Album: Lovesexy
{{Album|
|album name = Lovesexy
|album image =
|date = 6 May 1988 (France)
9 May 1988 (UK)
10 May 1988 (USA)
|length = 45:07
|label = Paisley Park Records
|studios = Paisley Park
|previous year = 1987
|next year = 1989
|previous image = File:Sott.jpg
|next image = File:Batman.jpg
|previous album = Album: Sign O' The Times
|next album = Album: Batman
|previous album link = Sign O' The Times
|next album link = Batman
|introduction = Lovesexy is the tenth full-length studio album by Prince. It was released worldwide in May 1988, 13 months after his previous album Sign O' The Times.
As an artistic statement, the initial CD release of the album was not split into tracks, but was instead tracked as one single 45:07 track, designed to be listened to as a whole (track titles were included, however). Later releases of the CD split the album into the nine named tracks, however.
Recording process
The album was written and recorded hastily in response to Prince's decision in early December 1987, to cancel "The Black Album", which Prince deemed too dark. One of the tracks from that album, When 2 R In Love, recorded in October 1987, was kept for inclusion on Lovesexy, and the remaining eight tracks were recorded in the following two months. No, Dance On and Positivity were recorded in mid-December 1987.
Lovesexy was also initially recorded in mid-December 1987, but was re-recorded with different music in late January 1988. Alphabet St. was recorded at the end of December 1987. Glam Slam was also recorded at some point in December 1987, and Anna Stesia was recorded at some point in December 1987 - January 1988, but specific dates for these tracks are unknown. I Wish U Heaven was recorded in late January 1988, as the final track recorded for the album.
While Sheila E. appears on drums for many of the album's tracks, the album was largely recorded solely by Prince. His full live band appeared on No, and some band members appeared in minor roles on Alphabet St., Anna Stesia, Lovesexy and Positivity. The album marks Cat and Boni Boyer's first appearances on a Prince album.
A first sequence of the album was done on 21 January 1988. The exact sequence of this version is unknown, but likely had the first four songs (Side A of the album) as it was later released, although some versions (including Glam Slam and Anna Stesia were possibly edited or mixed differently at this point. The other songs on there were [[Dance On When 2 R In Love, Lovesexy, The Line and Positivity, most likely in that order. Prince likely worked on mixing the tracks over the next week. Lovesexy at this point was the earlier incarnation of the song, while Positivity at this stage included Cat rapping J.M. Silk's "Music Is The Key", previously incorporated into Cindy C. which was removed from the version as it was released.
In early February 1988 a new test pressing of the album is made, now including both the newly recorded Lovesexy and I Wish U Heaven. Before its final release I Wish U Heaven was remixed once more and replaced a guitar part with a keyboard part, while Cat's "Music Is The Key" rap was omitted from Positivity.
Promotion
The album produced three commercially-released singles, Alphabet St. (which preceded the album), Glam Slam and I Wish U Heaven.
Prince supported the album with a major European, North American and Japanese tour, the Lovesexy Tour, which focused largely on the album (while including many songs from Prince's back catalog).
Charts
The album reached number 11 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums Chart, and number 5 on the Billboard Top Black Albums Chart. It fared much better in Europe, reaching number 1 in the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden. The album also did well in New Zealand, where it also reached number 1. |tracklisting = The compact disc version is a reissue from the LP.
- No (5:46)
- Alphabet St. (5:38)
- Glam Slam (5:04)
- Anna Stesia (4:57)
- Dance On (3:43)
- Lovesexy (5:49)
- When 2 R In Love (3:58)
- I Wish U Heaven (2:43)
- Positivity (7:16)
| credits = All songs written by Prince. |* comment = |other format = LP | content = Vinyl and Cassette have the same tracks sequence
- Side 1:
- No (5:46)
- Alphabet St. (5:38)
- Glam Slam (5:04)
- Anna Stesia (4:57)
- Side 2:
- Dance On (3:43)
- Lovesexy (5:49)
- When 2 R In Love (3:58)
- I Wish U Heaven (2:43)
- Positivity (7:16)
|musicians = Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted (credited for "whatever")
- Sheila E. - drums on No and Alphabet St., drums (uncertain involvement) on Glam Slam and I Wish U Heaven, drums and background vocals on Dance On and Positivity
- Miko Weaver - guitar on No
- Levi Seacer, Jr. - bass guitar on No
- Dr. Fink - keyboards on No
- Boni Boyer - keyboards on No, vocals on Anna Stesia and Positivity
- Eric Leeds - saxophone and spoken voice ('party' segue) on No, saxophone on Alphabet St. and Positivity
- Atlanta Bliss - trumpet and spoken voice ('party' segue) on No, trumpet on Alphabet St. and Positivity
- Wally Safford - spoken voice ('party' segue) on No
- Greg Brooks - spoken voice ('party' segue) on No
- Ingrid Chavez - spoken intro on No (credited for "spirit child")
- Cat - vocals on Alphabet St. and Anna Stesia
- Unidentified woman - vocals on Lovesexy
|production = Prince - producer, arranger and engineer
- Joe Blaney - engineer
- Eddie Miller - assistant engineer
- Bernie Grundman - mastering
- Jean Baptiste Mondino - cover photo
|thanks = "Special gratitude 2 Alan Leeds, Karen Krattinger, Gilbert Davison, Robbie Paster, Duane Nelson, Earl Jones, Paul Gobel, Laura LiPuma, Margo Chase, Matt Larson, Brad Marsh & Joel Bernstein 4 unconditional support."
