50 Best Albums, by Brendan O’Malley, #32. Prince, Under The Cherry Moon

My talented brother Brendan O’Malley is an amazing writer and actor. He’s wonderful in the recent You & Me, directed by Alexander Baack. (I interviewed Baack about the film here.) His most recent gig was story editor/writer on the hit series Survivor’s Remorse. Brendan hasn’t blogged in years, but the “content” (dreaded word) is so good I asked if I could import some of it to my blog. He did series on books he loved, and albums he loved. I thought it would be fun to put up some of the stuff here. So we’ll start with his list of 50 Best Albums. I’ll put up one every Monday.

Brendan’s list of 50 Best Albums is part music-critique and part memoir and part cultural snapshot.

I have always loved these essays, because I love to hear my brother talk. I am happy to share them with you!

50 Best Albums, by Brendan O’Malley

32. Prince – Under The Cherry Moon

Prince is one of those artists whose persona eclipses his work. Somewhere along the line the person becomes more of a fascination than the actual music. With some people this is part of the plan. Ahem, Madonna. Britney Spears. In my opinion, this helps them because the music isn’t all that memorable, the person is.

But with Prince I feel quite differently. And this album more than any other suffers because of it. When Prince released this album he was famous in a way that few other people have ever been. Along with the album came a movie. This movie was the follow-up to Purple Rain which had catapulted him into some heretofore unknown area of celebrity. Purple Rain is quite a good movie, Appolonia and the costumes and the little purple motorcycle aside. Under The Cherry Moon is most definitely NOT a good movie.

This is unfortunate because the music that accompanies it is some of the most sophisticated of all time.

Everyone knows “Kiss”.

The song and video rank right up alongside the all-time MTV moments of Michael Jackson dancing on light bulb pavement and Madonna kissing the Black Jesus and Sinéad right up against the camera bald and crying (and singing a song written by Prince, lest we forget).

Prince dancing around the Oriental screens in matador pants while licking his hands and caressing himself will never be forgotten. But the rest of the album has been, and I must cry out against this injustice.

Imagine a snow globe of Paris. The Paris of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge. This snow globe is special because it allows you to roam the streets while keeping your modern perspective. Sure there are cobblestones and hansom cabs but all you have to do is snap your fingers and you are back in your well-appointed apartment playing with your iPod.

On this snow globe Paris street, you stop in front of some burlesque theater with a name like “Les Jambes Ouvertes”. You take the name to be a good sign so you drop in. The band has somehow gotten hold of modern instruments and electricity. They play music hall tunes for les filles to strip to but they have all the finesse and versatility of Parliamnet Funkadelic.

Now the strange thing about this album is that the songs sound miniature. They are compressed. In Purple Rain you heard a man bursting out of the pressure-packed vacuum of an extraordinary childhood. Minnesota would never be the same. On this album it is like he decided to turn that vacuum inside out, rendering the bombast in as delicate a manner as possible.

The songs seem like cubbyholes in a box by Joseph Cornell.

I was one of the many who was underwhelmed when I first heard this album. Where was the kickass? Where was the freakshow? Well, Prince had other things on his mind than what I expected of him. His world had fractured to a level that must have seemed unreal. Thus the music mirrored this. Now that I mention it, a mirror is an apt metaphor for this album. Some imaginary funhouse where a kaleidoscope unfurls reflected all around you, using your deepest fantasies and fears as a backdrop.

I would say that if we could listen to Prince dream it would sound like Under The Cherry Moon.

— Brendan O’Malley

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2 Responses to 50 Best Albums, by Brendan O’Malley, #32. Prince, Under The Cherry Moon

  1. Candi says:

    Wow. This actually gave me chills because I’ve never read a more accurate description of an album. The snow globe of Paris comparison? Perfect. I was very young when Under The Cherry Moon came out and I guess that makes me lucky because it means I wasn’t allowed to see the movie. I had the tape though and at first I wasn’t sure if I liked it. I would put it in my walkman and listen while I was reading or doing chores or whatever and it kept growing on me. Now it’s second only to Sign of the Times on my favorite album list.

    Please keep sharing your brother’s essays. You’re both enormously talented and can turn a phrase like nobody’s business.

    • sheila says:

      Candi – thanks so much! I will pass on your comment to my brother.

      // Now it’s second only to Sign of the Times on my favorite album list. //

      I love this!!

      I love how Brendan captures the FEELING around Prince’s celebrity at the time of Purple Rain – and like: where do you even GO from there?

      Thanks for commenting and reading! I appreciate it!

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