BEAUGARDE said:

You're thinking way too much about it. THINK about the concept of the album. THIS. WAS. NOT. THE. NEXT. PRINCE. ALBUM. It was gonna be released as is, with a black cover and no mention of the artist. The intro to Le Grind is congratulating the purchasee on finding the album, as if it was underground. Of course it wouldn't take long for it to become common knowledge that Prince was behind it, but that's kind of the point - It's an "underground" record, to silence the critics and those detractors who thought, since Purple Rain, he was selling out to a white audience (as some saw it).

BEAUGARDE said:

Now you're just making stuff up.

The Black album was almost exclusively made up of previously recorded material, a lot like the released Graffiti Bridge, C&D and OF4S.

There is a largely a logical and clear progression in Prince's music, the progression from SOTT to TBA and Lovesexy can be clearly heard in the Paisley Park releases (namely Madhouse) and the out-takes that are circulating from this era. The Black album was not leaked by Prince as a way of testing out new sounds, accept the facts and opinions of those who worked closely with Prince at the time, since their accounts match very closely.

BEAUGARDE said:

You're thinking way too much about it. THINK about the concept of the album. THIS. WAS. NOT. THE. NEXT. PRINCE. ALBUM. It was gonna be released as is, with a black cover and no mention of the artist. The intro to Le Grind is congratulating the purchasee on finding the album, as if it was underground. Of course it wouldn't take long for it to become common knowledge that Prince was behind it, but that's kind of the point - It's an "underground" record, to silence the critics and those detractors who thought, since Purple Rain, he was selling out to a white audience (as some saw it).

BEAUGARDE said:

Now you're just making stuff up.

The Black album was almost exclusively made up of previously recorded material, a lot like the released Graffiti Bridge, C&D and OF4S.

There is a largely a logical and clear progression in Prince's music, the progression from SOTT to TBA and Lovesexy can be clearly heard in the Paisley Park releases (namely Madhouse) and the out-takes that are circulating from this era. The Black album was not leaked by Prince as a way of testing out new sounds, accept the facts and opinions of those who worked closely with Prince at the time, since their accounts match very closely.

the Black Album was not made up of old material (except Rock Hard In A Funky Place)....

BEAUGARDE said:

Sorry, you're incorrect.

The Album was compiled completely of existing material, culled from other projects, left-overs and bits-n-bobs - with the sole exception of the newly recorded When 2 R In Love.

Everything else you said above is still rendered incorrect/superfluous by my previous statement.
[Edited 11/6/05 14:23pm]

I know 'Rock Hard' came from Camille, but what about the others?

Prince was upset at the lacklustre reception of Sign O The Times in the USA, the 'white' press was saying it was great, the 'black' press was saying he had lost it (his funk), after ATWIAD and Parade, he was going too hippy-ish, too "white".

This had been building since the success of Purple Rain, and was, a (minor) factor in the split with Revolution (a whole other story), this is contentious, but a compelling view.
Prince was cutting edge in 1981/82, he was out there, was he Black, was he White, was he straight, was he Gay, was he funk, was he New Wave?

That was fresh then, but now, Black music had moved on, rap and hip-hop was here, N.W.A. and their like were around the corner.

So he decided to put together an album of hard funk and 'black music' that would silence his critics who said he had lost his roots - the album, to be entitled - "The Funk Bible" (a title referenced in the opening lines of Le Grind) - the name says it all, with concerns to funk, this was to be The Holy Word.

The album was compiled entirely of previously recorded material (except for the newly recorded When 2 R In Love), and was to be released without any promotional at all, and without any information about the artist who had recorded the album.

It was labelled on the Warners release schedule as "Something" by "Someone" So it wasn't the follow-up to SOTT (That was scheduled to be the original Graffiti Bridge - which was already well underway with a script and a soundtrack). It was meant to be a side-project, taking the idea of anonymity from the Camille album (a funk album with no reference to Prince as the artist) and some of the projects from around that time and earlier, Madhouse, The Flesh.

