The Truth

The Truth deserves to be viewed alongside The Gold Experience as Prince’s strongest album of the 1990s. He’s playful on “Man in a Uniform,” a spirited celebration of a woman’s roleplay kink. He’s a jilted lover on both “Dionne” and “One of Your Tears,” a favorite lyrical role throwing back to classics like “17 Days.” And “Comeback” references the loss of his only child: speaking beautifully about transitory spirits and souls floating on the breeze. Only an artist of Prince’s unfettered creativity could release something like The Truth as a bonus CD to a three-disc compilation album (1998’s Crystal Ball) like an afterthought.