Prince & the Revolution - Around the World in a Day

Two Albums You Shouldn't Sleep On

Around The World in A Day & Lovesexy, that's if you like real music played by real musicians. All the other good things that I could say have already been said. Peace & Love July 31, 2008

This thing is really noisy

In the context of hindsight, there is a reason this one gets overlooked in Prince's catalogue - and that is because it is just not very good. Amazing that this thing is sandwiched right in the middle of "1999" and "Purple Rain" before and "Parade" and "Sign 'O' the Times" after. Amazing because those four albums are so, so good, and this one is so, so bad. I don't think it's because it follows a blockbuster like "Purple Rain" that "Around the World in a Day" gets a bum rap. It really is because it's just not a good album. I do think this was done a bit deliberately, to take some of the pressure off after the mega-success of "Purple Rain". Just get something out to market, to lower expectations and keep the record company from demanding "Purple Rain, Part Two". It obviously worked because the relative failure sales-wise of this one (it hit LP cut-out bins rather quickly) gave him the artistic freedom to then release, back-to-back, two more (really three, because "Sign" was a double) great albums .

There were two killer singles from this album ("Raspberry Beret" and "Pop Life") and those can be found on "hits" compilations. Unlike the aforementioned four other albums, the non-single album tracks on this thing are not all that well constructed, sometimes don't really seem to go anywhere, and are definitely a bit noisy and grating at times. This one has not aged well. I am not really sure how this one is considered "psychadelic". All this album really does is basically take all the worst aspects of Prince's mid-80s signature computerized-electronic-drum sound and stretch it out over the course of a very disjointed album.

The CD packaging also sucks in comparison to that of the 1985 vinyl LP.

Perhaps the original complete album art will be restored SOMEDAY when Prince's catalogue is MAYBE FINALLY REMASTERED (hell, Bananarama's 1980s albums have been remastered (!!!) (was there much demand for that, btw???), why the hell not Prince?). May 6, 2008

Trippy, underrated followup to Purple Rain

This, as it has often been pointed out, is an eccentric, psychedelic album. Of course Prince was always kind of an odd guy, but nobody was expecting something like the calypso-laden title track. Even the funk song "Raspberry Beret" is slightly odd, with psychedelic tinges and violins. The thing is that he actually managed to crank out a very entertaining album in spite (or perhaps because) of all the experimental insanity. It's not all good and fine: "America" is your standard '80s funk song; "Condition of the Heart" is too long and is inaudible for most its length, and "The Ladder" revives the previous album's Messianic tendencies without the melody of "I Would Die 4 U" or the shocking coda found on "The Beautiful Ones". More often though it's either charming and melodic ("Paisley Park"; "Raspberry Beret"; title track) or hard-rocking/free-jazzing and melodic (the long, insanely experimental, multi-part sex jam "Temptation", with a sax that I believe is played by Rogers Nelson himself), and its eccentric, eclectic nature is delightful as well. December 9, 2007

Prince Adds the Psychedelic Element to the "Minneapolis Sound"

In 1984, Prince released his landmark album entitled "Purple Rain". This was one of the all-time great albums. Not only did it garner critical acclaim, but it held the number one spot for a mindboggling 24 weeks. "Purple Rain" was responsible for putting the "Minneapolis Sound" on the map. The "Minneapolis Sound" contained a mixture of Funk, Pop, R&B, and Rock. Prince was largely responsible for being a contributing architect to this new sound movement. As 1985 came about, Prince had developed a whole new fan base. Therefore many were extremely happy when Prince surprisingly released his follow-up to "Purple Rain" entitled "Around the World in a Day". For people expecting another "Purple Rain" they would be very disappointed. Prince would go in a whole new direction with "Around the World in a Day". However, while "Purple Rain" fans might have been disappointed, the fans of the "Minneapolis Sound" would discover a whole new dimension to Prince's music.

