rudeboy4711 said:

I know some people think Prince made no mistakes but in that 1984-1989 block he made some that heavily affected his career.

I don't see why he could have released Batman and Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, he did Batman in a few weeks. And Rave definately had the quality to keep the publics attention. Maybe Sheila & Cat would have stayed on too.

I loved the Lovesexy look too, didn't like the Graffiti Bridge look(lost its edge) and Diamonds & Pearls was too 'taylored' to clean and polished.


[Edited 5/11/10 13:30pm]

Been waiting for the Lovesexy thread..

My favourite period of all. I totally got this album musically, just love the bass / guitar work. So funk orientated (Bass guitar and spider web - longing for the funk...) plus wonderful un-noticed rock guitar flourishes scattered all over. great playing.
My over-riding memory however, is back in 1988 going to the supermarket with my parents and Grandad when i was 11 - and stopping unexpectedly in town. My dad went into a record shop and bought me Lovesexy on cassette. My grandad was interested to see what the album was and was appalled by the cover - insisting music was as obscene as the cover.
I never played him dirty mind.

Le Grind

So U found me
Good, I'm glad
This is Prince
The cool of cools
Some of U may not know this
But some of U may know
Some of U may not want 2 know
We r here 2 do service
Please don't try 2 stop us
4 we come regardless
4 we r strong as we r intelligent

So come vibe with us
Welcome to the Funk Bible
The new testament

People get ready, nouveau dance here
All the girls and all the boys,
Get close, have no fear, (have no fear)
We're gonna do le grind y'all
Got U where I want U
And girl it's going 2 feel so good, (feel so good)
Up and down, up and down, on the beat y'all
Like a pony would, pony would

Le Grind
All the boys, grab a girl, get down on the floor
This funky beat's gonna show u,
Gonna show u what your hips r made 4
Nouveau grind, come on (people)
People it's much 2 late,
It's much 2 late 2 be shy
London, what does Big Ben say?
(time 2 do the grind)
no hear U say (time 2 do the grind)

Le Grind
Baby, I gotcha where I wantcha,
Now I gotcha where I wantcha, wantcha
Ce soir, [la chantez], all night long (all night long)
Ce soir, [la chantez], all night long (all night long)
{{ French: "Tonight, sing it" }}
Hey pretty mama, with the long hair
Is that your boyfriend?
Ha, I don't care
Cuz' I can do, said I can do
tricks he can never do
When I get naked, we'll see the real u
Am I getting thru? (grind)
I gotcha where I wantcha (baby)
baby, baby
piano man, put it where it feel good

Grind, grind, grind, grind
Le Grind, grind, Le Grind, grind

This party, this party is gonna last all night
When I give the cue scream, alright?
Party (party)
Party (party)
u say it, party (party)
Clap your hands double time

All the boys say "Yeah Yeah" (Yeah Yeah)
All the girls say "Oh Yeah" (Oh Yeah)
Now all u others say "Hell Yeah" (Hell Yeah)
Too sexy, Grind, Grind
(not yet Bonnie)

Grind, grind, grind, le grind
grind, grind, le grind, oh ya

People, get ready, nouveau dance here
Girls and boys, get close, have no fear
(Grind) Doin' the grind, doin' the grind, in here
(Put it where it feels good)

Hey yeah

I do believe that we've... truly touched on something... nouveau

(La la la la la la)
(La la la la la la)
Ooowww, c'mon, am I in the right place? (La la la la la la la)
(don't move) (La la la la la la)
Ooh, R u sure baby? R u sure (La la la la la la)
I'm in the right place? (La la la la la la la)
(Don't move, don't move)

(grind, grind)
c'mon (grind, grind, grind, grind, grind, grind)
Girl put it where it feel good
(grind, grind, grind)
not there, not there (grind, grind, grind, grind)
Put it where it feels good (grind, grind, grind, grind)
Slow down (grind)

Slammin'

Le Grind

Up and down, up and down, feels so good
Up and down, up and down, like a pony would
Up and down, up and down, feels so good
Up and down, up and down,
Like a pony would (Like a pony would)
Like a pony would (Like a pony would)
Like a pony would

Le Grind

Uh, slammin'

Grind, grind (serve it up, Frankie)

Slammin'

Put it where it feel good

Grind

People (get ready, people, noveau dance here)
(People, get ready, doin' the grind)
(up in here, up in here)
People, get ready (grind, grind)
((Frankie, how do u know...))
Le Grind, grind

Grind

US version (Cat: 25677-1)

In former years the consensus was that less than six US vinyls survived.

