Review Summary: Blending funk and rock, "Dirty Mind" marks the point when Prince found a definitive style and delivered a game-changing persona.
I read somewhere that the word "masterpiece" initially meant "a work of art produced by an apprentice to prove to his master that he obtained the necessary skills for his further career". This fits exactly with Prince’s third album, the outstanding "Dirty Mind." A bond between the cerebral character and the erotic side, "Dirty Mind," proved Prince’s multilateral talent and was classified as one of the greatest party albums ever released. The musician’s first real album, "Dirty Mind", sounds like nothing else made in the eighties and stands as the keeper of a definitive musical force that refuses to fade after decades have passed since its release.
Prince debuted with the funk effort "For You", an album that didn’t present anything from his exuberant persona, musically or conceptually. The follow-up, "Prince," was a slow vehicle for some of his compositional aptitudes but, again, nothing more than this. Instead, "Dirty Mind" succeeded in contouring that brute essence, which will know further variations on "Purple Rain" and "Parade," working like a glossary for Prince’s conception and as a pylon for the unique Minneapolis Sound. Like a sexually charged introduction in a musical mind, "Dirty Mind" constitutes the moment where Prince becomes the creator of the most accessible fusion between funk patterns and rock passages. Conceived like a 30-minute parade of scandalous musical debauchery, "Dirty Mind" adapts unbelievable, controversial themes, giving a definitive trajectory to the decade’s pop music.
Harmoniously connecting the commercial and the intimate, "Dirty Mind" is formed from eight songs that shape the contour of a decadent party, which has a magnified echo on the listener long after the music is over. Every song has a distinguishable rhythm, and the lyrics simply refuse to accommodate the so-called "good musical taste." The music sounds sarcastic and guilty, and the lyrics fit the context of a John Waters movie. Without any decency, "Dirty Mind" is very dirty, even for an 80s pop album, with the topics discussed varying from inciting to downright scandalous. Who could ever think that even the rocky ballad "When You Were Mine" is about a threesome? Even on the more explicit "Controversy," the lack of decency isn’t as strong as on "Dirty Mind," an album that sounds like the score for a hedonistic dance.
From the beginning, represented by the upbeat title song, the album set its rhythmic and lyrical orientation. The music is violently happy, the songs have a nervous alertness that makes them irresistible, and Prince’s voice gives an androgynous resonance to the entire suite of sounds. Despite its brief duration, the album feels complete, unlike any other funk or post-disco creation of his generation. And the homogeneity is more surprising when we found that Prince nearly played all the instruments (except the electronic keyboard on a song or two), and he arranged and mixed everything. His conception is in full bloom, and the album’s indecency adds further sincerity to the composition. Even if some listeners will perceive the sound as too rarefied, the record feels like an effort made by an entire band, not only by a super-talented musician. That makes the album truly provocative and ultimately amazing.
Finally, "Dirty Mind" has pulsation, heart, and soul, and it’s one of those rare efforts that can connect rock fans with funk listeners. With a strong conception and memorable interpretation, the album is the missing verge between funk and classic rock, constituting a masterful fusion crowned by a definitive musical persona. At first listening, the record intrigues and provokes, but can't leave you indifferent or dissatisfied. Like a prophecy of the musical perfection of the pinnacle album "Purple Rain", the singer delivers here his most personal and scandalous album, a true masterwork that proves that he was fully prepared for the giant step into stardom.
