Prince and The Revolution (April 22 1985) Around the World in a Day - Album

Around the World in a Day is Prince’s seventh studio album and the third to credit The Revolution. Released in April 1985, it marked a deliberate shift away from the commercial pop-funk of Purple Rain toward a more psychedelic, experimental, and opulent sound.

RELEASE DETAILS

Artist: Prince and The Revolution

Label: Paisley Park / Warner Bros. Records

Date: April 22, 1985

Catalogue: 9 25286-1

Format: LP

Country: United States (worldwide release)

Following the massive success of Purple Rain, Prince chose a radically different direction for Around the World in a Day. The album features lush, psychedelic textures, Middle Eastern influences, and a more whimsical, spiritual tone. While still rooted in funk and pop, it leans heavily into experimentation with unconventional instruments and dense arrangements.

CONTEXT & NOTES

Released with minimal promotion at Prince’s request, the album was a commercial success despite its departure from the Purple Rain sound. It reached #1 on the Billboard 200 and produced several hits, most notably “Raspberry Beret.” The album’s colorful, psychedelic aesthetic was a clear evolution from the purple era.

TRACK LIST

Side One

Around the World in a Day (3:28)

Paisley Park (4:42)

Condition of the Heart (6:48)

Raspberry Beret (3:33)

Tamborine (2:47)

Side Two

America (3:42)

Pop Life (3:43)

The Ladder (5:29) Temptation (8:18)

PERSONNEL

Musicians

• Prince — lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion, programming

• Wendy Melvoin — guitar, backing vocals

• Lisa Coleman — keyboards, backing vocals

• Dr. Fink — keyboards

• Bobby Z. — drums, percussion

• BrownMark — bass

• David Coleman — cello, oud, darbuka

• Jonathan Melvoin, Susannah Melvoin — backing vocals

• Novi Novog — violin

• Sheila E. — drums on select tracks

• Additional musicians on strings and percussion

Production

• Prince — producer, arranger

• Susan Rogers, David Leonard, Peggy McCreary — engineers

• Bernie Grundman — mastering

• Doug Henders — cover painting

PACKAGING HIGHLIGHTS

• Surreal, hand-painted psychedelic cover artwork by Doug Henders

• Vibrant colors and intricate illustrations

• Gatefold sleeve with lyrics

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WHAT THE SLEEVE SHOWS The front cover is a vibrant, surreal painting featuring a colorful crowd of characters, a large “Paisley Park” hot air balloon, Prince in various guises, and a whimsical, dreamlike landscape under a bright blue sky. The back cover continues the same painting style, showing more figures by the water’s edge with a ladder, birds, and abstract elements, creating one continuous psychedelic scene when viewed together.

CHARTS America 

Country: Chart | Entry Date | Peak Position | Weeks in Chart

USA: Billboard 200 | May 11, 1985 | 1 | - USA: Billboard Black LPs | - | 4 | -

SINGLES RELEASED

• “Raspberry Beret”

• “Paisley Park” (Europe)

• “Pop Life”

• “America”

Recording for Around the World in a Day began even before the sessions for Purple Rain. After six months on tour promoting that hit album, Prince returned to the studio.

A demo by David Coleman, brother of Revolution member Lisa Coleman, served as early inspiration for what became the title track.

The album embraced a rich, psychedelic vibe with unusual instruments and cryptic lyrics. Its sound and Doug Henders’ cover art drew many comparisons to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, though Prince denied any Beatles influence.

He explained the artwork came from wanting something more engaging than another photo of himself—something that could “materialize” in listeners’ homes when they played the record. While fine with the “psychedelic” label, he credited that era with delivering songs and colors, noting how Led Zeppelin could make each track feel different.

Despite the muted promotion and its less commercial sound, the album still had two American top 10 hits, and went double platinum. Initial critical reception was mixed, but retrospective reviews are positive.

According to Prince, George Clinton was a fan of the album.

Greg Tate of Spin 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."

In a positive retrospective review for Pitchfork, 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." Simon Price wrote for The Guardian that the album "always sounds better than you think it will, when you revisit."

SOURCES

Discogs, 45cat, Official Charts, Wikipedia, Prince Vault.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE All album artwork, photographs, logos, and original text excerpts remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This entry is a transformative, non-commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference.