Around the World in a Day (1985)
Our journey up The Ladder starts with Wendy & Lisa-composed strings, lifted from the track Our Destiny. According to Around the World in a Day’s artwork, we’re still in the outro to Pop Life, but both the CD and vinyl track markers suggest otherwise. Either way, the string interlude allows us to take stock and chalk our hands before we ascend a stairway to heaven on rungs made out of the drums from Purple Rain. Clouds of reverb, alto sax and gospel fill your lungs, and a deep sense of cleansing salvation passes through your bronchioles and enters your bloodstream. Some days this makes feel like I’m in Jacob’s dream; on other days I feel like I’m listening to The Cross on cough syrup. I can’t decide which feeling I prefer.
