1999

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1999 is the fifth album by Prince, released on October 27, 1982. It was his first top ten album on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States (peaking at number 9) and became the fifth best-selling album of 1983. 1999 was Prince's breakthrough album, but his next album Purple Rain would become his most successful. 1999 is also Prince's longest single-disc album, clocking in at just over 70 minutes.

It was also the first album to feature the Revolution. The band's moniker is written in reverse on the front cover.

According to the Rolling Stone Album Guide, "1999 may be Prince's most influential album: Its synth-and-drum machine-heavy arrangements codified the Minneapolis sound that loomed over mid-'80s R&B and pop, not to mention the next two decades' worth of electro, house, and techno."

History

Originally released on vinyl as a double LP (the first of a number of double sets from Prince), 1999 was cut to a single vinyl edition in some countries; Brazil, for example, opted to issue the release as two separate vinyl albums, 1999 and 1999 II.[6] The original compact disc version of the album was also cut, omitting "D.M.S.R.". There is a disclaimer on the back cover of the original compact disc pressing that reads "To enable the release of 1999 as a single compact disc, the song DMSR has been omitted from the original LP edition".[7] Later compact disc pressings included the track. Also, on the cassette release, "Free" was placed after "D.M.S.R." to end the first side, balancing out the lengths of both sides of the cassette.

The album's opening title track, "1999", was also its first single, initially peaking at 44 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was later re-released, hitting number 12 on the Billboard charts once interest in the album had caught fire with the release of 1999's second single, "Little Red Corvette", which peaked at Number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and heralded Prince's rise to superstardom. The music video for the song was significant in itself as one of the first videos by a black artist to receive "heavy rotation" airplay on the newly launched music video channel, MTV. The two tracks were later combined as a double A-side single in the UK, peaking at number 2. A third single, "Delirious", still managed Top Ten status in the US, but a fourth, the double-sided single "Let's Pretend We're Married/Irrestible Bitch," got no further than number 52.

While "Little Red Corvette" helped Prince cross over to the wider rock audience, the rest of the album retains the elements of previous albums and is dominated by funk and synthesizer dance tracks. The album is, however, notable amongst Prince's catalogue for its wide variety of imagery and themes besides the sexual themes that had already become something of a trademark on previous albums. "Automatic", extending to almost ten minutes, starts side three of the album with a cocktail of synthesizers and bawdy bondage-inspired lyrical imagery which, transplanted to the music video for the track (with a scene that depicted Prince being tied up and whipped by band-members Lisa Coleman and Jill Jones), was, in 1983, considered too hot for MTV. "Free" is a delicate piano ballad expressing patriotism, and how fellow Americans should appreciate their freedom, while "Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)", an ode to a harsh lover, is the centerpiece of a preoccupation with Computer Age themes that would continue into future albums. This "computer" theme is also reflected in the album's instrumentation, with Prince fully embracing the gadgetry and sounds of emergent electro-funk and '80's sequencing technology on tracks like "Let's Pretend We're Married" and "All the Critics Love U in New York", songs that widen his use of synthesizers and effects and prominently feature his noted uses of the Linn drum machine. Prince himself admitted at the time the movie Blade Runner was an influence on the album's synth sound and look in the music videos for the album.

The album's critical and commercial success secured Prince a place in the public psyche, and marked the beginning of two years of intense activity which, via massively successful tours, hit singles and a Hollywood movie, would make Prince arguably the biggest musical star on the planet next to Michael Jackson. In 2003, the album was ranked number 163 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[8]

The album's cover features elements from the front cover of Prince's previous album, Controversy; namely the eyes and the "Rude Boy" pin in the "1999", the jacket studs in the "R" and the smile in the "P". The "1" in Prince contains the words "and the Revolution" written backwards, both acknowledging his backing band and foreshadowing the next four years of his career.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Prince.

2-LP/CD
Side one Side two
 * 1) "1999" – 6:15
 * 2) "Little Red Corvette" – 5:03
 * 3) "Delirious" – 4:00
 * 1) "Let's Pretend We're Married" – 7:21
 * 2) "D.M.S.R." – 8:17
 * NOTE: Also released as 1999 I in Brazil.

Side three Side four
 * 1) "Automatic" – 9:28
 * 2) "Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)" – 4:02
 * 3) "Free" – 5:08
 * 1) "Lady Cab Driver" – 8:19
 * 2) "All the Critics Love U In New York" – 5:59
 * 3) "International Lover" – 6:37
 * NOTE: Also released as 1999 II in Brazil.