The Black Album

It’s weird listening to The Black Album and trying to place it in the chronological scheme of Prince, as for me I knew about it’s infamy but didn’t hear it til well after it’s intended release. It wasn’t until it’s official release in 1994 that I got to hear it and I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. A part of me is happy to listen to it as part of Princelore, but a big part understands why it was never “officially released”. And although it has some highlights, for the most part the album feels incomplete. Maybe as a result of being criticised for being too “white” in the pop sound of the previous few albums, Prince decided to make this one more street, more gritty and less of a “white” album and more of a “black” one.

Kicking of with Le Grind, we hear Prince still enraptured with the sampling techniques of the Fairlight, with a nod to Hot Thing in the beat and sweeping bass synth, the song grooves along with Prince’s muffled voice talking to us in the intro just before the main vocal. What is it he is saying? While the song has a bit of energy to it, it just lacks a certain degree of appeal despite a fuller band sound that was features on Sign O The Times. It just feels like an overplayed groove that overstays its welcome without any great divergence in the melody or structure of the song.

Cindy C with its catchy bouncy vibe was instantly appealing. With Prince’s playful and cheeky lyrics, he makes light of what could be cause for a restraining order. The bubbling bass line, and extra percussion fills remind me of “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night”.

Ok, so I know the tongue was firmly in Prince’s cheek when he recorded Dead On It, but it still sounds like a weak rip off of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”. Skip.

Thankfully Prince follows it up with Bob George. A dark, yet insanely funny song, that is just so compelling to listen to. Built around a tweaked drum pattern, and manipulated vocal, this song is perhaps Prince’s most bleak song on record. But at least Prince still gives us a smile amidst the domestic chaos with “who Prince… that skinny MF with the high voice?”

It’s no surprise that Bob George and Superfunkycalifragisexy were included in the set list for the LoveSexy tour, as these are the stand out tracks on the album. Sounding like a deranged circus of sorts, SFCFS is what the title promises, a fully fledged funk fuelled jam. With a drum pattern influenced by Housequake, the song would have been at home on SOTT. Combined with that constant guitar riff through the track, the other instruments just seem to swirl around you, placing you in the eye of the funk storm.

Maybe it was because of LoveSexy, but when I hear When 2 R In Love on the black album it feels out of place. With most of the album dark and brooding, this felt like an afterthought. And as it first appeared for me on LoveSexy, I’ll save my thoughts on it til tomorrow.

And just when you think the storm is over, 2NigsUnited4Compton comes on, and the funk storm really blows up. With switching solos, the song feels like the kinda jam you wish you were privy to. A sublime bass solo littered throughout, I pictured Prince running around and jumping on this then that then that then that, and just going wild. Of course, with the SOTT band with him, you knew this jam was going to be tight.

Capping the album off with Rock Hard in a Funky Place seems like a bit of let down. An ok song, (and lets face it most of Prince’s OK songs would probably be singles for others) this track just fails to move me. It kinda plods along and then seems to run out of puff.

When I hear TBA and then LS, I have to wonder if part of the hoopla around TBA being pulled was that Prince just wasn’t that happy with the tracks. It’s not an album I listen to that often, I put it down to a bad day at the office, and everyone is allowed that. Besides, as I’ve outlined above, it’s not all bad, it just seems less cohesive than his other records. But if he had to go through it to get to LoveSexy, then that’s ok with me.

[Edited 9/22/10 18:22pm]

Love it, one of my favourite Prince albums. Dirty, funky, dark, it has it all.

A+.

One of the baddest records ever recorded. Way ahead of it's time too with incredible musicianship. Bob George sounds modern and STILL futuristic in places!

Good write up.

Meh. If this had come out when it was intended, I think it might have been a bit of a shocker, but when it was finally released, many of the songs on the radio at that time were way worse than anything on this album. U know what I mean.

I'm not a fan of Prince's alter egos... Camille and the alter ego on Bob George. I appreciate his creativity and trying out new things vocally, but I just wasn't feeling it. Bob George especially seemed... I don't know... like he was trying to hard, u know? Like he was trying to prove "HEY! I'm funky! Listen to this! See? Funky!"

Superfunkycalifragisexy and 2Nigs are funky tracks, definitely, but I like Prince better when he's bringing the funk without trying so hard.

One of my favourites. I love that dark progressive raw funk. I wish he would go back to it.

There's no denying Superfunkycalifragisexy is the killer track on this album. I wonder what a new spin on this track would sound like live now.

Swa said:

There's no denying Superfunkycalifragisexy is the killer track on this album. I wonder what a new spin on this track would sound like live now.

I like this album, but it's way overrated. Of the two, I think Lovesexy blows TBA out of the water. TBA has "Dead On It" (ew!) and "2 Nigs..." (Zzzz). Lovesexy is a flawless album.

