Prince - Classic Albums Collection 1978-1986 (2013) [Official Digital Download 24 bit/192kHz]

Few artists have created a body of work as rich and varied as Prince. During the '80s, he emerged as one of the most singular talents of the rock & roll era, capable of seamlessly tying together pop, funk, folk, and rock. Not only did he release a series of groundbreaking albums; he toured frequently, produced albums and wrote songs for many other artists, and recorded hundreds of songs that still lie unreleased in his vaults. With each album he released, Prince has shown remarkable stylistic growth and musical diversity, constantly experimenting with different sounds, textures, and genres. Occasionally, his music can be maddeningly inconsistent because of this eclecticism, but his experiments frequently succeed; no other contemporary artist can blend so many diverse styles into a cohesive whole. Prince is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who has sold over eighty million copies worldwide. He has won seven GRAMMY Awards, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. He is also one of Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.

For You is Prince’s highly regarded debut album. He showcases his unworldly arrangements and performance skills, blending R&B with funk. Reaching the top twenty five on Billboard’s Top R&B albums, For You includes the standouts, “Just As Long As We're Together” and “Soft And Wet.” This iconic debut is an essential addition to your music collection.

On his debut album, For You, Prince shows exceptional skill for arranging and performing mainstream urban R&B and funk, but his songwriting remains conventional. Only on the mildly racy "Soft and Wet" does he demonstrate a personal touch, but the song is still more of a promise than a fulfillment. While For You isn't a bad record, it is merely a pleasant one, and it offers very little indication of his staggering talents.

Tracklist:

01 - For You
02 - In Love
03 - Soft And Wet
04 - Crazy You
05 - Just As Long As We're Together
06 - Baby
07 - My Love Is Forever
08 - So Blue
09 - I'm Yours




Prince is the second studio album by Prince, originally released in October 1979. It was written, produced, and performed entirely by Prince himself, and is a harbinger of what Prince would be capable of in his future albums. The song "I Feel for You" is a true masterpiece, all the more incredible given the fact Prince was only 20 years old when he recorded the album. Other great singles from this album include "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"

Expanding the urban R&B and funk approach of his debut, Prince is a considerably more accomplished record than his first effort, featuring the first signs of his adventurous, sexy signature sound. Although the album is still rather uneven, a handful of songs rank as classics. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" is excellent lite funk and "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" is a wonderful soulful plea, but "I Feel for You," a sexy slice of urban R&B with a strong pop melody, is the true masterpiece of Prince, indicating the major breakthroughs of his next album, Dirty Mind.

Tracklist:

01 - I Wanna Be Your Lover
02 - Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?
03 - Sexy Dancer
04 - When We're Dancing Close and Slow
05 - With You
06 - Bambi
07 - Still Waiting
08 - I Feel for You
09 - It's Gonna Be Lonely

Neither For You nor Prince was adequate preparation for the full-blown masterpiece of Prince's third album, Dirty Mind. Recorded in his home studio, with Prince playing nearly every instrument, Dirty Mind is a stunning, audacious amalgam of funk, new wave, R&B, and pop, fueled by grinningly salacious sex and the desire to shock. Where other pop musicians suggested sex in lewd double-entendres, Prince left nothing to hide – before its release, no other rock or funk record was ever quite as explicit as Dirty Mind, with its gleeful tales of oral sex, threesomes, and even incest. Certainly, it opened the doors for countless sexually explicit albums, but to reduce its impact to mere profanity is too reductive – the music of Dirty Mind is as shocking as its graphic language, bending styles and breaking rules with little regard for fixed genres. Basing the album on a harder, rock-oriented beat more than before, Prince tries everything – there's pure new wave pop ("When You Were Mine"), soulful crooning ("Gotta Broken Heart Again"), robotic funk ("Dirty Mind"), rock & roll ("Sister"), sultry funk ("Head," "Do It All Night"), and relentless dance jams ("Uptown," "Partyup"), all in the space of half an hour. It's a breathtaking, visionary album, and its fusion of synthesizers, rock rhythms, and funk set the style for much of the urban soul and funk of the early '80s.

Tracklist:

01 - Dirty Mind
02 - When You Were Mine
03 - Do It All Night
04 - Gotta Broken Heart Again
05 - Uptown
06 - Head
07 - Sister
08 - Partyup




Composed, produced, arranged and performed by Prince, Controversy is the music icon’s 1981 classic. Reaching #3 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums, the work features the hit R&B singles “Controversy” and “Let’s Work.” This undeniable masterpiece highlights Prince’s remarkable musicianship. The outing received four stars from Blender and Rolling Stone.

