Lovesexy
Encyclopedia
Lovesexy is the tenth studio album
by Prince
, released on May 10, 1988. Lovesexy was issued as a substitute record after the release of the infamous The Black Album had been suddenly cancelled. The Black Album and Lovesexy almost act as companion pieces, sharing the song "When 2 R in Love", but are nearly opposite in theme. The album was recorded in just seven weeks, from mid-December 1987 to late January 1988, at Prince's new Paisley Park Records
, and most of the album is a solo effort from Prince, with a few exceptions. The opening track, "Eye No", was recorded with the full band (Miko Weaver
on guitar, Levi Seacer, Jr.
on bass, Doctor Fink
and Boni Boyer on keyboards, Eric Leeds
on saxophone, Atlanta Bliss
on trumpet and Sheila E.
on drums). Sheila E., in fact, plays drums on several tracks and sings backup, along with Boyer. Leeds and Bliss provide horns on most tracks, and Ingrid Chavez
provides the intro to "Eye No". As opposed to the LP
release, early CD
copies of Lovesexy have the entire album in sequence as a single track, so the album is heard in the context of a continuous sequence, though later editions have it as nine separate tracks.
and Satan
, virtue and sin (although, with the Gemini character that he developed in 1989, these "sides" may also represent "ego and alter-ego"), the perennial themes of Prince's work, finally truly mix as Prince climaxes to "Love is God, God is Love, Girls and Boys love God above", in the song, "Anna Stesia".
Prince refers to Lovesexy as a gospel album. It opens with a sermon of sorts; "Eye No", a positive energetic track advising people to be free from their vices and to reject Satan, and affirming his belief in God, while using his bully pulpit to encourage the listener to do the same. "Eye No" is a reworking of a song called "The Ball" from the unreleased Crystal Ball
. The song ends with a scale of horns and a segue of conversations (originally recorded on "Eye No"'s original version "The Ball" which segued into another song; the "conversations", or background party ambience, was later used on the Graffiti Bridge album as a segue between "We Can Funk" and "Joy in Repetition") leading to the album's biggest-selling single, "Alphabet St.
", which mixes dance music
, rock and rap
along with playful lyrics about sex, braggadocio, and the heavenly state of feeling "lovesexy". Next is "Glam Slam
", a busy dance track which features Prince's full band. It speaks to the uplifting interlude between Prince and a woman, and how, when he was down, she lifted him. It also praises the woman's love and sense of humanity. The song ends with an almost classical music string solo (performed on keyboard), which is evocative of "The Phantom of the Opera". Ending side one of the vinyl release is "Anna Stesia", a heartfelt confessional number divulging various sins of the flesh, and ends with Prince promising to dedicate his life and music to God.
Side two opens with the machine gun-like pace of "Dance On", which lambastes negative aspects of society, somewhat akin to "Sign "☮" the Times". The title track follows, described by Prince as "The feeling you get when you fall in love...not with a boy or girl but with the heavens above," and it is another energetic dance track; the "Good News" indeed Prince extols its virtues graphically and then he and Cat Glover
share an orgasm, both using sped up Camille-like vocals, going from Prince's voice to Cat's. This leads into the surviving The Black Album track, "When 2 R in Love", a sex-infused ballad. Next is the almost sparse, but uplifting "I Wish U Heaven
", which says that no matter what controversy or opposition one may bring, the end result is still wishing your enemy the best. It follows a Biblical proverb about "blessing those that curse you, loving those that hate you, for it heaps hot coals on their heads". The last track is "Positivity", which echoes the theme of "Dance On". It extols the virtues of staying positive, while asking the listener to examine examples of negativity and negative aspects of the world; overlooking the quick thrill and pushing toward being positive throughout it. The song continuously asks the question "Have you had your plus sign today?" The vocals are sung, but the bridge and extended portions are more of a spoken rap type style that Prince had started to display as early as "All the Critics Love U in New York", in 1982. The song ends with sounds of water rushing and a river over keyboard chords. This final song was later given to Mavis Staples
for her 1991 album, The Voice
.