The album was made up of several songs Prince had recorded for Sheila E's birthday party, 1986, a few out-takes and odd songs.
With him being compared to rap - Dead On It was a direct tongue-in-cheek commentary/attack on Rap, which Prince (at the time) derided - he thought, since rappers didn't play their own instruments, they were untalented (oh the irony come 1991!)

Prince was in a very unsure state at this time - The criticism didn't help - he had split up with Revolution, his long time band members and friends, who he had rose to fame with, and whom had become some of his closest ever collaborators (Wendy & Lisa), he'd broken off an engagement (Susannah, Wendy's identical twin), and Sign O' The Times was somewhat made up of older tracks from the Dream Factory and the Revolution era - so he had yet to prove himself 100% as an artist without the Revolution (even though their input on record was limited - they did have a prominent public image initially thanks to Purple Rain the movie).

So what with personal and professional turmoil, and critical remarks biting where it hurt, he wasn't that confident, he had started to question his own ability.

So he put together The Funk Bible, an album that says 'You don't think I can do Funk (Black) music any more - Listen to this, this is the stuff I do on my day off, this is the stuff I DON'T put on record because I've been there and done it!'

He pressed up an acetate and took it to the club Ruperts in MPLS to test the waters (House and Techno was coming in then, no doubt it was trickling into Minneapolis from places like Chicago and Detroit, and you can hear it in the first two tracks - especially with Cat's rap in Cindy C (a very slightly altered rendition of J M Silk's Music Is The Key rap - one of the earliest cross-over House hits) - I, myself, also think Bob George could have been a House hit, it's bizarre and dark, and I think it would have worked in clubs at the time, where House was new, and still unformed into the commercial genre we see today.

At the club a certain number of events unfold, and this is open to interpretation, but according to several people close to Prince at the time, including Matt Fink (keyboardist since 1979) and Susan Rogers (Studio Engineer for years). Prince took ecstasy (E, MDMA) that night, also meeting, poet and singer, Ingrid Chavez (Aura in Graffiti Bridge).

Apparently Prince had a bad trip and that night he went back to Paisley Park with Ingrid, after excusing himself with a stomachache, he called up Susan Rogers and asked her to come to the studio (employees were on 24 hour call, so it wasn't that wierd) - she recalls that he looked very spaced-out. He asked her if she loved him, and if she would stay with him, he freaked her out somewhat, and she said she loved him, but would not stay. She soon left Prince's employment. [ Susan's account can be found in Per Nilsen's biography DMSR, of which I am paraphrasing Susan Roger's comments here. ]

The next day, Prince called Mo Ostin (at Warners) and requested that the album be cancelled (regardless of what you may read, it was *entirely* Princes decision to cancel the album). This was 7 days before the scheduled release date, and the album had already been printed up in the thousands. Incidently, when Ostin left WB, it was around the time Prince started vocalising his distain with Warners and the whole name change thing occured. It shows the relationship between Prince and Mo, that Ostin cancelled the album's released at great expense to both Prince and Warners.

The album copies were destroyed, but inevitably some escaped. Prince received several cases of LPs, which he gave out to friends and close associates - and a small number of copies also ended up on the collectors market.

A few days later Prince embarked on the recording the whole Lovesexy album in a matter of weeks, practically in the order it is on the album, although I Wish U Heaven replaced The Line (still unreleased, but an early version is circulating). Also, both Lovesexy and Positivity are both different from their original incarnations (Positivity originally had Cat's Cindy C. rap, until Prince was made aware it was not an original rap by Cat). Lovesexy was originally scheduled as the lead single (official mixes and edits exist - uncirculating).

