Music

The album opens with the title track, an a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 recording that states: "All of this and more is for you. With love, sincerity, and deepest care, my life with you I share." This would foreshadow Prince's career of speaking mostly through his music, rather than conventional interview

Interview

An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...

s. Next is "In Love", a bouncy disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

 track with the very Princely sexual metaphor: "I really wanna play in your river." The album's only hit, "Soft and Wet

Soft and Wet

"Soft and Wet" is a song written by Prince. It was his first single, released in 1978 from his debut album, For You. The track is in the funk-disco vein, comprising drums, bass guitar and synthesizers....

", follows. The dance track's combination of sexy lyrics and pop-funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

 music is the direction Prince would follow to produce some of his biggest future hits. A ballad "Crazy You" is followed by "Just as Long as We're Together

Just as Long as We're Together

"Just as Long as We're Together" was Prince's second single released from his 1978 debut album, For You. While "Soft and Wet" was more funk-based, "Just as Long as We're Together" is an all-out disco track. The song was re-recorded multiple times to prove Prince's talents to Warner Bros. Records...

", another disco track which ends in a musical coda

Coda (music)

Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...

 showcasing Prince's musical prowess.

Side 2 opens with "Baby", a ballad about an unplanned child, but which is not portrayed in a negative light. (A portion of the music from this track was later reused on his 1995 song "I Hate U

I Hate U

"I Hate U" is a song by Prince from his 1995 album The Gold Experience. The track was the lead single in support of the album, released on September 12, 1995...

".) A light pop-disco number follows, titled "My Love Is Forever". The country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

-tinged "So Blue" features Prince on acoustic guitar supplemented by airy synths

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

. The album closes with "I'm Yours", the album's only full-on rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 song featuring blazing guitar solos.

The album was clearly intended to establish Prince as an artist and to prove his merits. He lists all 23 instruments he plays on the album, though most were different types of synthesizers, and he did receive some help on various tracks. The album was produced to the point of spending triple the allotted budget. Because of this, Prince's next album would have to have some hits to recoup this somewhat lackluster release.

Track listing