From the medleys, to the skits, to the staging. The whole thing looked like and off, off, off broadway play.

I'm not saying I didn't like it, but I see why he has a tough time selling this to American Audiences.

i have just deleted my reply to this, although i agree with the difficulty with an american audience, after all they sold the album in brown paper bags, but this coming from a country that has the famous porn valley opposite hollywood which generates billions

has anyone noticed womens spring fashion collection/styles? the shops r filled with wht could b lovesexy inspired togs!
polka dots, bows & ribbons, excessive buttonage, waistcoats & high waist trousers...colours like cerise & peach seem 2 dominate

Lovesexy was a truly awe-inspiring performance and raised the bar for other artists. If you consider the culture of the time (1988) then it wasn't any more "cheesy" that the current fashions or music of the time. Come on, doesn't anyone remember "C+C Music Factory" or "SNAP!", and what was Michael Jackson doing at the time?

I remember reading a review in a local paper, and they couldn't stop praising it!

The concert wasn't the tough sell, it was the album itself. The soft-porn cover and "alternative" sound of the music itself (which didn't fit the major radio music formats of the time) resulted in its dismal sales.

If Lovesexy's cheesy,I'll take the whole loaf please! Prince at his greatest.

LOVESEXY TOUR
[Edited 2/2/08 21:21pm]

What was nude about it? Was is All that Jazz, or waz it what happenz on the cruize stayz on the cruze.

I think that element of 'cheesiness' is what made the whole Lovesexy era so great. It was like he was on some deep spiritual quest, but at the same time, he never took himself too seriously. I love it when Prince deliberately over does the dramatic side of his personality - Purple Rain was similar in that regard.

raveun2thejoyfantastic said:

A truly inspirational music pic. Makes me wanna go write some music.

PurpleJedi said:

I keep hearing from y'all what an amazing tour this was.
I caught the Lovesexy tour here in Chicago, & it was the least of any of his tours that I had ever attended. Now, of course, I may have just attended when he was on a bad day, but I really was looking forward to this show.
On this partcular night, Prince was kinda struggling to get the audience into it. At 1 point, he started preaching about God, which only resulted in a speckling of boo's.
Therefore, when the show ended, he didn't come out for an encore.
And I don't know what his songlist was supposed to be for this show, but I was really looking forward to him singing Alphabet Street (which he didn't).
Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't qualify that night as a diaster or anything,
but, later in the year, when I heard that, overall, here in the U.S., the tour had not been regarded as succesful, I just assumed that many of his nights were on about the same level as when I saw him.

anythings better than the tour that followed it.

nude tour - what happened!!??? hes songs turned into some karake style backing tracks.

I didn't think it was cheesy per se but I did hate the stage set-up and and fact that it was in the round.

Illustrator said:

I remember this. I was at the same show...it was really disappointing. But I also wwent the to third show in Chicago a couple days after this one...talk about a difference! It was AMAZING...crowd was much more into it, he did Alphabet Street as the encore, and I think Mavis Staples showed up at one point. It was such a kick ass show.

HOW DARE YOU!! Lovesexy was perfection!!!!!

Yes.

I think the format/sets/costumes/concept were cheesy but the energy and passion with which he performed and the speed and acrobatics gave it an insane edge that made it great.

and the extended jams on I Wish U Heaven were the high point in the long run for me, those parts had religious fervor type wild energy barely held in check and changed up a lot. He seemed crazy sometimes, and that was cool.

Rated against what had come before, I thought 'Lovesexy', album and tour, was overrated and the theme of a spiritual quest both shallow and unconvincing.

.

I saw the Lovesexy tour on the first night in Minnesota. I remember being disappointed cause everything was so choreographed, and I really disliked that all the songs were so abbreviated. I wanted to hear Prince play and improvise. Even the piano segment was not very focused. He played some fast licks and then got up to take cheers from the crowd, then played a snippet of Strange Relationship, more fast licks. It was too show-biz at the expense of being musical,and I really hated that.

On the positive, I remember being blown away by the version of HEAD that they did. Shelia E. was amazing as was Matt Fink, and I LOVED the horn parts. These days, to my surprise since I didn't love the show so much when I saw it, I really like listening to the Lovesxy tour rehearsals. The arrangements are so detailed and original...on the rehearsal tapes it seems like there's a lot more air to actually be able to listen to what's going on. I love the Lovesexy version of Housequake as well.

Was it cheesy? Everything Prince has ever done has always been a bit cheesy, what's kind of amazing about Prince is how he can pull of the most ridiculous/preposterous shit. From what he wears to what he says lyrically. Cheesy isn't even an issue for most Prince fans, I think.

My first ever Prince gig was Lovesexy 88 at Wembley Arena and I was amazed, I've probably seen him perform better gigs since but the first time is always special.
He was preaching about God a lot but it didn't bother me and I thought it added to the performance. I'm a devout athiest but I came out of that show almost a "believer", such was the frenzy which he whipped up.

langebleu said:

I'm inclined to agree.

The Lovesexy tour in particular always felt very contrived and gimmicky to me.

Volitan said:

Go write some, then!

Illustrator said:

I'm sorry to hear that.
You should've been at the Nassau Colisseum on Long Island.
The energy in the arena was off the hook! My voice was hoarse for 2 days!

raveun2thejoyfantastic said:

great picture

MSG was off the hook kind of show...

also after hearing and seeing the pittsburgh show..that was xtra funky!!

L4OATheOriginal said:

Ofcourse the Lovesexy Tour is in my view the BEST thing that Prince has ever done..it is my favorite concert, my favorite (concert) movie, and my favorite music cd...at least it is since i saw and recorded the Germany Show from TV. The show, in real live, in a dutch stadium, which i saw before the tv show, was not getting through, mainly because it didnt fit such a huge stadium, i guess..but still nothing beats the Lovesexy Live DVD!!!!!

I think another point to consider is that there was a thin narrative to the show (especially pt. 1) but it was difficult to follow at first. I only went to one Lovesexy show and just took it as I saw it. It was only later, watching the video that I realized that there was kind of a story interlaced within the songs.

pacey68 said:

VIDEO?!?!?!?!!?
What video!?!?!?!

PurpleJedi said:

Prince relased a Lovesexy Tour video in Europe. I saw it recently, but you have to be willing to some homework.

You can still buy the Lovesexy video perfectly legitimately in Europe (it's available at amazon.co.uk). Don't know whether it would play on a US video player though.