Prince ‎- Come (1994)

"Come" is one of Prince's very best records. It may not have the notoriety of "Purple Rain" or "1999," but the quality of the song is almost on par. Granted, the songs are not going to worm their way into one's ear when they're sitting in traffic or become dance floor anthems, but "Come" is one of the most cataclysmic records of Prince's career. His feud with Warner Brothers at a fever pitch, his commercial future in a bit of a limbo, and his relationship with Mayte beginning to take front and center in his writing, "Come" is the bridge between Prince the pop star and The Artist, the enigmatic, essentially nameless mystery he'd become throughout the 1990s'.

The best songs on the album - "Come," "Pheromone," "Loose!," "Papa," "Solo," "Letitgo" - are almost all connected by the same components: thick, murky grooves, uncharacteristically personal lyrics, and a sinister vibe permeating throughout each. This is especially true of "Pheromone" and "Papa," two of the darkest tracks Prince ever wrote. The former, a tale of a spurned lover watching his former muse engage in a twisted bondage scenario involving masturbation and a gun, is about as twisted a scenario Prince has ever portrayed. "Papa" is maybe the most personal song he ever wrote, detailing child abuse and suicide in a 'serial killer' voice before advising "Don't abuse children, or else they'll end up like me." "Loose!" is a fierce, angry, frenetic jam with Prince practically shouting the lyrics, while "Letitgo" is a relaxed, catchy and surprisingly melancholy tale of Prince's desire to release himself of his inner turmoil and carry a more relaxed energy.

"Solo" is deserving of its own paragraph. One of his best vocals, Prince carries the song via his plaintive falsetto, detailing lyrics that could almost be a suicide note. His voice moves through the song like a camera panning over a dark, deserted valley, with a pitch black atmosphere that wouldn't be out of place in a Tim Burton movie. Backed only by a harp, there is nothing quite like this song in Prince's discography, and it's up there with some of his very best.

Sonically, "Come" has a rich, tight sound, with the inaugural New Power Generation lineup continuing to hit new heights. In many ways, it achieves what "The Black Album" set out to do but didn't quite succeed at: a uniquely, dark, mature and often uncomfortable R&B album covering heavy themes and sinister soundscapes. It's perhaps his best album of the 1990s', and one of his best overall.