Arcade Fire - television special

Canadian art rockers Arcade Fire are preparing their fourth album Reflektor, from which the genius title track already has been released as a single. A few days ago NBC showed a TV special entitled Arcade Fire In Here Comes The Night Time that aired after they appeared as guests on Saturday Night Live. Below is the film featuring three songs from the new album, "Here Comes The Night Time", "We Exist" and "Normal Person", showing the band at a surprise gig in Montreal with cameos from Bono, Ben Stiller, Zach Galifianakis and others. Great fun.

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Le Youth - C O O L

Le Youth is a pseudonym used by American DJ and producer Wes James whose debut single "C O O L" is a wonderful dance track, sounding like a cross between 80's acts such as Howard Jones and The Thompson Twins on one hand and modern dance music on the other with a dream-pop twist of the Washed Out kind thrown in for added enjoyment. "C O O L" also samples Cassie's 2005 single "Me & You", and is aptly titled. Everything about it sounds cool, and it's an irresistable song as well, sneaking its way up to you and grabbing your attention. Give it two spins, and you should be properly hooked.

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Sting - And Yet

Sting's first album of newly written material in ten years, The Last Ship, has just been released, and I'm not kidding when I say it's one of his best. The Last Ship is a song cycle that "explores the central themes of homecoming and self-discovery, drawing upon his memories of growing up in the shadow of the Swan Hunters Shipyard in Wallsend. His personal reminiscences illuminate universal truths – the complexity of relationships, the passage of time and the importance of family and community – to form an affecting, complex parable for our modern times."

OK, so this is turning into a play with the same name that debuts at Broadway in 2014, and if that's not your cup of tea you should still listen to the songs. Below you'll find a link where you can see Sting and his fellow musicians, including Jimmy Nail on harmony vocals, performing "And Yet" on the British TV show Later... with Jools Holland last week. It's a wonderful song and one of the album's highlights.

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The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

"Norwegian Wood" was, according to Wikipedia, the first time a sitar was used in a rock song. Whether this is true or not I cannot say, but it is a wonderful song, in large part due to George Harrison's mysteriously-sounding sitar. It must have sounded incredibly strange at the time, when it appeared on The Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul, and it still sounds pretty strange. It also sounds absolutely great, of course!

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Aerosmith - The Other Side

Aerosmith's 1989 album Pump may actually be their best, full of melodic rock songs with serious hit potential. "The Other Side" was in fact the fifth out of six singles released from Pump, almost a year after the album hit the world's record shops. Singer Steven Tyler co-wrote the song with professional songwriter Jim Vallance, but the legendary Motown team of Holland-Dozier-Holland eventually were co-credited after they pointed out similarities to "Standing In The Shadows Of Love", the hit single they wrote for The Four Tops in 1966.

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San Fermin - Sonsick

San Fermin is not only an infamous festival in Pamplona but also the alter ego of one Ellis Ludwig-Leone (some name), a composer, songwriter and musician from Brooklyn who just released his self-titled debut album. It's a strange and demanding record with a kind of chamber-pop not quite like anything else you've heard. I haven't really cracked the album as a whole, and frankly I don't think I will, but there are a few really good songs on it. "Sonsick" is definitely one of them, a fabulous and strange piece of pop music of the more jubilant kind. Weird and wonderful, which goes for the video too.

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Listen to the forthcoming Haim album in its entirety now

Los Angeles sister trio Haim is finally releasing their eagerly awaited debut album Days Are Gone on Monday, but now you can stream the album in its entirety courtesy of the good people at NPR, including fab singles "Falling", "Forever" and "The Wire".

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The Muppets - Bohemian Rhapsody

The Muppets are among my favourite animated figures, and what better song for them to "perform" than Queen's groundbreaking 1975 classic "Bohemian Rhapsody"? Here they all are in their puppety glory, belting out the song: Miss Piggy, Animal, Fozzie Bear, The Great Gonzo, Sam The Eagle and the rest, overseen by Kermit The Frog and Scooter. Fabulous!

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Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline

I haven't posted anything by Neil Diamond in a long time, which really is a shame. We must never forget the greats, and Diamond is one of the greatest of all, a singer/songwriter who's written so many classics it's almost ridiculous. Here's one of them, his evergreen 1969 single "Sweet Caroline". Touching me, touching you!

