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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Private Joy
“Private Joy” tends to be overlooked in Prince’s canon, possibly because its synth-heavy arrangement is more unapologetically “pop” than anything he’d done to date.
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Ronnie, Talk to Russia
It’s difficult to determine just how seriously “Ronnie, Talk to Russia” was meant to be taken.
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Sexuality
Like Prince’s earlier stabs at social commentary, “Sexuality” offers a kind of generalized, non-denominational liberation through hedonism and individual self-expression.