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Prince

Warner Bros. Records

It was for radio rather than for me, but it got a lot of people interested in my music.

The eponymous Prince album is often mistaken as his debut release but is in fact Prince’s second studio LP. Like his debut For You, Prince wrote every song and played every instrument heard on the album. It was also his first LP supported with a tour; during which, and unusually, he performed every song from the album.

Prince was recorded at Alpha Studios in Burbank, California over a six week period from late April to mid June 1979. The studio was within the home of its owner, sound engineer Gary Brandt, who helped Prince produce the album. In the record, Prince explores many genres – disco, rock, funk, soul, yet is a more toned-down release to his previous LP For You, deploying fewer instruments. This was entirely intentional as Prince was under pressure to improve on the chart position on his previous album as well as reign back on the $170,000 cost to produce For You. Prince is therefore a simpler affair. Not only did production fall well within budget at just $35,000, having tried too hard with the debut LP to employ every trick in the book and fill every track of the studio’s console. The troubled recording of For You led to Prince parting company with his manager Owen Husney. Prince’s second LP, self-titled as if to reset the false start he had with For You, Prince was recorded in the quiet and unpretentious home setting of Alpha Studios. Under the steady guidance of Brandt, the sessions were less pent-up and Prince more at ease and receptive to opinion and learn from him the nuances and intricacies of sound engineering. Under Brandt the finished result was a snappier sounding, hit delivering, record.

Eager to regain Warner Brothers’ faith, Prince was written with the intention to deliver at least one hit single, which it achieved with I Wanna Be Your Lover, a track Prince wrote about his infatuation for Patrice Rushen. The single, released on 24 August 1979, was an instant hit at the discos and, selling 1 million copies it just fell short of Billboard’s top 10. It helped Prince album sell 1 million units in the US, and garnered Prince his first RIAA certification, Gold on 15 February 1980 – promptly upgraded to Platinum on 21 February. Prince peaked at 22 on the Billboard album chart, a massive 116 position improvement on the debut LP, and sat in its Black Top 100 list for an impressive 23 weeks. I Wanna Be Your Lover struck RIAA’s Gold singles certification on 18 March 1980 and delivered Prince’s first certified hit. The album’s second Still Waiting followed days later and was Prince’s first ballad released as a single, although it and the LPs remaining singles failed to chart. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? was released as a single one month ahead of Prince’s stint as support act for Rick James. Possibly owing to it not having a chorus, the fourth single Sexy Dancer skipped the US but was released in the UK, issued as both a 7″ edit and its 8:50 original full length version on 12″, backed with Bambi. Because of this, Bambi was released as a 7″ A-side in the Netherlands and Belgium only, on 19 September 1980. The album’s funkiest track Sexy Dancer is reputedly influenced by Prince’s then girlfriend, fellow Minnesotan and figure skater Leslie Fhima. The song became Prince’s first of many 12″ versions available only on the single.

Surprisingly, what since became the album’s most recognisable track I Feel For You, was never released as a promo for Prince but was later re-recorded and famously a number one hit for Chaka Khan. Her version of the song won Prince a Grammy in 1984 for writing the Best R&B Song. More significantly, albeit little known, the studio sessions for Prince also conceived the iconic track Purple Rain.

Prince 1979
Photography by Richard E. Aaron

Cover story

Ever since his first album, Prince was adamant not to be pictured smiling on his album covers. He wanted to be portrayed as a serious artist. Many pictures were taken in the cover’s photo session at LA, in which Earth, Wind & Fire’s photographer Jurgen Reisch captured countless shots of 20-year-old Prince striking a series of poses – some with a black leather jacket on and many more with him topless. The album’s back cover, a shot done by Chris Callis, is even more interesting in that it shows Prince sat on a white winged horse, wearing nothing but shorts. The wings were art-worked onto the image to make the horse look like Pegasus and to cover Prince’s shorts so to suggest he was naked. The front and back cover images present Prince naked because he didn’t want to be looked upon as just another R&B artist, the best way he thought would visualise this was to be pictured without clothes. The album’s logo was created by graphic artist Terry Taylor, finishing a simple but effective cover. The contact sheet from this 1979 photo session was later used as the cover for I Feel For You (Acoustic Demo), issued by The Prince Estate in 2019.

