The junior funkateer could do worse than start here for an overview on Prince’s career from his 1978 debut, For You, released when he was just 18, to when it’s generally regarded that he showed signs of being human: 1988’s religion-infused Lovesexy and the following year’s mega-selling Batman soundtrack album. In its 85 minutes, though, it’s not exhaustive. There’s not a word on Prince’s most famous side project The Time, so the likes of The Bangles and Chaka Khan, with their single hits of Prince-penned songs (Manic Monday and I Feel For You respectively), are presented as being a more important part of Prince’s success. There’s also a massive clanger in claiming that backing band The Revolution were assembled in 1980, while showing a photo of the Dirty Mind-era line-up; The Revolution didn’t debut until August 1983.
As a general overview, though, it works. The journalists, including Paul Gambaccini, don’t suck the life out of the subject as sometimes happens with these DVDs. Many old colleagues are tracked down, including tour/ Paisley Park manager Alan Leeds, engineer David Rivkin and ex-lead guitarist Dez Dickerson. These personal insights help lift what could have been a dull trudge from sexuality to spirituality.
