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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D.M.S.R.
“D.M.S.R.” was Prince’s calling card–a four-word (four-letter!) summation of everything he and his music were about.
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If It’ll Make U Happy
What “If It’ll Make U Happy” lacks in polish, it makes up for in potential: with a little more gloss, its sunny harmonies and glistening arrangement could have been a hit for someone.
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Roundup: Vanity 6, 1982
It’s been about nine months since the last time we completed an album around here–which, if nothing else, means that we’re just about keeping pace with Prince himself, who released Vanity 6 just under 10 months after his own Controversy. Let’s see if we can finish 1999 by October! In the meantime, here’s how I…