Spinlight said:

I like this album, but it's way overrated. Of the two, I think Lovesexy blows TBA out of the water. TBA has "Dead On It" (ew!) and "2 Nigs..." (Zzzz). Lovesexy is a flawless album.

Agree Totally. It would have been interesting to see where Prince went after TBA if there was no lovesexy - but as the next celebration will show - LoveSexy is the one, til my days are done.

I'm probably one of the few people that think that P was in full control of this album being pulled and then released. I didn't fully understand why he didn't want this album released rather than Lovesexy but, that supposed bad acid trip P had back when he was 'about' to release this album must have got the better of him.

3 out of 5 star album ... [img:$uid]http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/4.gif[/img:$uid]

Spinlight said:

I like this album, but it's way overrated. Of the two, I think Lovesexy blows TBA out of the water. TBA has "Dead On It" (ew!) and "2 Nigs..." (Zzzz). Lovesexy is a flawless album.

I agree that Lovesexy is flawless, but that killer concert in Dortmund wouldn't have been the same without the "dark" parts of The Black Album in the first half. It made Lovesexy the one concert I'm greatful to have attended. Bob George is one of my all time fave Prince tracks and it's almost worth the cost of the album on its own. How do you feel about the addition of the The Black Album tracks to the Lovesexy tour Spinlight?

MikeyB71 said:

Love it, one of my favourite Prince albums. Dirty, funky, dark, it has it all.

A+.

The Black album was and is a fantastic funk experience. A pleasure to explore this secret funk album back in early 1988, on a bootleg tape recording and vinyls too..

The Black Album: 9/10 (maybe 9.5/10) !!

Too bad The Black Album did not sell in 1994, this fine album deserved to better.

WetDream said:

One of the baddest records ever recorded. Way ahead of it's time too with incredible musicianship. Bob George sounds modern and STILL futuristic in places!

Good write up.

Wasnt he poppin X when he made this album?

PurpleLove7 said:

I'm probably one of the few people that think that P was in full control of this album being pulled and then released. I didn't fully understand why he didn't want this album released rather than Lovesexy but, that supposed bad acid trip P had back when he was 'about' to release this album must have got the better of him.

XXX (neva mind)

[Edited 10/9/10 0:02am]

I agree with SWA on this completely.

I've always been a big fan of Superfunky.


Final track is pretty dull though

cinnamonboy said:

PurpleLove7 said:

I'm probably one of the few people that think that P was in full control of this album being pulled and then released. I didn't fully understand why he didn't want this album released rather than Lovesexy but, that supposed bad acid trip P had back when he was 'about' to release this album must have got the better of him.

I wasn't doing XTC when I bought the original 87 cd last month. Who told you I was? I think it's a splendid feeling that -finally, after 23 years- I really have this treasure in my collection now. I still feel I'm tripping.....without taking any pill.

Im tallking about P.

I heard he took XTC when he made this album

Eyeofthelotus said:

cinnamonboy said:

I wasn't doing XTC when I bought the original 87 cd last month. Who told you I was? I think it's a splendid feeling that -finally, after 23 years- I really have this treasure in my collection now. I still feel I'm tripping.....without taking any pill.

Im tallking about P.

I heard he took XTC when he made this album

& I heard the same thing. The infamous Susan Rogers interview about his 'bad trip' ...

PurpleLove7 said:

Eyeofthelotus said:

Im tallking about P.

I heard he took XTC when he made this album

& I heard the same thing. The infamous Susan Rogers interview about his 'bad trip' ...

No, I believe P recorded the black album during a "dark period" in his life..hence all the negativity/mood of the album. Then before it's release he had a bad trip or overdose (maybe even near death experience) which caused him to stop the release of the album because he didnt want it to be the last album he put out (if he were to die), He wanted something with a more positive vibe-hence, LOVESEXY.

On that note tho, Cindy C came on my IPOD the other day and I hadnt heard it in so long....4got how funky it wuz.

thepope2the9s said:

PurpleLove7 said:

& I heard the same thing. The infamous Susan Rogers interview about his 'bad trip' ...

No, I believe P recorded the black album during a "dark period" in his life..hence all the negativity/mood of the album. Then before it's release he had a bad trip or overdose (maybe even near death experience) which caused him to stop the release of the album because he didnt want it to be the last album he put out (if he were to die), He wanted something with a more positive vibe-hence, LOVESEXY.

On that note tho, Cindy C came on my IPOD the other day and I hadnt heard it in so long....4got how funky it wuz.

What I was saying was only part of the story and thepope, I've heard this or read about this before as well.