"All love & thanks 2 God" - Prince '88
|singles =
Alphabet St. b/w Alphabet St. part II |
|
Glam Slam b/w Escape |
|
I Wish U Heaven b/w Scarlet Pussy |
|see also = ! colspan="2" align="left" style="font-size:100%;color:#AB3E00"| See also
|- |colspan="2" |
Lovesexy (Sheet Music) |
Lovesexy (Tour) |
|charts =
Charts | |||
---|---|---|---|
America | |||
Country: Chart | Entry Date | Peak Position | Weeks in Chart |
USA: Billboard Top Pop Albums | 25 May 1988 | 11 | 20 |
USA: Billboard Top Black Albums | 25 May 1988 | 5 | 17 |
Europe | |||
Country: Chart | Entry Date | Peak Position | Weeks in Chart |
Austria: Alben Top 75 | 1 Jun. 1988 | 3(?) | 28 |
Germany: Muzikmarkt Top 75 Albums | 23 May 1988 | 4 | 24 |
The Netherlands: Nationale Top 75 | 21 May 1988 | 1(3) | 19 |
Norway: VG-Lista Top 40 Albums | Week 19/1988 | 2(?) | 18 |
Sweden: Top 60 Albums | 25 May 1988 | 1(2) | 8 |
Switzerland: Schweizer Hitparade | 25 May 1988 | 1(2) | 12 |
U.K.: UK Albums Chart | 21 May 1988 | 1(1) | 32 |
Pacific | |||
Country: Chart | Entry Date | Peak Position | Weeks in Chart |
Australia: ARIA Top 50 Album | 26 Jun. 1988 | 13 | 6 |
New Zealand: Top 40 Album | 12 Jun. 1988 | 1(2) | 18 |
Certifications | |||
Institution, Country | Date | Certification | |
RIAA, USA | 5 Dec. 1988 | Gold (500,000) | |
BPI, UK | 10 May. 1988 | Silver, Gold (100,000) | |
BPI, UK | 23 Aug. 1988 | Platinium (300,000) | |
SNEP, France | 1988 | Gold (100,000) | |
SNEP, France | 18 Oct. 2001 | Gold x2 (200,000) | |
BVMI, Germany | 1989 | Gold (250,000) | |
Awards | |||
Institution, Country | Date | Award | |
9th Minnesota Music Awards, USA | 11 May 1989 | Best Album |
|releases =
|album promotion = US press adverts published in Billboard and in Rolling Stones in spring 1988:
|alternative =
Alternate Album Configuration | |
---|---|
* sequence tentative
|
- February 1988 configuration
- No
- Alphabet St.
- Glam Slam
- Anna Stesia
- Dance On
- Lovesexy
- When 2 R In Love
- I Wish U Heaven (alternate version)
- Positivity (alternate version)
}} |trivia = Warner Bros. records shipped 750,000 units in advance of its street release, and logged in 30,000 reorders by 11 May 1988.
- Department store giant Wal-Mart refused to carry the album or decided to stock it discreetly in their 1,100 stores across the USA because of the "provocative pose" of Prince on the cover that they thought was "too hot to handle". Interviewed by Billboard, a representative from the chain declared that their refusal of stocking the album was due to "the album cover itself", something that was "offensive" and that they didn't want to carry anything in their stores containing "graphics of this nature". In a similar way, a Minneapolis based company, Musicland Group, advised the managers of their 616 stores to keep the LP behind the counter, while cassettes and CDs were being displayed routinely. Asked about the controversy, Warner VP Dennissaid that the label had no intent in redesigning the cover as they "didn't see anything wrong with it", pointing that Time Magazine printed the cover on the second week of may 1988.
|references = The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince by Per Nilsen & jooZt Mattheij, with the UPTOWN Staff (Uptown, 2004)
- "Lovesexy" Too Sexy For Some, Prince's Album Art Meets Resistance by Chris Morris (LA) & Geoff Mayfield (NY) (Billboard Vol. 100 NO. 21: 21 may, 1988)
- Copyright: US Copyright Office / SR0000085595 / 1988-06-17 Supplemented by: US Copyright Office / SR0000097032 / 1988-09-27
- Charts: UK Charts / Prince, Hitparade.ch / Lovesexy, Austriancharts.at / Lovesexy, Dutchcharts.nl / Lovesexy, Swedishcharts.com / Lovesexy, Norwegiancharts.com / Lovesexy, Australian-charts.com / Lovesexy, Charts.org.nz / Lovesexy and www.billboard.com / Lovesexy
- Certifications: http://www.riaa.com/, http://www.bpi.co.uk, BVMI / Gold & Platinium Awards
|categories = }}