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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I Feel for You
Prince’s vocal performance is his most charismatic to date, already nailing that unique mix of girlishness and understated virility that would make him the 1980s’ most potent sex symbol.
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Roundup: Ephemera, 1977-1978
I’m not gonna lie, folks: this “chapter” of the blog wasn’t always easy to get through. I’ve mentioned that For You is my least favorite album of Prince’s “classic period,” and his outtakes from that time are, well, outtakes. If nothing else, however, this was valuable training for when I trudge through the parts of his
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I am You: Capri Theatre, January 5-6, 1979
Prince spent the summer and fall of 1978 assembling a backing group, in hopes of touring behind his first album the following year. It didn’t go entirely to plan.