Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 47
 Prince Version 2.0 August 26, 2003
thomas angelo zunich (long beach, ca USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This album lands on my top 5 favourite Prince albums of all time...One thing that seems to be overlooked is that this album has some amazing guitar in it. That old, funky rock and roll guitar I love to hear. The guitar in "Bambi" is absolutley some of the best guitar I've ever heard on any Prince album. The end of that song rocks like no other. I remember seeing the video for "Why U Wanna Treat Me So Bad", which I think promted me to buy this album. Simply amazing. What I think I like most about this album are the ballads. They have some of the most simple lyrics about love, but have so much passion and romantism built in to them. "With U" is a sexy slow jam (actually Jill Jones' version is almost better than the Prince one), the lyrics are sickly sweet. Another powerhouse ballad is "It's Gonna Be Lonely". Prince's high pitch is at it's prime in this period, so he truely wails on this one. Classic underated Prince. Another track I absolutley love is "Still Waiting". A total adolescent Prince with yearing lyrics that seem like Mariah Carey poetry. But the message is plain and clear, and Prince can tear up a love ballad. "Sexy Dancer" has an extremely rare 12" version that's awesome. There is also an outake track that is now a bootleg called "Lisa", that I think is from this period. It's a great song that I wish Prince would release on another Crystal Ball!! To sum up, This is a Prince album I find myself going back to time and time again, and love the way it makes me feel every time. And for the reviewer who critizes the album's cover and fonts, calling it "tacky".....Tacky is timeless, and tacky always ends up being beautiful in the end.
My First Love March 31, 2002
IsaKe (Houston, TX United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am really partcial to this album (cd). I was a mere kid when this album came out, but I can remember falling in love with the man on the cover. After being infautation with his looks, I fell in love with his music and I have been a die hard fan ever since. This album to me is just the beginning of a raw Prince and what his future had to hold. Especially on "Bambi". I had no idea what the song meant at the time, but I loved the instruments in this song. "Sexy Dancer" and "I Feel For YOu" are still my favorites because it keeps me in the disco mode. "Still Waiting" and "When We're Dancing Close and Slow" really puts me over the edge. They say so much about Prince as an artist. Just the simple fact that he can go from rocking us with the guitar to being sensual. Not too many artist can do that. Prince has been and will always be a true artist in every aspect.
Great early work September 12, 2002
Andre M. (Mt. Pleasant, SC United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Prince surely did not suffer from the "sophomore jinx" in this one. Excellent peice of work, especially if you were a teenager at the time (as I was). Overall, an interesting mix of synthesizer pop (a genre I usually despise, but it's done well here), early 80s new-wave, and R&B. Pretty bouncy, enjoyable stuff for a sunny afternoon. This is especially true of "I Wanna Be Your Lover," "Stil Waiting," "When We're Dancing Close and Slow," and the original version of "I Feel For You." "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad" is also quite wonderful. It contains my all-time favorite guitar solo (sorry, Jimi) as the song fades out. An excellent purchase-buy it.
Sophomore Brilliance & Echoes Of Things To Come!! November 15, 2005
MUZIK4THAPEOPLE!! (Seattle, Washington)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wow, this album takes me back to the fall of '79,
around the same time as MJ was taking over
the world with his scorching solo debut "Off The Wall"!!
Both of these albums got heavy rotation on my turntable
and were house party essentials when I was a 15 yr old
kid spinning the hot joints of the day!
At this time, Prince was still a virtual unknown
to the mainstream, but to a hip urban audience
comprised mostly of blacks, gays, and ultra-hip whites
who really knew what time it was,
this LP served as notice that a "new thang" was
brewin' in Minneapolis that was going to take
the pop world by storm in a few short years!
From the opening track, "I Wanna Be Your Lover",
his first big single (gold) to the rockin'
"Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?", which also was
a single and a true fan fave!--
To "Sexy Dancer" which was sure to bring everybody
to the dance floor and into a frenzy!
