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| Around the World in a Day | |
|---|---|
| Name | Around the World in a Day |
| Type | studio |
| Artist | Prince and the Revolution |
| Released | April 22, 1985 |
| Recorded | 1984–1985 |
| Studio | Kiowa Trail, Sunset Sound, Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse |
| Genre | Psychedelic pop, funk, rock |
| Length | 42:28 |
| Label | Warner Bros. |
| Producer | Prince |
Around the World in a Day Around the World in a Day is the seventh studio album by Prince and the first credited to Prince and the Revolution after the commercial breakthrough of Purple Rain and the global tours that followed. The record arrived amid high-profile milestones including the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards, and Prince's appearances on broadcasts such as Saturday Night Live and the MTV Video Music Awards. It marked a deliberate stylistic shift from the sound associated with Purple Rain toward influences drawn from The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, and international music threads spanning India, Brazil, and Africa.
Prince began work on the album after concluding the Purple Rain Tour and during sessions overlapping with projects for The Time and Sheila E.. Influences cited in contemporaneous interviews referenced artists such as George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Brian Wilson, and albums like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Revolver. The period saw creative exchanges with collaborators tied to Minneapolis sound innovators including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Morris Day, and production figures associated with Paisley Park Records. Social contexts such as Prince's ties to Minneapolis–Saint Paul venues and interactions with peers at events like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies informed the album's eclectic palette.
Songs on the album display lyrical and musical references that echo traditions from psychedelic rock forebears like Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles, Cream, and songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. The title track arrangements and motifs recall studio experimentation favored by George Martin and session players from Abbey Road Studios sessions. Ballads such as those with orchestral touches evoke comparisons to work by Baroque pop practitioners including Scott Walker and Brian Wilson, while funk-derived tracks align with grooves found in recordings from James Brown, Parliament-Funkadelic, and Sly and the Family Stone. Lyrical themes intersect with imagery tied to astronomy figures like Galileo Galilei and explorers such as Ferdinand Magellan and Marco Polo, though rendered through Prince's distinct persona and references to contemporaries like Sheila E. and Wendy Melvoin.
Production was overseen by Prince at studios such as Sunset Sound, with engineers and musicians who had worked on Purple Rain and projects for Warner Bros. Records. Techniques echoed studio practices popularized by Phil Spector and George Martin, including dense layering and use of analog synthesizers comparable to instruments used by The Beach Boys and Stevie Wonder. Contributors from the Revolution, including Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Dr. Fink, BrownMark, and Bobby Z., participated alongside guest percussionists associated with Sheila E. and session horn players linked to Tower of Power-style arrangements. The sessions incorporated instruments and approaches reminiscent of Indian classical music recordings and Brazilian rhythms heard in works by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.
Released by Warner Bros. Records on April 22, 1985, the album followed heavy media attention from Prince's involvement with Purple Rain and his high-profile performances on platforms such as MTV and Saturday Night Live. Contemporary reviews compared the album to milestones by The Beatles, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, and Miles Davis, producing debate among critics at outlets akin to Rolling Stone, NME, and The Village Voice. Some commentators praised the artistic risk and psychedelic direction, drawing parallels to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the experimental phases of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, while others preferred the commercial clarity of Purple Rain.
The album reached high positions on charts such as the Billboard 200 and international listings in countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Japan. Singles from the album competed on charts alongside releases by contemporaries like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Phil Collins. Commercial performance influenced Prince's negotiating position with Warner Bros. Records and preceded later business moves involving Paisley Park Records and contractual disputes that would surface in the 1990s between Prince and major labels.
The album's psychedelic turn affected peers across genres, resonating with artists who cited Prince alongside David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix as inspirations. Its aesthetic has been invoked by later musicians in tribute contexts that include appearances at ceremonies like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and homages from performers such as Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga. Scholarly and critical reassessments link the record to trends in 1980s pop experimentation that connect to movements and works by Prince (musician), Miles Davis, Tricky, and global fusion artists including Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel. The album remains discussed in biographies, documentaries, and retrospectives concerning Prince's evolution as an artist and his influence on late 20th-century popular music.
Category:1985 albums Category:Prince albums