seeing that Lovesexy was one of his poorer selling cd's of the 80's...which turned the casual fan off the most:


1. entire cd on one track
2. nude cover
3. overt religious/spiritual content
4. lack of pop-friendly songs

nude cover

CD had not penetrated the sales market that deeply in 1988, so the one track thing did not matter much; most peeps bought the vinyl.

And I am sure that it was a combination of all of the above.

The nude kept it out of the window, Prince preaching (during concerts) confused many a fan, esp in America.
[Edited 4/19/05 1:13am]

The main thing was undoubetdly the nude cover. There were many record shops that refused to stock it because of this.

That and perhaps that it was finally sinking in to the American market that he wasn't ever going to do a Purple Rain 2 rock album. Whereas the album actually sold rather well in Europe, perhaps because it finally sunk in that he wasn't going to do just rock albums, that he was an interesting, varied, creative musician not just a rock star.

The nude cover did not put off the European market as much as the puritan Americans.

The only really pop friendly hit was Alphabet St. - but that's enough, a lot of Prince albums have only one big hit.

The single track, well, I expect many people did not know this when they bought the album, by then it was too late!

Although it is often seen as a spiritual album - when you really examine it, there is not a huge amount of religious themed songs on there. Eye No, Anna Stesia, yes. But Alphabet Street, Glam Slam, Lovesexy, When 2 R In Love, I Wish U Heaven are a lot more to do with love and sex (strangely enough!) Dance On and Positivity are more social commentaries.

Prince said Lovesexy was the feeling you get when fall in love, not with a boy or a girl but the heavens above. But the album far more implies that Lovesexy is the feeling you get when you have sex with someone you love!

Then he wrote a song called Penetration... hehehe

I actually got someone else to go in and buy it for me.
I at that time bought my albums in vinyl and i didnt want to walk around the town carrying a nude pic of Prince.

I think it was a combination of all four. Also, I've heard whoever was in charge of promotion for the album did a really shoddy job, and as we all know; regardless of the quality of the work, promotion (or lack thereof) can make or break an album's success.

meow85 said:

Look at Musicology!

The nude cover really hurt sales.I remember alot of my buddies didn't like the cover and they criticized it.This was an unnecessary distraction that took attention away from the music.The cover was controversial for alot of people.Some record stores even sold the album behind the counter,lol.

The other thing is the wrong singles were released."Alphabet St" was a cool choice for the first single,and it did extremely well on the charts.But then Prince killed the momentum by releasing a bland follow-up single "Glam Slam".Don't get me wrong...I like that song as an album track,but it was simply too dull to become a hit.He should have released the kickass title track! That song is fast,funky and loud....the type of song that people would have got excited about.It absolutely KILLS "Glam Slam".


I honestly believe that if Prince had chosen a different (less controversial) album cover,and released the title track as the second single,this album would have done much better.

DavidEye said:

If I am right Prince had to be pressured into releasing a single at all; he wanted to present it as a one-off package, take it or leave it.

Vinyl still ruled the day back then so the one track thing didn't matter. Casual listeners and ex-fans were already done with him by the time "Lovesexy" was released. They had already had three disappointing albums and were not going to try for a fourth.

The cover hurt in the front end...some retail could not sell the CD because of it and a lot of the record stores had it behind the counter instead of displayed in the racks. The one track thing irritates the hardcore more than it probably did the masses at the time. Despite the cover, the album would have sold better had there been more pop friendly singles. Alphabet St. was a natural hit but the rest of the songs on the album were either too personal, too spiritual, or too weird for mainstream Top 40. Glam Slam is a great album track but it's not single material. I Wish U Heaven was too short and fluffy...it melts as soon as it hits your ears. What other song on the CD would have gotten airplay? In the end, lack of publicity or poor single choice has been the reason for all of his commercial duds.

meltwithu said:

This was the main reason right here. Many stores would not stock it, or keep it behind the counter... people can't buy what they can't see.

Still his greatest album to date.

