Both albums are pretty similar in terms of quality in my opinion. The annoying thing about Lovesexy has always been that the 2nd half is stronger than the first, unfortunately you could never skip through the tracks, on the cd anyway...

PeteSilas said:

The title track from Graffiti Bridge is one of the worst ever Prince tracks. It'd drag any album down to mediocre. New Power Generation is awful but it's at least fun and of its time awful, there's no defence for Graffiti Bridge.

Lovesexy wins this every single time for me.

Yes, GB has some classics, but they deserved a better album.

The title track and NPG are some of his weakest songs ever IMO.

The re-recorded tracks can't compair to their originals (if there was ever a moment to release the Girl o'my dreams/Can't Stop/We Can Funk Trilogy...)

herb4 said:

TheBigBang said:

It doesn't matter how great the album was, or is, the movie absolutely killed it. It could be the greatest music ever, and a lot of it is really great but, as the soundtrack to a stinking pile of garbage, you don't have anything good to connect those songs to, so the album doesn't stand up. You can't have one without the other, so to speak. You can, but even if you try not to, you're going to lament how great the music is, even though the movie is trash.

Parade did OK. Then again, that dismal movie probably cut into its performance sales wise so maybe you're right. Thing is, by the time of GB, no one I knew even KNEW that Prince was making another film or had even heard about it so, overall, I'm having trouble equating the horrible nature of teh movie with the perception of the album.

I (regrettably) saw GB opening weekend with about 5-10 other people. UTCM hads SOME hype due to the success of PR. Plus, UTCM at least had SOME promotion behind it. Speaking of that, and come to think of it, Prince didn't promote the GB, the film NOR the album, at ALL - at least that I can recall. Probably just as well.

A single CD (or a double with the tracks from Tevin, The Time and Mavis on a "bonus CD" would have made more sense. Panther's track list is pretty darned strong; on par with Lovesexy and Love Symbol and better than Batman or D&P. Truth is, a LOT of fans jumped ship for misguided reasons, often of Prince's own doing. ATWIAD turned off a LOT of people who were just baffled and I know for a FACT that a LOT of male fans (and some females) that remained couldn't handle the Lovesexy cover nor the SoTT single cover with Cat, who many mistook for Prince going "full homo".

In the mid to late 80's, a LOT of the New Wave (and Glam) homo eroticism and gender bending of MTV bands (of whom Prince was a part) like Wham, Eurythmics, Culture Club, Bowie, Adam Ant, The Cure, etc. gave way to edgier metal and hip hop. Which is strange because the metal that took over (Poison, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Cinderella) was as gender bending as anything Prince did. I didtinctly remember people I worked with (many of wom were black) denounce Prince as a "fag" and just couldn't handle his act, but still worshipped the hair metal guys in make up. A fellow fan commented on the aforementioned SoTT single and lamented "why did he turn into a fucking drag queen, man?"

Not saying it made sense, just that it happened and it was palpable. They must have forgoten Dirty Mind and Controversy. But it WAS absolutely a factor. When i saw SoTT in an all black theater, there was audible laughter, snickers and giggling when Prince appeared, along with a whole slew of people who didn't know it was a concert movie and were let down. Homophobia crashed Prince's popularity as much as his idiosyncrasies did and by the time GB rolled around, he had boiled his following down to the more hardcore, musician centered and selective listening types. this trend continued full bore, D&P notwithstanding which I view as a blip on the radar and chalk up to massive promotion, throughout the 90's; leading to some critic I read write that

"Prince is the worlds most famous underground artist". Forget who said that but it's the most apt, succinct and accurate description of the man and his music that I've ever read. The name change exacerbated the whole trend to the point that, by the mid 90's, only the most hardcore remained...and I'd argue it was for the better overall.

Sorry for the rant.... Shit...what's this thread about? Oh yeah. GB vs. LS.

