--=[ Prince ]=--

Prince - The Black Album [1987]

The history of this album is well-documented, but in a nutshell (for those not in the know), Prince wrote and recorded it for Sheila E.'s birthday one night, and eventually decided not to release it due to religious reasons.When the Black album was circulating "underground" it was a MUST-HAVE for any die-hard fan.














Prince - Lovesexy [1988]

The 9 tracks of Lovesexy are nearly flawless. I could rave about each of them all day, but a few stand out in my mind. The first track, "Eye No" is the perfect marriage of gospel soul and JB's funk, with a clear, terse message of faith ("Eye No there is a heaven/eye no there is hell/listen 2 me people/I've got a story to tell/eye no there was confusion lightnin' all around me/that's when I called His name/don't u know he found me.") "Alphabet St." is a timeless pop ditty infused with sly sexual inunendo. "Dance On" features fierce drumming and some great social commentary on drugs and gangs. The title track is pure joy, with some great synths and horns. "When 2 R in Love," a holdover from the Black Album, is a classic, minimalist Prince "slow jam." As with "Sign," Prince explores a wide variety of topics on these tracks, but the pace and flow of the LP tends to bring them all together into one masterpiece.

Both records are inspired by the funk. Lovesexy just focuses more on the divine, as opposed to The Black Album's pre-occupation with Lust. The ongoing theme of the majority of Prince's music since day one.














Prince - Musicology [2004]

After a decade and a half of only making records that tickled his own eccentric fancy, Prince has returned with a rather high-minded agenda to educate listeners in the science of music--or at least take them back to school--make that old school, bragging on the title track that "We got a Ph.D. in advanced body movin'." But his braggadocio is not without merit. The Purple One has reconnected with that deep vein of funk after experimenting with his splendid and messy excesses since the cusp of the nineties, and turned out his best album since 1987's Sign of the Times. Lean and minimal but with pronounced airtight grooves, the musician once again fuses the spiritual with the carnal, but has turned down the heat quite a bit since becoming a Jehovah's Witness. Instead of a dirty mind, Prince extols the joys of wedded bliss (he married Manuela Testolini on New Year's Eve 2001) on the slow, seductive "Call My Name," displays a sardonic sense of humor when he skewers his old 80s rival Michael Jackson on "Life O The Party" (My voice is getting higher/I ain't never had my nose done), and shows a rather tart and anxious social conscience throughout the disc; most eloquently articulated on the arch and acerbic "Mr. Man" where he not only references the gospel but the U.S. Constitution. "Cinnamon Girl," which borrows its title from Neil Young's infamous seventies anthem comes closest to the inscrutable musician's former high water marks, and shows that Prince well deservedly is able to reclaim his thorny crown.















Prince - Planet Earth [2007]

Simply put, Planet Earth is the album longtime Prince fans have been waiting for. Several cuts on this album revisit some of the classic Prince sound the captured fans all over the world and helped deem him an incomparable music icon. Superstar and legendary musician prince kicked off 2007 with a show stopping Super Bowls Half-time performance. Prince pulled out all the stops during the second most-watched super bowl broadcast ever. With an estimated 93.2 million viewers to entertain, Prince wasted no time showing off his stages powers and irrefutable guitar skills. He masterfully captured the attention and respect of music fans in general, while sending a message to long time Prince fans that he was ready to once again reign supreme.

Tracklistings are in the comments section.