HamsterHuey said:

I saw the tour here in Denver, and I don't recall any preaching. I have alot of audio concerts from the states, and it's the same with each show.

Not once did Prince ask for an offering, open the bible and quote Scripture, or pray during any of the concerts.

He just talked to us. Like a friend, telling us about an alternative to negativity. I never saw or heard any preaching at any of these shows.

lack of a pop hit did it in. Nobody liked Glam Slam, nobody even played I wish U heaven, and alphabet st was not a crowd favorite (although if they had left in cat's rap it would have had more "catchy" power at that time)

I remember my friends hearing alphabet st in the dept store at the time and commenting that there was nothing too cool about the song accept for the yeah yeah yeahs.

THE ENTIRE CD ON ONE TRACK..

Most people were buying vinyl and cassettes back then because CD players were extremely expensive and the CDs themselves costed more. Even the ones that had CD players didn't know about the one track thing until after they bought it.

vainandy said:

Hey! You never posted on my appreciation thread.

Weak video for Alphabet St. which sounded too different from everything else on the radio (as did the whole album).

Having hits the previous four years. People just can't keep up.

Bad promotion.

So, of your four, I pick #4

The cover really hurt the sales of Lovesexy. Some stores held it behind the counter. Everybody misunderstood the cover. It's not a sexual image, it's a spiritual rebirth image. People in the States are not as open minded as people in Europe. Lovesexy was one of his best selling albums in most European countries.

It mustve been hard for most guys to buy this cd. People would question their sexuality. I dont think it was a good idea. He shouldve out that photo on the inside like the picture of him naked playing with water colors on the inside of 1999. I think it was a bad move if his goal was to sell a ton of records.

[/quote]

what's that part of the flower sticking out where his purple pinga should be?

no harm...but that does look kinda....well....gay-ish

meltwithu said:

Look at that stamen
[Edited 4/19/05 20:17pm]

Hell, I never saw it. Anyway, I will express my appreciation now because if I didn't have anyone to fight with, I would be bored. I found two of our old pictures that brought back memories.....



vainandy





Number 23



Meeeeemorieeeess.....like the corners of my mind. Misty water colored memories....of the way we were.
[Edited 4/19/05 23:13pm]

In New Zealand Lovesexy remains his only number one album, so it's relative.
Lack of momentum in the States due to cover and seen as maybe a disappointing follow up to Sign by the press. I think at that stage he was moving faster than the press, Sign was still being digested, I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man was released as a single not long before Lovesexy. It was too big a sideways step for critics too close to SoTT. If he had toured Sign in the States and given a little breather, it would have come harder. How he actually did it in retro is more amazing though.

GottaLetitgo said:

I think the title track could have been a huge hit.With a thrilling video and a necessary radio edit (removing the "dirty talk" with Cat at the end),it would have done extremely well.It certainly would have fared better than "Glam Slam".

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

I must admit I have this info from Per Nilssen's books over the years. Prince's recording and performing years over the 81/88 period is most interesting to me.

In the books Nilssen tells the further Prince got into the Lovesexy tour, the longer his speeches about God became. Which I do not think is a bad thing, back in the days he kept the term "god" rather specific to 'love for one another'-messages.

Even though Prince not always used the word "god" to reach his fans, he often did and it confused many a fan. It kind of alienated me from his music and the message he was trying to relay to his fans. I am fervently non-religious as I hate organised religion, so when Prince asked his audience "Do you believe?" I was always the only one not screaming 'yes'. Or that 'raise your hand if you believe', that would have me crossing my arms...

I mean, there are certainly things I believe in, I have seen too much of life NOT to, but I am not willing to raise my hand just cuz I feel good at a concert.

I would loooove to sit down with Mr Nelson and talk religion NOW, a while after The Rainbow Children release and it's focus on the Jehova Witnessess religion. I know he did some bible readings and had discussions with fans then. It seems he has mellowed a bit maybe. Whatever Prince does, he always intrigues me with his messages, his music and his lyrics.