Customer Reviews

Around the World in a Day (Mlps) (Shm)

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember how excited I was to get this cassette tape the day it was released. My boyfriend and I were going to a friend's house, and as Mark was a fan, too, we listened to it in his 69 Rally Sport Camaro. After it was over, he looked at me with his "what the h--l was that?" expression, while I sat, with a blissful look on my face. He wasn't a fan after that day. I was even more enraptured with Prince than ever. (I knew then that the relationship with my boyfriend was doomed.) Throughout the years, the cassette stayed in my collection. I loved loved loved Pop Life-- as AIDS was really making news in those days, the song held great significance then. Around the World In A Day and Paisley Park were favorite driving songs, ones that helped when I was sitting in stop n go traffic here in Houston. America was, and still is, a staple on my running tape, now CD.
And Raspberry Beret? I tired of its constant repetitiveness on the radio at the time, but as it introduced my DAD to Prince's music--before, he was blinded by the sexually suggestive posters on my wall, prejudiced by the news coverage and controversy regarding his stage show and lyrics, and deafened by the rantings and ravings of Tipper Gore and her PMRC to actually sit and give the music a listen--and now he is a fan as well. His 2nd favorite song by Prince? Cream!!
Anyway, ATWIAD opened my 19 year old mind and enabled me to be more flexible when it came to my favorite artists expanding their style. Now, I'll listen to a CD three or four times before actually passing judgement, and you know what? Rarely, if ever, have I discarded any CD since.

This is one of Prince's very best...just as good as Purple Rain even if different. At the time it was released it disappointed the mainstream audience that didn't understand that Prince was much more than a mere hits maker. Still i don't understand why it didn't get more recognitions. But i think that nearly 2 decades later any true pop music lover would agree that this is a masterpiece.
Around the world in a day let you hear Prince at his warmest, happiest and you can feel the inspiration on each of the 9 tracks...Paisley Park is a psychedelic masterpiece, The ladder sounds like Purple Rain going gospel whereas the haunting condition of the heart stands as the album emotional peak. Even an apparent minor track like tambourine sounds refreshing and playful. There is not a weak momement on this album but just great music from start to finish.
Any Beatles fan should check this one out...

It's amazing that a musician as sonically adventurous as Prince would become one of the biggest pop stars in the world, but in the 1980's that's just what happened. And yet at the height of his popularity, Prince never seemed to try to cater to the masses. "Around the World in a Day", which followed the runaway success of "Purple Rain", is evidence of Prince's uncompromised vision. Easily the most experimental album of his career, Prince combines Beatles-like psychadelia (the title track), classical music ("Condition of the Heart"), political protest ("America"), standard Prince libido ("Tamborine") and good old-fashioned pop ("Raspberry Baret"). "ATWIAD" is second only to "Sign 'o the Times" as my personal favorite Prince album.

...Warner Bros. or Rhino Records should remaster and reissue this album with bonus tracks. Here's what should be:

1. Around The World In A Day
2. Paisley Park
3. Condition Of The Heart
4. Raspberry Beret
5. Tambourine
6. America
7. Pop Life
8. The Ladder
9. Temptation
10. 4 The Tears In Your Eyes
11. Hello
12. She's Always In My Hair
13. Girl
14. Raspberry Beret (12" mix)
15. Pop Life (12" mix)
16. America (12" mix)

ATWIAD may be the most forgoten record Prince has ever had, and that's a shame. At first when this album was released in 1985, people didn't take to it because it wasn't Purple Rain. That is what helps it stand out as being one of the very best of Prince's albums. Imagine Prince's funk mixed with a little 1960's Soul Psychodelicide. The title track sets up the rest of the recod nicely. It wouldn't be a very good radio song, and that's the point. Every song is telling a small part of the whole album. Every song has an important roll within the album. The world he sings about in ATWIAD is all to familiar and very vivid. All you have to do is close your eyes and take the journey. There are the radio-friendly songs: Raspberry Beret, Paisley Park, Pop Life (which has one of the very best bass lines ever written) and America (he speaks out against all that is good and bad about our country). But if your looking for something totally different and colorful check out Around the World In A Day! It's a once in a lifetime that we are blessed with an album like this one.

This album found Prince dabling in psychedelia (especially on the absolutely wonderful 'Paisley Park'). Not that this is a psychadelic album really, but it does mark a slight foray into an area in which Prince had not yet traveled up to this point. The first two tracks are great. In addition to the standard psychadelic trippy-ness, both the title track and 'Paisley Park' are filled with the type of optimism and idealism that largely characterized the psychedelic movement, and even more so, its companion hippie counter-culture. Yet there is a touch of somberness to both of these songs. There is a general somberness to this entire album actually. This is in direct contrast to his previous two masterstrokes. Both "1999" and "Purple Rain" were intense passionate affairs with off the charts kenetic energy. This album has its lively moments such as the stripped down funk jam 'Tamborine' and the dense multi-layered funk jam 'America', but this album generally finds Prince being more somber than we were used to seeing him up until this point (the most obvious exception is the huge hit 'Raspberry Beret' which is one of the greatest pop songs that anyone has ever made). He is especially contemplative on the utterly beautiful 'Condition of the Heart' which is a great song once it finally decides to get started after 1:45 seconds into the song. The other hit 'Pop Life' is yet another impeccably constructed funky & flawless pop song from Prince. It seems that Prince could pump this kind of stuff out in his sleep at this time. You're probably familiar with the two big hits off of this album, but please don't buy this album thinking that anything else on here sounds anything like those two songs because it doesn't. My other personal favorite on here is the soulful half sung, half spoken-word 'The Ladder'. 'Temptation' is a *really* raucus track, and the unbridled and unmannered libido-driven intensity is a pretty sharp departure from most of the rest of the album. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to Prince, but if you already own all of his other albums from "Dirty Mind" to "Sign 'O' the Times", then this should make for a pretty solid addition to your collection.

