Superfan1984 said:

I've had 2 different copies of the CD and they both won't let me forward or reverse to the next song. I have to play the entire thing all the way through. Are all the CD's like this?

get audacity and make your own version with the songs broken up.

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

Optimus2 said:

I cant understand all the praise for the Lovesexy album...

I almost took this thread seriously... until I saw your age. I have ticket stubs older than you. So, the reason you don't get it, is because you weren't there to appreciate the WHOLE era. Listening to the album on MP3, watching the Dortmund Concert and videos, is not the same thing.

You weren't at the record store on May 10, 1988 to buy the album. You didn't watch the MTV World Premiere of the "Alphabet St." video. You didn't stand in line for 6 hours to buy tickets to the Lovesexy concert, when the the show came to your town. You didn't have to write pen pals in other countries looking desperately for a crappy VHS copy, of only 90 minutes of the Dortmund show. You didn't set your VCR to record hours of BET hoping to get a recording of the Glam Slam and I Wish U Heaven videos that rarely got any airplay. You didn't buy the 12" singles on vinyl when they came out. You didn't wear out 4 cassettes from playing them over and over and over and over again.

These days, all you have to do is click on a link, to see and hear what took us an entire year/era to live through with excitement. So yes, there is a legitamite reason, you do not understand all the praise for his greatest piece of work.

This post along with the other person who commented about being 17 when it was released hit the nail on the head. I was 17 and had run away from an abusive home in Cali to NYC and remember going to the store on the day of it's release and it just hit me at the perfect time. With cassettes, you didn't deal with the one track cd so that was never an issue. It was "The Enlightened Prince Moment" as far as I'm concerned. Straight from the first note till the end of Anastasia, it was an escape from the reality of being a little fish in a huge sea. And you're so right about recording BET for so many hours just to see Glam Slam and I Wish U Heaven or trying to find the hidden sentences in Alphabet Street. It was the last time that I was so moved from beginning to end. And the message seemed so much more open than what I hear from him nowadays. I think it was a life changing period in his world and it was great that he shared it with all of us...Yes, it was an era, a special time and maybe your youth hinders what so many of us felt...BUT at the same time, some people disliked it when it came out just as you do now...and it's "Put the right letters together and make a better day." That means something, think about it or just do some research from that time period. I can't make it too easy for you...Have to earn your Prince badge by doing a little work...

There is something about this album that has worn thin with me over time, i can't identify exactly what it is, whether i've just heard it too much?, it's too cluttered? or it's just too clean sounding compared to his other 80's albums?, but i just don't feel it anymore, i kinda feel numb while listening to it, and find it hard to get through. Bit of a shame really as it used to be my favourite record. I do still really like Alphabet St. though, and When 2R in Love is a nice simple ballad...

Superfan1984 said:

I've had 2 different copies of the CD and they both won't let me forward or reverse to the next song. I have to play the entire thing all the way through. Are all the CD's like this?

Prince wanted the album to be listened to as a whole, so we got a one track CD. Later editions were tracked.

You know how like SOTT is often said to be a display of everything Prince is and can do. Well Lovesexy feels like all of that condensed. There are moments and songs when it feels like everything that came before is being summoned and used in that one piece. Sometimes it's like Lovesexy is Camille (the album) 2.0. A self-contained little universe that no one else could have ever created.

.

I can hear why people would find it difficult to appreciate now, some of the keyboard sounds come across as cheap and dated, to a new listener it might sound light on "hits" or high points - errr, but I'd say look at it from a different angle or something because they are there.

.

/gush

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

Optimus2 said:

I cant understand all the praise for the Lovesexy album...

I almost took this thread seriously... until I saw your age. I have ticket stubs older than you. So, the reason you don't get it, is because you weren't there to appreciate the WHOLE era. Listening to the album on MP3, watching the Dortmund Concert and videos, is not the same thing.

