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Around The World In A Day Prince and The Revolution album
Warner Bros. Records
albumPrince had grown so tired of touring Purple Rain, even during its run he started writing and recording his next album, resolved to create one polar opposite in musical direction to its predecessor. Consequently, the reception of Around The World In A Day divided opinion.
You know how easy it would have been to open Around The World In A Day with a guitar solo that’s on the end of Let’s Go Crazy? That would have shut everybody up who said the album wasn’t half as powerful.
During May 1984, Prince secured larger premises where to conduct tour rehearsals as well as establish a recording studio. The site chosen was an industrial unit at 9025 Flying Cloud Drive in the quiet district of Eden Prairie on the edges of the Minneapolis urban sprawl. From February and through to Christmas 1984, Prince worked at Hollywood’s Sunset Sound Studios and his Minneapolis warehouse laying down Around The World In A Day, even continuing mixing the material using a mobile recording studio parked outside venues on off days during the ongoing Purple Rain promotional tour.
Despite Around The World In A Day being the second album billed as Prince and The Revolution, the band’s input is greatly reduced. The Revolution perform on only two of the LPs tracks: America and The Ladder – Prince largely recording the album solo. The Ladder and Temptation were the final songs completed for the album and were mixed on Christmas Eve, using the mobile studio parked outside Prince’s Kiowa Trail home. Both tracks were laid down during the Purple Rain Tour and so Eddie Mininfield saxophonist for Sheila E’s opening act played in the recordings, making them the first appearances of a saxophone in Prince’s music. Sheila too makes her drumming debut on a Prince record with Pop Life, she was also given the task to mix its 12″ version, which she did by cutting up the master tape and gluing it back together. Around The World In A Day was released on 22 April 1985 barely two weeks after Prince performed the closing show for the tour.
Significantly, Around The World In A Day was the inaugural LP Prince released under his newly created label Paisley Park Records. Albeit a subsidiary of Warner Bros Records, Paisley Park Records was created out of the success of Purple Rain movie. Owing also to his successes with spin-off acts The Time, Vanity 6 and Sheila E, Warner afforded Prince autonomy to run is own label and sign any acts he pleased. In return, Warner would fund the label as a joint venture. Prince and The Revolution had worked on other material at this time, but sounding too similar to Purple Rain that work was abandoned when Prince decided to take a very different avenue with the band’s second album. Refusing to bow to expectation to follow Purple Rain with similar material, tiring of its overexposure, Prince followed a different creative direction. He opted for psychedelic infusion of all things. Because of this, Around The World In A Day was considered too adventurous and Prince was criticised, both for casting aside his funk roots and the newly acquired legion of fans and critics alike who had hopes for a continuation of the rock and gusto of the album’s hugely successful predecessor. To ensure people listened to the full LP, the first single was withheld until a month after the album’s release. In result, the album topped the US chart and became a top 10 hit across Europe.
In contrast to the dynamic, raw sound of Purple Rain, Around The World In A Day is anchored in spiritual and political themes, and was thereby branded as too great a departure and less accessible than Prince’s previous material. With Prince now into his seventh LP, it struck a reflective outlook with The Ladder and Condition Of The Heart; Pop Life revealing Prince’s disillusion with fame. In Tamborine he also faced the outcry caused over Darling Nikki which had given rise to the Parental Advisory label. Although reception was polarised coming off the back of Purple Rain, Around The World In A Day sold 2 million copies in the USA, and on 2 July 1985 was certified double Platinum by the RIAA. Around The World In A Day became Prince’s second LP to reach the top of the US Billboard album chart, and held the position for three weeks from 6 June 1985. The album remained in the chart’s top 200 for six months, largely owed to the inclusion of Raspberry Beret the record’s most MTV friendly track and first single. Originating from April 1982, Raspberry Beret was reworked and re-recorded at the Flying Cloud warehouse in September 1984 by Prince, Wendy and Lisa. The most commercially sounding track on the album, Raspberry Beret was released on 15 May 1985 and peaked at number 2 in the Hot 100 being denied the top spot by Duran Duran’s View To A Kill. Globally, Raspberry Beret retailed 1.49 million units worldwide and its success was further aided by the inclusion of She’s Always In My Hair, widely regarded as Prince’s greatest non-album track. Despite the album’s mixed reception in the US, for a second year running, Prince received nominations in both AMAs categories as the year’s best Pop and R&B artist.
