Pivot: It’s Genius, I Swear
By: Various Scribes
This is an album that I heard when I was very young. My older brother had a poster of the cover on his wall - Prince on his purple motorcycle, wearing a purple jacket, with ruffled shirt, and the sexy Apollonia in the doorway behind him. It's still his defining record, as it seems to have gelled together many influences - disco, funk, rock, soul, electro - the 'Minneapolis sound'. I was excited by this idea, even as a kid: a melting pot of sounds to make a unique one. The Linn drum machine mixed in with live drums, and Prince's shredding guitar, and disco synths is perfect.
It starts with 'Let's Go Crazy', a Prince party classic. The epic spoken word intro is cool, and the solo guitar outro is a defining moment in guitar history. Public Enemy sampled a section of the guitar ending in 'Brothers Gonna Work It Out' which I thought was a brilliant homage.
'When Doves Cry' - I read somewhere that the song had no bass in it, so I listened to it again. I had never noticed. It's just kick drum. It doesn't need bass. It's that funky. He did the same thing with his other big hit 'Kiss'. He can make something so pop but simultaneously non-standard.
It's a great record because of its experimentation, and balanced with great pop songs. I love the way many songs are mixed continuously into each other. I had never heard that on an album before, and still love it when it's done today. It makes it more than just an album - it's kind of symphonic. It's a suite of tracks that's best listened to in one sitting.
It also contains some risqué lyrics, especially 'Darling Nikki' which has one the best moments on the record. Prince is screaming 'you're little Prince wants to grind', which is followed some heavy heavy double kick drum action.
The album was of course accompanied by the movie release - which is always a plus.
By Richard Pike
Pivot's debut EP, In The Blood is out now on Warp Records. Check back soon for a glowing review.