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Rating: 1988. It is the crucial year for Prince; the success achieved by the three albums recorded with the Revolution and the last one, Sign O' The Times, has transformed him into the greatest pop(rock?)star of the decade alongside Michael Jackson and Madonna. But unlike the latter, favor doesn't come predominantly from the public but also from critics who recognize his greater (and undeniable) musical stature. But Prince is an unusual and brilliant star (thus without rules), and heedless of any commercial angle, he announces, just a few months after the release of Sign O' The Times, a new album with a completely black cover, without an official title and no reference to the songs contained. This is the legendary Black Album, intended to be his “funk response” to The Beatles’ White Album. Everything is ready; Warner Bros (though hesitant about our peculiar choice) is waiting for another success when a few weeks before the release (some copies had already been distributed) Prince blocks the entire project, as he doesn't want to unsettle his fans with an album too dark in content and musically... this will be the beginning of the disagreements (and the ensuing war) between him and Warner, further intensified by the fact that the album chosen to replace the Black Album will not achieve the expected success, especially in the USA.
It is indeed May '88 when Lovesexy sees the light, and to testify Prince’s rethink concerning content and colors is not only the album's title but also its famous cover: total black is replaced by pastel colors, he is nude, reclining among petals of irises and lilies in a mischievous diva pose... it is pure kitsch, the result is at least perplexing and embarrassing (perhaps not even the most glam Bowie had dared so much) and it causes quite a scandal, so much so that some American stores will even refuse to sell the record. Success or not, it is undeniable that Lovesexy is one of our artist's most surprising and imaginative albums (despite its homogeneity). The departure from previous works is quite pronounced, the predominant style is the clearest, party-themed funky (with the first hints of hip-hop) and above all, it is a compact record that sounds almost like a concept album, with tracks seamlessly connected into one long track. Most of the tracks are characterized by a sonic amalgam dominated by a flow of horns, the percussion of the brilliant Sheila E., and a driving drum machine, solemn keyboards, and the indispensable funk guitar of Prince who this time shares the "vocals" with his new muse, the very sensual Cat. And so, it is a kind of sonic celebration that unfolds from the opening "Eye No" to the equally lively title track, going through the more rock-tinged "Glam Slam" and "Alphabet St." the only major hit from the album. Quieter are the dark ballad "Anna Stesia" (one of his most haunting pieces) and the very sensual, yet romantic "When 2 R In Love" (the only residue of the Black Album) which flows into the heavenly nursery rhyme (in name and in fact) of "I Wish U Heaven", not even 3 minutes of pure pop. Yet again, Prince does not shy from experimenting, and what you hear in the aggressive "Dance On" is almost incredible; we are at the end of the '80s, and Prince is already creating something not too far from the drum'n'bass almost 10 years later! To close the dance is the equally strange "Positivity", a sort of long, slow-motion sabbath divided between tribal pulses and metropolitan nervousness, all seasoned with nature sounds and heavenly voices...
In short, with this (often underrated) work, Prince closes in the best way his most inspired period and lays the foundation for what will be his new sound throughout the '90s, although only rarely will he be able to maintain such freshness and inspiration... if you are not ashamed of the cover (I know it's tough!), go and buy it.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Alphabet St. (05:37)
No!
I'm goin' down 2 Alphabet Street
I'm gonna crown the first girl that I meet
I'm gonna talk so sexy
She'll want me from my head 2 my feet
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yes she will
Yeah, yeah, yeah (yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm gonna drive my daddy's Thunderbird (My daddy's Thunderbird)
A white rad ride, '66 ('67) so glam it's absurd
I'm gonna put her in the back seat
And drive her 2...Tennessee
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Tennessee
Yeah, yeah, yeah, drive her
Excuse me baby
I don't mean 2 be rude
But I guess 2night I'm just not, I'm just not in the mood
So if u don't mind (yeah yeah yeah)
I would like to...watch
Yeah, yeah, yeah...can I?
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah (Can I, can I, can I, can I)
We're going down, down, down, if that's the only way
2 make this cruel, cruel world hear what we have 2 say
Put the right letters 2gether and make a better day
Yeah, yeah, yeah, better days
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's O-O-K
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Maybe it's the only way
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Cat, we need u 2 rap
Cat, we need u 2 rap
Don't give it 2 us slow
Cuz we know u know
New Power Soul
Gotta, gotta, gotta go!
Talk 2 me lover
Come on tell me what u taste
Didn't ur momma tell u
life is 2 good 2 waste? (Put ur love down)
Didn't she tell u
Lovesexy was the glam of them all?
If u can hang, u can trip on it
U surely won't fall (Put ur love down)
No side effects
And the feeling lasts 4ever
Straight up - It tastes good
And it makes u feel clever (Put ur love down)
U kiss ur enemies
Like u know u should
Then u jerk ur body
Like a horny pony would (Put ur love down)
U jerk ur body like a horny pony would
Now run and tell ur mama about that!
And while u're at it tell ur papa about this!
