mediumdry said:

To me, indeed, Lovesexy is the first album that doesn't hold up. Sure, on the Black album, things derail with 2 Nigs, but the rest of the material is strong. On Lovesexy, the production simply hurts my ears and it is extra obvious the moment When 2 R In Love comes on. It's a totally different soundscape. It doesn't fit. There's other problem points, like Dance On and also a yet again totally different sound on Alphabet Street. There's weak songs like Glam Slam and the tape problem (I think) at the start of Anna Stesia. It's a hastily cobbled together mess of an album.

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Case in point... Eye Know.. listen to the way it builds up over the different takes that are out there. It's fun and funky and breathes, until there's the glossy spraypaint thrown over it that just suffocates it.

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Anyway, it's not all bad and, as evidenced in the thread, there's plenty of people that love it front to back. My opinion is just one.

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Of course this is a taste thing.

I can understand that.

But not seeing the greatness of Lovesexy (the album) or 2 Nigs or even the context of those productions is hard to believe.

genius album.

not as well written as SOTT or PR, but a brilliant second tier prince album, like controversy, or parade.

so funky too.

and the end of glam slam is incredible.

prob the end of his peak period.

i wish there was a SDE coming out of this.

haveaglamslam said:

SoulAlive said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Agreed. That riff is killer And sheila is incredible on there.

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This was the last area of Prince the Rude boy UPTOWN EROTIC CITY PAISLEY PARK etc

you could feel the energy was waining, I think if Prince continued as is with a follow up Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic album with the same band (even though Cat and Boni left on purpose) that we might have gotten a better feel and appreciation for Lovesexy. Graffiti Bridge as we know it is not.

It is the only album that is hard for me to get enveloped in compared to the previous albums. Its more forced for me to listen to. It helps when I make a playlist including outtakes B sides and long versions. But I couldn't 'commit' to it.

I love Positivity, I Wish U Heaven, Alphabet St, Glam Slam, Lovesexy, When 2 R in Love, Dance On

I do enjoy the songs, but the album flow is still hard for me

its def got a vibe, an atmosphere unlike any other prince album, an insularity maybe.

and its a really strong one.

i wouldnt say its preachy, just the sound of someone who really has a passion for their new beliefs and ideas, so to me its just a very inspired album, even when the songs arent as strong as they could be, you just feel that energy emanating from it. it sounds like he was 'touched' or possessed even, but in a positive way.

i think you have to either kind of submit to that, or you wont get into it.

mediumdry said:

LoveGalore said:

He's saying it was the worst Prince album up to that point.

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I can list the albums

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To me, indeed, Lovesexy is the first album that doesn't hold up. Sure, on the Black album, things derail with 2 Nigs, but the rest of the material is strong. On Lovesexy, the production simply hurts my ears and it is extra obvious the moment When 2 R In Love comes on. It's a totally different soundscape. It doesn't fit. There's other problem points, like Dance On and also a yet again totally different sound on Alphabet Street. There's weak songs like Glam Slam and the tape problem (I think) at the start of Anna Stesia. It's a hastily cobbled together mess of an album.

.

Case in point... Eye Know.. listen to the way it builds up over the different takes that are out there. It's fun and funky and breathes, until there's the glossy spraypaint thrown over it that just suffocates it.

.

Anyway, it's not all bad and, as evidenced in the thread, there's plenty of people that love it front to back. My opinion is just one.

To me, every album from Dirty Mind through Lovesexy was amazing. In each, he was trying to create his own sound and vibe, leading pop music instead of following it.

For me, Batman was the first album that didn't hold up.

Romeoblu said:

Dance On does not need replacing. Nothing needs replacing on Lovesexy.

the correct answer.

It seems that most people agree that Alphabet Street, Annastasia and Lovesexy are great. Eye No is pretty divisive -- people either love it of hate it. There's also been a little bit of conversation in this thread about Eye No and Glam Slam...

But no one has really mentioned Positiivity, either to praise it or critique it. Is that because most people think it's okay -- nothing particular great but nothing particularly terrible about it?

I like Positivity. I think it really takes off about halfway through. I love the bootleg, pre-overdub version. The beat obvisouly is the same, but I can't help but feel in drives even harder in the bootleg. Maybe that's because its more isolated due to the sparser arrangement... or maybe there's something different in the levels since it's before the mastering process... or perhaps a combination of those things.

Se7en said:

If The Black Album had been released as plans, it would have been a downgrade from SOTT. I feel slightly the same way about ATWIAD . . . it's a great album, but of course following Purple Rain it's nowhere near as good.

I love the themes and sounds of Lovesexy.

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I don't think Black Album is a downgrade from SOTT. It's a different thing, like a parallel universe.

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But... ATWIAD is my favorite Prince album. Purple Rain is a standalone thing too, not really Prince, but a very well crafted blockbuster. To me, it's very much not the Prince masterpiece, but more of a "you have a photo memory" back into that time. Maybe because to many, that's the only Prince they want to see (including the estate, look at their releases) it is something I just developed a blind spot to.

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ATWIAD, when it came out just blew my mind, it was so much more than Purple Rain and the music that came before. The expansion of his music and his reach was just amazing. And that continued. I'll concede that that actually did continue until Lovesexy, even though there are a lot of elements in it that rub me the wrong way. Like others said, starting at the Batman album, he entered a period of consolidation and seemingly responding to the world around him instead of creating something new.

I don't get the hate for Dance On. That song is wild. To each their own I guess. I love positivity too and a lot of people don't.

Walkin in Glory would have fit nicely as the final song. I like Positivity, but Walkin is more powerful.