Prince's pop life, song by song, in chronological order.
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The Belle of St. Mark
While “Glamorous” sounded tailor-made for Sheila’s particular talents (even if it wasn’t), “Belle” is well-crafted but faceless, embodying the essentialist cynicism of the publishing imprint Prince used for his female side projects: “Girlsongs.”
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Vibrator
A bold demand for a woman’s right to sexual pleasure, filtered through the distinctly 20th-century male anxiety of being replaced in the bedroom by a machine.
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Velvet Kitty Cat
A mildly naughty bit of fun, its lyrics loaded with winking references to “man’s best friend[,] furry, cuddly & fat.”
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If the Kid Can’t Make You Come
So sumptuous is “Kid” on a purely musical level that its more front-and-center narrative elements feel crass and unsophisticated by comparison.