Like Raspberry Beret the album’s four 7″ singles were each issued with accompanying 12″ extended versions. The second single Pop Life landed another US top-10 hit, reaching number 7. This was backed with Hello, a track created in response to Prince’s infamous non-appearance in the recording of the USA For Africa benefit single We Are The World. The US only issued America was the album’s third and final US single. Running to an astonishing 21:46 in the 12″ America was in actuality a live rehearsal recording captured at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, and is not even the full version as the tape ran out before the band finished playing. Prince edited the track down to 3:40 for the album and 7″ cut, which charted at number 46. The B-side Girl, dating from 1982, is a reworking from July 1985 at Prince’s warehouse studio on Washington Avenue, a newly acquired rehearsal space to replace the hastily outgrown Flying Cloud Drive facility.
The UK singles started on 24 May with Paisley Park, a single not issued in the US at all. Paisley Park was a track of personal significance to Prince, named after his studio complex at that point undergoing construction at his personal expense, the $10 million project financed out of the proceeds of his Purple Rain success. Paisley Park was backed with She’s Always In My Hair and secured a top-20 entry in the UK. Raspberry Beret came out in the UK on 10 July as the album’s second single and was accompanied with Hello, it peaked at number 25. Promotion closed that October with the UK issue of Pop Life, containing Girl on the flip side and was again offered in 7″ and 12″ cuts. Pop Life made little impression in the charts and passed unnoticed at number 60. Due to the extent of Purple Rain Tour packing in 100 shows between 4 November 1984 to 7 April 1985, Prince decided to forego a tour to support Around The World In A Day. With the passage of time and considered among Prince’s wider body of music, Around The World In A Day has blossomed to a firm fan favourite.
The presence of Prince’s father looms large in Around The World In A Day. While the writing of the title track and The Ladder are credited to Prince’s father John Lewis Nelson, who likely only came up with the basic chord structure, Prince wrote the lyrics and arranged the music as he did with other tracks on the record, giving his father writing credit to provide him a financial stream. The same can be said for Father’s Song from which a portion forms the melody in Computer Blue. Indeed despite being credited to his father, the music for title track Around The World In A Day was created in June 1984 by David Coleman, brother of The Revolution’s keyboardist Lisa Coleman’s. Prince had gifted David studio time at Sunset Sound as a birthday present in August 1984, and in appreciation David gave Prince the song he laid down in that two-day session. Prince added lyrics and rerecorded the track at Flying Cloud Drive that August. Its sound would form the basis for the remainder of the album. David leads an ensemble who put orchestration to Around The World In A Day, Raspberry Beret and The Ladder having previously recorded the string overdubs in Purple Rain.
Cover story
Tired of having pictures of himself dominating the covers of five of his six previous albums, Prince wrote out a design brief detailing 16 elements that were to be incorporated into the artwork of Around The World In A Day, arguably producing Prince’s most eclectic LP sleeve. The requirements included various references to the album’s lyrics: an image of silent movie era actress Clara Bow; a juggling clown; ladder rising from a pool of water and leading to a cloud; blue sky filled with fluffy clouds; a black baby waving an American flag; doves; exotic woman wearing a raspberry coloured beret; olive skinned people wearing robes (the white robed character looking uncannily like Prince); a Russian fighter jet; a lace-wearing woman with red hair eating an ice cream; an old black male crying; young white woman crying (this character is based on a photo of Jill Jones, albeit not weeping); a field of violets; smiling young girl sat on a see-saw; and representations of the band The Revolution.
Additional unlisted elements were also included in the finished design, such as a puppy (believed to be Prince’s own dog at that time) and a female playing a violin. Graphic artist Jim Warren proposed an initial concept but, Prince settled on the one submitted by Doug Henders – a jobbing artist employed also as a carpenter for Purple Rain Tour, who had designed the eyes artwork used on the Purple Rain inner sleeve. Warren’s graphic of the boy swept airborne holding a balloon daubed with the logo by Margo Chase bearing the title of the album, is stickered onto the final artwork. Around The World In A Day is regarded as one of Prince’s best album covers. It was crowned Best Cover Artwork at the Minnesota Music Awards on 20 May 1986.
