Prince's Commercial Breakthrough But Opportunity Wasted!
Frederick Baptist | Singapore | 08/27/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"This album when it was first released was so raunchy and unapologetically sex-maniacical and obsessed that it was banned from release in a number of countries including Singapore. It seemed every track was from a one-track mind with a foul-mouth that dared to put God and unbridled lust together in the same lyric whose shriveled up body seemed to be due to his squeezing out every last drop of his essence on anything that moved. Thankfully this undoubted talent would later progress and show that he was capable of other thoughts that rise above the baser primitive instincts of man and would show more lofty concerns on future albums such as the brilliant album Sign 'O' the Times for example.
This mini-lp replica sleeve (mlps) version though is a disappointment as the SHM-CD treatment of using a allegedly better reflective plastic material does little to improve the sound quality over previous releases. The mlps design too is a disappointment coming in thin, poor quality cardboard that is flimsily assembled looking like it will come apart easily once the glue gets old. 2 inner sleeves are provided corresponding to the original vinyl release which was a double lp although there is only one cd in this mlps package. A 16-page booklet containing all the lyrics in both English and Japanese is also included.
No noticeable improvement in sound quality and a mediocre mlps design and assembly makes this certainly not good value for money and hence not recommended."