Search - Prince :: 1999

Remastered ?

D. Kelly | Jacksonville, FL USA | 06/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Does anyone know if this import version is remastered ? I can't tell from the description."

Tour de Force

Pieter | Johannesburg | 07/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first three tracks form an electrifying sequence: from the pulsating 1999 through the rocking Little Red Corvette and into the hypnotic Delirious. The disturbingly prophetic words of 1999 gave me the chills but Little Red Corvette soon cured that, and halfway through the uplifting Delirious I was enraptured! This is a powerhouse song sequence, on a par with Donna Summer's legendary sequence of The Midnight Shift/Queen For A Day/Now I Need You on the original vinyl of her album Once Upon a Time.



Because of such gems, one tends to overlooked the fact that tracks like Let's Pretend We're Married and DMSR are brilliant too. Automatic is a long atmospheric piece with lovely female vocal and an impressive instrumental ending. Free is compelling in the interplay between Prince's falsetto and the backing vocals, another song loaded with meaning: "Be glad that U are free, free to change your mind/Free to go most anywhere anytime/Be glad that U are free, there's many a man who's not/So don't sleep until your guilty, cause sinners all are we." It's pure gospel, and a rousing number too.



Prince's music is such a seamless blend of so many styles, that it's hard to single out particular influences. But to me, on this album he's like a more urgent and full-bodied Chic! There's that same elegant tension in the beat, but Prince has eschewed Chic's minimalism for the full power of Rock and R&B. This is very noticeable on the bouncy Lady Cab Driver, but elsewhere too. Putting styles aside, 1999 is spectacular by any measure. The melodies, arrangements, lyrics, the playing and his voice all are superb, and the mix sets new standards in sonic perfection. I lost track of Prince's career after the 1980s but listening to this album again was pure joy.



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The Pop World Breakthrough Album For The Genius Of Prince!!

MUZIK4THAPEOPLE!! | Orlando, FL | 04/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Though I had been a fan of the then 24 yr old (in 1982)

genius out of Minneapolis named Prince since his debut

(For You) in the spring of 1978, he was only a marginal

cult figure at this time, who was eeking out his own way

between Funk/R&B and Pop/Rock with those first 4 albums

before this one was released in the fall of '82!

To say it was a breakthrough into the wider world of early

80's pop is a gross understatement!



"Dirty Mind", released in fall 1980, had already served notice

to the world that this mysterious kid was different and out

to raise much hell in the music business in the coming decade!

That was his "Rubber Soul" album.

1981's "Controversy" basically exbounded on it's predecessors

premise and was basically his "Revolver"!!

But "1999" was a whole other animal to the music listener of 1982..

it was innovative, imaginative, and rocked like a mofo

and was DEFINITELY FUNKY!!

There was a new wave-meets-funk-meets-rock-meets-soul thing

about this album that appealed to a wide fan base and was a

master stroke of brilliance in setting up the creative

zenith of 1984's iconic "Purple Rain", which would seal

his place in music history in blood!

He had already used the mystery about his racial makeup,

sexuality, artistic direction and general mercurialness to

his advantage to draw the listeners into his music, and his

live performances during this period were in a class all by themselves!



Speaking from the perspective of a fan and a young man of 18

at the time this was released and in the military, I can tell

you that Prince Rogers Nelson was definitely the avant garde

move in 1982/83!!--Cutting Edge Party Mofo 2 The Max!!

I used to carry around one of those mammoth boom-boxes with

all the flashing knobs & lights at that time, and in the

evenings after we had done all of our Army stuff,

it was our time, and we used to hang out and get smashed

and jam to the hot music of the day!

"1999" and all of it's jams got heavy rotation on our playlists!

There was the now anthemic title track with it's futuristic sound

and message to party like it's all gonna be over tommorow!

And Prince's forays & experimentation with the Linn-9000

drum machine, which he began on "Controversy" had began

in earnest, dominating his work for the next 4 to 5 years!

The sounds he got out that thing was amazing!

Then there was another classic..."Little Red Corvette",

which became an instant pop-rock classic!--Moving on to the

punk-new wave-retro sounds of "Delirious" and "Let's Pretend

We're Married" which both were fan favorites.

Then there was the scorching party anthem D.M.S.R.

(Dance, Music, Sex, Romance!!) which defined a wild

& still pre-aids epidemic mass of Gen Xers like myself

and what we were all about! ( Cooo-Coooooo!!)

Next came the tranquil & patriotic rockish "Free",

which I still love to this day!

Other faves of mine that came from this album which still

hold up are: The sparse, quirky & original tracks

"Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) & "Automatic",

the long-playing but never boring stanky-funk of

"Lady Cab Driver", the weird & kinda funny

"All The Critics Love U In New York" to the lush, soulful

and sexy "hump opus" called "International Lover",

where Prince uses all of his musical, lyrical, vocal

and charismatic charms to the max on this track!

During the live "1999 Tour" which included his then new

protegees "The Time" and "Vanity 6", Prince would end his set

with this song, rising up through the stage floor on a

huge brass bed and sending the fans into a frenzy!!

A true showman for the ages!



This album was a triple platinum tour-de-force in it's time,

opening Prince's musical genius to a whole new audience and

sounding the trumpet for his 80's pop chart domination!

It was badass then, and it's still badass over 25 yrs later!

Buy This CD 4 Sure!!



"