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Stream the entire new Justin Timberlake album now

Yes! Just like when the first The 20/20 Experience album was released in March, you could stream it a week in advance for free in the iTunes store, now the second volume has just been made avaliable for streaming. The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 is out on Monday, and all its 13 songs, including the brilliant singles "Take Back The Night" and "TKO", can be accessed by following the link below.

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Quarter Wolf - Kavorka

1 singer/songwriter/guitarist (Norwegian).
1 drummer (Australian).
1 dash of punk.
1 topped tablespoon of rock'n'roll.
1 canned tin of energy.
1 minute.
30 seconds (or a little less).

Stir all the ingredients together and shake well. Serve the finished song with a low-budget video.

"Kavorka"!

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The Jesus And Mary Chain - April Skies

After the fuzzfest that was their debut album Psychocandy, The Jesus And Mary Chain went for a lighter sound on the 1987 follow-up Darklands. "April Skies" was the first single, an unapologetically melodic track, that further established the Reid brothers as brilliant tunesmiths. Classic.

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Buddy Miller - With God On Our Side

Bob Dylan's anti-war song "With God On Our Side" first appeared on his 1964 album The Times They Are A-Changin', and has been covered by countless artists since. Among the best of these are The Neville Brothers and especially this one by Buddy Miller, released on his 2004 Universal United House Of Prayer. The song takes the listener through a number of wars throughout history, fought in the name of God and thus justified in the eyes of the believers. Miller's raw voice and the arrangement he's given his version reeks of dust and dirt and blood, a slow and painstaking walk through the horrors and atrocities we have visited upon each other for nine intense minutes of great musicianship. It's a killer performance in every way.

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Thea & The Wild - Hots For You

Thea & The Wild, fronted by the charismatic Thea Glenton Raknes, is a new Oslo-based band with two singles released so far. "Hots For You" is the latest of these, an energetic guitar-driven pop song which in a perfect world would have been a big hit. As it is, at least it has gotten them a bit of recognition to further build upon. I saw a stripped-down version of the band perform a few songs at a party the other night, and although it was only Thea singing and her bandmate Kenneth Ishak (known from Beeswax and as a solo performer) playing guitar, they put on a great show. I want more.

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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Brompton Oratory

Happy birthday to Nick Cave who turns 56 years today! In celebration I feel like playing the beautiful "Brompton Oratory" off 1997's The Boatman's Call. It's easily one of his most accessible records, a collection of low-key, mostly piano-based ballads. "Brompton Oratory" is not unusually for Cave filled with Biblical images, and was recently wonderfully recorded by Mark Lanegan on his current covers album Imitations.

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The Pogues - Fiesta

The image of British, Norwegians, Russians and other people descending upon the Spanish Costa del Sol like locusts is not a pretty one, but with the song "Fiesta" off their excellent 1988 album If I Should Fall From Grace With God, The Pogues celebrate that particular corner of the world. They do it in style though, incorporating local music and images with their own. "Fiesta" is based on a fairground melody picked up by Jem Finer, with lyrics by Shane MacGowan. It's a hell of a party song and one of The Pogues' finest moments, which says a lot.

 

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Talking Heads - Road To Nowhere

"Road To Nowhere", and especially it's choral opening, is a very atypical Talking Heads song. Apparently David Byrne added the intro after he decided the song was simplistic and monotonous. He may have had a point but the fact remains that this became one of Talking Heads' biggest hits, which is not really that strange. It's a great song with its maching beat and quirky arrangement, and belongs on 1985's Little Creatures album. The video is also worth seeing, strange and funny as it is.

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Marit Larsen - If A Song Could Get Me You

Marit Larsen, formerly of the Norwegian duo M2M, found a new and possibly more meaningful life as a solo artist than as a teenager trying to make it in America. She has released three albums to date, and her best song so far is the ABBA-esque "If A Song Could Get Me You", the kind of pop song many people would sacrifice an arm and a leg to be able to write. It was the lead single off her second solo album, 2008's The Chase, and a number one hit in Norway, Germany and Austria, deservedly so.

