Lovesexy (1988)

Lovesexy (1988)

It’s all in the bottom. Specifically, Prince’s bass and Sheila E.’s drums, which appear on about half the album. The bulk of Lovesexy is a nonstop funk blowout — the album was originally issued unindexed for the Fuller Prince Experience – with a full stereoscape loaded with sonic nuggets. The horns — typically a weak spot for Prince — are urgent, putting over opener “Eye No” with a sticky motif and goosing “Alphabet St.” and “Positivity” with judicious shine. Conceptually, the warp and weft of Prince’s primary concerns (your pleasure, his pleasure, the wickedness of man, the plight of racism’s victims) are woven better than ever. He swings from seduction to exhortation to admonishment, sometimes within the same song, and never in any particularly hectoring way.

Lovesexy was famously issued in place of The Black Album, a slamming, prickly set that was to be released without any identifying info, and was shelved for one of many possible reasons. (A bad ecstasy trip is the leading theory at the moment.) It’s a testament to Prince’s prolific gifts that what is essentially a stopgap release could feel so vital. The recurring lyrical touches — “Eye No” shares the “rain is wet” hook with “Lovesexy” and the character Spooky Electric with “Positivity” — just add to the conceptual feel of the record. And, again, this thing gives off sparks. “Alphabet St.” is a glammy thumper undiminished by a flailing rap from dancer/choreographer Cat Glover that ends with “jerk it like a horny pony would.” “Dance On” alternates a sunshine hook with a list of indictments. Bass sixteenths hammer down the urgency; Prince uncorks an uncanny impression of Cynthia Robinson on Sly And The Family Stone’s “Dance To The Music.” “Glam Slam” is dream-pop with a gloomy prog chaser, like Paul Williams collaborating with Czesław Niemen. It gives way to the penitent “Anna Stesia,” built around a simple but forward-thinking keyboard figure; it sounds like pop future — specifically, Lady Gaga.