production wise it's fantastic, i can only speak for myself but I always felt the songs weren't there, and boy did he fix that by the next album. He was growing so fast in those years. For You might have been the glossiest and best production he did for years to come, but the songs weren't there.

Best opening track for an artist with the gargantuan output that was to follow. I love the warmth of the production. Soft and Wet and I'm Yours are amazing and I have a tender spot for Crazy You and So Blue.

What a pity he did not put Leaving for New York on there. It may not have fit but what a tune. On a good day it can talk me into being a 4 out of 5 star album.

LaurenceNoonan said:

For You (1978) needs more love and appreciation. I've noticed from watching reviews and looking up the album that "For You" doesn't get as much love as "Prince" or the albums after but this album is really good. My favourite songs on the Record have to be "Soft 'n' Wet" and "I'm Yours"

this is one of my fav albums

ANd "I`m yours" is a masterpiece

anangellooksdown said:

some writers have just taken the "for you" thing as for his new fans, that simple.

RJOrion said:

Pretty impressive for a 19 years old country dude.

As a 21-year-old, For You's accessibility allowed me to get into Prince. I love pretty much the whole album, particularly My Love is Forever, Crazy You and In Love.

bonatoc said:

jdcxc said:

bonatoc said:

Pretty impressive for a 19 years old country dude.

19 when released. The title song has to be the most beautifully sincere and gorgeously arranged opening career acappela song by a superstar artist ever. Also, it amazes me that Prince holds the record for youngest musician to write, produce, arrange, compose and perform his entire major label debut album. Think about the fact that there has literally been thousands (millions?) of releases since For You and no other artist has accomplished this feat (to my knowledge).

that's true but that's not only because of the rareness of P's talent but equally as much because of how many assholes want a piece of the pie (money, credit, control). Like anything, always got to be a guy up above you who is allowing you to exist, just the way society is structured. It's still amazing that he got that deal, no matter how talented he was, there are other people who could play several instruments well and they had to go through a process before they got to the point Prince started at.

RJOrion said:

ive always considered "My Love Is Forever" my alltime favorite Prince song...by far...

really? and by far? wow.

Given Prince was still a teenager during recording, For You is an impressive album.

I still think it's nowhere near as good as most of Prince's 80s work, but it did have a few strong songs.

_

Soft And Wet is a classic, I'm Yours added a whole new flavour to the album and Just As Long As We're Together is a personal favourite - it sounds like a full band jam.

_

It did get me thinking though, the album was an expensive commercial flop. If it wasn't for the success of the I Wanna Be Your Lover single, Prince's career with WB would've ended in the 70s.

[Edited 12/25/17 16:07pm]

Shockalaka said:

Given Prince was still a teenager during recording, For You is an impressive album.

I still think it's nowhere near as good as most of Prince's 80s work, but it did have a few strong songs.

_

Soft And Wet is a classic, I'm Yours added a whole new flavour to the album and Just As Long As We're Together is a personal favourite - it sounds like a full band jam.

_

It did get me thinking though, the album was an expensive commercial flop. If it wasn't for the success of the I Wanna Be Your Lover single, Prince's career with WB would've ended in the 70s.

[Edited 12/25/17 16:07pm]

Ya, and then you have to wonder would he have been caught in the same purgatory a lot of other musicians get stuck in. I've heard that a lot of acts with 3 album deals don't get financed after a flop and they are trapped in their deals. Prince really did have it good at WB, at least in terms of how other record companies run.

PeteSilas said:

RJOrion said:

PeteSilas said:

really? and by far? wow.

yup...the youthful falsetto, the melody, the Santana-esque guitar solo that turns into a synth hook...just a perfect song..

ok, i won't argue.

PeteSilas said:

jdcxc said:

PeteSilas said:

that's true but that's not only because of the rareness of P's talent but equally as much because of how many assholes want a piece of the pie (money, credit, control). Like anything, always got to be a guy up above you who is allowing you to exist, just the way society is structured. It's still amazing that he got that deal, no matter how talented he was, there are other people who could play several instruments well and they had to go through a process before they got to the point Prince started at.

It doesn’t amaze you that there has not been ONE new artist in all major label recorded music to accomplish this?

Exactly. Prince was almost a full-fledged 30 year old Stevie Wonder at 18,
it doesn't take Stevie Wonder to see it. His influence on "For You" is huge.

All Prince lacked was interesting experiences he could turn into interesting songs.
He said it in interviews, at the very start his songs were love fantaisies.
Bringing the real life in changed everything. "Sister" is not dirty, it's Freudian.
The moment he went out, or played with the truth. Or half-truth. Who knows? Controversy.
The moment he had enough confidence ("I Wanna Be Your Lover"), the real experiments began.
He went after the great ones.

What to me is astounding, is for Prince to be able so soon in his career,
to strip himself of something that would have emprisoned him in a classic path.
You risk big. It's your third album. Pretty much everyone would play the safe card in his position,
and pursue a comfortable niche career.

And he would have been successful even if the first album had totally flopped.
He could have make a comfortable living just by doing sessions. Or writing songs.
Waronker knew what he was doing, putting all this money on the table and taking out the reins.
The incredible decade that followed proved him right.

I bet you Waronker's jaw drop as ours when we witnessed what Prince was turning into.

and maybe this is corny, but to me, the lyrics read like a hearfelt love letter...things i would (and do) tell my wife:

You're always on my mind
Day and night, baby, all the time (all the time)
You mean so much to me
A love like ours just had to be
You're the wind and the rain
You've got a river that takes away my pain
And the sky that's oh-so-blue
You're everything girl, don't you know I need you (need you)
You are the only thing that keeps me goin'
You are the only thing that keeps my love alive
You are the only thing that I'll ever need
You don't have to worry, you see, my love is forever

...simple, but so effective, especially when combined with the heavenly instrumentation...in no way does that song like like it came from a rookie... i cant believe that song is 40 years old, and even though ive heard it thousands of times ...it never ever gets old.... ever...

jdcxc said:

PeteSilas said:

that's true but that's not only because of the rareness of P's talent but equally as much because of how many assholes want a piece of the pie (money, credit, control). Like anything, always got to be a guy up above you who is allowing you to exist, just the way society is structured. It's still amazing that he got that deal, no matter how talented he was, there are other people who could play several instruments well and they had to go through a process before they got to the point Prince started at.

It doesn’t amaze you that there has not been ONE new artist in all major label recorded music to accomplish this?

yes it does, unheard of. I am a musician, when i was 18, i was still fucking around and wasn't up to nothing. Hendrix they say wasn't that accomplished when he was around 19, Elvis was somewhat of a prodigy. Truth is, out of all talents, music is the earliest to manifest, however, no one has ever seen anything quite like Prince, not just talent wise, character wise, imagewise, he's a one off.

NorthC said:

^I think Owen Husney had a lot to do with that. He was the one shopping Prince around as the new Stevie... Without Owen, who knows what would've happened...

Oh come on. Husney couldn't have promote him any other way.
Prince was actually a multi-instrumentist on top of a versatile composer on top of an excellent singer, on top of etc.

Even WB stepped back with their Maurice White suggestion as a producer when Prince proved them he was able to handle his recordings from start to finish.
No matter the manager, no matter the record company, it was pretty obvious the kid was a genius, and Stevie was the only obvious reference.
Simply because there were no other artists covering so many roles at once.

bonatoc said:

NorthC said:

^I think Owen Husney had a lot to do with that. He was the one shopping Prince around as the new Stevie... Without Owen, who knows what would've happened...

Oh come on. Husney couldn't have promote him any other way.
Prince was actually a multi-instrumentist on top of a versatile composer on top of an excellent singer, on top of etc.

Even WB stepped back with their Maurice White suggestion as a producer when Prince proved them he was able to handle his recordings from start to finish.
No matter the manager, no matter the record company, it was pretty obvious the kid was a genius, and Stevie was the only obvious reference.
Simply because there were no other artists covering so many roles at once.

Yes!

husney deserves props, he really does, he had to fight like hell to get prince all that he wanted, any record company who would sign someone unproven to those terms is unheard of and it doesn't happen for good reason. talent is only one factor, too many other factors that aren't controllable, what if the artist goes crazy? gets hooked on drugs and squanders their talent? What if there is no audience for the artist. Prince was very lucky, very, very lucky as well as very talented and driven. there are millions of talented people, i'm a musician, i watch the best of the best barely make a living. these days it's different of course, but really, it was never easy. I was just listening to springsteen in the kindle audio version of his bio describe the hell he had to go through before he even got a real break, and even then, he had a pushy manager who helped him out but then turned on him and tried to destroy him as well as leave him broke. Springsteen was lucky too, can't leave out luck. the only thing i can think of in regards to my failed "career" that i might have over any of these guys is that the rough times they bitch about, i've dealt with way longer, about 25-30 years longer. I'm not the only one. some of us are obsessed with music.

PeteSilas said:

production wise it's fantastic, i can only speak for myself but I always felt the songs weren't there, and boy did he fix that by the next album. He was growing so fast in those years. For You might have been the glossiest and best production he did for years to come, but the songs weren't there.

I almost think it's the other way around. "I'm Yours" for example is a good song but the production is absolutely horrible. I wonder how some of the songs would have sounded in the 80s.