Search - Prince :: 94 East

Prince before he was Prince

Greg Barnes | Venezuela | 04/09/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This is just to give a little guidance on this album ... I have an older version of this disc with a slightly different song list, although 4 of the 6 songs are on both albums (the one I have is an old disc titled "Minneapolis Genius," released in 1987).This band really belonged to a guy named Pepe Willie, but he was using Prince as a studio musician. The four tracks on this album I know are "If You Feel Like Dancin'," "Games," "Dance To The Music Of The World" and "One Man Jam." Prince plays guitar, keyboards, synths and drums on standard late-70's r&b disco jams. None of these four songs are credited to Prince as writer or co-writer and he doesn't sing on them either. His early bass player and friend Andre Cymone contributes bass lines to 3 of the 4 songs.Worth picking up only if you're a die-hard Prince/Artist follower and want to hear the first studio recordings of the soon to be famous 18-year-old musician."

Beginning fun tidbits of Prince

Vincent M. Mastronardi | Michigan | 08/19/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very early Prince record and shouldn't be judged in comparison with something like "Purple Rain" or even his first album "For You". This is Prince on a roll with a group named 94 East. The songs aren't actually songs rather than exercises with dance music in new fun ways. It's a little bit of whatever you had in mind, funk/dance wise. A whole lot of fun can be found the first two tracks like the synthesizer excess of "One Man Jam" and the R&B club sound of "Dance To The Music Of The World". Jazzy Hip-Hop sways on "Games". You get into the rocky/disco feel of "If You Feel Like Dancin'" quite easily. The funky experiments at the end aren't as capturing as the beginnings. "If You See Me" is Isaac Hayes like funk on a roll with pretty strong vocals (not Prince though). An iffy slow jam is found in "Better Than You Think", but again it's not Prince's voice heard here. In fact, expect for the few strums here and there, I don't feel him on this rather ordinary song. Not near the rank of a Prince album, but for a little funky fun you might want to check it out."

Get the original

Julius Caesar | North Carolina | 03/22/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This album is a good, but dated album. I do, however, suggest that instead of this one you pick up Minneapolis Genius(Pepe Wille, Andre Cymone, and Prince). It is comprised of this album[94 east] plus "Just Another Sucker" and more. This is a ripoff unless you can't find Minneapolis Genius and want to make your collection as comprehensive as you can at the moment."