Yeah-yeah
Put your love down there when u wanna get shot
No! (Yeah, yeah)
Put your love down there when u wanna get shot
Put your love down there when u wanna get shot
Put your love down there when u wanna get shot
Put your love down there...
Get home, Alphabet Street
No!
L-L-L-L-Lovesexy
Yea, Oh, Alphabet Street
Yea, Oh, Alphabet Street
A B C D E F H I love U
03 Glam Slam (05:06)
This thing we got - it's alive!
It seems 2 transcend the physical
One touch and I'm satisfied
Must be a dream it's so magical
CHORUS:
Glam Slam - thank U, ma'am
U really make my day
Glam Slam - thank U, ma'am
I pray U'll always stay
I know I hold U 2 tight (2 tight)
But I just can't seem 2 get close enough (I want 2 hold U)
Want 2 hold U every night (Wanna hold U every night)
I'm so horny and U're the stuff
CHORUS
Heavy feather, flicka nipple
Baby scram, water ripple
(I don't understand) It means I love U
Come a butterfly straight on your skin
U go 4 me and I come again
Glam Slam - thank U, ma'am
Sun is risen, moon is gone
Soda fizzin' on the lawn
Come a butterfly straight on your skin
Glam Slam
Glam Slam - thank U, ma'am
U really make my day - ha ha ha ha
This thing we got - it's alive! (Alive)
It seems 2 transcend the physical
One touch and I'm satisfied (Ooh, baby)
Must be a dream it's so magical
CHORUS
Glam Slam
U will always stay {x2}
It's all right, it's OK
04 Anna Stesia (04:57)
Have U ever been so lonely
That U felt like U were the only one in this world?
Have U ever wanted 2 play with someone so much
U'd take any one boy or girl?
CHORUS:
Anna Stesia come 2 me, talk 2 me, ravish me
Liberate my mind
Tell me what U think of me, praise me, craze me
Out this space and time
Between white and black, night and day
Black night seemed like the only way
So I danced
Music late, nothing great
No way 2 differentiate
I took a chance
Gregory looks just like a ghost
And then a beautiful girl the most
Wets her lips 2 say
"We could live 4 a little while
If U could just learn 2 smile
U and I could fly away, fly away"
Oh…
CHORUS
Maybe, maybe, maybe I could learn 2 love
I mean the right way, I mean the only way
Perhaps U could show me, baby
Anna Stesia come 2 me, talk 2 me, ravish me
Liberate my mind
Maybe, maybe, maybe I could learn 2 love
Ah, if I was just closer 2 somethin' (Closer)
Closer 2 your higher self? I don't know
Closer 2 heaven? Maybe
Closer 2 God {x3}
Save me Jesus, I've been a fool
How could I forget that U are the rule
U are my God, I am Your child
From now on, 4 U I shall be wild
I shall be quick, I shall be strong
I'll tell Your story no matter how long
No matter how... (No matter {x4})
We're just a play in Your master plan
Now, my Lord, I understand
(I understand)
Love is God, God is love
Girls and boys love God above {repeat till end}
CHORUS
© 1988 Controversy Music - ASCAP
05 Dance On (03:45)
Ow!
Pick it up!
There's a bass guitar in this
Ow! {x4}
Grenade launcher roars in a television sky
Tell me how many young brothers must die?
Dance on, dance on
Dance on, dance on
Little talk Johnny blew the big score
The gang nailed his feet 2 a wooden floor
Nuclear ban never stays in tune
They all know the words but the music is doomed
Everybody dance on, dance on, ooh!
Dance on, dance on
Pick it up!
Ow!
Dance on, dance on {x3}
A bass guitar in spider webs longin' 4 the funk
Uzi gun takes its place in a wagon trunk
(Get off me, punk! U ain't sexy)
Stealin' ladies' purses then settin' them aflame
M&M killers playin' Mickey Mouse games
Lord have mercy
Dance on, dance on (Dance on)
Dance on, dance on (Dance on)
It's time 4 new education
Former rules don't apply
We need a power structure that breeds production
Instead of jacks who vandalize
Detroit - what's happenin'?
What color is your money 2day? {Phrases repeat and fade out}
Get your money straight
Everybody dance on
Dance on
© 1988 Controversy Music - ASCAP
06 LoveSexy (05:50)
New power, new power, give it 2 me
Oh, it need some bottom in here, lay it on me
New, yeah
Hey now, hey now
Everybody on the block say it is the best
The most vital is what they say - more or less
It put my name upon my thigh
It make me dance, it make me cry
And when I touch it, racecars burn rubber in my pants (Oh)
This feeling's so good in every single way
I want it morning, noon and night of every day
And if by chance I cannot have it - I can't say
But with it I know heaven's just a kiss away, kiss away
Dig me now
Anyone that's ever touched it, huh, they don't want nothing else
No they don't
And I got 2 tell the world, I just can't keep it 2 myself (No)
All in life becomes easier
No question is unresolved and I'm not afraid now
Come on and touch it, I know U will love it
With it I know heaven's a butterfly kiss away
This feeling's so good in every single way
I want it morning, noon and night of every day (And if by chance)
And if by chance I cannot have it - I can't say
With it I know heaven is a just a kiss away, kiss away (Yeah)
Lovesexy
No! Yeah! Yeah!
