A little background:

In the summer of '85, a buddy of mine was on vacation with his parents. They pulled into a gas station, and said friend saw a cassette copy of For You sitting there. Knowing I was an insane Prince fan, he picked it up for me as a surprise. They got back in the car, hit the highway, and my friend popped in the tape.

About halfway through 'In Love', his parents weren't sure what they wanted to throw out of the car first: the tape, or their own son.

Turns out he wasn't that thrilled with it either. And to be honest, after he sheepishly gave it to me, neither was I. This was a far cry from 'Let's Go Crazy' and 'Pop Life'. So I shelved it for a while.

I'd trot it out about once a year, and give it another try (despite the strong odour of the 'disco sucks' era still lingering). But I'd notice things, you know? The musicianship (this kid was 19 when he recorded it!). The stacked vocals (the title track must have been recorded without a click track!). The charming, uncertain lyrics of a kid who's not exactly the King of the World yet.

Then in the 90s, the 'disco revival' marched in, and I started to enjoy the album in an (I'll admit) 'kitschy' sort of way (better than not enjoying it at all, right?).

But in the last ten years or so, you know what? I just love this album to death. Tracks upon tracks of Prince-and-only-Prince, an insanely talented young man who doesn't yet 'have all the answers', but is instead chock full of uncertainty, questions, and longing. It's a wonderful snapshot of a simpler time, and a sublime way to spend a scant 35 minutes.

How's it faring for you?

Graycap23 said:

Farfunknugin said:

"I'll have whatever he's taken".

One of the later "tapes" I bought. I went from Purple Rain and went backwards. But when I first heard "For You" I was just amazed at the acapella vocals. I had already heard "Soft and Wet" and "Baby" but I really did like the rest of the album in a "this is history" kind of way. I still listen to it from time to time. It's my "chill" Prince album. Highlights besides the above mentioned are "Just As Long As We're Together", "My Love Is Forever".

Graycap23 said:

It was great from day one.

Sweet pop-funk. I have always liked it since my first listen.

There's a lot in it, it's very highly produced really. A fair few of the songs are a bit slight but the production makes them a bit of a fascinating listen, especially the more acoustic-y ones since it's a style he never really explored much more. If it was his only album I don't doubt that it would be an obscurity.

SuperSoulFighter said:

chocolate1 said:

SuperSoulFighter said:

The thing is, don't listen to it with his later albums in mind, because after all, those didn't exist yet! If you listen to it as the debut album of a teenage boy, then it is pretty impressive. And you will find that everything that made Prince "Prince" was already there on the first album: sex, love, funk, rock, ballads. He just needed to develop it. [Edited 2/4/15 1:12am]

Well said!

I'm not totally on par with you. Nothing in "For You" suggests "Dirty Mind".

"For You" is shy sensuality, slick funk-disco grooves, syrupy ballads... but it is still rooted in Prince's influences, mainly Stevie Wonder.

Prince could have been a two-hit-wonder, and just that.
But at the dawn of the eighties synths evolved, drum machines appear, and Prince took a peek on the other side of the ocean, mainly London.
Dirty Mind is the product of the same rookie, who injects some punk, raw, dirty attitude to his beats, and learns how to talk dirty.

Probably following an aftershock of some kind. He must have seen The Clash live, in my opinion. That, or Blondie, or Chrissie Hynde, maybe went to the CBGB.
Maybe he listened to some albums (London Calling?) and then realized he didn't had to be a slick romantic porno-romeo anymore.

And most of all, he sticked to the Telecaster and managed to make great tunes with a self-imposed limited palette.

On "For You", it's still technicolor, it's the full array of what he's capable of.
Except we would have to wait until 1999 to finally having him mastering his low register, so for the moment, it's falsetto all over place, which can be a little annoying at times.

I think he would have stayed a fine multi-instrumentist and a decent composer, maybe a two-hit-only wonder,
without the late 70's rock/punk epiphany inspiring him and getting him closer to the bone.

Maybe he saw in the punk movement an echo of his own situation, a minority in rebellion.
Here's a guy who's a mulatto, amongst blacks, amongst white mid-west folks, who do not care for black charts.
And he wants to make their asses move.

On "For You" and "Prince", he showed skills. Starting with "Dirty Mind", he throwed in attitude.

Soft and Wet.

Great music. Amazing composition. Love it!

chocolate1 said:

SuperSoulFighter said:

The thing is, don't listen to it with his later albums in mind, because after all, those didn't exist yet! If you listen to it as the debut album of a teenage boy, then it is pretty impressive. And you will find that everything that made Prince "Prince" was already there on the first album: sex, love, funk, rock, ballads. He just needed to develop it.
[Edited 2/4/15 1:12am]

Well said!