However according to Alan Leeds, who was Prince's former tour/production/paisley park manager, personal assistant and coordinator there are surely more than six. But they are not out on the collector's market. He claims that Prince had at least hundred and gave away most of them to band members, friends and other artists like Madonna, Miles Davis, Sheena Easton, Sheila E and Kim Basinger. Also many of the Paisley staff took one each. He's also thinks that the some Warner employees also managed to get one, although Warner's did go on a sort of lockdown the day it was cancelled and an executive was given the responsibility to gather whatever advance copies were floating around their offices.

According to a post in a forum from philly1247, who worked at a WEA's distribution facility, several original US non-promo copies survived. Several co-workers took some copies when they heard that the release was cancelled.

http://www.theblackalbum.info/


[Edited 5/11/10 10:26am]

sdjgog
[Edited 5/11/10 10:28am]

PurpleDiamond2009 said:

Delete that
Tha not Lovesexy 1988, that Rave 1999/2000


[Edited 5/11/10 13:29pm]

OldFriends4Sale said:

ok you dont have to be so mean

Efan said:

I was just thinking how terrible the band members' outfits were during this period. But THIS was one hot little number. She shoulda wore that on stage more. I kinda want to kick myself for not buying this poster at the concert. But my mom wasn't havin' it.
[Edited 5/11/10 11:31am]

errant said:

I love that about them. The sound is just so thick with "stuff." There was something to discover each time you listened to it.

OldFriends4Sale said:

mmm, I dunno. Rave was pillaged pretty good for Batman. he had enough material to put out 2 albums, but I don't know if it would have been enough to make up two strong discs. and if he'd done Rave instead of Batman, I don't think the public would have even noticed. Batman got him a LOT of attention that he hadn't gotten in several years. Rave probably would have just gone done with the public as "yet another Prince album." another year, another album.

MisterLooKass said:

I actually think those 2 songs alongside "Anna Stesia" are the best of the album... It's "Eye No", "Alphabet St." and the title track that don't go anywhere imo. I do think this album was the "beginning of the end" because it doesn't have a big song that could have carried the album. Fortunately the tour makes up for that though.

LiveToTell86 said:

July 24.1988
(LoveSexy Tour
Heathrow Airport London

July 8. 1988
LoveSexy Aftershow
Les Bains Douches club inParis

1.Instrumental Jam
2.Forever In My Life
3.Strange Relationship
4.Housequake
5.Cold Sweat (James Brown)
6.I'll Take You There
--(with Mavis Staples)

piepie1976 said:

I thought the outfits were awesome. Very colorful! My mom did buy me the posters of Prince, Prince and the band, Sheila E, and Cat. $40 if I recall correctly.

To me the Black Album has always been like that episode of Star Trek where Spock had a goatee.

It's the same cast of characters as Lovesexy, even one shared song (like the "good" Enterprise crew on the "evil" ship). The music sounds similar. They are two sides of the same coin.

It's Lovesexy but in a different universe. The fact that I listened to it on a low quality bootleg made this illusion all the more striking. It was like listening through a dream.

I am a huge dork.

Agreed, the sound quality on my old bootleg tape was rough, which matched the grimy tone of much of the music. It just made me listen all the more to every facet of the recording!

Le Grind is pure funk inspiration let loose, no regard for convention, straight from the dark side of Prince's brain onto the recording. The remainder of the tracks aren't far behind that standard.

It was the last hurrah for the super horny Prince that we all remember so fondly.