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Ellie Goulding - Burn

For a long time I didn't really care for Ellie Goulding's single "Burn", but eventually she broke me down and now I love it. The hedonistic and carefree-sounding dance track is perfectly constructed, with a killer pop melody that drives it forward and into a repetitive, silly and totally irresistable chorus. "Burn" is the lead single from the re-release of last year's Halcyon Days album, and after it came out in July and became a worldwide smash hit, it also gave the album a new lease on life to put it mildly. It's easy to understand why too.

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Madrugada - The Kids Are On High Street

If I were to choose just one song by disbanded Norwegian group Madrugada, it would be "The Kids Are On High Street". The lead single off their fourth album The Deep End (2005), it bears all the markings of the ultimate Madrugada song as it should sound - killer vocals by Sivert Høyem, loud guitars and a melody to kill for. Also, the song's lyric about teenagers adrift, is really good. I love this song.

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John Newman - Love Me Again

Another killer debut single that was released earlier this year, John Newman's "Love Me Again" is classic Northern Soul with a modern twist. It struts and sways, shimmies and shakes, moving at a furious pace, and is sung by a man whose voice is nothing less than impressive. Deservedly it became a UK number one hit. Newman also sang on two tracks on the wonderful Rudimental album, and in mid-October will release his own proper debut album Tribute. I for one am looking forward to it!

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Kim Cesarion - Undressed

Here's one of this year's best debut singles, Swedish R&B singer Kim Cesarion's "Undressed", a killer tune for the dancefloor with an irresistable melody and THAT voice. I would not be at all surprised if a major international career lies ahead of the 23 year old singer/songwriter. This song is absolutely perfect pop music. Hot damn!

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Noora Noor - Forget What I Said

In 2009 Norwegian, Somalia-born r'n'b singer Noora Noor released Soul Deep, an astonishing album produced by fellow Norwegian Christopher "Kid" Andersen and recorded with musicians from Little Charlie & The Nightcats in San Jose, California. It's a record steeped in Southern soul music of the kind that Al Green, The Staple Singers, Aretha Franklin and others have done so well, a record that rings true and sounds right in every way. This was Noor's third and last album to date, so it's really about time that she comes up with new music soon. Here is "Forget What I Said", one of the album's many great tracks. It wasn't recorded in the Stax Studios in the 1960's, but if I didn't know better it would definitely have fooled me.

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Mathilde Santing - Too Much

Dutch singer/songwriter Mathilde Santing released the album Water Under The Bridge in 1984. It was her first international release and a record I picked up at the time. It has stayed with me ever since and I still own the original LP which I cherish dearly. "Too Much" is the opening track, a quiet little piece of music that is fascinating and beautiful, and leaves me to wonder why Santing has never had an audience to speak of outside the Netherlands. If you're into Suzanne Vega for instance, Santing was way ahead of her, but what matters most is that she is a fantastically gifted artist. This is absolutely adorable.

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The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night

To think that The Beatles recorded 12 LP's, one major EP (Magical Mystery Tour) and a score of singles that were not on the LP's, pretty much all of them undisputable and enduring classics, during a nine year period, is beyond comprehension. This was during the 1960's, a decade in which pop music to a large extent was invented, but still... it's mindboggling. They also made five films during these years, and 1964's A Hard Day's Night was the first. The title track is a prime example of their songwriting skills, written by John Lennon, but as always credited to both him and Paul McCartney. 49 years on it sounds as fresh and wonderful as ever.

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Justin Timberlake - TKO

In ten days we'll get Justin Timberlake's second new album this year, The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2. After the Michael Jackson groove of first single "Take Back The Night", he's now released single number two, "TKO", which is a hip hop-influenced R&B song of the type we're more used to. Like so many of his new songs, "TKO" is long, clocking in at just over seven minutes, and once again it's great, produced once again by Timbaland.

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Maria Mena - All The Love

Norwegian singer/songwriter Maria Mena releases her sixth album on Monday, the excellent Weapon In Mind, featuring 13 new songs, including the singles "Fuck You" and "I Always Liked That". The third single seems to be "All The Love", a strange hybrid of a song, part piano-led ballad, part autotuned electro-pop. It's an atmospheric and exciting song, a small masterpiece in my humble opinion. Mena seems to become better and better for each new album, so it's a real pleasure to follow her career.