Lovesexy was Prince's least successful album since 1982, the album failed to break the top 10, only got certified Gold and spent just 21 weeks on the Billboard 200. While "Alphabet St.
" managed to crack the top 10, it did not make a lasting impression and the subsequent two single releases failed to chart on the Hot 100 . The situation in the UK was more positive, where the album debuted at #1 and all the singles became top 40 hits.
The album was accompanied by the critically acclaimed Lovesexy World Tour
, of which the Dortmund show in Germany was released on video cassette
and laser disc. It was also televised (with a short delay for editorial purposes) on the British Channel 4
, the broadcast contained various camera shots than the ones used in the officially released video, which was released a year later in 1989.
Side two
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, released on May 10, 1988. Lovesexy was issued as a substitute record after the release of the infamous The Black Album had been suddenly cancelled. The Black Album and Lovesexy almost act as companion pieces, sharing the song "When 2 R in Love", but are nearly opposite in theme. The album was recorded in just seven weeks, from mid-December 1987 to late January 1988, at Prince's new Paisley Park Records
Paisley Park Records
Paisley Park Records was Prince's record label, associated with and funded in part by Warner Bros. Records. It was started in 1985, following the success of the film and album Purple Rain...
, and most of the album is a solo effort from Prince, with a few exceptions. The opening track, "Eye No", was recorded with the full band (Miko Weaver
Miko Weaver
Miko Weaver is an American guitarist best known for his work with Prince.Weaver came to Prince's attention when he was a member of Sheila E.'s band. He and some other members of the band joined The Revolution in the studio to record a jam of "I Would Die 4 U" that would later become the song's...
on guitar, Levi Seacer, Jr.
Levi Seacer, Jr.
Levi Seacer, Jr. is an American musician. He was an early associate of Sheila E. when he was tapped by Prince to form a new touring band after the demise of The Revolution in 1986. Seacer became the band's bassist, as well as a backing vocalist. Later, he began collaborating with Prince as a...
on bass, Doctor Fink
Doctor Fink
Matthew Robert "Matt" Fink, better known by the stage name Doctor Fink, is an American keyboardist, record producer, and songwriter. He is most known as a member of The Revolution, the backing band for pop musician Prince. Fink won a Grammy Award...
and Boni Boyer on keyboards, Eric Leeds
Eric Leeds
Eric Leeds is an American jazz and funk musician who plays the saxophone and other woodwind and brass instruments. He is best known for his work with Prince.- Biography :Leeds was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of a retailer...
on saxophone, Atlanta Bliss
Atlanta Bliss
Atlanta Bliss is the stage name of Matthew Blistan, an American jazz musician who specializes in the trumpet. He is most well known for his work with Prince from 1986–1989. He came to Prince's attention through his association with Eric Leeds. The duo had been in a jazz group prior to working...
on trumpet and Sheila E.
Sheila E.
Sheila Escovedo , known by her stage name Sheila E., is an American drummer and percussionist, perhaps best known for her work with Prince, George Duke and Ringo Starr.-Early life and Prince period:...
on drums). Sheila E., in fact, plays drums on several tracks and sings backup, along with Boyer. Leeds and Bliss provide horns on most tracks, and Ingrid Chavez
Ingrid Chavez
Ingrid Julia Chavez is a Mexican-American poet, vocalist, songwriter and photographer.-Personal life:Chavez was born January 21, 1965 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, and raised in Marietta, Georgia...
provides the intro to "Eye No". As opposed to the LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
release, early CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
copies of Lovesexy have the entire album in sequence as a single track, so the album is heard in the context of a continuous sequence, though later editions have it as nine separate tracks.
Music
The theme of the album is the struggle between good and evil, or "Camille" and "Spooky Electric", respectively. GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, virtue and sin (although, with the Gemini character that he developed in 1989, these "sides" may also represent "ego and alter-ego"), the perennial themes of Prince's work, finally truly mix as Prince climaxes to "Love is God, God is Love, Girls and Boys love God above", in the song, "Anna Stesia".
