Music That Defines Our Memories
With the disbanding of The Time and Apollonia 6 after the whirlwind promotional monster that was Purple Rain, Prince needed another funk outfit to re-direct his creative energies. Poaching members of the Purple Rain-era version of The Time (Paul Peterson, Jellybean Johnson, Jerome Benton), adding then girlfriend Susannah Melvoin and touring saxophonist Eric Leeds, he … Continue reading The Family (1985)
The 1999-era (1982) was extremely creative and fruitful for Prince in terms of musical output. There was the Vanity 6 project, the Time's second album, the massive double 1999 album. It was all very impressive no matter how you looked at it. Prince had so much creative output that he couldn't find a home for … Continue reading High Speed Dub Review: Prince’s 1999 Era B-Sides and 12″ Remixes
Remember those choose your own adventure series of books? Aimed at young readers, they offered an opportunity to periodically take the wheel and steer the direction of the book's story. At some point while reading, you are asked to make a choice. A choice that could completely change the direction of the plot, the fate … Continue reading Purple Rain As A Choose Your Own Adventure – The Spiritual Path
By the time Ice Cream Castle was released in the summer of 1984, life as a member of The Time was a complicated mess. Their first incarnation, now known as the Original 7ven, was no more and the second incarnation, the version of The Time shown in the Purple Rain movie, had just basically broken … Continue reading The Time – Ice Cream Castle (1984)
After leaving behind her early bands as well as playing along side her musician father, Pete, Sheila Escovedo's career took a distinctively purple turn in 1983. Having first met Prince in the late 70s after one of her shows with her father, they reconnected in time for her to contribute to a classic Purple Rain … Continue reading Sheila E. – The Glamorous Life (1984)
In some respects, Patricia Kotero won the lottery. She was chosen to replace Denise Matthews, better known as the singer Vanity, as the female lead in the upcoming motion picture starring the musician, Prince. She went from model to NFL cheerleader (L.A. Rams) to TV & music video actress to major motion picture actress co-starring … Continue reading Apollonia 6 (1984)
Tears For Fears' breakthrough album, Songs From the Big Chair, was such a huge success in the mid '80s that it ended up being one of those "must own" records. If you were a fan of pop music, this album was minimally on your radar, if not already in your record or tape collection. Songs … Continue reading High Speed Dub Review: Tears For Fears – Songs From The Big Chair (1985)
The Time's second album, What Time Is It?, aka their best album, was created during Prince's most prolific year. In late 1981 and into early 1982, Prince was writing and creating music at a rate that most musicians can only dream of. A song for Vanity 6, a song he'll keep for himself, a song … Continue reading High Speed Dub Review: The Time – What Time Is It? (1982)
At this point, simply calling Prince "prolific" doesn't really add much to his already well-established narrative. By August 1982, at the age of 24, Prince had already released 4 solo albums as well as co-writing, producing and playing most instruments for The Time's 1981 self title debut. On top of that, he had another Time … Continue reading High Speed Dub Review: Vanity 6 (1982)
Wilco, circa mid-2000s After completing my Wilco: Albums Ranked post, I felt I should do a quick top 10 favorite Wilco songs of all time post to accompany it. As you will probably notice, a lot of these tracks are from the trifecta of Being There, Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (6 of 10) and … Continue reading Wilco: Top 10 Songs