Controversy continues in the same vein of new wave-tinged funk on Dirty Mind, emphasizing Prince's fascination with synthesizers and synthesizing disparate pop music genres. It is also more ambitious than its predecessor, attempting to tackle social protest ("Controversy," "Ronnie, Talk to Russia," "Annie Christian") along with sex songs ("Jack U Off," "Sexuality"), and it tries hard to bring funk to a rock audience and vice versa. Even with all of Prince's ambitions, the music on Controversy doesn't represent a significant breakthrough from Dirty Mind, and it is often considerably less catchy and memorable. Nevertheless, Prince's talents as musician make the record enjoyable, even if it isn't as compelling as most of his catalog.

Tracklist:

01 - Controversy
02 - Sexuality
03 - Do Me, Baby
04 - Private Joy
05 - Ronnie, Talk to Russia
06 - Let's Work
07 - Annie Christian
08 - Jack U Off




1999 is the seminal masterpiece by Prince. It is his first to reach the Billboard Top Ten and was one of the bestselling albums of 1983. The outing features the breakthrough hits “1999,” “Delirious” and “Little Red Corvette.” The multi-instrumentalist incorporates thrilling synthesizers to produce one of his most innovative works to date. VH1, Slant Magazine, and Rolling Stone named 1999 one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2008, the album was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame.

Chart History/Awards:
- Reached #4 on Billboard's Top R&B Albums.
- Reached #9 on the Billboard 200.
- "1999" reached #4 on Billboard's Top R&B Singles.
- "Delirious" reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Included on VH1, Slant Magazine and Rolling Stone's "Greatest Albums of All Time."
- Inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame.
- Allmusic.com - 5/5 stars.

With Dirty Mind, Prince had established a wild fusion of funk, rock, new wave, and soul that signaled he was an original, maverick talent, but it failed to win him a large audience. After delivering the sound-alike album, Controversy, Prince revamped his sound and delivered the double album 1999. Where his earlier albums had been a fusion of organic and electronic sounds, 1999 was constructed almost entirely on synthesizers by Prince himself. Naturally, the effect was slightly more mechanical and robotic than his previous work and strongly recalled the electro-funk experiments of several underground funk and hip-hop artists at the time. Prince had also constructed an album dominated by computer funk, but he didn't simply rely on the extended instrumental grooves to carry the album – he didn't have to when his songwriting was improving by leaps and bounds. The first side of the record contained all of the hit singles, and, unsurprisingly, they were the ones that contained the least amount of electronics. "1999" parties to the apocalypse with a P-Funk groove much tighter than anything George Clinton ever did, "Little Red Corvette" is pure pop, and "Delirious" takes rockabilly riffs into the computer age. After that opening salvo, all the rules go out the window – "Let's Pretend We're Married" is a salacious extended lust letter, "Free" is an elegiac anthem, "All the Critics Love U in New York" is a vicious attack at hipsters, and "Lady Cab Driver," with its notorious bridge, is the culmination of all of his sexual fantasies. Sure, Prince stretches out a bit too much over the course of 1999, but the result is a stunning display of raw talent, not wallowing indulgence.

Tracklist:

01 - 1999
02 - Little Red Corvette
03 - Delirious
04 - Let's Pretend We're Married
05 - D.M.S.R.
06 - Automatic
07 - Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)
08 - Free
09 - Lady Cab Driver
10 - All The Critics Love U In New York
11 - International Lover




Purple Rain is Prince’s 1984 masterpiece and one of the best albums in music history. This multi-Platinum classic has sold over twenty million copies worldwide, becoming one of the bestselling albums of all time. This chart-topping hit features the Top Ten singles “Purple Rain,” “Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry.” It earned Prince two GRAMMY Awards and is featured on countless “Best of” lists including Time, Rolling Stone, VH1, Vanity Fair, Slant Magazine, Entertainment Weekly and many others. In 2012, the album was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. This brilliant masterpiece is an essential addition to any collection.

Chart History/Awards:
- On Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time."
- On Tempo's "Greatest Albums of the 1980s."
- #2 on Slant Magazine's "Best Albums of the 1980s."
- Inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.
- One of Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Movie Soundtracks."
- One of Vibe's "100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century."
- Reached #1 on the Billboard 200.
- "Let's Go Crazy" and "When Doves Cry" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Won two GRAMMY Awards.
- Allmusic.com - 5/5 stars, album pick.

