge 1990
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

DEEP DIVE – Album Review: Dirty Mind by Prince

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

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 reviewing Dirty Mind from 1980.

Album: Dirty Mind
Artist: Prince
Release Date: October 8, 1980
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • Dirty Mind
  • When You Were Mine
  • Uptown
  • Head
  • Partyup

Thoughts:

We are now entering an imperial phase for Prince beginning a string of album masterpieces that extends at least to 1987’s Sign O’ the Times. Prince is also venturing beyond being a one-man band with the wonderfully named Doctor Fink playing keyboards on a couple of tracks and Lisa Coleman dueting with Prince on “Head.”  I think this is also Prince’s first collaboration with Morris Day who gets a co-writing credit on “Partyup.”

This is album is perfectly named as Prince exudes a raw exoticism and downright raunchiness that must have been shocking in 1980 and still stands out in Prince’s catalog.  Topics covered in these songs include threesomes, cunnilingus, and incest!  That being said, there’s also a political consciousness emerging in songs such as “Uptown” and “Partyup.”  Musically, Prince deftly blends the funk sounds pioneered by PFunk, disco, punk, and New Wave.  It really feels like the template for 80s rock is being laid out here!

Rating: ****

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 O’ the Times 1987
8 1987 Madhouse
16 1987 Madhouse
Lovesexy 1988
Batman 1989
Graffiti  Bridge 1990
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

Song of the Week: “Roll the Credits” by Danielle Ponder

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Danielle Ponder – “Roll the Credits”

A powerful voice is the first thing that will catch you from this song by Danielle Ponder, a former public defender turned R&B musician from Rochester, NY.  Ponder’s song “Be Gentle” previously appeared in the Monthly Mixtape for March 2021.

 

Songs of the Week for 2023

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March

April

May

DEEP DIVE – Album Review: Prince by Prince (1979)

~ Liam ~ 2 Comments

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 reviewing his eponymous album from 1979

Album: Prince
Artist: Prince
Release Date: October 19, 1979
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • I Wanna Be Your Lover
  • Sexy Dancer
  • I Feel For You
  • It’s Gonna Be Lonely

Thoughts:

Although this album was a swiftly-recorded follow-up to his debut, Prince is clearly evolving as an artist and more diverse in his style. Several of the tracks contain a New Wave feel to the funk and soul, and “Bambi” features a hard rock guitar.  This album includes Prince’s first big hit “I Wanna Be Your Lover” as well as “I Feel For You,” which would be reinvented by Chaka Khan in her classic cover, but the Prince original is strong in its own way.  There are a couple of ballads on this album that don’t work for me, but otherwise there’s no sign of a sophomore slump.

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 O’ the Times 1987
8 1987 Madhouse
16 1987 Madhouse
Lovesexy 1988
Batman 1989
Graffiti  Bridge 1990
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

DEEP DIVE – Album Review: For You by Prince (1978)

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

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 reviewing his 1978 debut album. 

 

Album: For You
Artist: Prince
Release Date: April 7, 1978
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • Soft and Wet
  • I’m Yours

Thoughts: This album is so thoroughly of the 70s but also clearly the work of Prince.  It only shows shades of Prince’s future genius, but for a 19-year-old playing all the instruments and producing in his first studio for the first time, it doesn’t have many flaws beyond a lack of adventure.
Rating: ***

For You 1978 ***
Prince 1979
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 O’ the Times 1987
8 1987 Madhouse
16 1987 Madhouse
Lovesexy 1988
Batman 1989
Graffiti  Bridge 1990
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

50 Years, 50 Albums (2019): Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to listen to and review one album from each year of my life, 1973 to 2022.  The only qualification is that it has to be an album I’ve not reviewed previously. 

2019

Top Grossing Albums of 2019:

  1. Lover – Taylor Swift
  2. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish
  3. Happiness Begins  – Jonas Brothers
  4. Fine Line – Harry Styles
  5. A Star is Born: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 2019:

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 2019:

Album: thank u, next
Artist: Ariana Grande
Release Date: February 8, 2019
Label: Republic
Favorite Tracks:

  • NASA
  • make up
  • 7 rings
  • thank u, next

Thoughts:

When I get to more recent years in the 50 Years project when I was actively reviewing albums at the time, I find myself pushed more outside my typical musical tastes.  Ariana Grande always struck me as a kindhearted and levelheaded person for a pop star, and this album is well-regarded.  I like Grande’s voice, and while the trap elements don’t interest me, they’re fortunately moderated by synthpop, dance, and even reggae influences.  Definitely not an album for me, but you know, it’s still pretty good.

Rating: ***

 

Song of the Week: “exodus the north star” by Yaya Bey

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Yaya Bey – “exodus the north star”

Brooklyn artists Yaya Bey lays down soulful R&B vocals over a slow jazzy track that picks up a reggae beat when it speeds up.

 

Songs of the Week for 2023

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March

Song of the Week: “MA EMILY (featuring Rapsody)” by C.S. Armstrong

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C.S. Armstrong “MA EMILY (featuring Rapsody)”

Can’t find a lot of information about C.S. Armstrong online, but the Houston, Texas-based artist’s music is soaked in Southern Soul.  Guest vocalist Rapsody appears to channel Mavis Staples on this heartfelt tribute to Armstrong’s great-great-grandmother.

 

Songs of the Week for 2023

January

February