Prince - 1999

Prince’s 1999 starts off with phenomenal strides and ends as it completely tanks in quality not being able to come close to the magic emulated at the very start of the album.

1999 opens with its title track of which is an amazing opener in every way possible as it is a boppin’ groove that is so fun, infectious, and catchy with such an exuberant synth lead that will have you at least tapping your foot in the matter of seconds.

The proceeding track, “Little Red Corvette” is a passionate track about a one-night stand with an absolutely killer hook and synth lead. It’s a brilliant and memorable track for its instrumentals and Prince’s performance which is incredibly authentic and effective.

After the first two tracks, the dip in quality is incredible and that is mainly due to the overbearing length of these tracks. Many tracks overstay their welcome such as “D.S.M.R.” that is a fine groove for the first few minutes until you realize it’s an 8 minute track that should’ve ended a long time ago.

Then, there are some tracks, in my opinion, that most definitely overstayed their welcome even after a minute or two such as “Automatic” and “Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)” that felt repetitive and stagnant in performance and tone, lacking any charm by the end of the track.

As “International Lover” starts playing, and I become blown away by how disappointed I was by this record as it is probably the closest to a good track (mainly because of the last minute of the song) that this 70-minute album gets to after the first two tracks.

1999 starts off with some of Prince’s career-defining hits, but suddenly loses momentum and lacks all sense of engagement with its listener. It’s heartbreaking to think that a supposed brilliant record from one of Rock’s most iconic legends falls so flat to my ears and deterred any and all of the fun I was having at the very start.