Prince's Black Album

It's not difficult at all to tell the 87s and the 94s apart. The text is a different color and the catalog numbers are different.

 

Half of Throbbing Gristle. Actually 3/4 if you count the designer.

 

As for the cover of "Lovesexy", it's my understanding that it didn't seem to hurt sales outside of the US.

 

I have two used copies. I got them last year at two different occasions for $7 each. I know they are both from 1994. One still has the 'for promotion use only.....' sticker on the case, but I can't figure out what else is different about it compared to the 'regular' one I have.

When 2 R in Love is slowly climbing up my list of favorite Prince songs ever. The others have grown on me... It's such a radical departure given the time period, but it's still good to me.

 

Wow, I didn't know that.

 

It looks like Warner Brothers is going to reissue The Black Album on

It looks like Warner Bros is going to reissue a few of Prince's albums on vinyl. The Symbol Album & Diamonds and Pearls are advertised as single vinyl when the original imports were issued as 2xlp set. I'm hoping that's wrong.

 

Woah, you just blew my mind. Thanks!

 

Somewhere the album was renamed "Alphabet St.", the "Lovesexy" track was taken away and trousers were added...unfortunately they were blue, should've been purple!

 

That's true. I think he's tried to replicate this style many, many times and "Anna Stasia" remains the best attempt.

 

Thanks! Havent listened in years. Le Grind and CindyC always a favorite pair. Fun funky soulful stuff.

 

1 of my 15, no 10, no 5 favorite Prince albums at only 8 songs. "Dead On It" is just a hybrid of musical genius if that make any sense. The funky off-beat music with the hip hop beats, bizarre vocals, delivery, and lyrics that seem to oscillate between sincerity and parody? I was never sure how well When 2R N Love fit on the album, but revisiting it now after some years, it's just a pleasure to hear a great song at the end of a side. The style of Super reminds me some of those Talking Heads Fear of Music/Remain in Light jams a little ("This Beat is On Time") Prince style. RockHard in a Funky Place says it all. If I put Le Grind, Cindy C, Super, RockHard, on one side, it's just such a joyful listening experience.

 

I always thought the off kilter horns of Rock Hard reminded me of a Zappa song. There's something about the guitar line in Dead On It that reminds me of Papa's Got a Brand New Bag.
I wouldn't disagree with your thoughts about Super/Talking heads.........interesting.

 

I enjoy that guitar too in Dead On It and the horns in RockHard. Musical!

 

This is one of my favorite Prince albums. It continued his decade long streak of amazing albums (which lasted one more after this)!

Highlights for me are Bob George, Rock hard in a Funky Place, and Dead on It.

-George

 

Cindy C. is one of the funkiest jams ever, I love it

 

I got mine for 6 bucks at Ameoba Records last year, crazy!!!

 

I just bought a copy of the Black Album on vinyl. It appears to be the first new release of it since 1994, and certainly the first of 2016.

Honestly, I thought it was official, seeing as how so many other official releases have flooded the bins this year, and I thought maybe they snuck this one out as a "bootleg" to make it more "official," if that makes any sense at all.

I also bought it from a store that doesn't usually sell unofficial releases. Does anybody have any further information about this? Is it sourced from the official CD release? Some earlier vinyl copy? etc. It sounds pretty clean, though brittle - maybe a little over digitized. I would maybe believe it was official if I'd been told as much.

It's a double LP, which I didn't think about until I got it home, and turns out it's colored vinyl. Interesting, the labels are marked as promotional copies and the catalog number is as on the original US promo. It's a good looking and intriguing boot.

https://www.discogs.com/Prince-Black-Album/release/8952773

 

- Interesting! Of course wacky WB decides to (apparently) not reissue this, so the bootleggers take over! Two LPs, ugh. But otherwise, cool. There is a lot of bootleg material hitting right now on vinyl, I've noticed. I picked up Hit N' Run Phase One and Two on vinyl because who knows how long it'll take them to reissue those on LP (if ever) but things like the Black Album? I'm just hoping WB snaps out of it and puts it back on their list!

 

I just listened to The Black Album and Lovesexy in a row last night, and Lovesexy came out as a clear winner. It's just a better album.

That being said, The Black Album is a helluva lot of fun. I've never understood it's reputation for being "dark." It's no darker than a Funkadelic album in terms of themes. It's a party album, pure and simple.

 

- Lovesexy is still probably my all-time favorite Prince album. Which perplexes quite a few Prince fans!

 

It's wayyyy up there for me.

 

Completely agree - Lovesexy is the better album out of the two! There's some great moments on The Black Album but Lovesexy is far more cohesive (and it has Anna Stesia on there!). Lovesexy is one of my favourite Prince albums too! Never understood why it got so much flack!

 

I think it's brilliant.

The story goes that Prince pulled the album after having a sudden change of mind because the album was "evil" but I also think he might've been a bit worried about the commercial appeal at the time. Clearly Warners didn't see a single and Sign O' The Times, an ambitious project, didn't sell as well as they hoped. With his popularity already dwindling, he probably thought The Black Album would've alienated fans. That's just my belief though, as Lovesexy has the pop appeal that was expected from Prince albums at the time. So it got that sort of "not supposed to hear it, now I have to listen to it" appeal. What I like about The Black Album is how different it is, and it's a side of Prince we haven't heard. It has an urban appeal, and the funk is steamy. Bob George, as strange and appalling as it is, is a shocking and fascinating listen. I like how the voice sounds nothing like Prince, I can't even get myself to think that it IS his voice. Such a cool track. I also like Le Grind, Superfunkycalifragisexy, When 2 R In Love and the funny hip hop parody Dead On It. This really is Prince's "There's A Riot Going On" and while it's not as good as that album I still think The Black Album is very good and very important. It's also fun listening to it in contrast to Lovesexy, which is like the light to TBA's dark. Not every moment on the album is good but it contains some of his best writing of the 80's. Just probably not the best when trying to appeal to fans of his pop music.

 

The Black Album has a few duff tracks on it ("Good Love" and "Shockadelica" among others would've been better inclusions), but I still prefer it, I think the peaks are higher and sustain themselves longer.

 

Prince - Factory Sealed 1987 U.S. "Black Album" LP - One Of The Rarest Records In The World

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