Anna Stesia pretty much tells the story of that night in the club on the bad trip - The beautiful girl is Ingrid, Greg is Greg Brooks - dancer and body guard from the Parade/SOTT tours (notice Greg, and fellow bodyguard/dancer, Wally weren't around for Lovesexy) - I recall reading that in 1986, some members of the Revolution, Wendy especially, had issues with those two (and maybe Jerome, I don't recall it being specified) - The resentment stemmed from Prince was hanging out more with these guys, instead of the band, their roles increasing to dancers and members of the Revolution on the Parade tour. Presumably they were just untalented body-guards, but I think Prince was enjoying the black male comeradery. (This relates to the contention regarding The Revolution break-up also).

I think it's possible that (if we take Anna Stesia this way) that Greg at least was in the club that night, and we know what Prince is like for cutting ties - seems after this event, Wally & Greg were gone, yet Ingrid, who was also there that night, was still around for several years. Make of that, what you will.

Prince's recording career is threaded by a spirituality in many songs, seemingly increasingly so since Controversy, themes about the afterlife, God, Christian ideals and dogma, love over lust, had been emerging through the music, 1999 showed us armaggedon, Purple Rain had several Christian-belief references in it's songs, Around The World In A Day was a journey of self-discovery and soul-seeking, parts of Parade & UTCM show where Prince was concerning his desire to take love (Susannah) over lust (his other girlfriends) and Crystal Ball/SOTT seemed to bring this all together, with tracks referencing global armageddon (Crystal Ball, SOTT, Play In The Sunshine), monogamous love (Forever In My Life) and Christian beliefs (The Cross).

The proposed follow-up to SOTT, Graffiti Bridge was also an overtly spiritually-themed piece (both the original version, for anyone who has read the script, and the later released version).

So the 'spiritual epiphany' of Lovesexy seems not entirely the eureka moment the tale in the tourbook would have us believe, but a culmination of years of lyrical (and personal) pondering on spiritual subjects, thus Lovesexy is less an epiphany, and more of a 'prodigal son' moment, after events of that night and the negative mind-set in compiling the material for the Black album, Prince resolved to strengthen and increase the spiritual message in his music - manifesto he honoured at least for the next few projects.

I must stress, the songs, except for When 2 R In Love all existed before the idea for the Black album came about, so the music itself is not 'negative', but the mind-set from which Prince put the album together, the album's purpose. You could say Prince realised, that the album was not borne of natural inspiration, but a desire to meet his critics head-on.

Whilst this is inspiration in itself, it is from a more reactionary position, than a pro-active one. Had Prince ever listened to his critics before? So this was the negativity of the album - a piece of work compiled for release with no other purpose than to try to gain praise from his critics, or at least silence them.

When the Black album was released in 1994, it was part of (but didn't directly contribute to) Prince's contractual obligations to Warners. It had been under possible release several times before that, most notable as part a two-CD set in 1991 - the first CD to be a best of upto 1990. After the failure of Lovesexy in the USA (his worst selling album since Controversy), and the disappointment of Graffiti Bridge - both film and album - Warners wanted to let the market rest a while, and put out a Best Of.

Prince had other ideas - a new batch of songs embracing the new form of Black pop music, rap, featuring his new protegee, Tony M. - Diamonds & Pearls. Prince had made a total 180 degree turn on the issue of hip-hop, he recognised the commercial force it held, and went about incorporating it into his own sound in order to gain another commercial hit - which Diamonds & Pearls succeeded at fantastically - so well in fact, that it might have written Prince's 'death warrant', since in 1992, Prince signed the infamous contract with Warners that would lead to his name change and so much bitter wrangling throughout the 1990's.

You could say that The Black Album was the pivot on which Prince's career thus far rests - before it, album after album of progression and inginuity - after it, self-doubt, band-wagon jumping and technically fluffery - until, arguably, The Rainbow Children - another "spirtual epiphany" of equal contention.....

Remember, it was cancelled from release just 7 days before it was due to hit the shelves - it had already been pressed.

When the pressing plant was ordered to destroy all copies, it wouldn't take a genius to snag a few copies, and it wouldn't take a genius to get a copy, copied, and get it out there.

