Music That Defines Our Memories
1980-1981 is a bit of a mystery when it comes to Prince's vault material. The late '70s was a boon for vault track bootleg collectors, with many of Prince's early demos having been leaked, plus the shelved Rebels tracks were widely distributed over the years. Then we got the deluge of tracks Prince was working … Continue reading Prince’s Vault Material – 1980 to 1981
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 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 The Time – What Time Is It? (1982)
From day one, Prince exuded sexuality. There he was, shirtless, or possibly even nude (if you bought a dirty mind), for his album and record sleeve appearances on For You and Prince. Breathy, risque vocals and lyrics could be found on “Soft & Wet,” “When We’re Dancing Close & Slow,” and “Sexy Dancer.” These artistic … Continue reading Prince’s Sexual Revolution – Dirty Mind/Controversy Era
"Hello! Hello again!" The immediately recognizable images of female beauty by Peter Phillips are back after taking a couple albums off. The Cars were four successful albums into their career by the time they entered the studio with producer John "Mutt" Lange in 1983. At the time, Lange was mostly known for his production work … Continue reading The Cars – Heartbeat City (1984)
"I wanna be the one to walk in the sun. Oh girls, they wanna have fun." By the summer of 1983, Cyndi Lauper, born Cynthia Lauper in 1953, had just turned 30 years old and was likely thinking that the window of opportunity to make it big in the music industry was rapidly closing. Her … Continue reading Cyndi Lauper – She’s So Unusual (1983)
"Do I believe in God? Do I believe in me?" By 1981, Prince had somewhat successfully changed up his style enough to warrant critical notice and praise. Dirty Mind did not sell as many copies as the more commercially viable Prince. Still, the attention received from notable music writers and publications provided him with validation … Continue reading Prince – Controversy (1981)
"Whenever I'm around you, baby. I get a dirty mind." On one of the first lines from the first track off Prince's third LP, Dirty Mind, Prince finally comes clean. He has thoughts of doing dirty, nasty things to you and he's no longer using coy double entendres ("play in your river,” "...feel my love … Continue reading Prince – Dirty Mind (1980)