QUESTLOVE'S MUSIC IS HISTORY: THE ALBUM VERSION

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: June 1, 1979 Label: Warner Bros. Records Side 1 1. (You're a) Foxy Lady* 2. Star Walk 3. The Entertainer Side 2 1. Scream 2. Sneaky Freak 3. Tonight *-Questlove: "I remember this as one of the few records I panned as a nine-year old.  Maybe it's because Mom got it for me out of the "cheap bin" on a Woolworth's trip two years after the fact, in 1981.  However, I will also note that my band has taken a liking to "Scream" and "Sneaky Freak."  Not to rabbit-hole, but I guess once Prince made it known to me that this era of GCS was his north star (similar to his preference for the mustache-having, post-sample-ready James Brown hit-or-miss '74-'81 period), it made me hear this record with a fresh set of ears.  But revisionist thinking can be tiring.  Sometimes we need to cop to our original sense.  And so here, officially, I will admit that I hated Star Walk as an album/song/creative direction fo...

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: August 25, 1982 Recorded: July 1981-June 1982 Label: Warner Bros. Records Side 1 1. Wild and Loose* 2. 777-9311 3. OnedayI'mgonnabesomebody Side 2 1. The Walk 2. Gigolos Get Lonely Too 3. I Don't Wanna Leave You *-Questlove: "Prince wasn't even a star yet, but he was making music this amazing.  In eight minutes he provides a documentary with some shady bad characters.  Are they gangsters?  Are they musicians?  Are they the ones your mama told you about?  Not to mention the genius way you can hear sexy socialites talk about Morris in one ear and you can hear Jesse, Terry, Jerome and Morris talk about it in the other ear, hard panned.  It's like Robert Altman.  Another film reference: it's the Citizen Kane of '80s funk."

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: 1973 Label: Warner Bros. Records Side 1 1. You're Gonna Need Me* 2. I Think You Need Love 3. You Are the Heart of Me 4. I Always Get Caught in the Rain Side 2 1. Don't Let My Teardrops Bother You 2. (I'm) Just Being Myself 3. Come Back 4. Don't Burn That Bridge (That Took You Across) *- Questlove: "After she was with Burt Bacharach, Dionne made an album with Holland-Dozier-Holland that was her blackest record.  This song was a big sample for a song on Usher's Confessions , "Throwback," that J Dilla then sampled for Donuts .

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: September 24, 1991 Recorded: April-June 1991 Label: Warner Bros. Records Side 1 1. The Power of Equality 2. If You Have To Ask 3. Breaking The Girl* 4. Funky Monks 5. Suck My Kiss Side 2 1. I Could Have Lied 2. Mellowship Slinky In B Major 3. The Righteous & The Wicked 4. Give It Away Side 3 1. Blood Sugar Sex Magik 2. Under The Bridge 3. Naked in the Rain 4. Apache Rose Peacock Side 4 1. The Greeting Song 2. My Lovely Man 3. Sir Psycho Sexy 4. They're Red Hot *-Questlove- "The song is fine but the chorus is great.  For me, it's something about the background vocals; the angelic singing stands bright--kind of the opposite of the punk-rappy in-yo-face-funk they are known for.  I tend to like the Peppers' quieter moments--I feel the same way about "Californication."

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: June 5, 1984 Recorded: 1984 Label: Warner Bros. Records Side 1 1. The Belle of St. Mark 2. Shortberry Strawcake* 3. Noon Rendezvous Side 2 1. Oliver's House 2. Next Time Wipe the Lipstick Off Your Collar 3. The Glamorous Life *-Questlove- "Prince breezed through this instrumental in maybe forty-five minutes.  As much as his DNA is all over this song, I can't imagine this being on a Prince album or a B-Side.  However, on Sheila's album this is damn near a funk miracle."