0(+> (1992)
The 60s sci-fi flick Barbarella rivals The Matrix in being a source of inspiration for Prince and he references it directly in the final segue of this album. However, two tracks previously it’s another Roger Vadim directed film that provides the title: 1956’s Bardot-parading, Et Dieu… Crea La Femme, translated as And God Created Woman. It’s easily missed on the sprawling O(+>, buried towards the end and sandwiched between two attention-grabbing anthems. Sometimes its three minutes pass without me registering a single note. But it thrives in isolation. A luscious, brain-massaging pampering, especially on headphones where the silken, multi-tracked vocals swell within you as if sung by all the nameless ancestors entwined in your soul. Featuring dangerous levels of smooth, it’s a Sade album in concentrate. Over three times your RDA so go easy. It’s also the third Genesis-retelling song on this list so far, showing that his favourite films still can’t match the Old Testament for source material. The Bible and Barbarella would have made an apt title for any Prince memoir of this time period.
