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Rating: "Lovesexy" represents the pinnacle of Prince's production. It effectively closes the '80s (the Batman soundtrack is a project on its own) and opens the long season of conflicts with the whole world (record company first and foremost).
From a musical point of view "Lovesexy" continues what was already developed in "Sign 'o the Times" and the "Black Album", but accentuates the jazzy matrix. The backing band is the same as the previous year: Sheila E. on drums, Levi Seacer on bass, Matt Fink on keyboards, Miko Weaver on rhythm guitar and the horn section composed of Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss. Lovesexy is also a testament to how mainstream music critics often understand little about music, judging based on sales and friendships within record companies. It is also proof of how often a book (in this case, an album) is judged by its cover, focusing only on the more superficial aspects. Indeed, the album faced significant hostility in the USA due to its cover, to the point where many stores refused to display it in shop windows and some distribution chains even refused to distribute it. Despite this, "Lovesexy" represents Prince's artistic maturity, the definitive sublimation of funk, no longer raw and raunchy as in the early days (especially Dirty Mind), but elaborate and refined, elevated by the contamination with jazz, rock and other more or less defined genres (the "ambient" finale of Positivity is one of the peaks of his production).
The album is noted as the triumph of arrangements: the minimalism of "Parade" and "Sign o' the Times" gives way right from the start to a hyper-produced sound, full of embellishments, baroque ideas. The conceptual and stylistic unity of "Parade" is repeated here, but with a very different effect: if there the retro aspect prevailed, the "continental" flavor, in line with the film's atmospheres, here the unifying element is obtained with the piling up of a thousand overdubbed voices, the use of brass, strings, and simulated sounds that give it a more "contemporary" look. ‘Eye no’ is, as in similar cases, the statement of intent for the entire album: the tone is joyously spiritual, like a secular and sensual sermon. There is talk of hell, but with a joyful plea for reaching the promised heavens: the melody collapses under the frenzy of voices that talk, shout, whisper, while the brass pumps and leads to the climactic final explosion. The gospel ceremony concludes amidst applause, leaving the preacher's voice alone as it introduces ‘Alphabet street’: it sounds like an updated Bo Diddley (the guitar rhythm), and much cooler: the chest voice is laden with sexual undertones, with words spoken through clenched lips, as our hero proposes to the belle of the moment for a ride in a Thunderbird. Here the ensemble promises a decidedly "earthly" satisfaction, though he claims he just wants to watch, and the tone, much less lascivious compared to early days, leans towards courtship rather than actual "conquest". And, in seducing the partner by simply reciting the letters of the alphabet, Camille seems to peek out, the feminine side of our artist. ‘Glam Slam’ is the most immediate melody, for a track that, even in its Oriental-like atmospheres, deliberately wants to appear among the most spiritual moments of the album: not coincidentally, we hear an example of Prince's psychedelia again, which would not have looked out of place on Around the World In a Day, and which presents the same immediacy (well-constructed, actually, of a ‘Raspberry Beret’).
But the true spiritual heart of the album follows. As happens in his best moments (see ‘If I Was Your Girlfriend’), music and lyrics unite in ‘Annastesia’ (= anesthesia), reaching unparalleled effectiveness: despair, anguish, the yearning for "redemption" take complete form in the mournful procession of the song, perfectly underscored by the underlying guitar (and keyboard) solos, which rarely have had such a dramatic rendering in his music. A real character, metaphor for a much-desired sensory annulment, and finally a medium for ascension to god: ‘Annastesia’, which is all this, is the pivot around which the album and Prince's whole "faith" revolve (in my opinion, not at all pretentious, but, even if entirely unique, authentic). ‘Dance on’ picks up the reading of the present started with Sign o' the Times, doing so with unexpected virulence: the drumming and especially the bass like a machine gun make it an obsessive funk (proto drum 'n' bass?), dark, which suits the lyrics well (again, a glimpse into contemporary tragedies)... the darkness is quickly softened by the rhythm of ‘Lovesexy’, vaguely reminiscent of ‘1999’: the thread of the song is truly hard to follow, given how quick the changes of rhythm and atmosphere are, with brass taking center stage while everything else happens in the background, culminating in the crossed and sped-up rap by Cat and Prince. ‘When 2 R In Love’ restores peace to dazed ears, and finds a placement here more fitting than in the Black Album. The simplicity of the melody perfectly serves the warm, sensuous embrace that the song delivers, making it a pinnacle of his "bedroom" production. One feels cradled even in the smooth transition to ‘I Wish U Heaven’, a brief interlude where even the solid presence of the electric guitar serves the ecstatic atmosphere of the piece, along with falsetto choruses, rhythm guitars, female voices. ‘Positivity’ revisits social themes, but transfiguring them in the light of the eternal struggle between good and evil: the song is a true paean and a call to arms. The prince seems to sit among his cohorts, while the music gradually takes on a martial cadence, with handclaps and drum rolls. If you like, it's the least ironic side of our artist, and as such it might also be jarring. It's probable that opinions on this piece are divided starkly, either loved or disliked. Personally, I've always loved it: musically, it's always seemed bold, courageous, and novel (and the guitar is amazing)...
Do we mark u present, or do we mark u late?!
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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