Prince

One look at the cover and you can see how cool Prince was in 1979. If the original version of his first masterpiece, "I Feel For You," doesn't make your special someone want to, uh, get a back rub, then the bizarre, perverted "When We're Dancing Close and Slow" will do the trick. The rest is nothing less than Grade-A funk, highlighted by "I Wanna Be Your Lover."

Not only does Prince possess the most thrilling R&B falsetto since Smokey Robinson, but this
nineteen-year-old. Minneapolis-bred Wunderkind is his own writer-producer and one-man
band, playing synthesizer, guitar, drums and percussion. Whereas Prince's debut album
(last year's For You) stressed his instrumental virtuosity, Prince teems with hooks that echo
everyone from the Temptations to Jimi Hendrix to Todd Rundgren. But Smokey... More >

This boy is going to be a big star, and he deserves it--he's got a great line. "I want to come inside you" is good enough, but (in a different song) the simple "I'm physically attracted to you" sets news standards of "naive," winning candor. The vulnerable teen-macho falsetto idea is pretty good too. But he does leave something to be desired in the depth-of-feeling department--you know, soul. (Grade - B+)