Vannormal said:

IanRG said:

So most of us agree that the album art did not deserve the issues that it created. Most of us fans have the album and have no problem with it.

This does not mean that the album art did not contribute to the sales issues it created in USA (but not in most other places where the album was sold). It is not the fans, it was the record company, the wrecka stows, the radio stations and the general buying public that lead to this excellent album suffering low sales. Prince learned from this and did not do this again.

Re the US porn industry: Victorian public prudeness was also accompanied by the rise of men's private sex clubs back in the day.

Agree on the suffering low sales story.

But did Prince learned? True and not true.

He performed with his assless pants, to me far moer shocking than this album cover.

A decade and a half later he performed Superbowl with his guitar/dick reflection in that curtain...

I'm (central) European and i couldn't care less.

We mostly don't give a flying fuck about this kind of far-fetched childish and unimportant approach of this so called scandalous nudity. We even can't understand all the fuzz.

My opinion is that Prince did wrong with releasing the album too early after SOTT, not touring SOTT in the US (plus the wrong single choices of SOTT in genral), and making Lovesexy album available as 'one continuous song' (CD) plus the withdrawl of the Black Album... etc.

I mean, there was a lot going on at the same time in less then 1 year!

It just wasn't one thing like the album cover.

Prince was in some sort of musical crisis, being huge, maybe not able to please all his different crowds, receiving also a change in love as a true artist, in the US and Europe...

It was a very complex and interesting year.

Yes, there were other issues - The indivdual trackless CD was clearly one. However, these issues did not seem to affect the sales of Lovesexy outside of the US. The issue that had a uniquely US impact was as a result of US prudeness leading to the album being often hidden from sale and the singles released after the album was released not being played on many radio stations.

The Lovesexy tour did 36 shows in the USA from 14 Sep 1988 to 29 Nov 1988 with 2 in Canada.

What Prince learned was to never do a boudoir shot album cover ever again. This is different from his performance antics and attire.

[Edited 5/23/23 14:09pm]

I remember getting it! I had been out of town seeing my mom. This was just before going active duty. I feel like it was a sunday (A little early certinly not almost a week late)...but I got to town and went and bought it! I had to ask for it. a few days later....BOOM in the fricking Army. (On 2 mile runs I sang "Lovesexy" to myself to keep the pace.)


And then in late July or early aug.... I was albe to buy a radio with a CD player...and I did one of thoes 10 cds for a dollar and I got all the Prince cds they had... when I opened it the other guys thought I was weird. But there was another one there... he told me about 2 songs I did not about "Horny Toad" and "Gotta Stop Messin about." How did I miss thoes!?

[Edited 5/23/23 17:05pm]

RJOrion said:

SoulAlive said:

"...we need some bottom in here, lay it on me..."

"...Detroit, what's happ'nin'?"

"...if i see 11. u can say it's 7. still, i wish u heaven..."

"...postivity? "

for me the epitome of what Prince so special. Fearless album.

TrivialPursuit said:

happyshopper said:

But it was never going to be the next Purple Rain.

Folks knew by 1985 that was never going to happen.

Not until 1995.

My appreciation of the album has grown exponentially since my youth where I no longer feel compelled to pen a tome on how it's really not that great. It's okay enough, eh.

[Edited 6/3/23 21:12pm]