You weren't at the record store on May 10, 1988 to buy the album. You didn't watch the MTV World Premiere of the "Alphabet St." video. You didn't stand in line for 6 hours to buy tickets to the Lovesexy concert, when the the show came to your town. You didn't have to write pen pals in other countries looking desperately for a crappy VHS copy, of only 90 minutes of the Dortmund show. You didn't set your VCR to record hours of BET hoping to get a recording of the Glam Slam and I Wish U Heaven videos that rarely got any airplay. You didn't buy the 12" singles on vinyl when they came out. You didn't wear out 4 cassettes from playing them over and over and over and over again.

These days, all you have to do is click on a link, to see and hear what took us an entire year/era to live through with excitement. So yes, there is a legitamite reason, you do not understand all the praise for his greatest piece of work.

Amen & Hundalasiliah!

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

Optimus2 said:

I cant understand all the praise for the Lovesexy album...

I almost took this thread seriously... until I saw your age. I have ticket stubs older than you. So, the reason you don't get it, is because you weren't there to appreciate the WHOLE era. Listening to the album on MP3, watching the Dortmund Concert and videos, is not the same thing.

You weren't at the record store on May 10, 1988 to buy the album. You didn't watch the MTV World Premiere of the "Alphabet St." video. You didn't stand in line for 6 hours to buy tickets to the Lovesexy concert, when the the show came to your town. You didn't have to write pen pals in other countries looking desperately for a crappy VHS copy, of only 90 minutes of the Dortmund show. You didn't set your VCR to record hours of BET hoping to get a recording of the Glam Slam and I Wish U Heaven videos that rarely got any airplay. You didn't buy the 12" singles on vinyl when they came out. You didn't wear out 4 cassettes from playing them over and over and over and over again.

These days, all you have to do is click on a link, to see and hear what took us an entire year/era to live through with excitement. So yes, there is a legitamite reason, you do not understand all the praise for his greatest piece of work.

And winner of the 'most pretentious post on the org' award is...

Optimus2 said:

I honestly think it sounds terribly dated.......obviously every albums sound dates.....but were SOTT and Purple Rain have a more "Classic" and "Timeless" nice on the ears sound.......this is like the 80's version of Emancipation.....terrible cheesy production values and lyrics IMO......infact the only song I listen to from this album is I Wish U Heaven and thats the full parts 1, 2, and 3 version.......and teh last 2 parts make the song!......and they wernt even on the album!........who agrees?

I completely get what you're saying, and its funny, this was the reaction of many Prince fans back in 1988. They wanted a cool, disciplined artsy sound like SOTT, and then we heard the bootleg of the dense and dark and cohesive Black Album....but then we got this spastic, mismatching, cacophony of Lovesexy that bombed on the radio. There was no way a song like Glam Slam would appeal to radio audiences in the States, and it didn't. Alphabet was a mild hit, and everythiing else tanked. It was just not cool to the ears back then.

I had casual Prince listener friends that loved The Black Album and asked for copies, that hated the sound of Lovesexy.

I still remember the DJ who walked into the dorm with a preview LP of the album, and putting it on the turntable and groaning at the sound of Eye No (which was actually a strong point on the album). "Oh no, he used that kind of beat?" as he walked out of the room.

But, rememeber, Lovesexy was very conceptual in how it was put together in a few weeks and thrown out there, and it worked overseas but bombed in the States.

I can completely understand how you are perplexed at people worshipping the album. But it is Prince's most experimental album, and completely anchored into his fantasy Prince-world. That's probably why people worship it.

But it doesn't take a scientist to see it didn't hit at all, just coasted at first on his namesake (in the U.S.)

nursev said:

I've always hated it

I've never been crazy about it either.

I like Anna Stesia and Alphabet St. but that's it. I get what he was aiming for but I just wasn't impressed then or now.

babynoz said:

nursev said:

I've always hated it

I've never been crazy about it either.

I like Anna Stesia and Alphabet St. but that's it. I get what he was aiming for but I just wasn't impressed then or now.