Prince then cools down the mood with
"When We're Dancing Close and Slow",
which is just beautiful with its sparse piano
and acoustic 12-string guitar--one of his many
underrated slow jams of all time!
Then Side 2 opened with the pretty "With You"
and into the scorching rockalistic ode to female
bisexuality.."Bambi", which still knocks me for a loop!
I've had the pleasure of seeing him perform this
song live twice down through the years..
once in 1980 during his "Dirty Mind Tour" and
again in 1992 during his "Nude Tour"
while I was overseas!--Awesome!!
Then there's what I call "The Great Triplicate"...
"Still Waiting" (another underrated slow classic!),
followed by what is to me, the definitive version
of "I Feel For You"(no disrespect to the
great Chaka Khan!), followed by another
underrated slow jam masterpiece
"It's Gonna Be Lonely", which still sends
me today at 41 the same as it did when
I first heard it at 15!
This album was Prince's first Platinum album,
proving that he (at only 21) was indeed a
hitmaker and one to watch!
This album and the next one, "Dirty Mind",
served as a changing of the gaurd from the older
established innovators of that day like
Stevie Wonder, Earth,Wind & Fire and
Parliament / Funkadelic, etc. &
is an essential if your collecting Prince classics!
In fact, you can't go wrong with this kat
between his debut, 1978's "For You" to
1987's "Sign O' The Times"...it just doesn't
get any better!
Prince's 2nd January 21, 2008
Samhot (Star Land)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although some may be mislead into thinking that this is Prince's debut album, it is actually his second (1978's _For You_ being his first), and it benefits from being a bit more polished, and fleshed out in it's production and execution, than the aforementioned first album.
The tracks here, on this second offering, are more developed, more striking in gorgeous melodies, and the sensuality that drives Prince's music is upped quite significantly, which helps to create a stronger album than the first. Prince supposedly has said that on this particular album, he created it more to please the record companies, than he did for himself. No matter, it's an excellent album, and like the first, Prince is credited for playing all the instruments, and performing all vocals.
Things start off with the hit, "I Wanna Be Your Lover", with it's pulsating rhythms, and slick guitar melodies, which are fronted by Prince's sexy falsetto, and creamy harmonies. As mentioned elsewhere, the album version (contained here) features the extended jam, which is more hypnotic and mood-inducing, than it is dance-inducing. "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad" is another hit from the album, and is one of my top-favorite Prince songs; the melodies themselves are highly sensual, and it's all topped off by a fantastic distortion-laden, Hendrix-like guitar solo at the end. One of the most orgasmic songs I've ever heard, and any time I listen to this album, I can't resist the urge to listen to this song multiple times, before resuming play for the rest of the album. "Sexy Dancer" is a funkified disco jam, and features a nice jazzy keyboard solo from Prince near the end. "When We're Dancing Close And Slow" is a beautiful ballad which stays on one or two main chords for the majority of it's 5-minute playing time, but the mood of the song draws you in to the point where you're not worried about it seeming too repetitive.
"With You" is a gorgeous ballad, if not somewhat generic-sounding. The orchestration is lovely, and the melodies are poignant. "Bambi" is pre-_Purple Rain_ metal crunch, with subject matter about a woman who prefers consummation with another woman, than with the male protagonist. "Still Waiting" almost makes me laugh in the fact that, musically, it sounds like something from James Taylor and/or a few others of the "singer/songwriter" pack from the early/mid 70s. You could easily confuse it for such, if it weren't for Prince's vocals and lyrics. "I Feel For You" was another hit for Prince, even though most remember the version that Chaka Khan did sometime after this version. Lovely dance track with great melodies, and the keyboards are nifty. "It's Gonna Be Lonely" is a gorgeous, somewhat downbeat, mid-tempo ballad, featuring excellent vocals, especially during the chorus.
Although things would generally get better from here, fans owe it to themselves to check out Prince's first two albums, since they are generally better than most people give them credit for.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 47
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