Here begins a new daily (as time allows) series of posts. For the next several weeks, I am going to work my way through what amounts to be a majority of Prince's catalogue, in alphabetical order, one album a day, and report back each day to the few of you who haven't blocked me already with a small review. That said, let's begin:
Prince Album of the Day (Day 1): Around the World in a Day (1985). Standout tracks: Condition of the Heart, Raspberry Beret, Pop Life, The Ladder.
The follow-up album to 1984's Purple Rain, Prince let loose with some experimentation and came up with a merely mediocre album. The title track has potential but never quite goes anywhere. Paisley Park does even less. Tamborine may be one of the most painfully bad songs I've heard. But the rest of the album is not bad. It's hard not to like the singles, Raspberry Beret and Pop Life (I still have those both on 45). Condition of the Heart is a really solid ballad that I'd put up there with the best of them, not quite as good as 1999's Free, but really damn good. The Ladder is one of Prince's "come to Jesus" tunes, and it's very catchy and has been stuck in my head most of the day. That track is followed with Temptation, a sex and God-fueled romp that features some killer guitar and saxophone work. It gets a little weird near the end, where he has a little dialogue with the Almighty about sex vs. love, which was a common theme of the tour that led up to this album, but it's still a worthwhile listen.
Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
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