Agreed-never really liked the concept and still dont-besides those two songs the rest just never appealed to me.

NouveauDance said:

You know how like SOTT is often said to be a display of everything Prince is and can do. Well Lovesexy feels like all of that condensed. There are moments and songs when it feels like everything that came before is being summoned and used in that one piece. Sometimes it's like Lovesexy is Camille (the album) 2.0. A self-contained little universe that no one else could have ever created.

.

I can hear why people would find it difficult to appreciate now, some of the keyboard sounds come across as cheap and dated, to a new listener it might sound light on "hits" or high points - errr, but I'd say look at it from a different angle or something because they are there.

.

/gush

ufoclub said:

Optimus2 said:

I honestly think it sounds terribly dated.......obviously every albums sound dates.....but were SOTT and Purple Rain have a more "Classic" and "Timeless" nice on the ears sound.......this is like the 80's version of Emancipation.....terrible cheesy production values and lyrics IMO......infact the only song I listen to from this album is I Wish U Heaven and thats the full parts 1, 2, and 3 version.......and teh last 2 parts make the song!......and they wernt even on the album!........who agrees?

I completely get what you're saying, and its funny, this was the reaction of many Prince fans back in 1988. They wanted a cool, disciplined artsy sound like SOTT, and then we heard the bootleg of the dense and dark and cohesive Black Album....but then we got this spastic, mismatching, cacophony of Lovesexy that bombed on the radio. There was no way a song like Glam Slam would appeal to radio audiences in the States, and it didn't. Alphabet was a mild hit, and everythiing else tanked. It was just not cool to the ears back then.

I had casual Prince listener friends that loved The Black Album and asked for copies, that hated the sound of Lovesexy.

I still remember the DJ who walked into the dorm with a preview LP of the album, and putting it on the turntable and groaning at the sound of Eye No (which was actually a strong point on the album). "Oh no, he used that kind of beat?" as he walked out of the room.

But, rememeber, Lovesexy was very conceptual in how it was put together in a few weeks and thrown out there, and it worked overseas but bombed in the States.

I can completely understand how you are perplexed at people worshipping the album. But it is Prince's most experimental album, and completely anchored into his fantasy Prince-world. That's probably why people worship it.

But it doesn't take a scientist to see it didn't hit at all, just coasted at first on his namesake (in the U.S.)

[Edited 5/21/13 16:08pm]

it's not his coolest album. Not the one I enjoy listening to the most. But I still think it's his best, if that makes any sense- I think Lovesexy is his most original effort. Nobody else could have made that album.

ufoclub said:

Optimus2 said:

I honestly think it sounds terribly dated.......obviously every albums sound dates.....but were SOTT and Purple Rain have a more "Classic" and "Timeless" nice on the ears sound.......this is like the 80's version of Emancipation.....terrible cheesy production values and lyrics IMO......infact the only song I listen to from this album is I Wish U Heaven and thats the full parts 1, 2, and 3 version.......and teh last 2 parts make the song!......and they wernt even on the album!........who agrees?

I completely get what you're saying, and its funny, this was the reaction of many Prince fans back in 1988. They wanted a cool, disciplined artsy sound like SOTT, and then we heard the bootleg of the dense and dark and cohesive Black Album....but then we got this spastic, mismatching, cacophony of Lovesexy that bombed on the radio. There was no way a song like Glam Slam would appeal to radio audiences in the States, and it didn't. Alphabet was a mild hit, and everythiing else tanked. It was just not cool to the ears back then.

I had casual Prince listener friends that loved The Black Album and asked for copies, that hated the sound of Lovesexy.

I still remember the DJ who walked into the dorm with a preview LP of the album, and putting it on the turntable and groaning at the sound of Eye No (which was actually a strong point on the album). "Oh no, he used that kind of beat?" as he walked out of the room.

But, rememeber, Lovesexy was very conceptual in how it was put together in a few weeks and thrown out there, and it worked overseas but bombed in the States.