I think the hype that surrounded the Black Album back in 87/88" was bigger than the music itself. When I finally heard the album in early 90" I was a bit disappointed, because I remember reading the reviews and articles back in early 88" and I was thinking, "I can't wait to hear this album!" True, there were some songs that were "interesting" Bob George among them, but what frustrates me about Prince's career during that time period was his lack of staying ahead of the game. I don't know if many of you remember, but there was some incredible music that was coming out in 88" especially in R&B/Hip-Hop and for Prince to come with The Black Album and Lovesexy after a great album such as SOTT was a GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT! I mean hell, we are talking about Prince here, during that time period every artist was striving to get to the levels of Prince and MJ, and Prince made it easy for acts that range from Guns-n-Roses to Bobby Brown, and even NWA to take his place. The music scene was changing in 88" it was becoming aggressive on all fronts and Prince was not intuned to see what was going on at that time... Aaron6ix

Aaron6 said:

I think the hype that surrounded the Black Album back in 87/88" was bigger than the music itself. When I finally heard the album in early 90" I was a bit disappointed, because I remember reading the reviews and articles back in early 88" and I was thinking, "I can't wait to hear this album!" True, there were some songs that were "interesting" Bob George among them, but what frustrates me about Prince's career during that time period was his lack of staying ahead of the game. I don't know if many of you remember, but there was some incredible music that was coming out in 88" especially in R&B/Hip-Hop and for Prince to come with The Black Album and Lovesexy after a great album such as SOTT was a GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT! I mean hell, we are talking about Prince here, during that time period every artist was striving to get to the levels of Prince and MJ, and Prince made it easy for acts that range from Guns-n-Roses to Bobby Brown, and even NWA to take his place. The music scene was changing in 88" it was becoming aggressive on all fronts and Prince was not intuned to see what was going on at that time... Aaron6ix

And where are they now?

LOVESEXY was on a much higher plane then any of the stuff these three acts put out. NWA were pioneers of the gangsta rap, yes, but to compare them to P? lol And BB had his year on top and then the bottom dropped out.

PRINCE was on a whole higher level..you can expect him to try to do what those people were doing. At this point in his career he had done it all anyways.

thepope2the9s said:

No, I believe P recorded the black album during a "dark period" in his life..hence all the negativity/mood of the album. Then before it's release he had a bad trip or overdose (maybe even near death experience) which caused him to stop the release of the album because he didnt want it to be the last album he put out (if he were to die), He wanted something with a more positive vibe-hence, LOVESEXY.

Actually, some of this music was reportedly made for one of Sheila E's birthday parties... Rock Hard was a leftover from earlier sessions (Camille/Crystal Ball), etc... TBA is really a bit of a compilation.

As the story goes, after the album was finished and shortly before release, he took it down to First Avenue to have it played and while there met Ingrid Chavez. They went back to Paisley Park and after lengthy discussions Prince disappeared (apparently to try XTC for the first time, apparently having a very bad experience on it). This is the night he called Susan Rogers and had her come down to the studio but when she got there he was acting very weird, asking if she loved him, and she made a quick exit. Somewhere in this "dark night of the soul" - between his drug induced visions and his talks about God with Ingrid - he felt moved to cancel TBA.

In my opinion, The Black Album and Lovesexy should really have been part of a double album. They are polar opposites of each other and define the two sides of Prince, at least up to that point, quite well.

[Edited 10/8/10 23:50pm]

jtfolden said:

In my opinion, The Black Album and Lovesexy should really have been part of a double album. They are polar opposites of each other and define the two sides of Prince, at least up to that point, quite well.

[Edited 10/8/10 23:50pm]

That would have been an interesting listening experience, but I think keeping them separate allowed them both to be enjoyed as their own entity without the under pressure comparison.

Swa said:

jtfolden said:

In my opinion, The Black Album and Lovesexy should really have been part of a double album. They are polar opposites of each other and define the two sides of Prince, at least up to that point, quite well.

[Edited 10/8/10 23:50pm]

That would have been an interesting listening experience, but I think keeping them separate allowed them both to be enjoyed as their own entity without the under pressure comparison.

Well, that would be true if TBA had still been released in Dec. '87 as intended. The ominous cancelation, Prince's fairytale explanation later, its bootleg popularity and the final much delayed release 7 years later sort of warped the public perception of this album and LoveSexy, as well, due it being seen as the "replacement" release.

There's always this sort of "What if" surrounding that period with critics and fans alike wondering how Prince's career and mainstream appeal might have been different. At least in the US, I think LoveSexy was a big nail in the coffin of his commercial viability at that time.

Le Grind and 2 Nigs are not hitting at all to me. NOW had he combined the Camille album into the black album we would have a winner

DecaturStone said:

Le Grind and 2 Nigs are not hitting at all to me. NOW had he combined the Camille album into the black album we would have a winner

How would you have sequenced such a combination?

DecaturStone said:

Le Grind and 2 Nigs are not hitting at all to me. NOW had he combined the Camille album into the black album we would have a winner

Le Grind is my most played Prince track. Ever so far.