.

[Edited 4/2/15 13:04pm]

KingSausage said:

I'll say one thing, 4 me, I feel like I'm doing something wrong by comparing these albums.

It's really all Vol 1 the Golden Years

Both of my parents are wonderful and I love both of my brothers equally

all have diff qualities and move me differently I could never choose 1 over the other.

So it feels wrong almost lol

RJOrion said:

as offensive as this may sound to some, ive found that his black fans mostly seem to prefer Lovesexy, and the white fans, Parade...again no offense to anyone, but basing that what ive heard from people ive personally encountered

RJ you make a good point here, Parade was rock and Lovesexy more R&B. As an African American who digs rock/jazz/reggae and r&b I lean more towards his rock stuff. So for me Parade is legendary...it was a continuation of masterpiece or a set of masterworks that started with "Dirty Mind" and ended with "Sign of the Times." I always thought that pulling back "the Black Album"(which was edgier) and releasing "Lovesexy" was the first time we saw anything close to "caution" and for lack of a better description "market sensitivity" from Prince. To tell you the truth his music got very "safe" at that point even when being risque (Gett Off wasn't the same as Head or Automatic interms of pushing sexual conventions). To that end, I think people who expect r & b from Prince don't dig "Plectrum Electrum" while us rockers dig it and appreaciate "ArtOfficialAge" maybe to a lesser degree?

HardcoreJollies said:

Just as hard I think is comparing the trios of 1999-PR-ATWIAD against Parade-SOTT-Lovesexy. As hard as that is, I would have to go with the 1986-88 run. Not as many hits but man that shit was deep!

This isn't a Prince comment.....Its a Funkadelic comment....one of my favorite albums of all time is "Hardcorejollies"......if you've got funk you've certainly got style! BTW Hardcore Jollies is much better than Lovesexy IMHO. Love your avatar also!!!

SquirrelMeat said:

funkaholic1972 said:

Exactly my sentiment, the black album is much more interesting and fun to me than Lovesexy!

My preference was always that Prince, after his December 1st 1987 enlightenment, should not have canned The Black Album, but turned Lovesexy into a double album. A gatefold sleeve, one half in black, the second half in light. Both seperate albums to show the journey. Ironically, the Lovesexy tour sort of played that journey out. The record should have matched.

That would have been great.

Ecstasy pill aside, he needed his own "Basement Tapes".

He was a star alright, but to achieve legend status, he needed the cult.

If you think about it, he waited until the records were already pressed and ready to ship.
He could have cancelled TBA before manufacturing.
But he waited until he was sure that some physical copies were dispersed here and there (and eventually everywhere).
And he made sure that Lovesexy had a TBA track, so people would be aware of the "bootleg".


I honestly can't choose. They are very different concepts,
even if underneath it's always the same catholic neurosis going on : luxury vs. love, commitment vs. do-wrong.

One thing for sure, they share the pursue of redemption, but that started with Purple Rain.

The Parade concept finds Prince living the life John L. Nelson wanted to live.
UTCM stars a modest Jazz musician. The tour was all about big band performances, with jazz gimmicks all over the place.

Parade had Clare Fischer almost taking control. The Revolution was higher, Eric and Atlanta were in the place.

Prince was young, filthy rich (in 1985/86, he had cashed the PR movie, soundtrack and tour),

and had fallen in love with Europe.

Lovesexy may seem to have hints of Jazz, but it's gospel that prevails.
If Parade is an european record, Lovesexy is truly american.

Glam Slam is an FM anthem, the title track has this mammoth synth riff, and Dance On and Positivity

continue the political awareness started with Controversy. And what about rap? american too.
But wheras the SOTT lyrics started in France, making them universal,

the themes in Lovesexy are insular issues : Gun control, black youth exposed to criminality, nuclear weapons.

In the end, the whole album is a spiritual statement, social and personal.
Gigolo Prince is nowhere to be seen.
Except of course in the tour, but only so he can be punished for all his Superfunkycalfragisexy sins.


Really, we're talking about two entirely different beasts here.

To me it's Parade AND Lovesexy.

RJOrion said:

HardcoreJollies said: Just as hard I think is comparing the trios of 1999-PR-ATWIAD against Parade-SOTT-Lovesexy. As hard as that is, I would have to go with the 1986-88 run. Not as many hits but man that shit was deep! ----------------- yessir... Lovesexy is his deepest & most lyrically compelling album since Controversy IMO...and musically, i always preferred his albums without The Revolution...whether it was Prince alone, or with Dez & Andre & Fink & Chapman, or With Sonny T & Michael Bland & them...The Revolution worked great on film, and having them enabled Prince to reach a wider audience, but other than Fink, i was never overly impressed with The Revolution musically

So you didn't like 1999 or Controversy? I mean except for Wendy, it's the same band members

I alwasy thought the band(s) from the beginning to 1988 translated the music well. It still sounded like Prince album cuts. Which I think in those years he really was into making his own mark,his own sound, and if the live music didn't sound like the album cuts, that would have been a road block.

