Controversy continues in the same vein of new wave-tinged funk on
Dirty Mind, emphasizing
Prince's fascination with synthesizers and synthesizing disparate pop music genres. It is also more ambitious than its predecessor, attempting to tackle social protest ("Controversy," "Ronnie, Talk to Russia," "Annie Christian") along with sex songs ("Jack U Off," "Sexuality"), and it tries hard to bring funk to a rock audience and vice versa. Even with all of
Prince's ambitions, the music on
Controversy doesn't represent a significant breakthrough from
Dirty Mind, and it is often considerably less catchy and memorable. Nevertheless,
Prince's talents as musician make the record enjoyable, even if it isn't as compelling as most of his catalog. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine