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Love Symbol

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Untitled

The fourteenth album by Prince, officially titled as the unpronounceable symbol , was released as a double vinyl or single CD, on October 13, 1992. The album has been referred to as the The Love Symbol Album, Symbol or as O(+>, an ASCII approximation of the symbol. The keyboard "O(+>" was created by Nathan Wright of the Prince News List back in March 18, 1994. 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 and synthpop.

The album's first two singles, "My Name Is Prince" and "Sexy MF", were only minor hits on the US pop charts, though both made top ten in the UK. Conversely, the third single, "7", was relatively unsuccessful in the UK, but was a top ten hit in the US. The album was originally conceived as a rock-soap opera with various spoken segues throughout. However, in a last-minute attempt to add an additional song, most of the segues had to be cut for album length. The few that remained were somewhat confusing in context. The album also debuts Mayte Garcia, who also plays a part in the album's storyline, and would become Prince's wife in 1996. In a dispute with Warner Bros. in 1993, Prince decided to change his stage name to the album's eponymous symbol. He kept that name for several years until re-adopting the Prince moniker in 2000.

Track listing

Produced, Arranged, and Performed by Prince and the New Power Generation. All songs composed by Prince except where noted.
  1. "My Name Is Prince" (Prince, Tony Mosley) – 6:39
  2. "Sexy MF" (Prince, Levi Seacer, Jr., Tony Mosley) – 5:25
  3. "Love 2 the 9s" – 5:45
  4. "The Morning Papers" – 3:57
  5. "The Max" – 4:30
  6. "Segue" (spoken word with Prince and Kirstie Alley) – 0:21
  7. "Blue Light" – 4:38
  8. "I Wanna Melt with U" – 3:50
  9. "Sweet Baby" – 4:01
  10. "The Continental" – 5:31
  11. "Damn U" – 4:25
  12. "Arrogance" – 1:35
  13. "The Flow" (Prince, Tony Mosley) – 2:26
  14. "7" (Prince, Lowell Fulsom, Jimmy McCracklin) – 5:13
  15. "And God Created Woman" – 3:18
  16. "3 Chains o' Gold" – 6:03
  17. "Segue" (spoken word with Prince and Kirstie Alley) – 1:30
  18. "The Sacrifice of Victor" – 5:41

Alternates

"Segue" tracks do not appear on LP releases of the album. Several special editions of this album were released. One boxed set came with a bonus "Sexy MF" CD single, another with a special created CD single of "My Name Is Prince" mixes.

Film

In 1994, Prince released the movie 3 Chains o' Gold, which helped explain the album's plot. At the end, a monologue explained the origin of the symbol:

Upon the seventh day of the sixth month, nineteen hundred and ninety-three, marking the beginning and ending of cycles of creation, Prince, reaching the balance of thirty-five years, put into practice the precepts of perfection: Voicing bliss through the freedom of being one's self; incarnating the New Power Generation into the close of the six periods of involution, giving birth upon himself to regenerate his name as O(+> -- for in the dawn, all will require no speakable name to differentiate the ineffable one that shall remain.

Charts

Chart (1992) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 5
U.S. Billboard R&B Albums 8
UK Albums Chart 1
Australian ARIA Albums Chart 1

Singles and Hot 100 chart placings

Preceded byAutomatic for the People by R.E.M. UK number one album
October 17, 1992 – October 23, 1992 		Succeeded byGlittering Prize 81/92 by Simple Minds
Preceded bySome Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
October 25, 1992 – October 31, 1992 		Succeeded byErotica by Madonna

Notes

  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "( The Love Symbol Album > Overview )". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  2. Hoard (2004), p. 655.
  3. ^ Prince & The New Power Generation Discography. Discogs. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
  4. Nathan Wright's Prince News List using O(+> for the first time - March 18, 1994
  5. Untitled (Symbol) (US CD, Album). Discogs. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.

References

  • Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-74320-169-8.
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