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Genesis - Duchess

1980 was a hectic and musically very interesting year for Genesis and its members, past and present. Former lead singer Peter Gabriel released his third, and up till then best, solo album, including songs like "Games Without Frontiers" and "Biko", bass player Mike Rutherford released his first solo album, the lovely Smallcreep's Day, Phil Collins drummed on two tracks for his sometime hobby band Brand X on the album Do They Hurt?, former guitar player Steve Hackett enjoyed moderate success with his Defector album, and most importantly Genesis released their tenth album, the often underappreciated Duke. Duke is a great album, parts of it forming a song cycle about the titular Duke, and also including "Misunderstanding" and "Please Don't Ask", two of the many songs Phil Collins wrote about his crumbling marriage that also led up to his debut solo album Face Value the following year. "Duchess", co-written by Collins, Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks, is epic both in length and in arrangement, going through several phases and musical patterns, and is adventerous and highly enjoyable, simply put it's one of my favourite Genesis songs. The Duke album was recorded in Stockholm's Polar studio and is the last album that was produced by David Hentschel who had been with them since A Trick Of The Tail in 1976. A crowning achievement, if you ask me.

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Grace Jones - She's Lost Control

In 1980, Grace Jones released Warm Leatherette, the first of three albums recorded with Sly & Robbie at their Compass Point Studio in Nassau, Bahamas. "She's Lost Control", her exquisite version of the Joy Division track, wasn't on any of these albums, but ended up on the B-side of the "Private Life" single from Warm Leatherette, the Pretenders song that actually sounds better in Jones' version. I can't say the same for "She's Lost Control", but it's not far off either, and the eight minute plus 12" version is killer stuff. It's of course more thanks to Sly & Robbie than Grace Jones and her questionable "talent", but her voice and the dub arrangement and studio wizardry of the Jamaican musicians work wonders for the overall result. Fabulous!

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Santana - I Love You Much Too Much

The instrumental "I Love You Much Too Much" is one of Santana's most beautiful songs, a showcase for the great guitarist that leaves no doubt about his skills. Over a slow latin beat, his guitars sings and wails, and the song is a highlight of the 1981 album Zebop!, in my opinion the band's last great album before 1999's highly successful Supernatural.

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Britney Spears - Work Bitch

Say what you like about her, but Britney Spears have survived a few ups and downs, both on a personal and an artistic level. Now she's released the new single "Work Bitch" as a taster for her forthcoming eighth album, and it's nothing less than a fabulous club track. Play this loud and you'll definitely see the dance floor come alive. "You better work, bitch", she sings, and indeed that's what she's doing. There will be a video soon, but for now please enjoy the audio track.

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Robbie Williams - Shine My Shoes

Good news for everyone who likes the Robbie Williams of old, and by that I don't mean his days with boyband Take That. He's reunited with ace songwriter Guy Chambers who helped him to all his early successes as co-writer and producer, a relationship they have both capitalized on big time, whereas their success rates when apart have been of the more dubious kind. Not only that, they have reunited for Williams' second swing album, Swings Both Ways (to be released November 15th), the follow-up to 2001's Swing When You're Winning. With one exception, Chambers' and Williams' co-write "I Will Talk And Hollywood Will Listen", that album was exclusively filled with covers of well-known standards such as "Mr. Bojangles" and "Something Stupid". This time around there are six Chambers/Williams co-writes, including first single "Shine My Shoes", and the title track which is a duet with Rufus Wainwright who's co-credited with writing the song. Elsewhere there are duets with Lily Allen, Olly Murs, Michael Bublé and Kelly Clarkson. Below you'll find a link to "Shine My Shoes" as well as a short trailer for the album featuring clips from several songs and duet partners. This sounds like great fun!

"Shine My Shoes"

Album trailer

 

Download one song from the new Prefab Sprout album for free

Crimson/Red, the forthcoming Prefab Sprout album, is absolutely brilliant and one of the best albums of 2013, without a hint of a doubt. By signing up on the band's mailing list you'll get a free download of the wonderful album track "The Songs Of Danny Galway" immediately. On the website, you'll also be able to pre-order the album, and I strongly suggest you do. As I said, this is one of this year's best albums. Paddy McAloon has returned and he's in excellent shape!