I think that GB edited down is better than Lovesexy overall but, as they stand, LS is superior. I'd put "We Can Funk", "Joy in Repetition", "The ? of U" and "Elephants and Flowers" up against anything on Lovesexy save for "Anna Stesia". Then again, like someone else said, it's apples and oranges since, tonally, the two albums are SOOOOO much different. SAme for a LOT of his records really andspeaks to Prince's talent and vision that he delivered albums as diverse, wide ranging and broad as LS, Parade, SoTT, ATWIAD, 1999, Purple Rain, Love Symbol and GB.


TL/DR: GB has better songs on it but Lovesexy is the better record overall.Thanks for reading that whole mess if you made it to the end.

Completely agree with you and exactly what I wrote in my post.

I know everyone thinks 'Graffiti Bridge' (the song) is terrible, but I don't mind it at all.

It's a bit throwaway, but it's tasteful enough and very catchy and upbeat with good vocals. What's the big problem with it?

Well for one thing it's definitely not tasteful, it's clumsy and shlocky and sounds like something that'd be rejected by Disney for being a bit too over the top and unsubtle. In its defence it does make me laugh out loud, who'd have thought Prince had a song like that in him?

grantevans said:

Lovesexy is a Prince pop-funk masterpeice,

this thread is all rubbish, imho...




so american, to dislike Lovesexy... tsk...

Lovesexy, all the way. It's a beautiful, cohesive album, which might miss the high of Joy in Repetition, but also doesn't have the lows of Tick Tick Bang, Can't Stop, Still Will Stand All Time, or Graffiti Bridge - all of which make me cringe. I will say that Graffiti Bridge has more pleasant surprises: I recently fell in love with the bridge on Melody Cool, and discovered Love Machine for the first time. I'm also not a big fan of his look and vibe in the GB era - I'd call it "insufferable", or maybe "ew, gross' - but to each their own.

.

LeGrinde said:

Lovesexy is a more focused singular statement---so much so that Prince tracked it as only 1 track on the CD. I know he's dead, but he'd really hate this dissection.

Grafitti Bridge is a grab bag. Comparing these two albums in this way is like comparing Abbey Road to the Beatles #1 hits collection. GB is just not a cohesive album, whereas Lovesexy is probably his MOST cohesive album aside from The Rainbow Children.

I feel like you have actually found a way to listen to Prince incorrectly. If an album is not more than the sum of it's parts, it is not a good album. Grafitti Bridge is a good collection--especially if you like Tevin Campbell and people who are not Prince singing all over your "Prince record", but Lovesexy is a great Album.

It's like two paintings; you can compare which painting has a better shade of red or green, but that isn't the point of the painting. You may find you prefer every color in 1 painting but when you step back and look at the whole, the other painting whose colors you liked less actually creates the better picture,

thedance said:

Lovesexy is a Prince pop-funk masterpeice,

this thread is all rubbish, imho...




so american, to dislike Lovesexy... tsk...

it sold sub 500,000 at the time of release. It was a good album, it still had some vintage minneapolis synth stuff which were kinda absent from the last two albums. However, I think a lot of the arrangements were pointless, i actually loved them at the time as young aspiring musician, but with time, i learned that the business of songs doesn't make them better, in fact they can make them worse. In this case the songs weren't as good as the ones on his previous albums. I also think he was having issues with hip hop on his ass and he had to worry about that because they were about to change the business, suddenly, Prince, who half shunned the purple rain sales was needing some of that.

grantevans said:

misiu said:

grantevans said:

I just have to laugh at the idea of Prince copying George Michael (ever).

BTW Elephants and Flowers was written many many years before Faith.

Anyway, I love both Albums, but Lovesexy was extremely coherent and even groundbreaking in its day.

You better check your facts. Faith was released in 1987. Basic track for elefants & flowers was recorded in 1988...not soundwise but vocally i think he tried to sound like gm...

you think so? why the hell would he do that. he told one of his employees "george michael ain't shit" i don't think he would imitate him.

PeteSilas said:

misiu said:

PeteSilas said:

you think so? why the hell would he do that. he told one of his employees "george michael ain't shit" i don't think he would imitate him.

