OldFriends4Sale said:

midnightmover said:

The title track of Lovesexy is massively overrated on this forum. From a songwriting point of view it's probably the least impressive song on the album. The melody is nothing. If you heard that chorus being sung acapella you'd quickly see how clumsy it is. And the synth riff is a contrived attempt to repeat the excitement of 1999. He's pulling the same trick, but it just doesn't work as well. The beat's good and I like all the weird tricks with the voices at the end, but the basic song is not in the same league as most of the rest of the album (that includes "Glam Slam").

[Edited 9/3/13 9:18am]

I agree, even though I love Lovesexy the song, It's not a strong Title cut,

Positivity to me is one of the strongest cuts on the album

Yeah, I like Positivity too, although if you're not tuned into the lyrics you probably wouldn't "get it". Those 9 songs include quite a few gems. For me the most underrated track on there is Dance On. It gets very little attention and yet it's a little miracle of a song. Completely unique and yet catchy too. The best track though is Anna Stesia. That's one of P's all-time best. Right up there with The Beautiful Ones and I Love U In Me.

midnightmover said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I agree, even though I love Lovesexy the song, It's not a strong Title cut,

Positivity to me is one of the strongest cuts on the album

Yeah, I like Positivity too, although if you're not tuned into the lyrics you probably wouldn't "get it". Those 9 songs include quite a few gems. For me the most underrated track on there is Dance On. It gets very little attention and yet it's a little miracle of a song. Completely unique and yet catchy too. The best track though is Anna Stesia. That's one of P's all-time best. Right up there with The Beautiful Ones and I Love U In Me.

Yeah, but the build layers and texture of the song is so rich, I'm hearing the music and how they actually deliver the song 1st I love this one

Dance On has always been one of my favorites, another one with a lot of layers and non overdone sounds

OldFriends4Sale said:

midnightmover said:

Yeah, I like Positivity too, although if you're not tuned into the lyrics you probably wouldn't "get it". Those 9 songs include quite a few gems. For me the most underrated track on there is Dance On. It gets very little attention and yet it's a little miracle of a song. Completely unique and yet catchy too. The best track though is Anna Stesia. That's one of P's all-time best. Right up there with The Beautiful Ones and I Love U In Me.

Yeah, but the build layers and texture of the song is so rich, I'm hearing the music and how they actually deliver the song 1st I love this one

Dance On has always been one of my favorites, another one with a lot of layers and non overdone sounds

Oh, I agree. I love "Positivity", but I remember playing it back in the day and my brother hearing it and being underwhelmed because he was just hearing a voice talking over a beat. He wasn't really paying attention so on casual hearing he thought it was a weak track. It's brilliant, but the brilliance could well be lost on casual listeners.

It really is a sign of how rich P's catalogue is that a song as unique as Dance On is barely mentioned. To this day I've never heard another song that sounds like it, and yet it's not just pointless experimentation. It's actually a well-written pop song too. Truly he was in a league of his own at that point.

midnightmover said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Yeah, but the build layers and texture of the song is so rich, I'm hearing the music and how they actually deliver the song 1st I love this one

Dance On has always been one of my favorites, another one with a lot of layers and non overdone sounds

Oh, I agree. I love "Positivity", but I remember playing it back in the day and my brother hearing it and being underwhelmed because he was just hearing a voice talking over a beat. He wasn't really paying attention so on casual hearing he thought it was a weak track. It's brilliant, but the brilliance could well be lost on casual listeners.

It really is a sign of how rich P's catalogue is that a song as unique as Dance On is barely mentioned. To this day I've never heard another song that sounds like it, and yet it's not just pointless experimentation. It's actually a well-written pop song too. Truly he was in a league of his own at that point.

Positivity is like Condition of the Heart, so much layer and color, and deep

The type you have to put on some headphones lay back and let it wash over u

Dance on had wicked movement going on, which attracted me right away, lyrics very socially directed

Detroit what color is your money today...

OldFriends4Sale said:

midnightmover said:

Oh, I agree. I love "Positivity", but I remember playing it back in the day and my brother hearing it and being underwhelmed because he was just hearing a voice talking over a beat. He wasn't really paying attention so on casual hearing he thought it was a weak track. It's brilliant, but the brilliance could well be lost on casual listeners.

It really is a sign of how rich P's catalogue is that a song as unique as Dance On is barely mentioned. To this day I've never heard another song that sounds like it, and yet it's not just pointless experimentation. It's actually a well-written pop song too. Truly he was in a league of his own at that point.

