Description
SKU/Barcode: 075992539524
Undaunted by the criticism Around the World in a Day received, Prince continued to pursue his psychedelic inclinations on Parade, which also functioned as the soundtrack to his second film, Under the Cherry Moon. Originally conceived as a double album, Parade has the sprawling feel of a double record, even if it clocks in around 45 minutes. Prince & the Revolution shift musical moods and textures from song to song -- witness how the fluttering psychedelia of 'Christopher Tracy's Parade' gives way to the spare, jazzy funk of 'New Position,' which morphs into the druggy 'I Wonder U' -- and they're determined not to play it safe, even on the hard funk of 'Girls and Boys' and 'Mountains,' as well as the stunning 'Kiss,' which hits hard with just a dry guitar, keyboard, drum machine, and layered vocals. All of the group's musical adventures, even the cabaret-pop of 'Venus de Milo' and 'Do U Lie?' do nothing to undercut the melodicism of the record, and the amount of ground they cover in 12 songs is truly remarkable. Even with all of its attributes, Parade is a little off-balance, stopping too quickly to give the haunting closer, 'Sometimes It Snows in April,' the resonance it needs. For some tastes, it may also be a bit too lyrically cryptic, but Prince's weird religious and sexual metaphors develop into a motif that actually gives the album weight. If it had been expanded to a double album, Parade would have equaled the subsequent Sign 'o' the Times, but as it stands, it's an astonishingly rewarding near-miss.
1. Christopher Tracys Parade
2. New Position
3. I Wonder U
4. Under The Cherry Moon
5. Girls & Boys
6. Life Can Be So Nice
7. Venus De Milo
8. Mountians
9. Do U Lie?
10. Kiss
11. Anotherloverholenyohead
12. Sometimes It Snows In April