Dont u know prince and his philosophy “ i can do that too, sound that way ...whatever, but better... As far as i know, fairh was gm’s thriller, purple rain . He was the hottest act. Ab by far not prince...maybe prince was jealous? It wouldnt be the first time that prince copied some else. He set trends but followed them also his whole career I dont know if he copied him, but everytime i hear e&f it kinda reminds me of faith. [Edited 7/9/18 13:52pm]

i never heard it that way, maybe i didn't listen close enough. but i'm a GM fan, he was great, i just don't think Prince thought that.

misiu said:

PeteSilas said:

misiu said:

grantevans said:

I just have to laugh at the idea of Prince copying George Michael (ever).

BTW Elephants and Flowers was written many many years before Faith.

Anyway, I love both Albums, but Lovesexy was extremely coherent and even groundbreaking in its day.

You better check your facts. Faith was released in 1987. Basic track for elefants & flowers was recorded in 1988...not soundwise but vocally i think he tried to sound like gm...

you think so? why the hell would he do that. he told one of his employees "george michael ain't shit" i don't think he would imitate him.

Dont u know prince and his philosophy “ i can do that too, sound that way ...whatever, but better...


As far as i know, fairh was gm’s thriller, purple rain . He was the hottest act. Ab by far not prince...maybe prince was jealous?

It wouldnt be the first time that prince copied some else. He set trends but followed them also his whole career

I dont know if he copied him, but everytime i hear e&f it kinda reminds me of faith.
[Edited 7/9/18 13:52pm]

BillieBalloon said:

misiu said:

Dont u know prince and his philosophy “ i can do that too, sound that way ...whatever, but better...


As far as i know, fairh was gm’s thriller, purple rain . He was the hottest act. Ab by far not prince...maybe prince was jealous?

It wouldnt be the first time that prince copied some else. He set trends but followed them also his whole career

I dont know if he copied him, but everytime i hear e&f it kinda reminds me of faith.
[Edited 7/9/18 13:52pm]

Laughable. It was GM who was influenced by Prince on Faith. GM was a huge Prince fan.

misiu said:

BillieBalloon said:

Laughable. It was GM who was influenced by Prince on Faith. GM was a huge Prince fan.

Show me one song, where prince influenced gm vocally! There arent any tracks, so laughable it aint
Gm is one of the best vocalists ever, with much stronger voice than our little king, i mean prince. Fact.

Graffiti BRidge is more eratic and uneven, but its highs are really high. THe question of U, Elephants and Flowers, Theives in the Temple, and Joy in Repetition are very strong. We can Funk is really over-produced and its a damn shame because it is really one of his best songs in its own forms. I enjoy the Jackson Five like Round and Round. Still would stand all time is draggy but I like his deep vocal. The rest of the songs range from really mediocre to bad. The album is like a bag filled with diamonds and cubic zirconias. Imagine how much better this album would be if he included the wonderful "grand Progression" song. I love that song.

As for Lovesexy, its doesn't have the highs but its consistent, warm, and charming and even moving. Anna Stesia, Alphabet Street, I wish you heaven, Positiivity, Glam Slam, and the wonderful When 2 R in love are the highlights for me. Dance ON is good. Lovesexy is okay. Eye no is kind of not my thing but I can't say its bad. There are no truely bad songs but a few that kind of bore me. I can't say enough however how much better when 2 R in love fits in this album than in the black album. I could go on and on about that truely unique beautiful sex romp of a song.

Look through this person's posting history. Dismissing Prince's singing abilty seems to be one of the few topics they are interested in. Probably a fan who grew tired of him. I have to say that live vocals are often better and I am not sure why. I was listening to 21 Nights last night on Tidal and when he did sing, he sounds strong. Listening to No more candy for u and I like when you dance for me live in the french video was so much more satisfying than the recording on Lotusflower (also listened to it last night on tidal) due to Prince's stronger vocals live. Not sure why he sounds better live sometimes. You would think it would be the other way around. Maybe, its the rushed way he created recordings that caused this phenomenon. Technically, GM was probably a stronger singer but I find P's voice more interesting because of its numerous personalities, its soulfulness, and his sexy phrasing. But that's very subjective. I prefer Sinatra to any opera singer. I do sometimes prefer Lennon to McCartney (not always but sometimes) because of the brightness of his tone.