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New Leonard Cohen song - I've Got A Little Secret

During his Dublin concert this Friday, Leonard Cohen debuted a new song called "I've Got A Little Secret", a work in progress a few years, with some of its lyrics previously used in a song called "Feels So Good" that he debuted in 2009. No word on a new album yet though. Below you can see Cohen perform "I've Got A Little Secret", but you'll have to excuse the so-so sound quality. It still has to be said the song sounds really good.

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Roy Buchanan - The Messiah Will Come Again

American blues artist Roy Buchanan is one of the world's greatest guitarists, and his most famous song is the really, truly, deeply wonderful "The Messiah Will Come Again", the key track off his 1972 eponymous second album. Mostly instrumental it's a masterclass in atmospheric and beautiful guitar playing that at times sound completely otherworldly. If you like Santana songs such as "Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile)" or "I Love You Much Too Much" you'll fall utterly in love with "The Messiah Will Come Again", if you don't already, that is. What a fabulous six minutes of beauty!

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Dr. John - Right Place Wrong Time

It's time for some good old New Orleans funk as performed by the one and only Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack Jr., Dr John The Night Tripper or, for short, Dr. John. "Right Place Wrong Time" is the opening track from his 1973 album In The Right Place. This is basically as cool as popular music gets.

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Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is A Place On Earth

Belinda Carlisle struck gold with her second solo album after leaving The Go-Go's, 1987's Heaven On Earth. A fabulous American pop record with contributions from professional songwriters such as Diane Warren and the team Rick Nowels/Ellen Shipley, it was full of hits, expertly produced by Nowels. Nowels and Shipley's "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" was the first single off the album and hit the US number one spot. It's rightfully considered a classic and is without a doubt Carlisle's most popular song ever. The accompanying music video was directed by Diane Keaton.

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Stewart Copeland and Stan Ridgway - Don't Box Me In

When Francis Ford Coppola turned S. E. Hinton's novel Rumble Fish into a movie in 1983, he needed help with the soundtrack that he initially tried to make himself. He enlisted Stewart Copeland, the brilliant Police drummer, and soon enough realized his own limitations and left the work to what he rightly considered a superior composer and musician. Copeland went on to score the film, but collaborated with former Wall Of Voodoo singer Stan Ridgway on the song "Don't Box Me In" that became a minor hit. It's a great song and a meeting of two highly original, adventerous and exciting musicians, a song filled with an eerie atmosphere that complements Coppola's beautiful black and white images.

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Elvis Presley - Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues

Danny O'Keefe's wonderful "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues" was covered by Elvis Presley for his last proper studio sessions, when he recorded over two periods at legendary Stax Studios in Memphis in 1973. The sessions resulted in lots of songs that were split up, a bit at random, and ended up on different albums, all now collected on a brilliant set simply called Elvis At Stax. "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues" was put on an album released in 1974 that was wisely called Good Times.

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Simple Minds - King Is White And In The Crowd

Simple Minds' 1982 masterpiece New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) is one of the albums that mean the most to me as a music lover. Upon its release I was totally infatuated with synth-pop and the whole New Romantics scene, ranging from Ultravox to ABC, from Spandau Ballet to Devo, from... well, you get the gist, and when New Gold Dream was released, for me it became the definitive album of the era. It has stood the test of time completely, and I still love each one of its nine songs. "King Is White And In The Crowd" is the epic, atmospheric, seven minute closing track, and is of course absolutely gorgeous. I'll see Simple Minds in January on their "greatest hits" tour. As "King Is White..." was not a single, they won't be playing it, but it would've fit perfectly in. As it is, it's one of Simple Minds' many, many great songs.

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Stan Ridgway - Walkin' Home Alone

"So put another quarter in the jukebox, Pete/But don't play the one with the sad trombone/'Cause tonight I'll be walkin' home alone"... Those are the final lines of former Wall Of Voodoo singer Stan Ridgway's "Walkin' Home Alone", one of the most memorable tracks on his debut solo album The Big Heat (1986). That's of course exactly when the sad trombone enters, making this song as beautiful and sad as any song you can think of. Another stone cold classic!

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Chet Baker - Autumn Leaves

Aahhh, a bit of wonderful jazz on a Sunday. Today's recommendation is the lovely "Autumn Leaves" in Chet Baker's 1974 (?) version. Originally a French "chanson" written in 1945 - "Les Feuilles Mortes" by Joseph Kosma with lyrics by Jacques Prévert. Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyric but Baker's version is instrumental and very, very nice. Enjoy it as you will also hopefully enjoy the day!