The Time, Sheila E. the Family/Mazarati did a good job in the time doing so too

i love 1999 and Controversy...

Dez Dickerson played on the 1999 album...and didnt Prince record Controversy mostly by himself?

[Edited 4/4/15 10:23am]

RJOrion said:

i love 1999 and Controversy...

Dez Dickerson played on the 1999 album...and didnt Prince record Controversy mostly by himself?

[Edited 4/4/15 10:23am]

Lisa Coleman (did a lot of vocals and keyboards on 1 or 2 songs)

Dr Fink Bobby Z Lisa Coleman are on Jack U Off

and Andre has co writer credit on Do Me Baby(?)

Morris Day on Let's Work(extended -drums)

.

very sparse album, I love it

1999 about the same degree of use of band, same linn/synth sparsness

Jill Jones on more tracks, Dez on guitar solo, more band vocals

.

But Lovesexy is pretty much the same, Sheila E on some drums on about 4 songs

full band on Eye Know

the rest Prince

and of course Eric & Atlanta on horns

.

I always wonder what Glam Slam would have sounded like with a real string section.

This is the first Prince album since 1984 without live strings, and the first period where there was no Clare Fischer

i will admit, im not as enthralled with the Clare Fischer orchestrations as others...it worked real well on Parade, because i felt it added color to the whole Black & White movie-soundtrack concept...but i didnt find the extra orchestration useful on any other Prince song except for "Condition Of The Heart", and Venus De MIlo, IMO...

RJOrion said:

i will admit, im not as enthralled with the Clare Fischer orchestrations as others...it worked real well on Parade, because i felt it added color to the whole Black & White movie-soundtrack concept...but i didnt find the extra orchestration useful on any other Prince song except for "Condition Of The Heart", and Venus De MIlo, IMO...

lol Clare didn't do orchestration on Condition of the Heart. Most of it on PR and ATWIAD was conducted by Lisa Coleman (some w/Wendy Melvoin)

.

ok, I'll let people get back to voting, I don't think the OP wanted us to turn it into a vs debate lol

Lovesexy is the 1 till your day is done...

I really don't see the massive appeal of TBA over Lovesexy. Sure, it got some unbelievable tracks, but honestly, the other ones are just meh in Prince standards.

Dead on it - Bad drum programming here. And kinda' stale rap. Guitarwork fucking masterfull, but doesn't save the song for me (almost did a while ago when I was in to it).

Bob George - Not a song really. More of an concept.

Superfunkycalifragisexy - I hate that introsound. And also more of a spoken song. It blows everone else of the map with it's funk level back in -87 though. But when didn't Prince do that in the 80's.

2 Nigs United 4 West Compton- Really just an instrumental. Great and all. But still an instrumental.

Ok, gonna bump off Dead On It. To good guitar work! Holy shit, it's way to funky! And the "lalalalala...lala...lala.....lala" part is gold standard. Ok, I now realize how tough Prince is to judge. Sorry

It's Parade for me as well . At the time Lovesexy was great and the concerts at wembley arena were mind blowing , but looking back that was the start of the ending for me .

Wolfie87 said:

I really don't see the massive appeal of TBA over Lovesexy. Sure, it got some unbelievable tracks, but honestly, the other ones are just meh in Prince standards.

Dead on it - Bad drum programming here. And kinda' stale rap. Guitarwork fucking masterfull, but doesn't save the song for me (almost did a while ago when I was in to it).

Bob George - Not a song really. More of an concept.

Superfunkycalifragisexy - I hate that introsound. And also more of a spoken song. It blows everone else of the map with it's funk level back in -87 though. But when didn't Prince do that in the 80's.

2 Nigs United 4 West Compton- Really just an instrumental. Great and all. But still an instrumental.

Wolfie87 said:

Ok, gonna bump off Dead On It. To good guitar work! Holy shit, it's way to funky! And the "lalalalala...lala...lala.....lala" part is gold standard. Ok, I now realize how tough Prince is to judge. Sorry

And what about the "Witch" part? Like suddenly he turns into Camille, for a brief second? You gotta love that!

Now you take another 25 years, the other songs will reveal to you as well.

It took me quite a while to appreciate "2 Nigs" and "Rock Hard". But it has Genius all over place, TBA.

Listen to "Supa" Extended (30 Years), it's one of the Holy Grails.

[Edited 4/6/15 8:48am]

Count me in for Lovesexy.