Track Listing

1. Controversy
2. Sexuality
3. Do Me, Baby
4. Private Joy
5. Ronnie, Talk To Russia
6. Let's Work
7. Annie Christian
8. Jack U Off

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14637 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Written, produced, arranged, and performed by that little old funkmaster, Controversy hit stores in 1981 and still rocks 17 years later. As the title suggests, the subject matter Prince tackles here was meant to spark discussion. From the nasty anthems "Sexuality" and "Do Me Baby", to the slice of '80s political commentary "Ronnie Talk to Russia" and "Annie Christian," Prince does just that. Oh, and he doesn't forget about the booty either, making this the ultimate agit-prop, sex-you-up soundtrack. --Amy Linden

Customer Reviews

Slammin'!
Old Prince is the best! I enjoyed listening to this again - the condition was excellent and it arrived propmtly!

"Some people want to die... so they can be free... controversy!"
A lot of people think this is a massively disappointing follow-up to Dirty Mind, a slightly uneven record, and whatever else have you. I disagree. I mean, sure, it's not as good as Dirty Mind, but Dirty Mind was a watershed release, and one can only have so many of those. Let's start at the beginning, with the superb title track. It's Prince's first hyper-extended one-man jam (over seven minutes!), and it's got all kinds of hooks: superb little keyboard riff, the chorus, the melody, and the "Some people call me rude" chant near the end. Sure, the lyrics are very self-centered, dispelling many myths about Prince at the time, but I don't give a damn. It's songs like this that makes Prince such an amazing artist, see? And those lyrics, self-centered as they are, do have some gems to be found, my favorite is "Do I believe in God, do I believe in me? Some people want to die so they can be free... controversy!" Then he churns out some trademark Prince funk-rock with the dirty lyrics that are really a "free-your-mind" type thing, kinda like "Uptown" ("Sexuality"). No, "Sexuality" isn't as good as "Uptown", but that's because of "Uptown"'s extreme quality, not "Sexuality"'s lack thereof. Then he follows that up with one of his trademark sultry, undeniable slow jams ("Do Me, Baby"). On the second side, Prince gets farther into experimental territory than he ever had been before. "Private Joy" isn't anything Prince hasn't done before (though the "orgasmatron" lyric is hilarious!), but the guitar! Listen to the guitar! Listen to the guitar!!! Are you listening to it yet? Good! Now make me a ham sandwich, hold the cheese. So, riiiiiiight... back to the crazy experimental stuff. I don't even know what to call "Ronnie, Talk to Russia", other than, "Um, a bunch of whacko guitars and bomb sounds?", but I like it, I guess. And I know I like the pulsating disco-funk song "Let's Work". Nothing Prince hasn't done before, but good. I don't like the last two songs, though: one is just waaaaaaaay too out-there ("Annie Christian"), and the other is just way too dumb, stereotypical, cliché Prince ("Jack U Off"). Two atrocious songs, here to screw over an otherwise superb album. Why, Prince? Why???

Classic
Prince, in his more rock element. It was easy to listen to this one and see him rising as a huge force on the music scene. His sexual allusions were considered risqué, then he matured into full-on sonar pr0n. Not a bad way to spend a decade.