I can completely understand how you are perplexed at people worshipping the album. But it is Prince's most experimental album, and completely anchored into his fantasy Prince-world. That's probably why people worship it.

But it doesn't take a scientist to see it didn't hit at all, just coasted at first on his namesake (in the U.S.)

now see I luv the Black Album.......Bob George alone makes it better!

I love Sign O the Times; I respect Lovesexy. Both are brilliant but I personally had more of a connection with the former than the latter. Lovesexy was not designed to be a hit; other than Alphabet St there were no obvious singles and of course the sigle tracked CD forced you to have to experience it all at once or liberally fast forward the CD. So much of the music part of the equation is brilliant; the final 3 minutes of Glam Slam are better than the entire Justin Beiber catalogue. The problem for some is that the CONCEPT is just so damn loopy and somewhat unclear at the same time. What would you're answer be if you would asked on an essay exam "What does lovesexy mean?" (Yeah, I know, the feeling you get not from a girl or a boy but from Heaven above but is also has something to do with racecars burning rubber in your pants or something). Prince shelved the Black Album, got strung out on something REAALLLY GOOD (not saying drugs but no sober man would wear pajamas out in public with their name going down the side of their pants) and unleashed something he understood that most of us kind of understood. And he was buck naked on the cover so he pretty much scared everybody off except for us hardcore who was left with this brilliantly orchestrated but sometimes lyrically unfocused ("I'm so horny and your the stuff" indeed) pile of genius.

Prince's 80s output is like Woody Allen movies in the 70s. Some people proclaim Annie Hall to be brilliant while others say Manhattan or something else. In the end they're all pretty damn brilliant, from 1980-1988 Prince was unparalleled in releasing one classic after the other after the other. Lovesexy was the end of the artistic rainbow and some look at it as the apex of brilliance while others look at is at the beginning of a statement phase where the statements started making less and less sense. Sign O the Times in my humble opinion opened Prince up to the world and invited everyone to come in and it was like this musical buffet where most everyone could find what they liked. Lovesexy was like a small dinner party hosted by a brilliant chef and those who appreciate it find it be like an exquisite meal while others think he could have served a little more meat and potatoes and a little less fancy cheese.

Optimus2 said:

I honestly think it sounds terribly dated.......obviously every albums sound dates.....but were SOTT and Purple Rain have a more "Classic" and "Timeless" nice on the ears sound.......this is like the 80's version of Emancipation.....terrible cheesy production values and lyrics IMO......infact the only song I listen to from this album is I Wish U Heaven and thats the full parts 1, 2, and 3 version.......and teh last 2 parts make the song!......and they wernt even on the album!........who agrees?

I'll be the first old-school Prince fan to admit that Lovesexy's only flaw is the fact that it was overproduced at times. But make no mistake, No, Alphabet St, Glam Slam, When 2 R N Love, & Wish U Heaven are the five tracks that I still listen to even today.

I don't have any great insight or words of wisdom in regards to Lovesexy but i do like the album.



By the time Lovesexy had come out i had been a Prince fan for about 9 years so i had went thru all the phases of his career. One thing i do remember about that period was that Prince was getting a lot of flack for his perceived instability and for the controversy surrounding the Black Album.



One thing that definitely hurt Lovesexy's initial reception among record buyers was its cover. True Prince fans didn't really trip(negatively) on the cover but there seemed to be a backlash from casual fans and from the people who already thought that Prince was weird to begin with. It seemed like most of the focus was on the external stuff and that kinda overshadowed the actual music. I don't think Prince was totally prepared for the backlash from the media and from the record buyers.


Anyway as far as the music on lovesexy. I was immediately drawn to the etherial atmosphere of Anna Stesia, When 2, Positivity and I Wish. I love the guitar of Anna and the upright bass(i think that's what it is) of When 2.

It took a while for me to get into the quirky rhythms of Eye No, Dance On and Alphabet Street but i think they are pretty cool songs.

I like Glam Slam's music but i think the lyrics are weak and i always thought that Lovesexy was a good song.



