Prince Rogers Nelson (1958-2016), more commonly known as Prince—and for a time as an undecipherable symbol
, and then The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, and finally back to plain-old Prince again—was one of the greatest pop artists of his generation. He fused funk, R&B, psychedelic rock and more to create a flamboyant, sexually brash, and immensely enjoyable sound and image. He toyed with and pushed against established gender and racial boundaries, and actively supported and promoting female artists.
But enough talk. Just listen.
Playlist 1: 1978-1981
Playlist 1 covers his early years, including the entirety of his classic 1980 album Dirty Mind. I’ve taken some liberty with chronological sequencing here.
Playlist 2: 1982
Playlist 2 offers a slightly condensed version of his commercial breakthrough, 1999. I only cut one track, in fact—a ballad that I almost always skip when I listen.
Playlist 3: 1984-1986
Playlist 3 covers the three albums officially billed as by Prince and the Revolution (although the Revolution also played on 1999)—the landmark Purple Rain album, the inconsistent Around the World in a Day, and the return to form Parade.
Playlist 4: 1987
Playlist 4 gives a healthy selection from the classic Sign o’ the Times, plus a terrific side from The Black album, originally slated for release in 1987, but then shelved until the mid-‘90s. A friend of mine and I split the cost on a bootleg version when we found it in a local record store, so I associate it with this time period.
Playlist Note: What a drag. It seems The Black Album is unavailable in Spotify. My choices were all of side two: “Bob George,” “Superfunkycalifragisexy,” “2 Nigs United 4 West Compton,” and “Rockhard In A Funky Place.” That side shows Prince at perhaps his most frenziedly funky—great stuff, worth tracking down. (Side one was less impressive.)
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Playlist 5: 1988-present
Playlist 5 attempts to cover the remainder of Prince’s career.
I have to admit I didn’t follow Prince much past the late ‘80s. And now I hardly have time to listen to everything the Purple One has done since then. So to select a smaller listening pool from which to make my selections for this playlist, I’ve had to consult my sources: AcclaimedMusic.net, AllMusic.com, Robert Christgau, and—most important—an old friend and devoted Prince fan from my undergrad days, known in some (very small) circles as Funkmaster J.
I’ve focused mostly on the ‘90s, with a couple late ‘80s tracks and a brief sampling from 3121, his general-consensus best album from our current millennium.
Normally I limit these playlists to the length of a CD, and I was planning on an 80-minute beast of pure, slammin’ funk here. But I stretched the length to nearly two hours to bring some slower, quieter moments into the mix.
Enjoy! And let me know what I left out in the comments, below.
Note: Any distillation of over twelve years of music from an artist as prolific as Prince is bound to have some glaring omissions (the entire 3CD Emancipation, for example). Compile your own supplementary playlists and post them in the comments, to let me know the best of what I left out!
Art:
- Purple Rain: Source, Discogs.com
- Love Symbol: By hardgeus.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23986803
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