Prince refers to Lovesexy as a gospel album. It opens with a sermon of sorts; "Eye No", a positive energetic track advising people to be free from their vices and to reject Satan, and affirming his belief in God, while using his bully pulpit to encourage the listener to do the same. "Eye No" is a reworking of a song called "The Ball" from the unreleased Crystal Ball
Crystal Ball (unreleased album)
Crystal Ball is an unreleased studio album by Prince recorded throughout 1986. The album was planned to consist of 3 LPs and cover a broad range of musical styles.-Evolution of the album:...
. The song ends with a scale of horns and a segue of conversations (originally recorded on "Eye No"'s original version "The Ball" which segued into another song; the "conversations", or background party ambience, was later used on the Graffiti Bridge album as a segue between "We Can Funk" and "Joy in Repetition") leading to the album's biggest-selling single, "Alphabet St.
Alphabet St.
"Alphabet St." was the first single from Prince's 1988 album, Lovesexy, and the album's only top 10 single, reaching the top-10 in both the UK and U.S.. The song includes a rap by Cat Glover and is full of samples, and generally repeats themes from Lovesexy...
", which mixes dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
, rock and rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
along with playful lyrics about sex, braggadocio, and the heavenly state of feeling "lovesexy". Next is "Glam Slam
Glam Slam
"Glam Slam" is a song by Prince, and the second single from his 1988 album, Lovesexy. The title originates from the sexual quote "Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am". The song has sexual overtones with a spiritual undertone and fits the Lovesexy theme of integrating God and sex. The song is complex...
", a busy dance track which features Prince's full band. It speaks to the uplifting interlude between Prince and a woman, and how, when he was down, she lifted him. It also praises the woman's love and sense of humanity. The song ends with an almost classical music string solo (performed on keyboard), which is evocative of "The Phantom of the Opera". Ending side one of the vinyl release is "Anna Stesia", a heartfelt confessional number divulging various sins of the flesh, and ends with Prince promising to dedicate his life and music to God.
Side two opens with the machine gun-like pace of "Dance On", which lambastes negative aspects of society, somewhat akin to "Sign "☮" the Times". The title track follows, described by Prince as "The feeling you get when you fall in love...not with a boy or girl but with the heavens above," and it is another energetic dance track; the "Good News" indeed Prince extols its virtues graphically and then he and Cat Glover
Cat Glover
Catherine Vernice Glover born in Chicago, IL is a professional choreographer, dancer and singer.She originally hit the mainstream in television alongside her dance partner Patrick Allen in the duo known simply as "Pat & Cat" on the hit major talent show Star Search hosted by Ed McMahon...
share an orgasm, both using sped up Camille-like vocals, going from Prince's voice to Cat's. This leads into the surviving The Black Album track, "When 2 R in Love", a sex-infused ballad. Next is the almost sparse, but uplifting "I Wish U Heaven
I Wish U Heaven
"I Wish U Heaven" is a song by Prince, and the third single from his 1988 album, Lovesexy. It is a joyful, spiritual song with few lyrics, which runs 2:43. The 12" single is a substantially extended three-part suite which runs over ten minutes....
", which says that no matter what controversy or opposition one may bring, the end result is still wishing your enemy the best. It follows a Biblical proverb about "blessing those that curse you, loving those that hate you, for it heaps hot coals on their heads". The last track is "Positivity", which echoes the theme of "Dance On". It extols the virtues of staying positive, while asking the listener to examine examples of negativity and negative aspects of the world; overlooking the quick thrill and pushing toward being positive throughout it. The song continuously asks the question "Have you had your plus sign today?" The vocals are sung, but the bridge and extended portions are more of a spoken rap type style that Prince had started to display as early as "All the Critics Love U in New York", in 1982. The song ends with sounds of water rushing and a river over keyboard chords. This final song was later given to Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
for her 1991 album, The Voice
The Voice (Mavis Staples album)
The Voice is an album by American soul singer Mavis Staples. This album was her second for Prince's Paisley Park Records label and was released on August 24, 1993. The song "Melody Cool" from the 1990 movie Graffiti Bridge appeared on this album as well as the movie soundtrack...
.
