Lovesexy

Lore & Background

Despite being critically acclaimed, Lovesexy became Prince's first album since 1981's Controversy that didn't crack the top 10, instead reaching number 11 on the Billboard 200. However, it did reach number one in the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. It spawned three singles: 'Alphabet St.'—which became a worldwide top-10 hit in the spring of 1988—and the follow-up singles 'Glam Slam' and 'I Wish U Heaven', the latter both of which failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100.

Subsequently, it was Prince's least successful album in the United States since 1980. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in December 1988. Lovesexy was accompanied by the Lovesexy Tour, of which the September 9th Dortmund show in Germany was released on video cassette and LaserDisc. The tour was also televised (with a short delay for editorial purposes) on several European channels, with the broadcast containing various alternate camera shots in place of the ones used in the officially released video, which was released in 1989.

Reader's Guide

The opening track, 'Eye No', was recorded with the full band (Miko Weaver on guitar, Levi Seacer, Jr. on bass, Doctor Fink and Boni Boyer on keyboards, Eric Leeds on saxophone, Atlanta Bliss on trumpet and Sheila E. on drums). Sheila E., in fact, plays drums on several tracks and sings backup, along with Boyer. Leeds and Bliss provide horns on most tracks, and Ingrid Chavez provides the intro to 'Eye No'. The album is designed to be heard in the context of a continuous sequence: LP pressings split the album in two side-long tracks, without visual bands to indicate individual songs.

Similarly, early CD copies of Lovesexy have the entire album in sequence as a single track, though some later editions have it as nine separate tracks. Lovesexy is also the first Prince album to replace the pronoun 'I' with a stylized eye symbol, commonly Romanized as 'eye' (i.e. 'Eye No'), in both song titles and liner notes; the symbol would not be completely adopted, however, until 1992's Love Symbol Album. The theme of the album is the struggle between good and evil.

God and Satan, virtue and sin (although, with the Gemini character that he developed in 1989, these 'sides' may also represent 'ego and alter-ego'), the perennial themes of Prince's work, mix as Prince climaxes to 'Love is God, God is love, girls and boys love God above' in the song 'Anna Stesia'. Prince referred to Lovesexy as a gospel album. It opens with a sermon of sorts; 'Eye No', a positive energetic track advising people to be free from their vices and to reject Satan, and affirming his belief in God, while using his bully pulpit to encourage the listener to do the same.

'Eye No' is a reworking of a song called 'The Ball' from the unreleased Crystal Ball. The song ends with a scale of horns and a segue of conversations (originally recorded on 'Eye No''s original version 'The Ball' which segued into another song; the 'conversations', or background party ambiance, was later used on the Graffiti Bridge album as a segue between 'We Can Funk' and 'Joy in Repetition') leading to the album's biggest-selling single, 'Alphabet St.', which mixes dance music, rock and rap along with playful lyrics about sex, braggadocio, and the heavenly state of feeling 'lovesexy'. Next is 'Glam Slam', a busy dance track which features Prince's full band.

Did You Know?

• The opening to 'Eye No' contains a sample from a Roger Limb track 'Passing Clouds', created at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop released in 1971 on the Out of this World album.
• First pressings of the compact disc feature all content on a single track. Likewise, the vinyl edition presented each side of vinyl with no track indexes.
• When Prince's music was added to digital stores and streaming services in 2017, Lovesexy was made available in its single track format only. However, a tracked version was later released digitally in 2021.