Despite what the title told us, Prince was still focused on domination. In doing so, he dropped a gauntlet on an entire decade to follow. “When You Were Mine” is power pop of the first order, hammy shoo-wop backing vocals and all. The synth forays are fantastic, undergirding “Dirty Mind” with New Wave propulsion, and doing Patrick Adams proud with Matt “Doctor” Fink’s freakout on “Head.” There are even a few punkish touches: the no-wave hammering on “Sister,” for instance. “Partyup” (allegedly originating with the impeccable Morris Day) is an anti-war jam that could’ve come out of DC; it ends on the chanted couplet “you’re gonna have to fight your own damn war/’cause we don’t wanna fight no more” — the perfect bridge to 1981’s Controversy.

Not that the record doesn’t deliver on the dirty: it’s positively filthy, a series of Dear Penthouse letters. In three consecutive tracks, he freaks a stranger, spunks on a virginal bride, and gets fucked by his older sister. Perhaps he was daring his growing audience to come along, perhaps he was claiming new thematic territory in one stroke, perhaps he was just compelled to get this shit out there. No matter which, it’s all rendered with a lot of fun, Lisa Coleman’s flat line readings as The Bride notwithstanding. By 1980, Prince was feeling it. The dewy ballads are gone (“Gotta Broken Heart Again” clocks in under 2:20, and it features a Chuck Berry-style rhythmic solo), and the freaky content finds vessels to match. Having set his course, Prince’s next move was to steer into the crest.