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All Hail His Majesty, The Purple One

As someone who takes music fairly seriously, I should probably be embarrassed to admit that I've never really had a Prince phase before. Well, I didn't until just recently anyway. I mean, sure, I'd enjoyed the odd single over the years - "Kiss", "Little Red Corvette", "Gett Off", "7", "Batdance" (I was 13, come on) - who hasn't? The man has always had a way with a hook. But every time I got the chance to check out a full album, I was disappointed by how spotty they were. I pretty much wrote him off as a decent singles artist but not much more, always wondering why so many critics fawned over him. I'm not sure what it was, but a recent listen to Purple Rain really, really hit me in the right spot and I decided that I'd avoided him for long enough. It was time to delve into the man's vast, patchy back catalog. I jumped right in by picking up a couple albums for dirt cheap at a local used shop, figuring it was better than fretting over which was the "right" album to hear next. Here's what I found on my first listen to some random Prince albums:

Prince - Lovesexy (1988)
Also known as the one with the naked Prince on the cover. Or, as I like to call it, the annoying one wish all the songs combined on one single track for the CD version. Who's brilliant idea was that? This was probably not the best album to start my exploration with, in retrospect, but it is what is. And what it is, is a pretty weak album. "Alphabet St." is a deservingly popular single, finding Prince dipping his toes into the funk side, but there weren't many other songs that grabbed me. "Anna Stesia" builds to an interesting payoff that treads in light psych-rock, but for the most part this album suffers from a lack of enticing melodies.

Prince - Planet Earth (2007)
I have to admit that I was really hesitant to even bother with a Prince album from this late in the game, but I remembered his jaw-dropping performance at the Super Bowl and popped the disc in. Such a pleasant surprise. The opening title track is a little disappointing, but the rock god facet of Prince blooms full on the searing "Guitar" and I'll be damned if "Chelsea Rogers" isn't one of the best funk songs I've heard in the last ten years. Toss in "Somewhere Here On Earth", a sweet slow jam, and the summery pop of "The One U Wanna C" and you've got a Prince album not to be slept on.

Prince - Music From Graffiti Bridge (1990)
This is a perfect example of the spottiness I'd feared in Prince album, but I think that is par for the course considering this is a collaborative soundtrack effort. Disregarding, at the moment, a couple of pretty sweet jams by The Time (including the heavily sampled "Release It") - you've got a handful of pretty decent Prince tunes. Most people know it for the Top 10 hit "Thieves in the Temple", but I think the fantastic "Joy In Repetition" may be one of Prince's finest pop moments ever. "We Can Funk", featuring George Clinton, is a worthwhile funk workout and "New Power Generation" isn't too bad either. Not a complete waste, but certainly not an essential Prince disc.

Prince & The New Power Generation - Diamonds & Pearls (1991)
Quite simply my favorite of the first bunch, packing quite a few stellar jams into one surprisingly full album. I've always been a fan of "Cream" and "Gett Off", I think those stand up pretty well without much further explanation. I admit to being confused as to why most Prince diehards seem to have the title track, I think it's a fantastic piece of pop with a stellar melody. "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" and "Daddy Pop" are another pair of terrific pop tunes while "Push" and "Walk Don't Walk" are fine examples of those pseudo-uplifting anthems Prince tosses off from time to time. Hell, even the lite-jazz "Strollin'" has its moments.

Hopefully I'll soon have another update as I continue my journey through the Prince back catalog, I'm looking forward to The Love Symbol Album and Sign O The Times next.