(Love Symbol Album) |
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| Studio album by Prince and The New Power Generation | ||||
| Released | October 13, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1991–1992 | |||
| Genre | R&B, pop, soul, funk, rock[1] | |||
| Length | 74:56 | |||
| Label | Paisley Park, Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Prince | |||
| Prince chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Love Symbol Album | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Robert Christgau | (A-)[2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (A-)[3] |
| Mojo | (favorable)[4] |
| Q | [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6][7] |
| Spin | (7/10)[8] |
| Yahoo! Music | (mixed)[9] |
is the fourteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, released October 13, 1992 on Paisley Park and Warner Bros. Records.[10] Due to its official title being an unpronounceable symbol, which Prince later adopted as his name, the album has been referred to as the Love Symbol Album, or simply Symbol. It is Prince's second album to feature his backing group, The New Power Generation, which received co-billing for the release. The album contains elements of musical styles including funk, R&B, hip hop, jazz, reggae, and synthpop.[11]
The album's first two singles, "My Name Is Prince" and "Sexy MF", achieved modest success on the US pop charts, though both made the top ten in the UK. Conversely, the third single, "7", was not as successful as the first two singles in the UK, but was a top ten hit in the US. The album was originally conceived as a "fantasy rock soap opera" with various spoken segues throughout.[12] However, in a last-minute attempt to add an additional song ("I Wanna Melt with U", which was originally considered to be a B-side to the "7" maxi-single), most of the segues had to be cut for album length. The few that remained were somewhat confusing in context. The album debuts Mayte Garcia, who plays a part in the album's storyline and would become Prince's wife in 1996. Early pressings of the album featured an embossed gold love symbol on the jewel case, while later editions feature it printed on the booklet or not present on either.
3 Chains o' Gold, a direct-to-video film produced and directed by Prince, was released in 1994. The film is based on the plotline and songs of the Love Symbol Album and contained some of the original segues which were planned to be on the album.
Contents |
Produced, arranged, and performed by Prince and The New Power Generation. All songs composed by Prince except where noted.
"Segue" tracks do not appear on LP releases of the album.[10] Several special editions of this album were released; one boxed set came with a bonus "Sexy MF" CD single, another with a specially-created CD single of "My Name Is Prince" mixes.
Below is an early version of the album with all the original segues which help explain the album's storyline better.[13]
This original version contained eight segues as well as an intro. When "I Wanna Melt with U" was added a lot of these segues had to be cut for album length; these segues have been bootlegged since. Also, "The Sacrifice of Victor" was slightly longer than the released version.
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[14] | 5 |
| US Billboard R&B Albums[14] | 8 |
| UK Albums Chart[15] | 1 |
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart | 1 |
| Preceded by Automatic for the People by R.E.M. |
UK number one album October 17, 1992 – October 23, 1992 |
Succeeded by Glittering Prize 81/92 by Simple Minds |
| Preceded by Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album October 25, 1992 – October 31, 1992 |
Succeeded by Erotica by Madonna |