Overall i understand why Lovesexy didn't sell well but after all these years i still think that its one of Prince's better albums and i like it much, much better than the Black Album.

[Edited 5/21/13 17:53pm]

I only like one song from it...still lol
anna stesia

databank said: While Prince was doing this in 1988 Jesse Johnson, Rick James and Bootsy Collins and pretty much every other Afro-American musician were just trying to sound like Prince sounded in 1984

-

A stretch to a degree. At least Bootsy's "Party On Plastic" from 1988 sounds more as late 80s P-Funk with a fuzzed bass guitar. I can't immediately spot any "Purple Rain"-ish sound in there. I'd have to recheck his "What's Bootsy Doin'?" album from that year. And in that same era, Bootsy was sporting a sort of Rockabilly-ish doo, combined with a leather suit and p-funked moon boots, not close to the 1984-inspired look. Jesse Johnson's "Love Struck" single from 1988 has synthesizer fills and a keyboard bass loop which don't resemble directly the 1984 sound. Even the fabricated keyboard sounds by companies kept changing between 1984 and 1988. Rick James' image of his "Wonderful" release resembles the purple royalty, although the first single of that album, "Loosey's Rap" is a struttin' tempo with a female mc rhyming, and that sound didn't yet appear in 1984, however, a rap by Cat also appears one of the very first times on Prince's work with "Alphabeth Street", in the same year as Rick's "Wonderful" abum. As for other acts, Slave's "Make Believe" album from 1987 somewhat uses an industrial drum sound which seems to be influenced by Cameo, who started that beat loop with tracks such as "Attack Me With Your Love", "Single Life", "Word Up", etc... And Cameo clearly stood on their own sound during the 80s and beyond. The Dazz Band's "Anticipation" or "Single Girls"? Earth, Wind & Fire's "System Of Survival"?, "Kool & The Gang's "Raindrops"?, Midnight Star's "Snake In The Grass"?... not much MNPLS vibes from 1984 in there as well. Some of the late 80's soul was also about to gradually emulate into the new jack swing era, from which Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat and Teddy Riley's Guy are a few pioneers. Then there was the quiet storm genre which got more mainstream popularity from the mid to late 80s with Anita Baker, Atlantic Starr, Freddie Jackson, etc. Image wise and sound wise there were no doubt artists which picked up the twin city vibe, but not every one of them. The late 80s soul scene was too diverse to focus on one influence.

Shango said:

databank said: While Prince was doing this in 1988 Jesse Johnson, Rick James and Bootsy Collins and pretty much every other Afro-American musician were just trying to sound like Prince sounded in 1984

-

A stretch to a degree. At least Bootsy's "Party On Plastic" from 1988 sounds more as late 80s P-Funk with a fuzzed bass guitar. I can't immediately spot any "Purple Rain"-ish sound in there. I'd have to recheck his "What's Bootsy Doin'?" album from that year. And in that same era, Bootsy was sporting a sort of Rockabilly-ish doo, combined with a leather suit and p-funked moon boots, not close to the 1984-inspired look. Jesse Johnson's "Love Struck" single from 1988 has synthesizer fills and a keyboard bass loop which don't resemble directly the 1984 sound. Even the fabricated keyboard sounds by companies kept changing between 1984 and 1988. Rick James' image of his "Wonderful" release resembles the purple royalty, although the first single of that album, "Loosey's Rap" is a struttin' tempo with a female mc rhyming, and that sound didn't yet appear in 1984, however, a rap by Cat also appears one of the very first times on Prince's work with "Alphabeth Street", in the same year as Rick's "Wonderful" abum. As for other acts, Slave's "Make Believe" album from 1987 somewhat uses an industrial drum sound which seems to be influenced by Cameo, who started that beat loop with tracks such as "Attack Me With Your Love", "Single Life", "Word Up", etc... And Cameo clearly stood on their own sound during the 80s and beyond. The Dazz Band's "Anticipation" or "Single Girls"? Earth, Wind & Fire's "System Of Survival"?, "Kool & The Gang's "Raindrops"?, Midnight Star's "Snake In The Grass"?... not much MNPLS vibes from 1984 in there as well. Some of the late 80's soul was also about to gradually emulate into the new jack swing era, from which Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat and Teddy Riley's Guy are a few pioneers. Then there was the quiet storm genre which got more mainstream popularity from the mid to late 80s with Anita Baker, Atlantic Starr, Freddie Jackson, etc. Image wise and sound wise there were no doubt artists which picked up the twin city vibe, but not every one of them. The late 80s soul scene was too diverse to focus on one influence.