People who came to Prince on the Purple Rain bandwagon will almost certainly not get For You. Prince's African American fan base got it because Soft n Wet was a black radio hit and Prince was "black" - in music business terms - until Little Red Corvette. Most of those purple bandwagon fans were whites who got their first exposure to Prince from MTV and the PR movie. They didn't know he started out firmly positioned in what was then called the black/soul/urban category as the new Stevie Wonder at Warner Brothers. He was young R&B genius on the first 2 albums. The new fan base faction acquired with Prince's mid 80s crossover had to backtrack to get what he came from on Dirty Mind and Controversy - which were more rock and new wave flavored. They had to go back even further to find For You and Prince - both solid late 70s R&B collections. So I can see how someone who became aware of Prince in the 80s (many of which were younger than the original day 1 fans like me) might simply not appreciate the early work at first.

Great thoughts all around.

JoshuaWho said:

People who came to Prince on the Purple Rain bandwagon will almost certainly not get For You. Prince's African American fan base got it because Soft n Wet was a black radio hit and Prince was "black" - in music business terms - until Little Red Corvette. Most of those purple bandwagon fans were whites who got their first exposure to Prince from MTV and the PR movie. They didn't know he started out firmly positioned in what was then called the black/soul/urban category as the new Stevie Wonder at Warner Brothers. He was young R&B genius on the first 2 albums. The new fan base faction acquired with Prince's mid 80s crossover had to backtrack to get what he came from on Dirty Mind and Controversy - which were more rock and new wave flavored. They had to go back even further to find For You and Prince - both solid late 70s R&B collections. So I can see how someone who became aware of Prince in the 80s (many of which were younger than the original day 1 fans like me) might simply not appreciate the early work at first.

You're likely talking about me there, but I ain't offended. It's true, I came aboard with Purple Rain. Not because I saw a bandwagon and I wanted to be on it, but because 'When Doves Cry' truly was my first exposure to the man. We had two radio stations in my Northern Alberta town - a country station, and a 'pop' station that wouldn't even play Prince during the daytime, because he was 'too heavy'.

So yeah, the album rubbed me (personally) the wrong way at first because it was the wrong year (1985), and I was the wrong age (fourteen). But I sure love it now!

imagine if it did actually get better each time you listened to it. and if you loved it when it first came out you'd literally have an orgasm when you heard it now!!!! or you died from the immense enjoyment!

PS I like In Love which no one ever seems to mention.

JoshuaWho said:

It's just you...

RJOrion said:

its always been the Prince album i listen to, the most...."My Love Is Forever" is an amazingly professional song for a rookie....he plays guitar and bass on "Im Yours" with the hunger and aggression of someone starving for fame...the intro "For You" still gives me 'Holy Ghost' chills on the back of my neck...its my opinion that for many artists their first album is usually their greatest...theyve had a lifetime to write it, and it usually has an artists' most honest and well developed material...songs like "Baby" and "So Blue" and "M.L.I.F." still sound relevant and could be released in any era...

This right here.


The "For You" album goes everywhere with me.

I haven't listened to it in a while but I dig it. It blended in with what was going on musically at that time. And I love the innocence of what he was trying to put out..Very "bubblegum-ish" but with soul..It was great when he brought back "I'm Yours"at the 2009 Conga Room show.

the Prince album was my introduction. and i've been riding ever since. that album was played in my household a ton as a child, so i had to go BACK to get For You years later and had to make myself process and appreciate it retrospectively. still can't say i LOVE it yet, cause in all honesty, i've played it probably less than 10 times. I plan to dig it out and listen afresh, anywho, i would beg to differ with Bonatac's quote below:

"I'm not totally on par with you. Nothing in "For You" suggests "Dirty Mind" "

I would beg to differ, Soft and Wet was wrought with attitude and innuendo, more of the latter I admit, but he did turn UP the 'tude, whose to say definitively where and how that decision came about as far as influences but since Prince precedes Dirty Mind, a song like Bambi is a more intentional, bolder step to what would next manifest fully on Dirty Mind, so again, his progression as an artist makes sense, confidence with experience, some chart success, some diverse influences and some intentional risk taking.

For You is not the best debut album in the annals of the universe, but it's a retrospectivelly delicious first effort.

You have to remember who Prince was when he recorded it -- and what year it was.

We're not talking about the wealthy icon he is now. Back then, he was just starting out, so much talent, yet being so young and ambitious, still a great deal to absorb.

What For You shows is that the basics were mastered from the beginning.

It's always been a classic GEM . Prince's perfect album .