Positivity is like Condition of the Heart, so much layer and color, and deep

The type you have to put on some headphones lay back and let it wash over u

Dance on had wicked movement going on, which attracted me right away, lyrics very socially directed

Detroit what color is your money today...

That Detroit question has a different meaning now, lol. Maybe Prince knew what was coming.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Love this ending

robertgeorgeakabob said:

The title track of Lovesexy would have been massive in the UK. Perhaps not commercially, although it would have charted much higher than Glam Slam. It would have destroyed the dancefloors and would have been a major Prince zeitgeist moment. While Prince was pledging to give up E, we were necking them like Smarties. The Lovesexy period was the time Prince was at his most loved and appreciated in Europe. New Power, New Power, give it to me De de de de de de de de de de de de de Fuck melody, if I was interested in that I'd listen to wank like Elton John.

Funk and melody are not mutually exclusive. Any time someone sings anything there is melody. The "Lovesexy" one happens to be pedestrian. I've heard worse, but I've heard far better too.

midnightmover said:

SoulAlive said:

"Glam Slam" features the album's blandest melody.As a single,that song didn't stand a chance on pop radio in 1988.The title track is dynamic...everything you would expect from a Prince single.It's raunchy,danceable,provocative and infectious.There's just no way it would have failed as a single.

Please. I've got news for you. The quality of a song is not what determines a song's success or failure in the charts. Prince had been on a downward slope of popularity ever since '85. It was only Batman (his weakest album in over a decade) that put him back on top. You are way, way too obsessed with charts anyway. Who gives a fuck what chart position it achieved? GS is a far, far better song than many of the songs which were hits at the time.

Singles are very important,though.It's what makes people go out and buy the album This is pop music we're talking about,so yeah,it's important to choose the proper singles.

"Glam Slam" is a very weak single.Our local R&B station (which had supported Prince for many,many years and played every single that he released) ignored this song completely,as did most pop stations. Beginning with Parade,I began to notice a pattern with Prince.He would choose excellent 'first singles',then follow it up with a weak single.He did this with SOTT (releasing the off-beat "If I Was Your Girlfriend",which completely bombed) and continued this pattern with Lovesexy.

I stand behind my assertion that,if the title track had been the second single,things would have turned out much differently."Glam Slam" is a good album track,but as a stand-alone single,it didn't stand a chance.

from Rolling Stone's review of the Lovesexy album....

the relatively uneventful "Glam Slam," which sports the album's blandest melody

midnightmover said:

SoulAlive said:

midnightmover said:

Please. I've got news for you. The quality of a song is not what determines a song's success or failure in the charts. Prince had been on a downward slope of popularity ever since '85. It was only Batman (his weakest album in over a decade) that put him back on top. You are way, way too obsessed with charts anyway. Who gives a fuck what chart position it achieved? GS is a far, far better song than many of the songs which were hits at the time.

Singles are very important,though.It's what makes people go out and buy the album This is pop music we're talking about,so yeah,it's important to choose the proper singles.

"Glam Slam" is a very weak single.Our local R&B station (which had supported Prince for many,many years and played every single that he released) ignored this song completely,as did most pop stations. Beginning with Parade,I began to notice a pattern with Prince.He would choose excellent 'first singles',then follow it up with a weak single.He did this with SOTT (releasing the off-beat "If I Was Your Girlfriend",which completely bombed) and continued this pattern with Lovesexy.

I stand behind my assertion that,if the title track had been the second single,things would have turned out much differently."Glam Slam" is a good album track,but as a stand-alone single,it didn't stand a chance.

I guess the difference is that you care about these types of things and I don't. If Lovesexy had sold 2 copies it would still be great. That's all that matters to me; how good is it? You mentioned If I Was Your Girlfriend bombing in the States. That is a perfect example of how meaningless charts are. If I Was Your Girlfriend is a great song. I couldn't care less that it went over the heads of the plebs.

And this idea that Lovesexy would've been a smash hit single is a completely unprovable assertion. Orgers massively overrate that song. It's actually the weakest song on the album. And it would've been just as confusing to casual listeners as If I Was Your Girlfriend and Glam Slam were. I can just imagine Mr and Mrs Average hearing it and going, "What the hell is this about?" Mr and Mrs Average had already gone off Prince by then and there was nothing on that great album that was commercial enough to really get them back. Given the limited choices Prince and WB had I think they more or less got the singles right. Maybe Dance On could've been given a shot, but it would probably have gone over the heads of the masses too. But look what you've got me doing. You've got me playing your favourite game of devising alternate marketing strategies for old albums. Yuck!

