Prince - Dirty Mind

Simple Fun

This is no where near the quality of "Purple Rain." You can predict the lyrics before he sings them and they are about as deep as a mud puddle and equally dirty. The musicianship and production are equally simplistic (nothing against Prince as I know he did this on his own with a $5 budget). BUT, this CD is fun as it can get. The production takes me back to junior high in the early 80's when this music was cutting edge. Naming the CD "Dirty Mind" is spot on as it is pretty filthy. "Sister" is absolutely disturbing. September 21, 2008

Prince's Masterpiece of Consistency

Justifiably hailed as a masterpiece at the time of its release in 1980, Dirty Mind shows Prince at his most consistent, if not his absolute best. Fans of the artist should already be familiar with this, his breakthrough album, but for those just discovering early Prince, some observations.

Recording in his early twenties, Prince consistently employed the high-falsetto voice that fit the gender-bending image he was presenting - don't forget the seventies were just ending. It wasn't until a little later that he started using his sinuous voice's natural masculine range (as heard on 1984's "Purple Rain"). The only time he drops it down (one line in "Uptown") it almost sounds like a mistake. And although he plays most of the instruments, he still manages to give the recording a strong "band" sound. There's not much variety in the instrumentation, but this serves more to unify the work than to make it all sound the same. This might be a problem in a longer work, but like so many great albums, this one's decidedly short. Even so, the closing "Party Up" probably suffers as much from following songs too much like it as a weakness in the writing.

And speaking of writing, Prince's was never so focused before or since. Every song is tight, economical and to the point, and every song is about Prince's favorite topic, sex, with salacious lyrics that cover the subject from a number of angles. And with the incestuous "Sister" he carves out a space for himself as perhaps the dirtiest mind of all.

This release is definitely of a piece with its time, and the synth sounds particularly sound a bit dated today - the drum sounds perhaps even more so, but Prince makes a strong stylistic statement here that he would continue to build on for years to come, expanding it to include greater diversity in tone, in subject matter, in instrumentation, but he never put together a complete collection that was as consistently enjoyable. September 10, 2008

Dirty Mind

Prince-Dirty Mind *****

During Prince's career he would release about four or five really classic albums and Dirty Mind was certainly the first. Released in 1980 this was really a template for the rest of the decade to follow. An album of excess' like drugs, sex, and synthesizers respectively.

Whether it's the hit singles; The teenage libido driven title track 'Dirty Mind,' the raunchy yet danceable 'Head' the incredibly funky 'Uptown' and of course the nostalgic 'When You Were Mine' all rank among the artists greatest songs. Aside from the hits 'Do It All Night' and 'Gotta A Broken Heart' find him finally mastering the art of the ballad. 'Sister' is just done right shocking, and being as it's Prince it somehow makes it okay, though this was his first attempt at shock. The albums closer 'Partyup' is sheer fun, and a great way to close the masterpiece.

Even though it was officially his third album, Dirty Mind was his break out album, not quite the amount of success as his next release would earn but this one definitely put him on the map. April 9, 2008

The Purple One

I love Prince. This CD is so tight it will make you loose! I miss the old school Prince. October 9, 2007

"Uptown, that's where I wanna be, uptown, set your mind free"

A massive step up from the self-titled sophomore album: for one, he massively improved the ballads (the oft-covered "When You Were Mine", debatably Prince's breakthrough single - it's amusing how so many people have covered a song about a massive orgy; the more underrated, very worthwhile "Gotta Broken Heart Again" - I gotta say, both pound "When We're Dancing Close and Slow" into the dirt). But this is Prince, he's bad, he's funky, and he can really lay the x-rated funk down (no pun intended, that one's too easy a shot). You've heard the minimalist (mostly guitar, bass, and drums, with a lot of keyboards) imaginative funk song "Uptown", right? Come on, who doesn't like that song? And who can't get down to it? I love that one! The third hit was "Head", another stripped-down funk jam that's about exactly what you think. The keyboards are insane there! I love them! Prince just about invented rap on this album, in my mind (which is considerably cleaner than Prince's) - he doesn't have the delivery right, but he's got the backdrop, the beats, and the subject matter (title song; "Do It All Night"; the punkish "Sister" - between its title, and the general tone of the record, I invite you to take a stab at interpreting it). This is one of my First Triumvirate of Prince albums (am I a nerd, or am I a nerd?), along with Purple Rain and Emancipation. But it's in the #3 slot, simply because it's not a total genre-bender like Purple Rain or Emancipation. And "Partyup" is just okay. Still, this is an awesome record. Be sure to buy it if you like Prince. And even if the subject matter scares you off, you can just ignore the lyrics and focus on the grooves. September 19, 2007

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