ANDRE CYMONE - A.C.

Andre Cymone got his start playing with Prince while they were in High School.  When Prince signed with Warner Brothers, Andre was part of Prince's touring band.  Although he participated in jam sessions and writing sessions, he nursed aspirations of a solo career.  He continued to write music by himself and eventually left Prince's band to pursue his own record deal.

I don't know much about Andre's first two records.  I think they didn't fare well, but "A.C." garnered him a minor hit due to the inclusion of a Prince composition.  I don't think I'm overstating it when I suggest most people who bought the record were buying it for the Prince track.

After the mediocre success of "A.C.", Andre went on to produce for a number of artists and including Jody Watley; with whom he enjoyed enormous success.  His collaboration with Watley proved to be the high point of his success.  

So let's discuss the disc itself.  The opening track, and arguably best song on the album, is the sole Prince composition.  'The Dance Electric' remains on par with the stronger Prince material of the time including 'Let's Go Crazy' and '1999'.  Featuring background vocals by Wendy & Lisa, the song really sets you up with a promise of exciting and rhythmic Minneapolis sound material.  Sadly, the rest of the record fails to deliver.

Andre and Prince have a very similar writing style.  It's no wonder considering they share many of the same influences and grew up studying music and learning instruments together.  The difference is in the type of music both men wanted to compose.  Andre embraced the more New Wave, modern sound, whereas Prince favored the deep rhythms of funk and soul.  

I think what happened here is Andre knew he needed a hit and tried to write music sounding more like Prince.  What we end up with is a disc full of generic Minneapolis sounding music.  There are moments of interesting ideas in the music, but the lyrics are often sophomoric and simple. 

It never quite measures up to Prince.  I think Andre would've been more successful if he'd found a sound uniquely his own and pursued it rather than trying to emulate sounds he was hearing and the styles his close friends were using.

In the end, "A.C." is a cassette I've lived with for many years.  It wasn't until recently that I've found the album on disc.  I'm incredibly happy to have this music on a safer format.

Although I'd like to say this is one record I adore, the truth is it's a piece of music I can do without.  The Prince track is the one highlight of the entire disc.  But even it can be found in other formats.  Whether it's online through download or streaming media...  It's not going away.  Unfortunately, the rest of the disc will probably linger in obscurity forever.  My final words:  ANOTHER ONE TRACK WONDER.

ANDRE CYMONE - A.C.
01. The Dance Electric
02. Lipstick Lover
03. Pretty Wild Girl
04. Book Of Love
05. Satisfaction
06. Sweet Sensuality
07. Vacation
08. Neon Pussycat
09. Fallin' Fallin'
10. Red Light
11. The Dance Electric (Single Version)
12. Lipstick Lover (12" Club Version)
13. Satisfaction (12" Club Version)