Mobile Audio Studio (outsideSt. Paul Civic Center Arena,St. Paul, Minnesota, and Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, for "The Ladder")
Around the World in a Day[9] is the seventhstudio album by American recording artistPrince, and the third release on which his backing bandthe Revolution is billed. It was released on April 22, 1985, byPaisley Park Records andWarner Bros. Records. Departing somewhat from the commercial sound of his previous release, the massively successfulPurple Rain (1984), the album instead saw Prince experimenting withpsychedelic styles and more opulent textures. In compliance with Prince's wishes to "let the project be taken in its entiretybefore zeroing in on anything", the record company released the album with minimal publicity, withholding accompanying singles until almost a month after the album's release.[10]
Around the World in a Day was released to mixed reception among crossover audiences after the success ofPurple Rain, though it nonetheless sold relatively well and became Prince and the Revolution's second number-one album on theBillboard 200. Two of its four singles reached the top 10 of theBillboard Hot 100: "Raspberry Beret" and "Pop Life". Following Prince's death, "Raspberry Beret" re-charted on theBillboard Hot 100 as a top 40 hit, reaching number 33.[11]Around the World in a Day was certifieddouble platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 2, 1985.
Recording forAround the World in a Day was begun in sessions dating back before that ofPurple Rain.[12] Following six months of touring behind that bestselling album, Prince returned to recording.[12] An initial inspiration for the album's sound came in the form of a demo, recorded by David Coleman, the brother ofRevolution band memberLisa Coleman, which would ultimately become the title track.[12]
The album pursued a dense,psychedelic style that made use of unconventional instruments and cryptic lyrics.[12] Its sound and album cover painting by Doug Henders (artist) drew numerous comparisons tothe Beatles'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.[4][10] Prince spoke in an interview about the album's sound and cover, denying inspiration from the Beatles:
"The influence wasn't the Beatles. They were great for what they did, but I don't know how that would hang today. The cover art came about because I thought people were tired of looking at me. Who wants another picture of him? I would only want so many pictures of my woman, then I would want the real thing. What would be a little more happening than just another picture would be if there was some way I could materialize in people's cribs when they play the record. I don't mind [the album being called psychedelic], because that was the only period in recent history that delivered songs and colors.Led Zeppelin, for example, would make you feel differently on each song."[13]
Despite the muted promotion and its less commercial sound, the album still had two American top 10 hits, and wentdouble platinum. Initial critical reception was mixed, but retrospective reviews are positive.
Greg Tate ofSpin wrote, "Perhaps it's inevitable, given a career built as much on calculated mindfucking as mindblowing music, that Prince would choose to follow the best album of his career with the most bewildering, if not the worst."[21]
In a positive retrospective review forPitchfork,Alan Light described the album as "a brave and deeply personal project, exploring sounds and ideas that were almost shocking coming from a pop icon at his peak."[12]Simon Price wrote forThe Guardian that the album "always sounds better than you think it will, when you revisit."[2]
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