100 percent agree.

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

Optimus2 said:

I cant understand all the praise for the Lovesexy album...

I almost took this thread seriously... until I saw your age. I have ticket stubs older than you. So, the reason you don't get it, is because you weren't there to appreciate the WHOLE era. Listening to the album on MP3, watching the Dortmund Concert and videos, is not the same thing.

You weren't at the record store on May 10, 1988 to buy the album. You didn't watch the MTV World Premiere of the "Alphabet St." video. You didn't stand in line for 6 hours to buy tickets to the Lovesexy concert, when the the show came to your town. You didn't have to write pen pals in other countries looking desperately for a crappy VHS copy, of only 90 minutes of the Dortmund show. You didn't set your VCR to record hours of BET hoping to get a recording of the Glam Slam and I Wish U Heaven videos that rarely got any airplay. You didn't buy the 12" singles on vinyl when they came out. You didn't wear out 4 cassettes from playing them over and over and over and over again.

These days, all you have to do is click on a link, to see and hear what took us an entire year/era to live through with excitement. So yes, there is a legitamite reason, you do not understand all the praise for his greatest piece of work.

^ Newbies don't understand the complexity sound that is Lovesexy, they prefer the more easy, recent (crap) albums like 3121 and Planet Earth.

This debate is a debate about newbies and what they like and understand more than about the brilliant Prince album: Lovesexy.

Lovesexy was a phenomenon in 1988, shocking because of the cover pic, exciting and excellent because of the music videos, and of course the music itself... the album is fantastic and those 12 inches (This Is Not Music.. and I Wish U Heaven), these are amazing. Prince was at a peak with this album, and with the Lovesexy tour.

Like I write the album is a little demanding, the many layers in the music, you have to listen to it a few times to really understand, but if you are doing your homework, you will be rewarded big time.

Lovesexy, one of the greatest Prince albums =

Shango said:

databank said: While Prince was doing this in 1988 Jesse Johnson, Rick James and Bootsy Collins and pretty much every other Afro-American musician were just trying to sound like Prince sounded in 1984

-

A stretch to a degree. At least Bootsy's "Party On Plastic" from 1988 sounds more as late 80s P-Funk with a fuzzed bass guitar. I can't immediately spot any "Purple Rain"-ish sound in there. I'd have to recheck his "What's Bootsy Doin'?" album from that year. And in that same era, Bootsy was sporting a sort of Rockabilly-ish doo, combined with a leather suit and p-funked moon boots, not close to the 1984-inspired look. Jesse Johnson's "Love Struck" single from 1988 has synthesizer fills and a keyboard bass loop which don't resemble directly the 1984 sound. Even the fabricated keyboard sounds by companies kept changing between 1984 and 1988. Rick James' image of his "Wonderful" release resembles the purple royalty, although the first single of that album, "Loosey's Rap" is a struttin' tempo with a female mc rhyming, and that sound didn't yet appear in 1984, however, a rap by Cat also appears one of the very first times on Prince's work with "Alphabeth Street", in the same year as Rick's "Wonderful" abum. As for other acts, Slave's "Make Believe" album from 1987 somewhat uses an industrial drum sound which seems to be influenced by Cameo, who started that beat loop with tracks such as "Attack Me With Your Love", "Single Life", "Word Up", etc... And Cameo clearly stood on their own sound during the 80s and beyond. The Dazz Band's "Anticipation" or "Single Girls"? Earth, Wind & Fire's "System Of Survival"?, "Kool & The Gang's "Raindrops"?, Midnight Star's "Snake In The Grass"?... not much MNPLS vibes from 1984 in there as well. Some of the late 80's soul was also about to gradually emulate into the new jack swing era, from which Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat and Teddy Riley's Guy are a few pioneers. Then there was the quiet storm genre which got more mainstream popularity from the mid to late 80s with Anita Baker, Atlantic Starr, Freddie Jackson, etc. Image wise and sound wise there were no doubt artists which picked up the twin city vibe, but not every one of them. The late 80s soul scene was too diverse to focus on one influence.

