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Lovesexy vs. The Black Album When it was released in 88 Lovesexy was Prince turning away from the angry,negative music from the Black album. With the positive reception SOTT received I always felt like LS stalled his career once more and the Black album would have commercially done well.By the time it was released it was old news.Did the decision to shelve TBA put out SOTT fire? "love's the only drug we do in here"-Prince | |
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No doubt that TBA would have taken off. Once the Alphabet St. video came out, TBA was highly sought out and made Prince a huge bootleg commodity. I often think how Lovsexy could have been more, if TBA was released first, then Lovesexy after. The message from Lovesexy may have been understood more. I don't know. Pure speculation. SOTT was incredible. A compilation of the years of Prince behind the scenes. His decision not to continue the tour in the US hurt the sales. The movie was on point. I just think LS stalled cos the general public did not know about TBA and the message was confusing and lost. | |
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It was released in '88. | |
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No, it was his decision not to tour the USA that put out the SOTT fire. | |
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I agree releasing the Black album first would have added gas to the flame SOTT ignited.The public had nothing to go on with the cover,the message and LS as a whole.The Black album would have sold well in 88 with us diehards.yes the tour would have done well also on the outside it does look like Prince self sabotaged his career.The lack of a u.s. tour hurt with continuing to increase his exposure at home.TBA just would have been a stronger release in 88. [Edited 11/9/16 9:53am] "love's the only drug we do in here"-Prince | |
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The no tour didn't help simply LS was a weaker album "love's the only drug we do in here"-Prince | |
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Batman is 89 excuse the mistake "love's the only drug we do in here"-Prince | |
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We don’t mourn artists because we knew them. We mourn them because they helped us know ourselves. | |
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Good points on the timing of the release. Never considered that. TBA was suppose to be more of an "underground" release if memory serves me. The cancellation of touring the US was the bulk of SOTT fire being put out. I have always liked that era, the clothes, style, colors and of course music. | |
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All of the above was a major misstep in his career. I was one of those early days, die hard fans but after lovesexy prince fell off my radar because it was all just so confusing what was going on with him. And i was butt hurt over his decision to not continue the SOTT tour lol (I remained a casual fan until AOA and PE when I got back into him 100% again.) It's a hurtful place, the world, in and of itself. We don't need to add to it. We all need one another. ~ PRN | |
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And I think most of us wish he would have chose the obvious but I think he stopped listening to what his die hards(his foundation) wanted and tried to satisfy the commercial market.I think Prince started to ignore the U.S. after the reception UTCM received. And he started to cater to the overseas audience more. [Edited 11/9/16 10:33am] "love's the only drug we do in here"-Prince | |
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Sorry, it's the Hodgkin's talking. | |
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Releasing the brilliant, but definately not commercial If I Was Your Girlfriend as the second single to SOTT, didn't help. | |
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Mmm...considering the music on Black Album, I don't hear hit single on it except for Alphabet Street or Glam Slam to be honest. Black album would have satisfied hardcore fans but would have been a misstep still after SOTT. I for one couldnt forsee Prince touring that album as a whole. Even though it is funkier, it is a little self indulgent and not as complete as Lovesexy. It was considered party music for Sheila E, there is no real theme to it at all but it holds its own. Straight Jacket Funk Affair
Album plays and love for vinyl records. | |
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I think the hardcore fans would have eaten it up and it would have likely gotten more critical kudos, but a commercial album it is not! | |
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All the above is corect - those career moves affected Lovesexy sales for sure. For me though I think of Questlove's review of the album in a recent Rolling Stone piece where he made the point that in 1988 three of the most groundbreaking hip hop albums of all time were released (It Takes A Nation..Public Enemy, Straight Outta Compton - NWA and Follow The Leader - Eric B & Rakim) and perhaps the ears of young America were on these. The new shcool had arrived and Prince's funk was under fire from hip hop. Perhaps that's what slowed Loevsexy down? | |
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The decision not to tour the US hurt sales and the above mentioned hiphop which was on its way and was more streetwise, appealed to a lot of people. Furthermore, Lovesexy was a difficult album: off the beaten paths and using more of the wall of sound. And a lot of Love is God stuff which didn't appeal to everyone. To have released TBA would have been a mistake: lots of people like it because it was so scarse. But a really good album? Naah. It was fun, but that's it. The Black Album already got airplay before it was decided to not release it. Lots of people already heard portions and everything from Prince was digested by the masses. TBA was more of a way to understand Lovesexy better. I think it was all carefully planned. 'Liberate My Mind' | |
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Tba was meant as an extra, a gift to the fans. As such it would never have had much support (eg tour). If it was released as the intended gift, with lovesexy shortly after it would have been great. In a way it is the missing step between sott and lovesexy. He did use bob george at the lovesexy shows and it fitted perfectly well there! | |
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That's right, The Black Album was supposed to be a low profile, dancefloor only album released incognito. It was never intended to be a hit album and without a catchy pop tune, wouldn't have been a hit. As Rob pointed out, it's fun, but nothing great. Legend has made it bigger than it is. | |
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R&B was also more focused on New Jack Swing coming in with the likes of Teddy nd Babyface making new sounds. Prince's productions while great were not fitting to radio at the time...it was hard for him to top some of these #1's:
Straight Jacket Funk Affair
Album plays and love for vinyl records. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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There is no way that The Black Album would have done well commercially.Pop radio would have ignored it completely and there aren't any 'radio friendly' songs on the album at all.Prince made the right decision by shelving it and allowing it to become a mysterious,much-sought after bootleg.
