"There is something in this song that I feel speaks to every artist alive. The deep desire to transcend from your body and your image and become something else entirely - an idea that Prince would carry for the rest of his career and ultimately transcend his own image over and over and over. "
Prince Rogers Nelson, known mononymously as Prince, was a shapeshifting force, straddling the lines of rock, pop, funk, R&B and soul with unparalleled musicality and serious sex appeal.
A decade since Prince’s passing, it feels apparent that he is still one of few artists who finessed so many moods, personas, and sonic worlds with such vitality. Releasing 39 albums between 1978 and 2015, Prince leaves behind an indelible legacy of creativity, a multitude of eras, albums and songs which chart not just a career but a musical universe, simultaneously intimate and anthemic.
From the self-built spirit of Prince’s early days to the purple reign of his mid-’80s output, Tilah Haken reflects on a remarkable career in 20 songs, spanning the hits and the lesser-known gems.
"Every road in my life leads me back home to Prince. Wherever I go and whatever sparks joy, he probably had something to do with it. And as time goes on his influence is becoming harder to ignore and I have my parents to thank for exposing me to his music at a young age. My obsession with 80s music production, groove and poppy hooks all began here and still today serves as my compass that grounds me in my taste, my philosophies and my desires. From Andre 3000, D’Angelo and Janet Jackson to Devonte Hynes of Blood Orange, Frank Ocean and even the likes of Trent Reznor, Beck and Bon Iver - if they like Prince, I like them."
"If in 1979 punk was 3 chords and the truth, then I Wanna Be Ur Lover was 4 instruments and the truth."
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Prince (1979)
To this day, dropping this tune at any party, club, bar or function will find half its patrons singing in unison “I ain’t got no money”. And when I was 15 I would steal my sister’s hairdryer in the middle of the night so in the morning I could wake up early before school and style my Morrissey quiff and listen to this song. I was unstoppable back then and when I listen to this song, I am unstoppable once again. I just can’t pull off the quiff anymore. If in 1979 punk was 3 chords and the truth, then I Wanna Be Ur Lover was 4 instruments and the truth.
Dirty Mind
Dirty Mind (1980)
Prince began the 80s as he did every decade, with a fresh identity and new ideas. Leading on from what made I Wanna Be Ur Lover such a hit, he takes the minimalistic approach even further. Drum kits sound like drum machines, the tape is brighter, disco is out and new wave is in. At the time this song probably called out taboos and broke expectations for what you could sing about, especially as a black artist, but it still makes me laugh at how eye roll his vocal delivery. It oozes a confidence that would go onto define his androgyny, his personas and his messiness. We want the remaster!!!
When You Were Mine
Dirty Mind (1980)
I don’t really know what to say about this song because it truly might be my all-time favourite! On the surface, it could be a Bruce Springsteen or a Tom Petty track and the post-punk style riff is so cheesy and on the nose that it shouldn’t work - but it really does! Every time I hear it my stomach twists into knots and I lose control of my motor functions. Even though it’s a heartbreak song, he’s at that moment of catharsis where you admit to yourself you completely adore someone, even when they’ve found somebody else. No attempts to regain control, no macho control instincts, just pure unadulterated and open-hearted rawness. Cyndi Lauper did a great cover of this song that’s very achey and messy but for me, nobody can deliver this gooey pop vocal hook like Prince. The guy just oozes from his heart with every coo and cry.
"Imagine you’re in the Y2K era - everybody is scared the world is going to end, that the internet will break, that the stock market will crash, planes will fall outta the sky and here’s Prince with the response “fuck it” 15 years before it even entered public consciousness."
1999
1999 (1982)
That dark, uncertain intro. His classic pitched down Linn LM-1 drum machine. A swell of anxious distant voices. The chords come in and all the darkness melts away into funk, groove and pure hedonism and the voice of Lisa Coleman begins the duet. “I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if I go astray”. Imagine you’re in the Y2K era - everybody is scared the world is going to end, that the internet will break, that the stock market will crash, planes will fall outta the sky and here’s Prince with the response “fuck it” 15 years before it even entered public consciousness. Not even The Simpsons could predict that.
