This ones a lot nastier. Prince, 1979

Prince began work on his sophomore album just seven months after releasing his debut. The album pulses with an electric energy, especially on the dance singles I Wanna Be Your Lover and Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? Prince would perform both of those songs on his national television debut on American Bandstand following the release of Prince, showcasing his increasing interest in transferring the energy of the studio to the stage. Prince was performed, recorded and produced by Prince, with two members of his live band, the drummer Bobby Z. Rivkin and bassist Andr Cymone, credited as heaven-sent helpers.

Prince is the eponymous second studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on October 19, 1979 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was written, arranged, composed, produced and performed entirely by Prince, with the only known contribution from another person being “some vocal harmony” added by close friend/bassist Andr Cymone on Track 2. Prince recorded the album in just a few weeks after Warner Bros. Asked for a follow-up to his 1978 debut, For You. Prince had used twice his initial recording advance on the album, and it had failed to generate a pop hit (although “Soft and Wet” became a No. 12 R&B hit). Displeased at his lack of success, Prince quickly recorded the follow-up. Few artists have created a body of work as rich and varied as Prince. During the ’80s, he emerged as one of the most singular talents of the rock & roll era, capable of seamlessly tying together pop, funk, folk, and rock. Not only did he release a series of groundbreaking albums; he toured frequently, produced albums and wrote songs for many other artists, and recorded hundreds of songs that still lie unreleased in his vaults. With each album he released, Prince has shown remarkable stylistic growth and musical diversity, constantly experimenting with different sounds, textures, and genres. Occasionally, his music can be maddeningly inconsistent because of this eclecticism, but his experiments frequently succeed; no other contemporary artist can blend so many diverse styles into a cohesive whole.