This is one of the most (in)famous, and written about stories in Prince's career. Give a hoot, read a book.

rumours were prince was behind the leak,so he could have a legendary bootleg classic.This could be true,back in the day i used 2 listen 2 the electrifying mojo in fact i was one of his biggest fans,he,s the one who got me hooked on prince,one night in 93 i turned it on mojos show he had prince special going on but it was different this time it was a live concert
of him singing these songs called rave,ill take u there,jus my imagination,housequake and dmsr,well i went crasy hearing this 4 the first time
so i immediately called the station up and mojos engineer answers the phone,it turned out mojo wasnt there cause he was out of town 2 atend his brothers funeral in florida,i asked hgim where could i find that concert,he replied that i couldnt and that it was a gift 2 mojo from prince himself and hinted that mojo had lots of rare goodies prince sent him,but i think i got him in trouble
tho cause when mojo came back,i asked him about the concert,i could tell he was shocked and mad! that he didnt want that material played on the air,so maybe it is true prince is behind at least some of the boots outthere

Cut and paste from older discussion.....

Time to school ya'll a little more. Here's more of the story behind the Black Album: He had what he calls a "dark night of the soul", about the recording of The Black Album, and decided not to release it, for fear of it being the last thing people ever heard from him.

In Alphabet St., the letters in the video are supposed to spell out "Don't buy the Black Album, I'm sorry." But some 300,000 copies had been pressed and gotten out to the public. I know I bought the bootleg in 1989 when seeing it at a record store in my city (hell, I donated blood plasma to get that disc.) It wasn't so much that it was a great record, but it was something we weren't supposed to have.

Anyway, with the way he played certain songs on the album during the Lovesexy tour, to illustrate the point he was trying to make about what happens when you let ego completely take over. And at the end of Bob George, he imitates getting shot, as a symbol of rebirth.

Tis Nobody Funkier, let the Black Album Fly

Time to school ya'll a little more. Here's more of the story behind the Black Album: He had what he calls a "dark night of the soul", about the recording of The Black Album, and decided not to release it, for fear of it being the last thing people ever heard from him.

In Alphabet St., the letters in the video are supposed to spell out "Don't buy the Black Album, I'm sorry." But some 300,000 copies had been pressed and gotten out to the public. I know I bought the bootleg in 1989 when seeing it at a record store in my city (hell, I donated blood plasma to get that disc.) It wasn't so much that it was a great record, but it was something we weren't supposed to have.

Anyway, with the way he played certain songs on the album during the Lovesexy tour, to illustrate the point he was trying to make about what happens when you let ego completely take over. And at the end of Bob George, he imitates getting shot, as a symbol of rebirth.

Tis Nobody Funkier, let the Black Album Fly

The whole "The Black Album is Evil" thing put out there by Prince has always seemed to be a clever marketing tactic to me. If he was so apologetic for it, and the dark tone of the songs, then why did he perform the two most "vulgar" songs live in the Lovesexy tour? If he truly believed that he'd created something negative and evil or dark with the Black Album, we wouldn't have heard or seen Prince and the Lovesexy band perform Bob George and Superfunkicalifragisexi.

poetbear68 said:

300,000 copies huh? I think you'll find that you're about 299,900 copies off the mark there mr. Rookie...

NightGod said:

On the Lovesexy 88 tour, he intentionally divided the show into two acts. The first act, where he played "Bob George" and "Superfunkycalifragisexy" was intended to represent his dark persona, which is killed off at the end of the act. If anything, playing those songs was to illustrate that they were part of his "evil" persona.

NightGod said:

On the Lovesexy 88 tour, he intentionally divided the show into two acts. The first act, where he played "Bob George" and "Superfunkycalifragisexy" was intended to represent his dark persona, which is killed off at the end of the act. If anything, playing those songs was to illustrate that they were part of his "evil" persona.

JediMaster said:

True, I get what he was trying to do thematically with the Lovesexy tour, but I also think that Prince would know that those of us that hadn't heard those songs would want copies.