OperatingThetan said:

misiu said:

Show me one song, where prince influenced gm vocally! There arent any tracks, so laughable it aint Gm is one of the best vocalists ever, with much stronger voice than our little king, i mean prince. Fact.

Entirely subjective. And 'I Want Your Sex' was clearly inspired by Prince by George's own admission. There's more confirmation from George quoted here: http://prince.org/msg/8/401363

[Edited 7/9/18 16:29pm]

[Edited 7/9/18 16:32pm]

OperatingThetan said:

misiu said:

Show me one song, where prince influenced gm vocally! There arent any tracks, so laughable it aint Gm is one of the best vocalists ever, with much stronger voice than our little king, i mean prince. Fact.

Entirely subjective. And 'I Want Your Sex' was clearly inspired by Prince by George's own admission. There's more confirmation from George quoted here: http://prince.org/msg/8/401363

i know that, prince inspired everyone in those years and rolling stone chided prince for letting a "flaccid talent" like george michael better his sales with his own sound. The animus GM had in those years has been replaced with the deserved respect but he was considered a joke by the critics in those years.

jaawwnn said:

The title track from Graffiti Bridge is one of the worst ever Prince tracks. It'd drag any album down to mediocre. New Power Generation is awful but it's at least fun and of its time awful, there's no defence for Graffiti Bridge.

i liked it, what i was lukewarm about were the time song, release it, round and round, melody cool, didn't like any of those. Still would stand all time and graffiti bridge weren't as bad as those songs. and oh yea, i was never a thieves in the temple fan, in fact, i loved the demo version more.

Agreed.

The Prince songs on GB are great. Lovesexy is over-rated for me, never really liked it.

When 2 R in Love, Positivity and Glam Slam, I Wish U Heaven and Dance On are not the best lyrically, which is contrast to the other songs which have well crafted lyrics but no real melodies.

Whereas, Can't Stop, Elephants & Flowers, Question of U, Joy in Repitition, Thieves and Still Would Stand all have great well-crafted lyrics, good melodies, thundering drums and guitar solos to die for.

I love both albums for different reasons and honestly, I can't decide which I like better. They both illustrate the same concept of spiritual growth and realisation (Graffiti Bridge the movie is basically like a retelling of Lovesexy in ways). I tend to listen to Lovesexy more as a cohesive album than I do Graffiti Bridge (I listen to GB a lot but I tend to skip some of the non-Prince tracks) but I tend to prefer the songs on Graffiti Bridge more (New Power Generation is my jam). Love them both though that much that I can't decide which is better.

Since we have a thread about Graffiti Bridge open, I was wondering if anyone has sequenced a playlist of tracks from GB, Batman, and the unreleased Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic album that works well as a standalone album? Last night, I came up with this:

1. Can't Stop This Feeling I Got ['86 version]
2. We Can Funk ['86 version]
3. Thieves In The Temple
4. The Ball (mainly for the purpose of segueing into...)
5. Joy In Repetition
6. Crucial (not sure if this fits but why not?)
7. Electric Chair
8. Girl O My Dreams ['86 version]
9. Data Bank ['86 version]
10. Pink Cashmere
11. The Grand Progression
12. Graffiti Bridge (to end on something slightly more uplifting than the previous track)

I haven't listened to it yet, but I think it's a damn solid set of songs. Anyone got suggestions to make it better?

PeteSilas said:

jaawwnn said:

The title track from Graffiti Bridge is one of the worst ever Prince tracks. It'd drag any album down to mediocre. New Power Generation is awful but it's at least fun and of its time awful, there's no defence for Graffiti Bridge.

i liked it, what i was lukewarm about were the time song, release it, round and round, melody cool, didn't like any of those. Still would stand all time and graffiti bridge weren't as bad as those songs. and oh yea, i was never a thieves in the temple fan, in fact, i loved the demo version more.

Oh yeah, the female "Delta Blues" demo.
Pity there ain't more material like this.