U are correct and u make really good points: the sounds evolved alongside technology, the coming of hip-hop and Jam & Lewis also had a major influence with that new jack swing sound but all these records (at least those I know of, I haven't fully listened to all those u quote) are full of synth and this is a direct heritage from Prince's early 80's Minneapolis Sound. Starting with Around The World In A Day Prince started to distance himself from that and even though synths remained an important part of his sound (always was, always will be) his approach to music became much more organic, with a lot of work in sounding different from other acts. To me almost every funk album from the second part of the 80's kinda sounds the same: What's Bootsy Doin'? and Wonderful but also everything by MPLS acts such as Jesse Johnson, Morris Day, BrownMark, even Michael Jackson's Bad and TTD's first album, The Deele, you name it! Cameo it's true had a world of their own and as for EW&F, Midnight Star and Kool & The Gang or The Dazz Band from what I've heard from their late 80's albums they weren't really going anywhere in terms of being relevent to their time (but I might be wrong, I'd have to listen to some of that stuff again), even pop acts like Sheena Easton, Martika and co. had the synth sound all over the place at this point. Even goddamn rock acts such as Bowie had it to a certain extent. Jam & Lewis really pushed it to the next level and Bobby Brown and others followed but this in itself was kind of a continuation of Prince's legacy. On the other hand ATWIAD, Parade, SOTT, The Black Album, Lovesexy and even Batman really had a much more dense and complex level of arrangements, a more complex approch to composition and showed a clear intention to go way beyond drum machines and synth (or when they did it ended-up being minimalist weird tracks such as Hot Thing or It). Even tracks like Glam Slam or I Wish U Heaven which are full of synth sound more like pop-hybrid experiments than regular synth-funk, and the drum programming on stuff such as Dorothy Parker, Alphabet St., The Future or Lemon Crush sounds really like nothing else back then, a whole different approach. So my analysis for what it's worth is that Prince really developped a sound of his own and worked hard on this, and in my opinion (for what it's worth i'll give u that) is that it worked, he was miles beyond every other funk act back then in terms of originality. To a certain extent Prince had more to do with experimental people such as David Sylvian than with the Afro-American scene of that time, which is kind of an odd statement to Make I know cuz on the other hand his music was funky as hell and still countained a massive R&B legacy. I may be wrong, but that's how I c it

LoveSexy, to me is his 80's Lotusflow3r.

There are great moments on the album, but overall, it's an ok album.




Things I like:

1. LoveSexy [the song]. Man, this thing is crazy. The voice morphing, the stupid lyrics, the joyous romp are just hard to digest, and equally confounding...but fun.

2. Anna Stesia. Other than the really stupid "love is god, god is love, girls and boys love god above" lyrics at the end of it, the song is great.

3. The drumbeat of danceon. Not one of my favorite tracks, but the drum beat reminds me of a warzone, or gunfire.

4. I wish U heaven. The simple lyrics, the vocals, the vibe---all of it nice.


Things I don't like:


1. It's NOTHING compared to Camille--Camille material had leaked or been released at that time (Goodlove was released from Bright Lights big City). The songs on Camille are just better.