2025 Deluxe Edition
To mark the fortieth anniversary of the original album, Around The World In A Day Deluxe Edition was a double-disc release issued on 21 November 2025. Available in CD (2x disc) and vinyl (3xLP) formats, an ATMOS presentation was also published for digital streaming. The Deluxe Edition comprised the remastered original album and reissues the B-sides and edits of the LP’s four promotional singles, although controversially, unlike previous Deluxe packages, no era outtakes were included. Despite the improved audio the set had little extra to offer and consequently peaked at a lowly 176 in the US and at number 87 in the UK charts.
Performers
- Vocals/all instr.
- Prince
- Drums
- Bobby Z America and The Ladder
- Sheila E Pop Life
- Rhythm Guitar
- Wendy Melvoin America and The Ladder
- Keyboards
- Matt "Dr." Fink America and The Ladder
- Lisa Coleman America and The Ladder
- Bass Guitar
- Brownmark America and The Ladder
- Saxophone
- Eddie Mininfield The Ladder and Temptation
- Tambourine
- Jonathan Melvoin Around The World In A Day
- Brad Marsh America
- Cello
- David Coleman Around The World In A Day, Raspberry Beret and The Ladder
- Suzie Katayama Raspberry Beret and The Ladder
- Violin
- Novi Novog Paisley Park and Raspberry Beret
- Sid Page The Ladder
- Marcy Dicterow-Vaj The Ladder
- Viola
- Denyse Buffum The Ladder
- Laury Woods The Ladder
- Double Bass
- Tim Barr The Ladder
- Annette Atkinson The Ladder
Data
- Producers
- Prince and The Revolution
- Label
- Paisley Park Records
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- Cover/Design
- Doug Henders, Margo Chase (logo), and Laura LiPuma
- Released
- 41 years ago on 22 April 1985
- Reissued
- 21 November 2025 as Around The World In A Day Deluxe
- Running Time
- 42:35
- US Chart Peak
- 1
- US R&B Peak
- 4
- UK Chart Peak
- 5
- Prince Album
- #7
- Orig. Formats
-
Tracklist
- Around The World In A Day [feat. Wendy and Susannah Melvoin and Lisa Coleman] (3:45) 1
- Paisley Park [feat. Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman] (4:41)
- Condition Of The Heart (6:46)
- Raspberry Beret (3:31)
- Tamborine (2:46)
- America (3:40)
- Pop Life [feat. Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman] (3:42)
- The Ladder [feat. Taja Sevelle and Susannah Melvoin] (5:26) 2
- Temptation (8:21)
Released as a single
1 Co-written with John L. Nelson (melody) and David Coleman (music).
2 Co-writing credited to John L. Nelson.
Singles from Around The World In A Day
Raspberry Beret
Paisley Park Records
- Released
- 15 May 1985
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- US Chart Peak
- 2
- UK Chart Peak
- No Release
- Cover/Art
- Doug Henders & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- Raspberry Beret (3:31)
- She's Always In My Hair (3:27)
Paisley Park
Paisley Park Records
- Released
- 24 May 1985
- Distribution
- WEA Records
- US Chart Peak
- No Release
- UK Chart Peak
- 18
- Cover/Art
- Margo Chase & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- Paisley Park (4:41)
- She's Always In My Hair (3:27)
Also available as a 7" balloon boy picture disc.