Performers

Vocals / all Instr
Prince

Data

Production
Prince and Gary Brandt (uncredited)
Label
Warner Bros. Records
Distribution
Warner Bros. Records
Cover/Design
Jurgen Reisch, George Chacon and Terry Taylor (logo)
Released
44 years ago on 19 October 1979
Reissued
4 February 2022
Running Time
40:54
US Chart Peak
22
UK Chart Peak
Did not chart
Prince Album
#2
Orig. Formats

Tracklist

  1. I Wanna Be Your Lover (5:47)
  2. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? [feat. André Cymone] (3:49)
  3. Sexy Dancer (4:18)
  4. When We're Dancing Close And Slow (5:18)
  5. With You (3:59)
  6. Bambi (4:22)
  7. Still Waiting (4:24)
  8. I Feel For You (3:24)
  9. It's Gonna Be Lonely (5:30)

Released as a single

Singles from Prince

I Wanna Be Your Lover, single from Prince, Warner Bros. Records (1979)

I Wanna Be Your Lover

Warner Bros. Records

Released
24 August 1979
US Chart Peak
11
UK Chart Peak
No Release
Cover/Art
Jurgen Reisch and George Chacon
Format
  1. I Wanna Be Your Lover [Edit] (2:57)
  2. My Love Is Forever (4:08)
I Wanna Be Your Lover, single from Prince, Warner Bros. Records (1979)

I Wanna Be Your Lover

Warner Bros. Records

12"/Maxi-Single


Released
24 August 1979
Distribution
WEA Records
US Chart Peak
No Release
UK Chart Peak
41
Cover/Art
Generic sleeve
Format
  1. I Wanna Be Your Lover (5:47)
  2. Just As Long As We’re Together (6:24)
Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?, single from Prince, Warner Bros. Records (1980)

Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?

Warner Bros. Records

Released
23 January 1980
US Chart Peak
Did not chart
UK Chart Peak
No Release
Cover/Art
Jurgen Reisch and George Chacon
Format
  1. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? [feat. André Cymone] (3:49)
  2. Baby (3:09)
Still Waiting, single from Prince, Warner Bros. Records (1980)

Still Waiting

Warner Bros. Records

Released
25 March 1980
US Chart Peak
Did not chart
UK Chart Peak
No Release
Cover/Art
Generic sleeve
Format
  1. Still Waiting [Edit] (3:48)
  2. Bambi (4:22)
Sexy Dancer, single from Prince, Warner Bros. Records (1980)

Sexy Dancer

Warner Bros. Records

Released
11 April 1980
Distribution
WEA Records
US Chart Peak
No Release
UK Chart Peak
Did not chart
Cover/Art
Chris Callis and George Chacon
Format
  1. Sexy Dancer (4:18)
  2. Bambi (4:22)
Sexy Dancer, single from Prince, Warner Bros. Records (1980)

Sexy Dancer

Warner Bros. Records

12"/Maxi-Single


Released
11 April 1980
Distribution
WEA Records
US Chart Peak
No Release
UK Chart Peak
Did not chart
Cover/Art
Generic sleeve
Format
  1. Sexy Dancer [Long Version] (8:50)
  2. Bambi (4:22)

Supporting tour

Prince Tour

Prince Tour

1979/80

  • 14 shows from 26 November 1979 to 17 February 1980
  • 43 shows as support act for Rick James ‘Fire It Up Tour’, 22 February to 3 May, 1980

Prince – review

Prince is the eponymous album and the one that would also provide Prince the fledgling pop star his springboard hit: I Wanna Be Your Lover. In one fell stroke seemingly writing out For You from history. The song kicks off a surprisingly solid album for what was then the youngest record producer in history. Naming the LP after his own name confuses many to believe that his was his debut, which in a kind of way it is as many of the songs were outtakes from the first album For You. Where For You trod carefully, Prince was sexier and set the scene for Prince’s next record Dirty Mind. Prince – the album – reminds us how the soulful dude Prince – the man – really was. Unlike his cruder subsequent LPs, although the narrative is focused on sex, Prince is refined and allows the music to wallow in the foreplay. It was the inclusion of I Wanna Be Your Lover which elevates Prince to Platinum selling standard but many a fan will argue the highlight of the LP is Bambi, quite possibly Prince’s best guitar led track. The third big hitter is Sexy Dancer, ripe for the discos. I Feel For You is better known for Chaka Khan’s version which she rebooted in 1984, but it’s the original on this album that showcases its raw impact. It’s Gonna Be Lonely remains a personal favourite, as it is true as the old adage advises the old ones are the best. With tracks like these that’s impossible to disagree.

Prince

Related release

I Feel For You [Acoustic Demo]

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