2. The production. God, there's too much going on in parts of the album, and the mix is very harsh to the ear.

3. Any album in the shaddow of Sign of The Times, should have had more rememerable songs on it. LoveSexy pales in comparison to SOTT.

4. Positivity is a crap, horrible song. Prince doesn't ever perform that shit live no mo.


So, overall, I like the album. But the praise heaped upon it may just be nastalgia for that time period. Of course , these things are highly subjective. What I love about LoveSexy is that it is very DIFFERENT from what was popular at the time, and an artist at Prince's level releasing such a statement just tickels me to tears.

I don't care for it much myself..

It was the 1st Prince album in the 80s that i didnt purchase when it was released -

I remember thinking at the time that he was oversaturing the market..

I still just think its ok..

Saying that, compared to what he releases today its Genius..

[Edited 5/21/13 23:12pm]

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

Optimus2 said:

I cant understand all the praise for the Lovesexy album...

I almost took this thread seriously... until I saw your age. I have ticket stubs older than you. So, the reason you don't get it, is because you weren't there to appreciate the WHOLE era. Listening to the album on MP3, watching the Dortmund Concert and videos, is not the same thing.

You weren't at the record store on May 10, 1988 to buy the album. You didn't watch the MTV World Premiere of the "Alphabet St." video. You didn't stand in line for 6 hours to buy tickets to the Lovesexy concert, when the the show came to your town. You didn't have to write pen pals in other countries looking desperately for a crappy VHS copy, of only 90 minutes of the Dortmund show. You didn't set your VCR to record hours of BET hoping to get a recording of the Glam Slam and I Wish U Heaven videos that rarely got any airplay. You didn't buy the 12" singles on vinyl when they came out. You didn't wear out 4 cassettes from playing them over and over and over and over again.

These days, all you have to do is click on a link, to see and hear what took us an entire year/era to live through with excitement. So yes, there is a legitamite reason, you do not understand all the praise for his greatest piece of work.

So are you saying all the hype around the album along with the visual work is what makes this album great rather than the pure musical content of it?

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

Optimus2 said:

I cant understand all the praise for the Lovesexy album...

I almost took this thread seriously... until I saw your age. I have ticket stubs older than you. So, the reason you don't get it, is because you weren't there to appreciate the WHOLE era. Listening to the album on MP3, watching the Dortmund Concert and videos, is not the same thing.

You weren't at the record store on May 10, 1988 to buy the album. You didn't watch the MTV World Premiere of the "Alphabet St." video. You didn't stand in line for 6 hours to buy tickets to the Lovesexy concert, when the the show came to your town. You didn't have to write pen pals in other countries looking desperately for a crappy VHS copy, of only 90 minutes of the Dortmund show. You didn't set your VCR to record hours of BET hoping to get a recording of the Glam Slam and I Wish U Heaven videos that rarely got any airplay. You didn't buy the 12" singles on vinyl when they came out. You didn't wear out 4 cassettes from playing them over and over and over and over again.

These days, all you have to do is click on a link, to see and hear what took us an entire year/era to live through with excitement. So yes, there is a legitamite reason, you do not understand all the praise for his greatest piece of work.

You bring up a good point.The Lovesexy era was magical,but you really had to BE THERE to experience it...to feel it.....to "get it".

I wasn't there to witness Prince's heyday in the 80s, so I can only look at albums like Lovesexy from a different angle, appreciating it for what it is, and not what it was made to be in relation to the zeitgeist of 1988.


While I'm certainly not the delusional, over-spiritual kind of fan that would claim something like "Lovesexy saved my life", I can at least understand those who say it did. It is a very special moment in Prince's career, because he managed to capture a feeling and theme so subtle, that it would be difficult not to drift off at some point or another, but as it stants, Lovesexy is a completely cohesive effort that took me in from th start, right to the sounds of cleansing water after Positivity.


And, yes, somehow I do feel "cleansed" after listening to Lovesexy. And that was probably the point of this album. So, to me, Prince succeeded musically and theoretically with this album. I'm a big fan of Lovesexy.