Well, Graffiti Bridge never sounded or looked like this,
so in my book, it's a fine collection of songs,
but it's a patchwork. Lovesexy was Prince reaching for God.
On stage. The album is tied to the tour, the B-sides and the celebration of the first decade.

The noisy bootleg of Joy In Repetition,
with the harsher mix and the low tom syncopated intro,
like the start of "Noon Rendez-Vous" (album version) is way better, putting the "Alphabet St." intro was plain ludicrous,
we know by now the original 1983 take on "We Can Fuck" is the definitive one,
"Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" has been transformed from a joyous, primal riot of a song
into a preaching demo for Lexicon delays and Eventide compressors, losing all of its juice.
Even "Tick Tick Bang" is way better with a frantic Linn exsuding true funk hysteria.

I'd like to ear the GB demo sessions in better quality than what is circulating.
"Can't stop" solo is better in its rawer version.
But The Revolution version tops them all.
And the transition to "New Power Generation" is so pompous,
whereas the blending into "We Can Funk" '86 is just spot on.

It's the only album that truly show his age, with Diamonds and Pearls.
They have beautiful songs in them, but they're not albums.
They are collection of songs, meant to bring the cash in.

[Edited 7/10/18 16:27pm]

[Edited 7/10/18 16:29pm]

mbdtyler said:

Since we have a thread about Graffiti Bridge open, I was wondering if anyone has sequenced a playlist of tracks from GB, Batman, and the unreleased Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic album that works well as a standalone album? Last night, I came up with this:

1. Can't Stop This Feeling I Got ['86 version]
2. We Can Funk ['86 version]
3. Thieves In The Temple
4. The Ball (mainly for the purpose of segueing into...)
5. Joy In Repetition
6. Crucial (not sure if this fits but why not?)
7. Electric Chair
8. Girl O My Dreams ['86 version]
9. Data Bank ['86 version]
10. Pink Cashmere
11. The Grand Progression
12. Graffiti Bridge (to end on something slightly more uplifting than the previous track)

I haven't listened to it yet, but I think it's a damn solid set of songs. Anyone got suggestions to make it better?

Yes! Finally someone mentioned the '86 version of We Can Funk!! Blows the GB version away. All of the '86 versions blow the GB versions away. He should not have "bubble-gummed" them up.

bonatoc said:

PeteSilas said:

i liked it, what i was lukewarm about were the time song, release it, round and round, melody cool, didn't like any of those. Still would stand all time and graffiti bridge weren't as bad as those songs. and oh yea, i was never a thieves in the temple fan, in fact, i loved the demo version more.

Oh yeah, the female "Delta Blues" demo.
Pity there ain't more material like this.

Well, Graffiti Bridge never sounded or looked like this,
so in my book, it's a fine collection of songs,
but it's a patchwork. Lovesexy was Prince reaching for God.
On stage. The album is tied to the tour, the B-sides and the celebration of the first decade.

with the harsher mix and the low tom syncopated intro,
like the start of "Noon Rendez-Vous" (album version) is way better, putting the "Alphabet

The noisy bootleg of Joy In Repetition,

St." intro was plain ludicrous,
we know by now the original 1983 take on "We Can Fuck" is the definitive one,
"Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" has been transformed from a joyous, primal riot of a song
into a preaching demo for Lexicon delays and Eventide compressors, losing all of its juice.
Even "Tick Tick Bang" is way better with a frantic Linn exsuding true funk hysteria.

I'd like to ear the GB demo sessions in better quality than what is circulating.
"Can't stop" solo is better in its rawer version.
But The Revolution version tops them all.
And the transition to "New Power Generation" is so pompous,
whereas the blending into "We Can Funk" '86 is just spot on.

It's the only album that truly show his age, with Diamonds and Pearls.
They have beautiful songs in them, but they're not albums.
They are collection of songs, meant to bring the cash in.

[Edited 7/10/18 16:27pm]

[Edited 7/10/18 16:29pm]

Pete or Bonatoc: I LOVE the Thieves Demo version - it's so much better. It was posted on YT Summer of 2016 and removed before I could DL. Would love to get that one....