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Madonna - Hanky Panky

"Hanky Panky" is a period piece from the soundtrack to Warren Beatty's 1990 film adaptation of the old comic strip Dick Tracy from the 1930's. Madonna made the album I'm Breathless: Music From And Inspired By The Film Dick Tracy, from which there were released two singles, the modern sounding Vogue, and the wonderful "Hanky Panky", a semi-racy tune harking back to the old dancehall music of an earlier time. Unfortunately there was never made a music video to the track, so what was used is this clip for Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour, which is not half as fun as if Madonna had showed up in a period setting. The song is still absolutely fabulous though!

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leppen - Ta på mig

leppen is the professional name of Swedish singer/songwriter Dan Lepp who's just released his first album En låt om året (One song each year). I haven't heard the album, but leppen's done a Swedish version of a-ha's 1985 classic "Take On Me" who caught my attention. It's a downsized, modernized and soulful take on a big song and actually sounds really good. It won't be the monster hit that the original was, but it could become a moderate, Scandinavian hit at least. I like.

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Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake - Holy Grail

"Holy Grail" is the opening track and current single from Jay-Z's new album Magna Carta Holy Grail, a brilliant piece of hip-hop featuring a soulful break from the great Justin Timberlake. I'm not really a big hip-hop fan or Jay-Z fan, it's just something I stuble across more or less accidently, but when I enjoy it I really do. "Holy Grail" is fabulous, both with and without Justin.

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Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Art rock as dance music? That's where Arcade Fire go on their brand new single, Reflektor, the title track of their forthcoming album to be released towards the end of October. Sung both in English and French and produced by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, it sounds like... well, a cross between Talking Heads and Laurie Anderson, the early singles of Australian rockers Hunters & Collectors, quite a bit of LCD Soundsystem of course, and, fabulously and surprisingly, a bit like Daft Punk. And of course themselves, but that goes without saying. Also, David Bowie guests, entering the song at close to the five minute mark of a song that's more than seven brilliant minutes long. What is the wonderful reality is that "Reflektor" may be one of this year's very best songs. I'm completely infatuated and in total awe. This is soooooo good, and from a band I've been a bit adament about. No more. I am so looking forward to the album! Also, the video is fantastic, directed by Anton Corbijn.

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Echo & The Bunnymen - Nocturnal Me

Although not my favourite Echo & The Bunnymen album, 1984's Ocean Rain is the best mapped album of theirs, an atmospheric and highly ambitious masterpiece and the crowning jewel of a string of four excellent albums released over the course of five years. I prefer their first two albums, possible because of their rawness, but as for sheer musicality and beauty, Ocean Rain is superior. "Nocturnal Me" was not released as a single, but it could have been. A perfect Echo & The Bunnymen song, as so many before it.

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New Order - Shellshock

"Shellshock" appeared on the Pretty In Pink soundtrack before it was released as New Order's 11th single altogether and their first of 1986. It builds a perfect bridge between the two albums Low-Life and Brotherhood in the band's discography, grappling as they were at the time with making their special sort of synth-pop unlike anything else out there. As most of their output in these years, "Shellshock" is an absolutely brilliant piece of pop music.

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The Clash - Rock The Casbah

Imagine how The Clash drummer Topper Headon felt when he saw the video for "Rock The Casbah" after having been fired from the group some time prior to its release, and being responsible for writing and recording what would become their biggest hit single, seeing replacement drummer Terry Chimes (who had been the band's first drummer) sitting where he should have. Not a good feeling, I'm sure, but Headon's heroin addiction had led singer Joe Strummer to fire him in advance of the release of The Clash' final album, 1982's Combat Rock. A pity, and it soon spelled the end of the world's coolest ever rock band.

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Prince - Little Red Corvette

Prior to the 1984 monster hit album Purple Rain, Prince was slowly but steadily building a career, an audience, a catalogue of great songs. "Little Red Corvette" was released a year earlier as one of the singles of his 1999 album. This became his first US Top 10 hit helping pave the way for what was to follow. A hell of a good pop song it is too.

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