SoulAlive said:

from Rolling Stone's review of the Lovesexy album....

the relatively uneventful "Glam Slam," which sports the album's blandest melody

Words of advice to SoulAlive.....

Critics are just people who are paid to talk. Sometimes they talk sense, sometimes they talk shit. It is up to the informed listener to decide these matters for themselves and not to lean back on the judgements of others. These guys frequently disagree with each other anyway.

robertgeorgeakabob said:

midnightmover said:

Funk and melody are not mutually exclusive. Any time someone sings anything there is melody. The "Lovesexy" one happens to be pedestrian. I've heard worse, but I've heard far better too.

True, funk can develop melody, Stevie demonstrated that. However, the main point of funk is to put down some fat, stinky grooves. James Brown's best work was completely devoid of melody, his voice was closer to a horn line. Lovesexy is one of his coolest, sassiest, kinkiest vocal deliveries. If that's pedestrian then Positivity is comatose. They're both Prince at his quirkiest. [Edited 9/7/13 8:03am]

The groove on Lovesexy is okay I guess, but that keyboard/horn riff is a pale rehash of 1999. It's trying hard to be anthemic, but it doesn't quite get there. The contrived lyrics don't help.

Positivity is mostly spoken so there is no melody for most of the song which is why I said earlier it could go over the heads of some listeners who are only half listening.

[Edited 9/9/13 5:43am]

The second single should have been "I wish u heaven" imo...

It's a great song, but with the bombed "Glam slam" as second single and news regarding limited commercial success of the album (particularly in the US), it didn't have a chance to make any impact.

EmancipationLover said:

The second single should have been "I wish u heaven" imo...

It's a great song, but with the bombed "Glam slam" as second single and news regarding limited commercial success of the album (particularly in the US), it didn't have a chance to make any impact.

No need to hide away in a box. IWUH is a beautiful song. Catchy too with a simple sentiment, so an obvious single choice.

EmancipationLover said:

The second single should have been "I wish u heaven" imo...

It's a great song, but with the bombed "Glam slam" as second single and news regarding limited commercial success of the album (particularly in the US), it didn't have a chance to make any impact.

Lovesexy is not a "commercial" album and that's one of the main reasons why it bombed.I think there are only three potential singles on this record...."Alphabet St",the title track and "When 2 R In Love",which should have been mainly promoted/marketed to R&B radio.

I do like "I Wish U Heaven",and the video is one of the best that he's ever done.

midnightmover said:

I guess the difference is that you care about these types of things and I don't. If Lovesexy had sold 2 copies it would still be great. That's all that matters to me; how good is it? You mentioned If I Was Your Girlfriend bombing in the States. That is a perfect example of how meaningless charts are. If I Was Your Girlfriend is a great song. I couldn't care less that it went over the heads of the plebs.

I agree with you,"If I Was Your Girlfriend" is an excellent song.It's one of my favorites from that album.It is a clear fan favorite.But when picking singles from an album,you gotta pick songs that have the most mass appeal.Fans are already going to buy the album,so you gotta pick songs that will appeal to those people outside of the hardcore fanbase."If I Was Your Girlfirend" is a song that most people didn't understand.They didn't "get" it.It's a quirky song with an offbeat message.Think about it....a man telling his lady how things would be if he was her girlfriend (instead of her male boyfriend).You gotta admit,that's a little too much for pop radio to embrace,lol.

The SOTT album got off to a great start and it had alot of early momentum,but when IIWYG became the second single,the album began tumbling down the charts.Notice that the album began climbing the charts again when "U Got The Look" was released as a single.It's not that I'm so obsesed with charts and sales (lol),but I always want my favorite artists to do well.SOTT is such an amazing album,I didn't want it to flop just because of poorly chosen singles.

That polka dot suit.

midnightmover said:

The title track of Lovesexy is massively overrated on this forum. From a songwriting point of view it's probably the least impressive song on the album. The melody is nothing. If you heard that chorus being sung acapella you'd quickly see how clumsy it is. And the synth riff is a contrived attempt to repeat the excitement of 1999. He's pulling the same trick, but it just doesn't work as well. The beat's good and I like all the weird tricks with the voices at the end, but the basic song is not in the same league as most of the rest of the album (that includes "Glam Slam").

[Edited 9/3/13 9:18am]

to each his own, but i'm in full agreement here! i thought GS was had a modest presence on the charts. LOVE this video!