[1] is the fourteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, released October 13, 1992 on Paisley Park andWarner 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, 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] It has sold over five million copies worldwide.
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, and which contains several sampled sounds also present in "7"), 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[]
- 2 Personnel
- 3 Production
- 4 Publishing
- 5 Charts
- 6 Singles and Hot 100 chart placings
- 7 Notes
- 8 References
Track listing[edit][]
Produced, arranged and performed by Prince and The New Power Generation. All songs composed by Prince, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Name is Prince" | 6:39 | |
| 2. | "Sexy MF" | 5:25 | |
| 3. | "Love 2 the 9's" | 5:45 | |
| 4. | "The Morning Papers" | 3:57 | |
| 5. | "The Max" | 4:30 | |
| 6. | "Blue Light" | 4:38 | |
| 7. | "I Wanna Melt with U" | 3:50 | |
| 8. | "Sweet Baby" | 4:01 | |
| 9. | "The Continental" (featuring Carmen Electra) | 5:31 | |
| 10. | "Damn U" | 4:25 | |
| 11. | "Arrogance" | 1:35 | |
| 12. | "The Flow" | 2:26 | |
| 13. | "7" | 5:13 | |
| 14. | "And God Created Woman" | 3:18 | |
| 15. | "3 Chains o' Gold" | 6:03 | |
| 16. | "The Sacrifice of Victor" | 5:41 |
Alternate versions[edit][]
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.
Early configuration[edit][]
Below is an early version of the album with all the original segues which help explain the album's storyline better.[13]
- "Intro"
- "My Name is Prince"
- "Sexy MF"
- "Segue"
- "Love 2 the 9's"
- "The Morning Papers"
- "The Max"
- "Segue"
- "Blue Light"
- "Segue"
- "Sweet Baby"
- "Segue"
- "The Continental"
- "Damn U"
- "Segue"
- "Arrogance"
- "The Flow"
- "Segue"
- "7"
- "Segue"
- "And God Created Woman"
- "3 Chains o' Gold"
- "Segue"
- "The Sacrifice of Victor"
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.
Personnel[edit][]
Prince and the New Power Generation[edit][]
- Prince: Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Bass, Drums, Percussion
- Mayte: Vocals
- Tony M.: Raps
- Damon Dickson: Dancer
- Levi Seacer: Guitars
- Tommy Barbarella: Keyboards
- Sonny T.: Bass
- Michael Bland: Drums
- Kirk Johnson: Percussion
Additional Personnel[edit][]
- Carmen Electra: Guest Rap on "The Continental"
- The Steeles (Jevetta, Jearlyn, JD and Fred Steele): Vocal Backing on "The Sacrifice of Victor"
- Eric Leeds: Saxophone on "Blue Light"
- Michael Koppelman: Bass on "Blue Light"
- DJ Graves: Scratching
- Mike Nelson, Kathy J., Dave Jensen, Brian Gallagher and Steve Strand: Horns
- Airiq Anest: Programming
- Clare Fischer: String Arrangements
Production[edit][]
- Arranged by Prince and the New Power Generation
- Produced by Prince and the New Power Generation; additional production by Keith Cohen; additional production on "I Wanna Melt with You" by George Black; strings produced by Clare Fischer
- Recorded by Michael Koppelman, Dave Friedlander, Steve Noonan, Ray Hahnfeldt and Brian Poer; strings recorded by Larry Mann; Kirstie Alley's voice recorded by Peter Arata
- Mixed by Keith Cohen, Michael Koppelman, Tom Garneau, Bob Rosa and Steve Beltran; additional mixing by Dave Aron, Airiq Anest, Steve Durkee, Biran Poer, Steve Noonan and Ray Hahnfeldt
- Mastered by Brian Gardner and Steve Noonan
Publishing[edit][]
- All songs published by Controversy Music/WB Music Corp.; except:
- Track 1 (Copyright NPG Music/Michael Anthony Music), track 15 (NPG Music)
- Track 12 (Controversy Music/WB Music Corp; contains a sample of "I Know You Got Soul" by Eric B. & Rakim which is published by Songs of Polygram International Inc./Robert Hill Music; contains a sample of "Jazz It Up" originally by C.F.M. Band and also a sample of "Niggaz 4 Life" by N.W.A; copyright Ruthless Attack Muzik/Sony Songs/Bridgeport Music).
- Track 14 published by Controversy Music; additional publishing by Powerforce Music/Budget Music; sample of "Tramp" by Lowell Fulsom published by Blues Interactions, Inc.
Charts[edit][]
| 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 |
Singles and Hot 100 chart placings[edit][]
- "Sexy MF" maxi-single (#66 US, #76 R&B, #4 UK)
- "My Name Is Prince" maxi-single (#36 US, #25 R&B, #7 UK)
- "7" maxi-single (#7 US, #3 R&B charts, #27 UK)
- "Damn U" (#105 US, #32 R&B)
- "The Morning Papers" maxi-single (#44 US, #8 R&B, #52 UK)
| Preceded by | UK number one album
October 17, 1992 – October 23, 1992 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
October 25, 1992 – October 31, 1992 |
Succeeded by |