Now, I know I'm not the only one that realizes that critics barely know what the hell their talking about. I must admit that the first time I heard this album I was not that thrilled by it. But the more I heard it, it quickly became one of my favorites. I think this album is very underated and quite brilliant. I believe that this album allowed Prince to develope as an artist in a big way.

This is the album that separates the Prince fans from the Purple Rain fans.An audatious move for Prince,to follow up a blockbuster like Purple Rain with an ambitious,yet wildly uneven piece of work.It has it moments like Raspberry Beret,Pop Life& Paisley Park,the rest is semi-memorable.The only reason Tamborine sticks to the brain it,s because its so annoying. This album is a prime example of an artist following their muse,and not be dictated by industry second guessing.Most simply run the formula into the ground,or just give up artistcally.It may not be Princes finest LP,but it's his boldest statement

The 80s wouldn't have been the 80s without Prince. Around the World in a Day was his follow-up album to the immensely popular Purple Rain. While this album is certainly not as momentous as its predecessor, it most certainly does have its good points. First of all, and I think this was a wise decision on Prince's part, Around the World in a Day has a different feel and sound to it than Purple Rain, a new mood which the cover of the album ably reflects. There are psychedelic touches to this music, as well as a plethora of Indian and perhaps oriental sounds, that give the album a somewhat upbeat, rather mystical atmosphere. The opening track Around the World in a Day sets the record straight from the very beginning, giving ample warning that this album is not going to be a Purple Rain knockoff by an artist content to coast his way down from the top of the mountain of superstardom. Raspberry Beret was naturally a huge hit, and it has something of a light, energetic quality to it that makes it fun to listen to even now. Pop Life is another pop-oriented song that got ample play on the radio, and its airy yet serious style is quite in contrast to the song and released single America. America has a dose of serious guitar of a slightly heavy variety, making me think of (yet not actually reminding me of) Jimi Hendrix, except Jimi never screamed the way Prince does on this track. Paisley Park is a wonderful song, boasting some of Prince's best and most emotionally touching lyrics. It is followed by the equally impressive yet very different song Condition of the Heart; this love song starts with some impressive tickling of the ivories before eventually leading into Prince's high-key and perfectly mournful lyrics. The final two tracks offer another contrast in styles. After The Ladder, a serious, even philosophical track with something of a gospel sound to it, Prince immediately shifts gears to the wild, uninhibited, scream-heavy Temptation. I can't say what kind of reaction die-hard Prince fans had to this album when it was released, but I admit having initially found it a little disappointing compared to Purple Rain. Now, it is easy to look back and see how well most of this music holds up. Prince always did his own thing yet remained highly successful, and this album is a case in point. I could do with a few less of those vintage Prince screams, but overall I have a lot of respect for the new direction Prince followed on the heels of Purple Rain.

A lot of bandwagon "fans" of Prince's sixth album "Purple Rain" immediately jumped ship on hearing this. Maybe commercially speaking he should have waited longer for the Purple Rain hype to die down but this was a different set of sounds and messages to that monumental classic and was never equipped to come close to it's predecessor's mainstream appeal.

Prince I am sure realised this himself, but being the artist he is, rushed it's release through, as always thriving on experimentation and spontaneity. I feel he was right to stay real to himself as although not a record label's dream follow up it is still an artistically rewarding work for the listener. While looking back now however we should understand the reaction at the time would be relative to different set of issues, not least "Purple Rain Mania". :)

This album was as mentioned above not very commercial in it's overall sound apart from two singles. "Raspeberry Beret" is a well known Prince standard and its summertime sway and wandering strings add to make a Beatle-esque Pop classic. "Pop Life" was a simple commentary on the music industry that Prince was now central to and he is harshly critical towards cocaine users within the lyrics. It is also a very accomplished song.

Other highlights include the Eastern influenced title track, another Beatles-psychadelic (The Beatles seem a big influence on this album right upto the cover art) type song speaking of a Utopia "Paisley Park" (The name of Prince's newly established label and recording studio at the time) and the tender ballad "Condition Of The Heart" which although beautiful never quite reaches it's awesome potential in my opinion. Also be sure to check out the album-worthy B-side "Shes Always In My Hair".

Perhaps understandably, this album will be favoured by the more hardcore Prince fan due to the lack of his more trademark "popular" music. However anyone with a love of good experimental music should not be discouraged from exploring this deeply textured journey "Around The World In A Day".