Recently someone mocked my musical sensibility when I mentioned that Prince was a great songwriter. Not exactly mocked, but scoffed at, with my manhood subliminally questioned. Ok, I get it, it’s generally uncool to admit being a fan of Prince when you’re talking metal / hardcore.
So anyway, I decided to download 1999 and write this while listening. Guess what, it’s good.
I knew that would happen. Of course, I’ve heard 1999, Delirious and Little Red Corvette (The first and last because I have ears and go out in public, the third because an ex-girlfriend hooked up me with Prince’s Greatest Hits Volume 2 way back in college). Also I had gotten a copy of Purple Rain a few years previous.
I remember hearing “Take Me With U” for the first time and thinking HOLY SHIT, a similar reaction the Purple One evoked when I first heard “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”. Then Purple Rain, of course Darling Nikki. And I knew that was a classic album. And I wanted to share whatever thoughts I could while listening to this heralded piece of Prince’s catalog.
The extended jams here are something amazing, because the talent to write songs beyond verse / chorus / verse transcends genre: It’s a musical skill. Look, I know Prince is weird, but if you’re a musician, you have to get over it – my closed mindedness has cost me a few opportunities to see amazing artists LIVE before I knew they were amazing.
Beyond the first three singles, this album is stoner rock – extended jams and such. Pretty much the type of record you can put on and drift off into your own thoughts. Kyuss fans should take notice.
