Welcome back on Blogger!
It has been some time, I know, but I am back and today I am going to talk about my other icon: Prince. He died 5 years ago today, and since he's always been more than just the hits, I thought it would have been great to honor his talent by showcasing what I think are some of his most underrated, but still brilliant, songs. I hope you enjoy this article, this is actually the first time I write about Prince, be easy on me. Let's go!
Dark (Come, 1994)
From Prince's fifteenth studio album "Come" (curiously released on Madonna's 36th birthday), "Dark" is a soul/gospel slow-jam about a heartbreak(er). Prince shares his frustration about this woman, who used him for sex and money and left him when he needed her the most: "Inside lookin' out my window / I don't see nothing but rain / Sun up in the sky just a shinin' / Still I'm lost in my shadow of pain". As the album itself was his last release on Warner Bros Records before infamously changing his name from Prince to a mysterious symbol, maybe the "woman" is exactly Warner, as crazy as it sounds. Other Prince fans share this interpretation, which I find hilarious but genius at the same time.
Anna Stesia (Lovesexy, 1988)
Let's go back to 1988 and talk about the eerie beauty of Anna Stesia, in my opinion the focal point of the whole album "Lovesexy", which dealt with spiritual rebirth. Prince goes on an emotional journey on this song, starting from a dark state of mind ("Between white and black, night and day / Black night seemed like the only way") then proceeding to a phase of enlightenment ("Maybe, maybe, maybe I could learn to love / If I was just closer to something / Closer to your higher self") and finally arriving to his destination, which is God ("We're just a play in Your master plan / Now my Lord I understand"). The name of the song itself is a play on "anastasis", the Greek word for resurrection, which Prince personifies in the chorus ("Anna Stesia come to me / Talk to me, ravish me / Liberate my mind"/ "Tell me what you think of me / Praise me, craze me/ Out this space and time").
Mountains (Parade, 1986)
The second single from Prince's eighth studio album, Mountains is one perfect "pop" moment in his discography. The lyrics play with fantasy imagery to convey an uplifting message, precisely getting over our own insecurities and fears. I love the songwriting in the first verse in particular, it's a short story on its own: "Once upon a time in a land called Fantasy / Seventeen mountains stood so high / The sea surrounded them and together they would be / The only thing that ever made you cry / You said the devil told you that another mountain would appear / Everytime somebody broke your heart". Prince's falsetto and the synth drums mix up with the irresistible melody and create one of his greatest songs ever.
Ol Skool Company (MPLSound, 2009)
Let me introduce you to my favorite Prince song, it has everything but most of all it has the funk and the sass. The lyrics deal with music, politics, society and nostalgia but the foundation of the song lies in the lines "Rather than reminisce I'm telling you this / It's time for a brand new scene". We can create something new and better then what we have now starting from what we know already. We shouldn't be stuck in the past but we shouldn't deny that very past either, this I think was Prince's message in this track. An absolute hit that should get more recognition even within Prince's fanbase.
The Ladder (Around The World In A Day, 1985)
Going back to 1985, The Ladder is part of Prince's post-Purple Rain record, Around The World In a Day, which shocked both music critics and the public. On this beautiful ballad, Prince reflects on the longing everybody has for solace and peace, synonyms with a higher dimension: "Everybody's looking 4 the ladder / Everybody wants salvation of the soul / The steps U take are no easy road / But the reward is great / 4 those who want 2 go". I absolutely love the melody, which is almost aquatic in its structure and reminds me of waves.
Clouds (Art Official Age, 2014)
Clouds is my favorite song on one of my favorite Prince albums, Art Official Age, which he released in 2014. The meaning of the song, particularly the bridge, have been discussed a lot and even more after Prince's death. I personally think Prince was calling out the superficiality of the current world and dreamt about being put on suspended animation, only to be woken up in a better "age". There is a short story by Arthur C. Clarke called "The Awakening", if that story had a happy ending, it would be Clouds. Love this song so much.
Electric Chair (Batman, 1989)
Let's go back to the 1980's once again in this purple journey through time, now it's the turn of Electric Chair, one of Prince's wildest songs. It deals with sexual desire and the sense of guilt that comes with it : "If a man is considered guilty / For what goes on in his mind / Then give me the electric chair / For all my future crimes". The Batman soundtrack album doesn't have a particularly good reputation within the fanbase, but it's always been a favorite of mine, and Electric Chair is definitely the cornerstone of it, in all its hard-rock glory. A song the Joker would love.
Automatic (1999, 1982)
When I first listened to 1999, Automatic was my favorite song, I don't know if it still is but it definitely is a gem. The synth-funk production is the star of the song, enriched by multiple ambient sounds that make the listeners think the setting is a spaceship. Lyrically, it's easily among Prince's sexiest songs, as it tells of a man who's having an intense, sadomasochistic relationship with a "perfect" woman, "They say nothing's perfect / but they don't know you". This track also features one of my favorite lines in the man's discography: "I remember how you kissed me / Not with your lips but with your soul".
Old Friends 4 Sale (Parade Sessions, 1985/Old Friends 4 Sale, 1999)
Two versions exist of this beautiful song, the original from 1985 feels raw and somehow more heartfelt, the second version is more "theatrical" and possibly more commercially appealing but still gorgeous nonetheless. Lyrically, it's about the deterioration of a friendship because of money and drugs. Prince sounds so alone on this song, the only song that can top its loneliness is Solo, from the album Come. I hope the original version gets released one day, possibly on a Parade Deluxe edition.
Revelation (HITnRUN Phase Two, 2015)
From Prince's last album, the ballad Revelation is the man at his best. It deals with love, spirituality and sex, which mean pretty much the same thing to Prince: "It's all coming back to me now, like it was deep in the ocean / I'll beat me sword into a plow, and share a heavenly potion / With my future queen / Half east, half west, the truth's somewhere, lest in between". Whoever/whatever his future queen was, I hope he's with her now.
Let your body move to the music.
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