Parade

Calling this one of Prince's most interesting albums doesn't do justice to how kicky and playable it is. The soundtrack from his failed romantic comedy under 'The Cherry Moon', the album often sounds like a preview of the supremely surefooted quirkiness of its follow-up, the classic 'Sign o' the Times'. Marrying lean funk grooves to over-the-top orchestrations and trying his hand at Parisian balladry and a hushed, 'Pet Sounds' - style instrumental, he triumphs as few other record makers did in 1986.