Did U feel that? (Lovesexy)
Love… loves…
Rain is wet, sugar is sweet
Clap your hands, stomp your feet (Lovesexy)
Everybody, everybody know
When love call, U got 2 go
(Yeah! Alright!)
Lovesexy
(Alright)
2night we make love with only words
Girls first, girls first
OK, so like first
I will start by telling U how smart and intelligent a curve your behind has
And then I can tell U that I can just smell U
And racecars burn rubber in my pants
But I really dig trippin' on the thought of being caught
By somebody with your beauty, style and grace
Baby, I don't care
I would rip out my hair 4 just 2 nights with your face (Lovesexy)
I don't wanna make love 2 U
I just wanna look at U
I just wanna listen 2 U, uh, uh
Oh, pretty little whip, U got me drippin'
Drippin' all over the floor, the floor
If I come back as a woman
I want a body like yours, a body like yours
Living rooms?
I think, I think U would
I think U wanna play house
Yeah, I think U wanna play house (Lovesexy)
U don't mind
I think U… uh
I think U want me 2 f… {beep} inside of U
Yea, yeah, I... (Lovesexy)
U want me 2 sit around your living room, ha ha
Yeah, U...U want me 2 walk right down your halls
Mm hmm (Lovesexy)
U want me 2 swivel in your love seat
D-don't U, baby?
U want me 2 write my name on your walls
U want me 2 write my name on… (Lovesexy)
We make love with only words
I'll make love 2 U… 2morrow
Sweet dreams
08 I Wish U Heaven (02:46)
Doubts of our conviction
Follow where we go
And when the world's compassion
Ceases still I know
4 your every touch I
Thank U so much
4 your every kiss I...
I wish U love
I wish U heaven
I wish U heaven
If I see 11
U can say it's 7
Still I wish U heaven
I wish U love
I wish U heaven
I wish U heaven
la la la la la, do do do do do
la la la la la, do do do do do
la la la la la
I wish U heaven
I wish U heaven
I wish U heaven
I wish U heaven
I wish U heaven
I wish U heaven
I wish U heaven
I wish U heaven
I wish U heaven
09 Positivity (07:14)
Yes {echoed}
Chorus:
Positivity - yes
Have U had your plus sign 2day?
Positivity - yes
Do we mark U present or do we mark U late?
Is that a good man
Walking down the street with that money in his hand?
Is that a good man?
Why do U dog him?
If that was your father, tell me, would U dog him then?
Would U dog him?
CHORUS
Is that all your gold?
Where did it come from?
What did U have 2 do? (What did U have 2 do?)
Can U sleep nights?
Do U dream straight up or do U dream in W's?
CHORUS
(Yeah)
Na na na na na na, so slow
Positivity - yes
Na na na na na na, so slow
Can a boy who drops out of school at 13 years of age
Answer the Q of life and death when it slaps him in the face?
(Na na na na na na, so slow)
Who's 2 blame when he's got no place 2 go
And all he's got is the sense 2 know
That a life of crime will help him beat U in the race
Will help him beat U in the race
Positivity
CHORUS
Na na na na na na, so slow (Na na na na na, so slow)
CHORUS
(Say it)
(Yes)
(Ooh yes)
Na na na na na na, so slow (Say it again)
Na na na na na na, so slow (Na na na na na, so slow)
Positivity - yes
(Na na na na na na, so slow)
Wave your hand 4 positivity y'all!
All the boys and all the girls (All the boys, all the girls)
U are the new kings of the world!
Shall the court sing together?
"In every man's life there will be a hang-up
A whirlwind designed 2 slow U down
It cuts like a knife and tries 2 get in U
This Spooky Electric sound
Give up if U want 2 and all is lost
Spooky Electric will be your boss"
Call People Magazine, Rolling Stone
Call your next of kin, cuz your ass is gone
He got a 57 mag with the price tag still on the side - uh!
Cuzzin' when Spooky say dead, U better say died
Or U can fly high right by Spooky and all that he crawls 4
Spooky and all that he crawls 4
Don't kiss the beast
(Love & honesty, peace & harmony)
Positivity
Love & honesty, peace & harmony
Say hold on 2 your soul, U got a long way 2 go
Sho' nuff {x3}
Don't kiss the beast
Be superior at least
Hold on 2 your soul, y'all, court, sing!
Hold on 2 your soul, we got a long way 2 go
Hold on 2 your soul
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Other reviews
By Mr Funk
"Lovesexy represents Prince’s artistic maturity, the definitive sublimation of funk, no longer raw and raunchy but elaborate and refined."
"The album is noted as the triumph of arrangements: the minimalism of previous works gives way to a hyper-produced sound, full of embellishments and baroque ideas."
