One of my favourite things about this album was the look on Daphne's face when the vocoder intro begins - confusion doesn't even come close. As it then drops into 1999, she looked on safer ground - this kind of singalong funk is Prince's absolute bread and butter. From the tack-sharp percussion to the almost overuse of effects, there is so much great stuff in this song that it needs the charisma of Prince to hold it all together. To then break into the superb Little Red Corvette is as brilliant as it is audacious. This is Prince at his fun-focussed, party-loving best.
My slight issue with this album is that it shoots its load too soon. To put the best songs as one or two will only ever leave a sense of disappointment by the end. There are good moments, and perhaps it just needs longer to dig through all the effects, samples and beats, but Delirious is just too frenetic for me, and Let's Pretend We're Married runs in a similar vein. Automatic is just too long and lacking in direction (this from a Prog fan!), and whilst Lady Cab Driver has a superb guitar riff, the "this is for..." section is slightly sexually bizarre, even by Prince's standards.
I really wanted to love this album, and when it is good, it is superb. However, it just lacks the consistency of a great album. Maybe I miss the point with it; perhaps an album about excess and fun should be in itself excessive? That notwithstanding, when the excesses fail to move me, as many of these songs did, when I was so willing to be moved, that has to be seen as a slight disappointment.
Chloe's album rating: 7
Chloe's favourite track: 1. 1999
Olly's album rating: 6
Olly's favourite track: 2. Little Red Corvette
Next week's album is 307. Crime of the Century by Supertramp.
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