'' (
1988 ) is widely considered among fans to be one of the
Prince 's best works. Combining
Funk ,
R&B and
Rock in a way seldom done before, Prince reached what may well be his artisic peak. Notable are the haunting
Gospel of "Anna Stesia" and the hit
Single "
Alphabet St. ". The cover of the album caused some controversy as it depicted Prince in the
Nude , in a seemingly devout pose. Some record stores refused to stock it or censored the cover with black wrapper.
The theme of the album is the struggle between good and evil, or
Camille and
Spooky Electric , respectively.
God and
Sex , the perennial themes of Prince's work, finally truly mix as Prince climaxes to "Love is God, God is Love, Girls and Boys love God above" in the song "Anna Stesia".
''Lovesexy'' was issued as a substitute record after the release of the now-infamous ''
Black Album '' had been suddenly cancelled. ''The Black Album'' and ''Lovesexy'' almost act as companion pieces, sharing the song "When 2 R In Love" but nearly opposite in theme.
''Lovesexy'' opens with " No", a positive energitic track advising people to be free from their vices and to reject
Satan . The song ends with a scale of horns and a segue of conversations leading to the hit single, "
Alphabet St. " This is the album's most accessible track, mixing
Dance Music , rock and
Rap along with playful lyrics. Next is "
Glam Slam ", a busy dance track which really takes advantage of a his full band. It ends with an almost
Classical Music string solo. The delicate "Anna Stesia" is a heartfelt spiritual number with Prince promising to dedicate his life to God. The would end side 1 of the vinyl release.
Side 2 opens with the
Machine Gun -like pace of "Dance On", which lambasts negative aspects of society, somewhat akin to "
Sign “☮” The Times ". The title track follows and is another energetic dance track. Prince and
Cat Glover share an
Orgasm , both using speeded up
Camille -like vocals. This leads into the surviving ''Black Album'' track, "When 2 R in Love", a sex-infused ballad. Next is the lush "
I Wish U Heaven " followed by "Positivity", which echos the theme of "Dance On". Most of the vocals are delivered in a spoken word. The song ends with sounds of water, signifying purity and rebirth.
The album was accompanied by a critically acclaimed world tour, of which one of the
German shows were released on
Video Cassette .
- no.5 R&B-chart
- no.11 Pop-chart
# " No"
# "
Alphabet St. "
# "
Glam Slam "
# "Anna Stesia"
# "Dance On"
# "Lovesexy"
# "When 2 R In Love"
# "
I Wish U Heaven "
# "Positivity"
# "Alphabet St. ("This is not music, this is a trip")"
- " Glam Slam " (#44 US R&B, #29 UK)
# "Glam Slam" — ''7" version only''
# "Glam Slam (Remix)" — ''12" version only''
# "Escape (Free yo mind from this rat race)"
- " I Wish U Heaven " (#18 US R&B, #24 UK)
# "I Wish U Heaven" — ''7" version only''
# "I Wish U Heaven (Part 1, 2 and 3)" — ''12" version only''
# "Scarlet Pussy"
- US CD copies of ''Lovesexy'' have the entire album in sequence as a single track, so the listener is forced to hear the whole album in the context of a continuous sequence. European pressings and US promo copies are tracked, and contrary to popular belief are not rare.
- The opening track, " No" is a reworking of a song called "The Ball" from the unreleased '' Crystal Ball ''. Prince even kept the party noise that originally segued "The Ball" into "Joy In Repetition". This Segue was kept partially when "Joy In Repetition" was released on '' Graffiti Bridge ''.
- The first 2 singles had clear vinyl sleeves with only a sticker of the single's title. This was also true for the CD singles.
- "Positivity" was later given to Mavis Staples on her album ''The Voice''.
- "Positivity" originally contained the rap that Cat delivered on the ''Black Album'''s "Cindy C".
- This is the first Prince record to use the symbol in its tracklisting, though a slightly different graphic was used. Fans usually Romanize this symbol as "Eye" instead of its intended meaning as the word "I".
''Lovesexy''
lyrics