Paisley Park
Paisley Park Records
12"/Maxi-Single
- Released
- 24 May 1985
- Distribution
- WEA Records
- US Chart Peak
- No Release
- UK Chart Peak
- 18
- Cover/Art
- Margo Chase & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- Paisley Park (4:41)
- She's Always In My Hair (3:27)
- She's Always In My Hair (3:27)
- Paisley Park [Remix] (6:53)
Raspberry Beret
Paisley Park Records
12"/Maxi-Single
- Released
- 19 June 1985
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- US Chart Peak
- 2
- UK Chart Peak
- No Release
- Cover/Art
- Doug Henders & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- Raspberry Beret [New Mix] (6:34)
- She’s Always In My Hair [New Mix] (6:31)
Pop Life
Paisley Park Records
- Released
- 10 July 1985
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- US Chart Peak
- 7
- UK Chart Peak
- No Release
- Cover/Art
- Doug Henders & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- Pop Life (3:42)
- Hello [feat. Jill Jones] (3:23)
Raspberry Beret
Paisley Park Records
- Released
- 15 July 1985
- Distribution
- WEA Records
- US Chart Peak
- No Release
- UK Chart Peak
- 25
- Cover/Art
- Doug Henders & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- Raspberry Beret (3:31)
- Hello [feat. Jill Jones] (3:23)
Raspberry Beret
Paisley Park Records
12"/Maxi-Single
- Released
- 15 July 1985
- Distribution
- WEA Records
- US Chart Peak
- No Release
- UK Chart Peak
- 25
- Cover/Art
- Doug Henders & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- Raspberry Beret [New Mix] (6:34)
- Hello [Extended Remix] [feat. Jill Jones] (6:23)
Pop Life
Paisley Park Records
12"/Maxi-Single
- Released
- 31 July 1985
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- US Chart Peak
- 5
- UK Chart Peak
- No Release
- Cover/Art
- Doug Henders & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- Pop Life [Fresh Dance Mix] [remix by Sheila E] (6:16)
- Hello [Fresh Dance Mix] [feat. Jill Jones] (6:38)
America
Paisley Park Records
- Released
- 2 October 1985
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- US Chart Peak
- 46
- UK Chart Peak
- No Release
- Cover/Art
- Doug Henders & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- America (3:40)
- Girl [feat. Vanity] (3:51)
America
Paisley Park Records
12"/Maxi-Single
- Released
- 2 October 1985
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- US Chart Peak
- 46
- UK Chart Peak
- No Release
- Cover/Art
- Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- America [original version] (21:46)
- Girl [Extended Version] [feat. Vanity] (7:35)
Pop Life
Paisley Park Records
- Released
- 14 October 1985
- Distribution
- WEA Records
- US Chart Peak
- No Release
- UK Chart Peak
- 60
- Cover/Art
- Doug Henders & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- Pop Life (3:42)
- Girl (3:51)
Pop Life
Paisley Park Records
12"/Maxi-Single
- Released
- 14 October 1985
- Distribution
- WEA Records
- US Chart Peak
- No Release
- UK Chart Peak
- 60
- Cover/Art
- Doug Henders & Laura LiPuma
- Format
-
- Pop Life [Extended Version] (9:07)
- Girl [Extended Version] (7:35)
Around The World In A Day review
What better way to upset the world (and record execs) in following up one of the biggest-selling albums in history by taking the next in a polar opposite artistic direction. Imagine the scenario, it is 1984 and you’ve played one of the greatest rock albums of all time and which won an Oscar as the soundtrack of the world’s hottest movies. But once 1985 turns you put on its follow-up and the first sound is a trippy high-pitched flute (actually a Yamaha DX7 but you get the picture). At the time of release Around The World In A Day stirred mixed feelings, which is to be expected as the follow-up to what is undoubtedly the most recognisable LP in popular culture. Looking back with today’s eyes, and ears, we have the full catalogue and context where to rank Around The World In A Day within Prince’s body of work. Anyone who follows Prince knows his trait to switch direction like the wind and was something fans learned to come to terms with, and embrace. Indeed the predictability of Prince’s unpredictably became the main reasons many followed him, since his musical dexterity could steer to any direction he saw fit.
At times his experimentation could be more miss than hit (Exhibit 2003’s Xpectation) but give credit where it’s due: Since the aftermath of creating the most lauded LP of a generation, Prince fearlessly switched from his golden formula to go psychedelic with Around The World In A Day. From the title track, though disjointed for the first few listens, the album enriches and becomes a mainstay and ever more cohesive over time. Around The World In A Day is essentially a cleverly crafted vanity project which Prince created in protest to himself. He sings about his newly established record label with the motoring Paisley Park to then slow it down with the thoroughly absorbing Condition Of The Heart. Around The World In A Day is a much under appreciated album owing to the fact it is noteworthy for just one song, yet one of his most famous tracks nevertheless, Raspberry Beret – a song about a dreamy store clerk taking his nameless date to a field of horses (cheap date). It stands out because it returns the listener to familiar territory. Yet that is not the album’s best track. That honour goes to Condition Of The Heart and only slightly behind is the soaring The Ladder (co-credited to his dad).
The album has bite with the hard-edged America and Temptation plus the rolling Pop Life sampling the boos captured on the soundboard during his infamous show as support act for The Rolling Stones. A job seriously well done, Around The World In A Day is a worthy follow-up to Purple Rain, yet comes with warning: the steps you take are no easy road but the reward is great for those who want to go. It may not be as well recognised as its predecessor but it’s way more creative. Once it takes root, you realise how foolhardy it is to write off as any less than astounding.
Around The World In A Day is rated 4.5 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.
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