Tag: david leonard
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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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Manic Monday
“Manic Monday” has the hazy feel of a half-remembered dream–not least because its main melody directly echoes that of another dream song, “1999.”
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Sugar Walls
“Sugar Walls” isn’t just risqué for Sheena Easton; it’s risqué even for Prince, delving with near-gynecological intimacy into the mechanics of female arousal.
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Computer Blue
Prince’s portrayal of a sentient, lovelorn CPU tapped into contemporary anxieties that society’s dependence on computers would have a dehumanizing effect, with cold logic taking the place of feelings and empathy.
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Let’s Go Crazy
There are plenty of legitimate claims to make for the precise moment when Prince became a superstar; but by any metric, “Let’s Go Crazy” is close to the top.
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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.