1999 (Super Deluxe Edition)

the take

Easily Prince's best album and I will not argue with anyone about this fact. That's it, that's my review. Okay, but seriously, what else can I say about a classic album that anyone has already said? Three albums in, Prince decides to just lock in and say, "Fuck it, let me lock in and create this all on my own terms". And on his own terms, he did. The opening title track is legendary on its own and is my favorite Prince song of all time, but the rest of the album really holds up as well. Prince played almost every instrument on this album to his own beat, and let's just say that through his creative madness, we have an album that sounds fun for every second. Sure, it still sounds like it's from the 1980's, but think of it like you're in a time machine and you kind of vision the world when "1999" is literal peak. Prince himself has a knack for writing about many subjects. Such topics include issues in society ("All the Critics Love U in New York"), partying ("D.M.S.R.), and sex ("Lady Cab Driver"). Really, he balances everything out so well and with the backing production, you can't even tell the tracks' subjects range wildly because the music itself is funky to make you become one with the music. (It does for me, not gonna lie.) I probably said a whole lot of nothing and a lot of things everyone else has probably said, but I'll forever stand on what I said about Prince's "1999" in the first sentence of this review. I loved all the additional bonus tracks on the "Super Deluxe" version. It's interesting to listen to all the mixes and B-sides from that era, as well as discs 3 and 4 containing tracks that were in the vault. Hell, some of those vault tracks were amazing to where they could've replaced anything we got on the album and I wouldn't even be upset. (Shout out to "Irresistible Bitch" and "Purple Music".) Incredible and worthy super deluxe.