Alphabet St.

Critical reception

Paul Clements of Melody Maker described the song as a lighthearted bubblegum pastiche that shimmers, noting spare scratch guitar, percolating percussion, and a tumbling drum lick. He remarked on its almost shocking austerity and called it a ticklish harbinger of a hot summer. Sean O'Hagan of NME wrote that the record is of rare brilliance, unleashing outre funk ideology over a clipped, chunky guitar riff reminiscent of the "Kiss" coda.

He found it meatier and less meandering than much of the Madhouse future funk on Black, with a hip-shaking sass typical of Prince. Cashbox magazine praised Prince's endless capacity to expand sound, calling the track a herky-jerky ditty that belies its sophistication. The publication noted his sixth sense for essential pop elements and projected strong radio airplay and chart success.

Music video

The music video for "Alphabet St." was directed by Patrick R. Epstein and hastily produced on March 20, 1988 by filmmaker Michael R. Barnard. It features Prince walking and driving a late 60's Ford Thunderbird through a landscape built from letters. The video conceals several split-second messages, including "Don't buy The Black Album, I'm sorry" after the first verse, "heaven is so beautiful," "4 the light dance," "funk guitar," "(heroin) is 4 punks," "if U don't mind," and "GOD I LOVE U ♡" as Prince dances on the car.

Did You Know?

• The song was initially written as an acoustic blues number before becoming the final version with a rap by Cat Glover and full of samples.
• The B-side remix is essentially an instrumental with a few minor changes, repeating the title and other phrases at the beginning.