Controversy - Prince (CD)

Released in 1981, Prince s fourth album Controversy seems to have suffered in critical memory from being sandwiched between the artist-defining Dirty Mind and crossover successes "1999" and Purple Rain . However, it certainly shouldn t be ignored, and is another great musical excursion that continues to display Prince s talents and growth as a composer and performer.

More than anything Controversy feels like Prince fully embracing his role in creating dance music, relying heavily on synthesisers to form the backbone of each groove and subtly overlaying them with guitar, bass and whatever additional flourishes suit the mood. Although advances in technology have rendered some of the sounds rather dated, the actual quality of the writing is such that the occasional time-stamped moments are insignificant. In fact, while a lot of criticism does get levelled at the pop and dance genres, albums like this are a good reminder that there s huge potential within both for the few who are talented and creative enough to do them justice. It s one thing to sing bad high school love poetry over a producer-of-the-month s beats, and quite another to compose, play, arrange and produce everything yourself, then put on blistering live shows while irking sexually-repressed Second Ladies of the USA everywhere and doing it all while wearing little more than a pair of teeny black bikini shorts.

Right from the start, Controversy shows Prince flexing his synth-funk muscles, such as in its title track. Here, he challenges the notions of race and sexual orientation, wondering why people care so much about them as a bed of bobbing beats gently percolate. Hooky guitar and bass twangs ornament the main body of the groove, and the way the song s structure varies (check out the mid-section s recitation of the Lord s Prayer) points the way to the full length dance workouts that frequented "1999".

Second song Sexuality is another great success, continuing to detail Prince s visions of a utopia and mocking the tourists (sheep) who are happy to gawp at the freer yet unwilling to accept them. As far as his sex/love manifestos go, it s definitely up there in terms of quality, with its engaging, rapid-paced New Wave sound and prominent synth bass merging the philosophical and hedonistic and doing it well. In fact, this subtler number ends up being far more effective as a political statement than the more obvious Ronnie Talk To Russia , which clocks in at less than two minutes. There s no resisting its explosive drums, deliciously cheesy keyboard riffs or the always-stellar guitar work, but as far as vocal deliveries go, Prince might as well be discussing the virtues of McDonalds versus Burger King. Catchy and memorable it may be, but no amount of machine-gun effects can disguise its curiously twee nature.

When it comes to vocals, Prince makes use of his full range over the course of the album, giving one of his best performances on the slow sex jam Do Me Baby . Its chilled beat, piano chords and romantic-yet-not-sappy atmosphere aren t anything new for the genre, but the memorable melody and erotically charged falsetto vocals make it stand out from the crowd. A whispered seduction dominates the second half, complete with plenty of suggestive moaning. I m not normally a fan of these types of sequences (they always make me imagine someone sat at a sex-bank synthesiser, pressing buttons and trying to choose which orgasmic groan to use), but Prince has the guts to make all of the moaning his own, and keeps things intimate yet tasteful throughout.

Although I feel positively about every song on this album, the songs Private Joy and Let s Work are probably its weakest, namely because they don t push the boundaries as much. Both are highly competent funk numbers dressed in aesthetically attractive production, and do a good job of fusing numerous musical genres (check out the rocking closing portion in Private Joy ). However, there s a certain sense of eighties deja vu there, which stops things from being as good as they could have been. Let s Work is probably the more successful song thanks to its complex melody and undulating baseline, but both feel like they could have been performed by artists less talented than Prince. Certainly, any other individual or group wouldn t have done as good a job, but I would prefer a few more idiosyncrasies.

Happily, the last two songs provide that personal touch in buckets. Annie Christian in particular is one of the most bizarre excursions in the Prince catalogue, with its soft beat chattering beneath washes of dreamy synth effects and guitar riffs. Vocally, there s an interesting level of distortion present, with the singing feeling like it s coming from another room. When it comes to being comprehensible it s pretty low on the list, but provides a great one-eighty from the norm and acts as a proverbial jab should the listener have started to get complacent. The album closes with another memorable number in the form of Jack U Off , a gleeful ode to hand-based stimulation with Prince offering his services to his partner whenever she wants (and promising an instant heart attack when it happens). Its playful nature is emphasised by some deliberately corny harmonies on its chorus and a chirping Tweety-Bird synthesiser, which is excellently juxtaposed against the lyrics to amusing and highly entertaining effect.

As another consistent and enjoyable excursion into Prince s discography, Controversy is a hidden gem that is all too often overlooked in favour of the more notorious albums surrounding it. I think it s fair to say that Prince was actually producing great material throughout the early and mid-eighties, and there s no real reason that this record shouldn t have been as big as the two that followed it. As such, it s a great listen on its own, and works equally well when playing follow the musical evolution of one of the strongest talents of the last thirty years. Newbies shouldn t start with this album, but if you like "1999" and Purple Rain , there s plenty to love here too.