Track Listing

1. My Name Is Prince
2. Sexy M.F. - Prince, M., Tony
3. Love 2 the 9's
4. The Morning Papers
5. The Max
6. Blue Light
7. I Wanna Melt With U
8. Sweet Baby
9. The Continental
10. Damn U
11. Arrogance
12. The Flow - Prince, M., Tony
13. 7 - Prince, Fulson, Lowell
14. And God Created Woman
15. 3 Chains O' Gold
16. Segue - Prince,
17. The Sacrifice of Victor

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24049 in Music
• Published on: 1992
• Released on: 1992-10-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Customer Reviews

Half incredible, other half horribly boring
My impression of Prince began with his unique use of electronic instruments. In that respect, half this album is overwhelmingly powerful hip-hop (My Name Is Prince, 7, The Continental). The other half, however, is extremely dull, lo-tempo ballad-type pieces, that use more traditional instrumentation. Now, I don't usually enjoy ballads, but Prince has made some really great ones: Money don't Matter 2 Night, When 2 R In Love, Scandalous, etc., but these ballads are just lame (And God Created Woman, and The Morning Papers are among the worst).

There's such a huge contrast between the hip-hop, with influences of trip hop and house music, and the boring coffee-house jam sessions. And I don't understand how Sexy MF managed to become a single, it's just dumb, I think.

The segues are an interesting touch, but that idea doesn't get full bloom until The Gold Experience, an album that can do no wrong. Still, I say this album deserves a good four stars, because that stronger half is just so impressive. It really sounds like two different albums mixed together.

(3.5 stars) It's bad, it's funky
All right, check this inconsistency out: Prince had recently changed his name to the symbol "O)+>" (AKA The Love Symbol), yet he names the first song on the album "My Name is Prince". Wouldn't a more appropriate to have called it "My Name is O)+>"? Now, it's a good song, an incredibly funky rap, even if the lyrics are the most self-centered I've ever heard. This is one good album, but I think it's a bit long myself - eighteen tracks? Okay, sure, my favorite Prince album is Emancipation. Still, it's a bit of overkill, no matter how stunning the "Morning Papers" guitar solo is, no matter how much funk is in "Sexy M.F." (which of course stands for something besides "Sexy Mezzo Forte"). Some of the funk seems stale ("The Max"), some of the rap-like tracks veer uncomfortably close to bad rap (rather than good rap - unless "Melt With U" and "Continental" are your ideas of Prince at his peak, of course). The ballads, usually reliable, also flop (nightclub song "Damn U", "Love 2 the 9's", "Sweet Baby" - wonder where he came up with that title). I wonder who told Prince he could play convincing reggae - judging by "Blue Light", he can't. There are only some great songs on Love Symbol - the above as well as the religious rocker "7", with a cool sitar (rather than "The Cross" and its idiotic sitar); a couple good raps with "Arrogance" and "The Flow"; the atmospheric-in-a-good-way ballad "And God Created Women", "3 Chains o' Gold", like a funky "Bohemian Rhapsody", and the gospel-funk "Sacrifice of the Victor". So this mostly falls in the good end. What the hell is the point of the two segues, though?

Only Prince
Great CD. Bought it for one song that I could not find anywhere. Excellent price!