Little Red Corvette
1999 (1982)
One of the first songs I ever learned on a guitar and easily my favourite Prince LM-1 drum pattern, The 16th note snare, the shaker at the end of the phrase - this is my church. This is my drug. A classic pop song in structure but a classic prince song in texture and arrangement. In a way, this song in particular really sounds like it should belong on Purple Rain two years later, because of its warm saturation and chorus modulation effects. Hollering falsettos, bombastic guitar riffs, that singing Oberheim synth. I will always come back to this one.
Computer Blue (Halfway Speech Version)
Purple Rain (1984)
This version of Computer Blue from Purple Rain is more of a bootleg/demo version of what became the album version but there’s something about it that I really connected with after spending way too much time late at night on Reddit forums. You can almost see him in his studio, unconcerned by time or structure and just letting the tape run. It’s the first really experimental side I had heard from him before Sign O The Times and feels like a moment of divinity that would predict the future of his music - the relic of an idea he just had to get out in the studio in a moment of awe and focus.
It’s basically the only cover that Prince has gone on record to say was better than his. Do you agree? Rest in peace to them both.
Nothing Compares 2 U
Single released in 1984.
First appearing on Prince’s side project, The Family, nobody heard it, until Sinead O’Connor covered it in 1990. It needs no explaining that her version is the definitive version - she stripped it back and let her voice do all the work but that only speaks to how well-crafted the song is. Her version went number 1 in 15 countries and the music video has become a piece of cultural iconography. It’s basically the only cover that Prince has gone on record to say was better than his. Do you agree? Rest in peace to them both.
When Doves Cry
Purple Rain (1984)
His most minimal hit outside of the early disco days, every time I hear this track all I can think is “no bass? And is that a flanger on the drums?!” The groove is in the synth, the Oberheim OB-X, which is one of the key pieces of the 80s Prince sound. Then I remember the lyrics and peek through one of the few cracks in the window he invited us to look through - a chaotic family dynamic, a strained paternal relationship and a rare existential self awareness that you wouldn’t think could live in a hit Prince song.
Let’s Go Crazy
Purple Rain (1984)
One of the most iconic introductions to an album maybe ever, there isn’t much in this life that gets me hyped up as much as the sermon Prince delivers to open the movie, the album, the experience - Purple Rain. On the morning school run my old man, who would sometimes succumb to sadness early in the day, upon hearing that OB-Xa organ patch, would shout out “dearly beloved..” and by the time we got to “..doctor everything’s gonna be alright” he’d be beaming and smacking the steering wheel. I knew it would be a good day.
Darling Nikki
Purple Rain (1984)
When I was younger I found this song to be a bit too dark and claustrophobic but if I reached to change the track on the car stereo either of my parents would swat my hand away. But in the narrative of the record, it holds space perfectly as the self destructive, jealous moment that moves us towards a satisfying finale. While re-listening to the album, I discovered that Al Gore’s wife Tipper Gore heard this song and it sparked outrage which contributed to the creation of the Parents Music Resource Centre, which ultimately led to the parental advisory sticker! I think I could have used a few of those to stick on my parents’ foreheads.
The Beautiful Ones
Purple Rain (1984)
My mum recently told me on our weekly phone call about having sex with my dad listening to this song. I couldn’t help but imagine what house we lived in, what my then young parents used to look like, act like, and what it might have been like to share an intimate moment with someone you love while Prince is losing all control, screaming and shouting so loud by the end that not even his engineer and muse Susan Rogers could stop the tape from burning up. His ambiguity and rawness struck such a nerve with me as a child, so much so that I can now imagine my parents doing it without wanting to throw up. Much.
I Would Die 4 U
Purple Rain (1984)
“I’m not a woman, I’m not a man, I am something that you’ll never understand.” In Purple Rain the movie, after Prince’s character The Kid wins back the audience with Purple Rain the song, I Would Die 4 U becomes the climatic moment in the end of film sequence. So the quasi-religious messiah undertones make sense but out of the context of the film, there is something in this song that I feel speaks to every artist alive. The deep desire to transcend from your body and your image and become something else entirely - an idea that Prince would carry for the rest of his career and ultimately transcend his own image over and over and over.
Paisley Park
Around the World in a Day (1985)
From Around The World In A Day, this record feels like a stepping back from the limelight of Purple Rain but this song in particular, named after his luxurious home and studio, is more an invitation into his inner world. It’s dreamlike, spiritual and deeply honest. But you can’t really ever stop him from ripping on his telecaster or pushing his gated LM-1 to its absolute limit!