Prince designed Purple Rain as the project that would make him a superstar, and, surprisingly, that is exactly what happened. Simultaneously more focused and ambitious than any of his previous records, Purple Rain finds Prince consolidating his funk and R&B roots while moving boldly into pop, rock, and heavy metal with nine superbly crafted songs. Even its best-known songs don't tread conventional territory: the bass-less "When Doves Cry" is an eerie, spare neo-psychedelic masterpiece; "Let's Go Crazy" is a furious blend of metallic guitars, Stonesy riffs, and a hard funk backbeat; the anthemic title track is a majestic ballad filled with brilliant guitar flourishes. Although Prince's songwriting is at a peak, the presence of the Revolution pulls the music into sharper focus, giving it a tougher, more aggressive edge. And, with the guidance of Wendy and Lisa, Prince pushed heavily into psychedelia, adding swirling strings to the dreamy "Take Me With U" and the hard rock of "Baby I'm a Star." Even with all of his new, but uncompromising, forays into pop, Prince hasn't abandoned funk, and the robotic jam of "Computer Blue" and the menacing grind of "Darling Nikki" are among his finest songs. Taken together, all of the stylistic experiments add up to a stunning statement of purpose that remains one of the most exciting rock & roll albums ever recorded.

Tracklist:

01 - Let's Go Crazy
02 - Take Me With U
03 - The Beautiful Ones
04 - Computer Blue
05 - Darling Nikki
06 - When Doves Cry
07 - I Would Die 4 U
08 - Baby I'm A Star
09 - Purple Rain




Around The World In A Day is Prince’s double Platinum classic. This seminal masterpiece follows the success of Purple Rain, reaching #1 on the Billboard 200. Adding a variety of psychedelic elements to his sound, the albums features Top Ten hits including “America,” “Pop Life” and “Raspberry Beret”.

Purple Rain made Prince sound like he could do anything, but it still didn't prepare even his most fervent fans for the insular psychedelia of Around the World in a Day. Prince had made his interior world sound fascinating and utopian on Purple Rain, but Around the World in a Day is filled with cryptic religious imagery, bizarre mysticism, and confounding metaphors which were drenched in heavily processed guitars, shimmering keyboards, grandiose strings, and layers of vocals. As an album, the record is a bit impenetrable, requiring great demands of the listener, but individual songs do shine through: "Raspberry Beret" is a brilliant piece of neo-psychedelia with an indelible chorus, "Pop Life" is a snide swipe at stardom that emphasizes Prince's outsider status, "Condition of the Heart" is a fine ballad, "America" is a good funk jam, "Paisley Park" is heavy and slightly frightening guitar psychedelia, while the title track is a sunny, kaleidoscopic pastiche of Magical Mystery Tour. The problem is, only a handful of the songs have much substance outside of their detailed production and intoxicating performances, and the album has a creepy sense of paranoia that is eventually its undoing.

Tracklist:

01 - Around The World In A Day
02 - Paisley Park
03 - Condition Of The Heart
04 - Raspberry Beret
05 - Tamborine
06 - America
07 - Pop Life
08 - The Ladder
09 - Temptation




"Parade: Music From The Motion Picture Under The Cherry Moon" is Prince's eighth studio album and the last album that he did with The Revolution. It was released as the soundtrack to the 1986 film Under the Cherry Moon, which was directed by Prince, who also starred in the film. The album was mostly a solo effort by Prince, who plays most of the instruments on the album. Other musicians featured on the album include Lisa Coleman, Wendy Melvoin, Dr. Fink, Jonathan Melvoin, and Susannah Melvoin, as well as featuring several orchestral arrangements by Clare Fischer.

Undaunted by the criticism Around the World in a Day received, Prince continued to pursue his psychedelic inclinations on Parade, which also functioned as the soundtrack to his second film, Under the Cherry Moon. Originally conceived as a double album, Parade has the sprawling feel of a double record, even if it clocks in around 45 minutes. Prince & the Revolution shift musical moods and textures from song to song – witness how the fluttering psychedelia of "Christopher Tracy's Parade" gives way to the spare, jazzy funk of "New Position," which morphs into the druggy "I Wonder U" – and they're determined not to play it safe, even on the hard funk of "Girls and Boys" and "Mountains," as well as the stunning "Kiss," which hits hard with just a dry guitar, keyboard, drum machine, and layered vocals. All of the group's musical adventures, even the cabaret-pop of "Venus de Milo" and "Do U Lie?" do nothing to undercut the melodicism of the record, and the amount of ground they cover in 12 songs is truly remarkable. Even with all of its attributes, Parade is a little off-balance, stopping too quickly to give the haunting closer, "Sometimes It Snows in April," the resonance it needs. For some tastes, it may also be a bit too lyrically cryptic, but Prince's weird religious and sexual metaphors develop into a motif that actually gives the album weight. If it had been expanded to a double album, Parade would have equaled the subsequent Sign 'o' the Times, but as it stands, it's an astonishingly rewarding near-miss.

Tracklist:

01 - Christopher Tracy's Parade
02 - New Position
03 - I Wonder U
04 - Under The Cherry Moon
05 - Girls & Boys
06 - Life Can Be So Nice
07 - Venus De Milo
08 - Mountains
09 - Do U Lie?
10 - Kiss
11 - Anotherloverholenyohead
12 - Sometimes It Snows In April


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