Lovesexy is a brilliant album that would have done better commercially if it had a more appropriate album cover and a stronger second single (title track). | |
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It would have been big in the way that Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millons got picked up by white frat guys as something to jam in the jeep. I saw firsthand how U.S. college age non-prince fans liked The Black Album and didn't care for Lovesexy or most of SOTT. Saw it with my roommates and friends at the time, and their friends asking for cassette copies and so on. they didn't care that it was Prince or a bootleg. They liked the vibe of it. They loved Bob George. My art book: http://www.lulu.com/spotl...ecomicskid
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^Oh yeah, everybody wanted to hear it, but that was after it was withdrawn and I'm sure that was a big part of the appeal. Forbidden fruits are always the best. And we agree that it's a good album to dance to. [Edited 11/14/16 0:17am] | |
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NorthC said: ^Oh yeah, everybody wanted to hear it, but that was after it was withdrawn and I'm sure that was a big part of the appeal. Forbidden fruits are always the best. And we agree that it's a good album to dance to. [Edited 11/14/16 0:17am] Actually these guys didn't know anything about the background on the album, or cared about that. They just liked the aggressive tone, humor, spookiness, and cussing. some of them were even (in my opinion) racist. And white. But that's the same crowd that blasted Public Enemy in some parts. My art book: http://www.lulu.com/spotl...ecomicskid
VIDEO WORK: http://sharadkantpatel.com MUSIC: https://soundcloud.com/ufoclub1977 | |
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Finally hearing The Black Album was one of my biggest Prince disappointments in my lifetime. I remember hearing Le Grind and loving it thinking the whole album was going to groove like that...ummm nope... and Lovesexy is one of his best albums IMO | |
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It was always meant to be an underground dance record. My cassette copy back in 88 was at least 4th generation. It was deep, dark, but damn was that bass fonky. That tape got a hell of a lot of play back then...WAY more than Lovesexy. Over the years Lovesexy grew on me, and now, like many others feel Lovesexy is the light compared to the dark Black Album. They sound great together.
My biggest disppointment from that era, is not touring SOTT in the US and giving up on it so fast. That album deserved to be heard by more. | |
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Opposite for me. Lovesexy was a huge listening disappointment because I loved the funkier grooves of SOTT, and then loved all the songs on Black Album. All of them! In sequence too. It's my favorite Prince album.
Lovesexy just didn't sound very cool to my ears at the time outside of Eye No and Dance On growing on me, but I find The Ball to be the way better version of that musical idea. The Ball is also mixed more in the way of The Black Album.
I did like the rap half of Alphabet St (unlkike most fans who hate it) and I did love "I Wish U Heaven"
The 12" of I Wish U Heaven is one of the best things he ever did, but it is also because it gets into Black Album style mixing (things fit together in a strong deep layered way, where as on Lovesexy things all sit on top and don't actually mix well,it's like 10 leadlines all at once) and aggression. My art book: http://www.lulu.com/spotl...ecomicskid
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Interesting. I will say that since Prince has died I've listened to a lot of stuff I've ignored over the years, including the Black Album. I tend to like it more now than I did back in the day. | |
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Can it be both fun and great? Black album is still probably my favourite Prince release - precisely because he was at the peak of his game but didn't concede to commercial pressure, expectations or any other agenda. Releasing it incognito would have even released him from the "Prince" brand. I see the black album as his statement on absolute freedom, and boy, it gets raw, funky, playful and intense. In many ways it precluded the name change and the Emancipation motto: "this is what freedom sounds like". Well, IMHO, the "sound of freedom" in Emancipation, as a whole, is painfully stale when juxtaposed with the demented ride of Black. | |
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Legrind 2 Nigz United 4 West Compton Bob George When 2 R In Love
all 4 are great songs IMO ...
but i agree that the lp is top heavy though...after those 4 i mentioned, filler ensues...
some days i enjoy "Cindy C.", other days its fingernails on a chalkboard | |
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