The big difference from "Around the World in a Day" is the integration of a psychedelic sound. This psychedelic sound also incorporates some elements of Middle Eastern and Indian influences. Overall this gives "Around the World in a Day" a less radio-friendly element than the Rock-Funk infused "Purple Rain". While "Around the World in a Day" was still considered a commercial success, it still fell short in terms of sales versus "Purple Rain". Much of this is due to the less-radio friendly nature of this album which resulted in less radio airplay. "Around the World in a Day" still incorporates some of the classic "Minneapolis Sound" elements, but the introduction of the psychedelic element would expand the scope of the "Minneapolis Sound". This expansion would soon creep other to other "Minneapolis Sound" artists.

Here is a song by song synopsis of the nine tracks of "Around the World in a Day".

"Around the World in a Day": This is the title track. For fans of "Purple Rain", they will soon quickly learn that this is not "Purple Rain". The psychedelic element is complete with the Middle Eastern and Indian influences are in full swing. John L. Nelson - Prince's father would be a co-songwriter on this track.

"Paisley Park": This song title would eventually become the title for Prince's record company. However this song - still with the psychedelic influence is a very underrated track. This track could have had radio airplay as a single - but didn't. There are some great harmonies and a nice violin influence.

"Condition of the Heart": This song goes more for a classic Piano feel, yet still incorporates psychedelic elements - especially in the near 2 1/2 minute instrumental introduction. This song takes on more of the form of a narrative. This is a pure solo effort as Prince does all instrumentals and vocals. Very good track.

"Raspberry Beret": This was the most radio-friendly song on this collection. To some extent you can still hear a psychedelic element in the melody on this track. While I don't think this song is a very strong Prince track, it still isn't a bad one. The string section is this song is very underrated.

"Tamborine": This song obviously has a "Tamborine" in it, but it also going to be a percussion dominated track. The psychedelic element is in full swing on this. However this track just didn't do it for me as I found it the weakest on this collection.

"America": Prince delivers a political commentary on this song. This song also has a psychedelic element and it is incorporated more into a dance/funk groove. Not a bad track - especially after a few listens.

"Pop Life": While this song was also a radio friendly song, it incorporated a stronger psychedelic element. I happened to think this is the album's best track. The "boxing sounds" at the end of this song show that Prince can improvise in a song very well. Once again Prince integrates a nice String section (this time composed by Revolution band mates Lisa and Wendy). Sheila E. also provides the psychedelic sounding drums on this track.

"The Ladder": Another outstanding track as Prince's father John L. Nelson collaborates with his son again. I was also surprised that this track wasn't released by a single. The song is to "Around the World in a Day" what the title track "Purple Rain" was to "Purple Rain" - it serves as the emotional climax to the album. However this is a very different track than "Purple Rain". On this particular track Prince delivers a story of a "King" and wraps a whole gospel flavor around the song. The psychedelic element is still in play here. One of the better Prince tracks.

"Temptation": The mix of sex and religion in this song may not appeal to many people. However on this track, Prince moves more toward a Blues Rock sound. It isn't until you get to the end of this track where you start to hear some of the psychedelic influences on this track. Still overall I really didn't care for this track.

One thing that is most interesting is the album cover. There is a cartoon drawing on the album cover and each of the characters on the drawing can be mapped to one of the songs (in fact this was done on the singles that were released). The liner notes include most of the lyrics to these tracks. Overall, while Prince doesn't try to recreate Purple Rain, he does succeed in integrating the psychedelic elements into the Minneapolis sound. While still not as strong an album as "Purple Rain", this is still a good album and worth checking out. October 8, 2007

In Through the Outdoor

This release is definitely one of his more obscure. Clearly he was in a transitional phase in production and bands. It made for some complex lyrics and a really layered, full sound. Plus, you can't discount the artistry of sneaking a ton of sexual metaphors onto the airwaves that loads of the 80s never even realized. August 13, 2007

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