Dirty Mind
Encyclopedia
Dirty Mind is the third studio album
by American musician Prince
, released October 8, 1980 on Warner Bros. Records
. Produced, arranged and composed primarily by Prince, it contains prominently sexual lyrics and incorporates musical elements of funk
, dance
and rock music
. The album debuted at number 63 on the US Billboard 200
chart, and earned widespread acclaim from music critics. On June 6, 1984, it was certified gold
in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America
. Pitchfork Media
ranked Dirty Mind number 87 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1980s. In 2003, the album was ranked number 204 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
.
. He seems keen to change his style from the disco
-ish light soul of "I Wanna Be Your Lover
" and experiments with a New Wave
-influenced, rock and roll
sound. The title track, complete with a demo-like organ, is rich with punk sensibilities. The track "When You Were Mine" has many guitar tunes. However, it is the LP's second side (tracks 5-8) which gives the album its unique "fusion" sound and contains the tracks which were most controversial at the time, namely "Head" (a bawdy tale of Prince seducing a bride-to-be with oral sex) and "Sister" (a hyperdriven, punk-ish ode to incest clocking in at just 90 seconds).
"Uptown
" is the album's high point, with Prince singing about a utopia
n paradise where everyone is free to express themselves regardless of age, gender and skin color. This album was to set the scene emphatically for Prince's chart domination later in the 1980s. It fused black and white musical styles in a seamless fashion and showed that Prince was not afraid to push boundaries. Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times
described the music from the album as "confident and highly danceable blend of post-disco funk and tasty, hard-line rock".
Side one
Side two
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American musician Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, released October 8, 1980 on Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. Produced, arranged and composed primarily by Prince, it contains prominently sexual lyrics and incorporates musical elements of funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, dance
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
and rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. The album debuted at number 63 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, and earned widespread acclaim from music critics. On June 6, 1984, it was certified gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
ranked Dirty Mind number 87 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1980s. In 2003, the album was ranked number 204 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
Music
According to The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), "Dirty Mind remains one of the most radical 180-degree turns in pop history." With this album, Prince makes a decisive change from his preceding more commercial album PrincePrince (album)
Prince is the second studio album by Prince, released on October 19, 1979. It was a quickly written album in reaction to his debut For You. It took seven weeks to complete. The album needed to have hits and sell well to make up for the blown budget on his first release...
. He seems keen to change his style from the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
-ish light soul of "I Wanna Be Your Lover
I Wanna Be Your Lover
"I Wanna Be Your Lover" is a song by Prince from his second album Prince, released in 1979. It was his first successful single, gaining radio airplay and chart success: the song scored two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart during December 1979, and peaked at number eleven on the...
" and experiments with a New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
-influenced, rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
sound. The title track, complete with a demo-like organ, is rich with punk sensibilities. The track "When You Were Mine" has many guitar tunes. However, it is the LP's second side (tracks 5-8) which gives the album its unique "fusion" sound and contains the tracks which were most controversial at the time, namely "Head" (a bawdy tale of Prince seducing a bride-to-be with oral sex) and "Sister" (a hyperdriven, punk-ish ode to incest clocking in at just 90 seconds).
"Uptown
Uptown (song)
"Uptown" was the lead single in the U.S. to Prince's third album, Dirty Mind. Beginning with a lone drum intro, the track explodes into the keyboards of the chorus. The verses feature a more prominent funk guitar. The song breaks down to a more instrumental section toward the end that is mainly...
" is the album's high point, with Prince singing about a utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n paradise where everyone is free to express themselves regardless of age, gender and skin color. This album was to set the scene emphatically for Prince's chart domination later in the 1980s. It fused black and white musical styles in a seamless fashion and showed that Prince was not afraid to push boundaries. Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
described the music from the album as "confident and highly danceable blend of post-disco funk and tasty, hard-line rock".
Track listing
All tracks composed and arranged by Prince, except where noted.Side one
- "Dirty MindDirty Mind (song)"Dirty Mind" was the follow-up single in the U.S., and title track to Prince's third album, released in 1980. The song is built around a keyboard riff created by Doctor Fink, which dominates the song. The demo-like song lacks a chorus, and is a stark departure of the smooth R&B sound of Prince's...
" (Prince, Dr. Fink) – 4:14 - "When You Were MineWhen You Were Mine"When You Were Mine" is a song written and released by Prince on his 1980 album, Dirty Mind. Though not released as a single, the song received a promotional 12" release...
" – 3:47 - "Do It All Night" – 3:42
- "Gotta Broken Heart Again" – 2:16
Side two
- "UptownUptown (song)"Uptown" was the lead single in the U.S. to Prince's third album, Dirty Mind. Beginning with a lone drum intro, the track explodes into the keyboards of the chorus. The verses feature a more prominent funk guitar. The song breaks down to a more instrumental section toward the end that is mainly...
" – 5:32 - "Head" – 4:44
- "Sister" – 1:31
- "Partyup" – 4:24
Personnel
- Allen Beaulieu – photography
- Lisa ColemanLisa Coleman (musician)Lisa Coleman is an American Emmy® Award winning musician and composer. Coleman plays piano and keyboards. She was a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1980-1986. She is currently one half of the musical duo Wendy & Lisa, formed with Wendy Melvoin in 1986.-Early life:Coleman's...
– keyboards, sitar, vocals - Dr. Fink – synthesizer, keyboards
- Ron Garrett – remix assistant
- Bernie GrundmanBernie Grundman-Biography:He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1983 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan and Brian Gardner, mastered 37 projects which received Grammy Award nominations in 2005.Grundman...
– mastering - Bob Mockler – remixing
- Prince – arranger, composer, bass, drums, engineer, guitar, keyboards, producer, vocals
Chart history
- Album
Chart (1980) Peak
positionU.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...45 U.S. Billboard Top Black Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop AlbumsTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...7
- Singles
- "Dirty MindDirty Mind (song)"Dirty Mind" was the follow-up single in the U.S., and title track to Prince's third album, released in 1980. The song is built around a keyboard riff created by Doctor Fink, which dominates the song. The demo-like song lacks a chorus, and is a stark departure of the smooth R&B sound of Prince's...
" (U.S.) (#65 R&B) - "Do It All Night" (UK)
- "UptownUptown (song)"Uptown" was the lead single in the U.S. to Prince's third album, Dirty Mind. Beginning with a lone drum intro, the track explodes into the keyboards of the chorus. The verses feature a more prominent funk guitar. The song breaks down to a more instrumental section toward the end that is mainly...
" (U.S.) (#5 R&B and #101 Pop)
- "Dirty Mind
External links
- Album online on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting CompanyRomanian Radio Broadcasting CompanyThe Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company , informally referred to as Radio Romania , is the public radio broadcaster in Romania. It operates four national radio channels, and, under the Radio România Regional umbrella, eleven regional radio stations. The four national radio channels are: Radio...
- Dirty Mind at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...