Thanks for the thread - over the years I'd always made up some of my own lyrics and you've clarified a few lines for me. I still think my lyrics are better though. :-p
[Edited 5/11/10 15:24pm]

OldFriends4Sale said:

If I was forced to listen to only ONE Prince song the rest of my life...it would be Eye No! At least, that's what goes through my head while I'm listening to it The music is absolutely OVERPOWERING! Never heard anything like it before or since.
[Edited 5/11/10 19:15pm]

Talk 2 me lover, come and tell me what you think
Is my pussy loose enough 2 clog your kitchen sink?

The one bad thing about 'Lovesexy' were the single choices.

"Alphabet St." was a cool choice for the first single,but why did Prince follow it up with "Glam Slam"? That song is a good album track but it's much too bland to be a single in 1988.

A much better choice is the title track.It's fast,danceable and highly addictive! With a kickass video,I know that it would have been huge.It certainly would have done better than "Glam Slam",which was totally ignored on pop and R&B radio.

These should have been the singles,in this order:

Alphabet St.
Lovesexy
When 2 R In Love (released to R&B radio)

I really love "I Wish U Heaven" but,as is the case with "Glam Slam",I just don't think it was a perfect choice for a single.

^I don't think the album had any single-potential tracks to be honest. "Alphabet St." might be the most commercial thing on the albm, but it was still light years from his radio hit singles from the previous 5 albums, it doesn't have a proper song structure whereas on the radio it's a catchy chorus that needs to stick. ASt. quickly dropped from the chart and I don't think the follow up singles could have repaired the damage it caused.

LiveToTell86 said:

You're probably right.I also think that the nude albom cover didn't help matters,either.

SoulAlive said:

I think people would have quickly gotten over the album cover.
I think Alphabet St would have went further if he had a better video.
Just looking at it compared to say When Doves Cry or Raspberry Beret, you can tell the quality is just low.
When I read about the making of it I understood.
"A little impatience, spoils great plans"


[Edited 5/12/10 17:02pm]

SoulAlive said:

I agree with you, I love Glam Slam, I love the video even more, but maybe he could have released the video for the sake of exposure.

I think visuals especially in Prince's case just work, hell he could have done videos for all the songs, and still only picked choice single releases. Scarlet Pussy should have had a hot underground video for the sake of edge.

When 2 R In Love could have been released to any audience even Folk music
it's so simple it could be played 2 many different genre audiences.

LOVESEXY TOUR - WESTFALENHALLE, DORTMUND;
9th SEPTEMBER 1988

DivX VIDEO; 2300 kbits
RESOLUTION: 720x678
DURATION: 02:02:02
FILESIZE: 2,17 GB

TRACKLIST:
INTRO
EROTIC CITY
HOUSEQUAKE
SLOW LOVE
ADORE
DELIRIOUS
JACK U OFF
SISTER
I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER
HEAD - A LOVE BIZARRE
WHEN YOU WERE MINE
BLUES IN C (IF I HAD A HAREM)
WHEN YOU WERE MINE
LITTLE RED CORVETTE
CONTROVERSY
DIRTY MIND
SUPERFUNKYCALIFRAGISEXY - CONTROVERSY
BOB GEORGE
ANNA STESIA
CROSS THE LINE*
EYE NO
LOVESEXY
GLAM SLAM
THE CROSS
I WISH U HEAVEN
KISS
DANCE ON - SHEILA E DRUM SOLO
WHEN 2 R IN LOVE
VENUS DE MILO
STARFISH & COFFEE
RASPBERRY BERET
CONDITION OF THE HEART
STRANGE RELATIONSHIP
WHEN 2 R IN LOVE
LET'S GO CRAZY
WHEN DOVES CRY
PURPLE RAIN
1999
ALPHABET STREET


[Edited 5/12/10 5:40am]

OldFriends4Sale said:

I guess I'm one of the few fans who likes the "Alphabet St" video It's cheap and amateurish....like many of the videos from the early 80s,when artists were given small budgets for music videos,but I think it's very effective,capturing the mood of the song and the album.Prince does some cool dance moves in this video,looking very confident.

LiveToTell86 said:

Yeah, maybe When 2 R In Love as well, but I don't think either album has much in the way of pop songs

Singlehandedly the fiercest Wardrobe Prince ever had Oh yeah, my favorite Prince album too