Raspberry Beret
Around the World in a Day (1985)
The big gold-charting single post-Purple Rain, which was written in the same era but didn’t fit the film’s narrative, is a weird track for me. It doesn’t quite fit on the album Around The World In A Day but it relishes in its simplicity. I sent this to a girl once and she sent me back a Soulja Boy song. We broke up and did not kiss thru the phone.
Pop Life
Around the World in a Day (1985)
I think this song is to Prince what "brat" is tò Charli XCX. It explored the emptiness of fame and points the mirror at celebrity culture which he has seemingly become a huge player in while in pursuit of his craft. It was meta before meta was a thing and and compliments tracks like Raspberry Beret in its disenchantment when put against the melodrama of Purple Rain. Our good friend in the Rough Trade Used Vinyl department, Huw Thomas, put me into this album when I wouldn’t shut up about Dirty Mind.
She’s Always in My Hair
Released as the b-side of Raspberry Beret (1985)
I think most fans can agree with me when I say how was this song only ever a B-side?! It’s such a banger, executed with aggression and a frenetic sort of paranoia that in hindsight, probably wouldn’t fit on Parade or Around The World In A Day. Despite my being too young to have seen him live, watching videos of this track where the band draw it out in such a playful way really hits home how Prince was at the very top of the pile in every single area. On any instrument, in the studio, on stage and even in death. If we ever get another peek inside his vault, we should consider ourselves very lucky to have existed at the same time as Prince.
Sometimes It Snows in April
Parade (1986)
While my connection to the album Parade is not as strong as other fans, I find this song to be absolutely devastating. He’s uses the vessel of the fictional character Christopher Tracy from Under The Cherry Moon as a mask to express something deeper; there’s more space than most of his other tracks with mostly just a piano under his voice and during times in my life where I’ve had grief to process, I come back to this track specifically and feel like he’s listening to me and not the other way around. When he passed 10 years ago my friend John picked me up in his red Toyota Yaris and drove us a little too fast through the winding roads around my hometown blaring my Prince playlist and when this song came on we had to pull over because John couldn’t see through the tears.
Sign o' the Times
Sign o’ the Times (1987)
It’s been very difficult to pick only 20 tracks when I could just choose this whole album. When you’re already a pop superstar, you’ve done a feature film and toured the world, what is left? What began as a challenge ended up being a definitive album of the decade, not just for its boundary-pushing production but also for its social commentary. Underneath the colourful music of the title track, Prince speaks on the AIDS crisis, the challenge disaster, gang violence and poverty which creates the cold contrast of the world at the time vs the world he inhabits in his art. Marrying the two as an observationist is a side of him we hadn’t seen before and that creative process is what I think led to him being so willing to experiment and explore ideas outside of his own.
"I listen to this song all the time and can’t help but imagine how much it must have influenced artists like Blood Orange who would go onto experiment with the masc vs femme tension that this track flirts with."
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Sign o’ the Times (1987)
Sign O The Times is often considered the masterstroke album and for me this song sticks out as something special. It’s sporadic, dreamy and sparse but is so undeniably sexy with a groove that runs through it like a river. It’s hip-hop, it’s funk but it’s also something more. He recorded the “Camille” vocal at a slower BPM so he could pitch it up, which feels not quite masculine and not quite feminine. The lyrics live at the intersection of emotional intimacy vs the gender roles of a relationship and paired with the choppy vocal samples and gliding synths, the bigger picture feels weirdly uncomfortable and visceral in a way we don’t hear often from Prince. I listen to this song all the time and can’t help but imagine how much it must have influenced artists like Blood Orange who would go onto experiment with the masc vs femme tension that this track flirts with.
Ballad of Dorothy Parker
Sign o’ the Times (1987)
Named after the writer, this song is an odd one in Prince’s catalogue - it’s kind of an intimate surreal encounter that takes place in a diner that feels absurd and directionless. He’s not quite singing, there’s no big chorus or climax - but what makes this track influential and noteworthy is actually due a malfunction in the studio - his engineer, Susan Rogers, reports that their API console malfunctioned mid take which led to the signal being underpowered and “lo-fi”. Frank Ocean definitely took notes on this for Blonde.