Reception
The cover (based on a photo by Jean Baptiste Mondino) caused some controversy upon release as it depicts Prince in the nude. Some record stores refused to stock it or wrapped the album in black.Lovesexy was Prince's least successful album since 1982, the album failed to break the top 10, only got certified Gold and spent just 21 weeks on the Billboard 200. While "Alphabet St.
Alphabet St.
"Alphabet St." was the first single from Prince's 1988 album, Lovesexy, and the album's only top 10 single, reaching the top-10 in both the UK and U.S.. The song includes a rap by Cat Glover and is full of samples, and generally repeats themes from Lovesexy...
" managed to crack the top 10, it did not make a lasting impression and the subsequent two single releases failed to chart on the Hot 100 . The situation in the UK was more positive, where the album debuted at #1 and all the singles became top 40 hits.
The album was accompanied by the critically acclaimed Lovesexy World Tour
Lovesexy World Tour
The Lovesexy World Tour was Prince's final concert tour of the 1980s in support of his album, Lovesexy.-History:Although the tour was a huge success in terms of reviews and audience numbers, , it lost money due to the high production costs incurred with transportation, only breaking even by its...
, of which the Dortmund show in Germany was released on video cassette
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
and laser disc. It was also televised (with a short delay for editorial purposes) on the British Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, the broadcast contained various camera shots than the ones used in the officially released video, which was released a year later in 1989.
Charts
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
11 |
| U.S. Billboard R&B Albums | 5 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
1 |
Track listing
Side one- "Eye No" – 5:47
- "Alphabet St.Alphabet St."Alphabet St." was the first single from Prince's 1988 album, Lovesexy, and the album's only top 10 single, reaching the top-10 in both the UK and U.S.. The song includes a rap by Cat Glover and is full of samples, and generally repeats themes from Lovesexy...
" – 5:38 - "Glam SlamGlam Slam"Glam Slam" is a song by Prince, and the second single from his 1988 album, Lovesexy. The title originates from the sexual quote "Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am". The song has sexual overtones with a spiritual undertone and fits the Lovesexy theme of integrating God and sex. The song is complex...
" – 5:04 - "Anna Stesia" – 4:56
Side two
- "Dance On" – 3:44
- "Lovesexy" – 5:48
- "When 2 R in Love" – 4:01
- "I Wish U HeavenI Wish U Heaven"I Wish U Heaven" is a song by Prince, and the third single from his 1988 album, Lovesexy. It is a joyful, spiritual song with few lyrics, which runs 2:43. The 12" single is a substantially extended three-part suite which runs over ten minutes....
" – 2:43 - "Positivity" – 7:15
- The Compact Disc edition features the same content on one track.
Singles and Hot 100 chart placings
- "Alphabet St.Alphabet St."Alphabet St." was the first single from Prince's 1988 album, Lovesexy, and the album's only top 10 single, reaching the top-10 in both the UK and U.S.. The song includes a rap by Cat Glover and is full of samples, and generally repeats themes from Lovesexy...
" (#8 U.S., #3 R&B, #9 UK)
- "Alphabet St. – part 1" – 7" version only
- "Alphabet St. – part 2" – 7" version only
- "Alphabet St." – 12" version only
- "Alphabet St. – This is not music, this is a trip" – 12" version only
- "Glam SlamGlam Slam"Glam Slam" is a song by Prince, and the second single from his 1988 album, Lovesexy. The title originates from the sexual quote "Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am". The song has sexual overtones with a spiritual undertone and fits the Lovesexy theme of integrating God and sex. The song is complex...
" (#44 R&B, #29 UK)
- "Glam Slam" — 7" version only
- "Glam Slam (Remix)" — 12" version only
- "Escape
- "I Wish U HeavenI Wish U Heaven"I Wish U Heaven" is a song by Prince, and the third single from his 1988 album, Lovesexy. It is a joyful, spiritual song with few lyrics, which runs 2:43. The 12" single is a substantially extended three-part suite which runs over ten minutes....
" (#18 R&B, #24 UK)
- "I Wish U Heaven" — 7" version only
- "I Wish U Heaven (Part 1, 2 and 3)" — 12" version only
- "Scarlet Pussy"