Love Symbol is the fourteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the second of two that featured his backing band the New Power Generation. It was released on October 13, 1992, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. It was originally conceived as a "fantasy rock soap opera" with various spoken segues throughout, and contains elements of R&B, funk, pop, rock, and soul.
"The Arms of Orion" is a 1989 song by American musician Prince and Scottish singer and actress Sheena Easton. It was the third single to be taken from Prince's 1989 Batman soundtrack album. It was a #36 pop hit for them on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1989.
"I Wanna Be Your Lover" is a song by American recording artist Prince. It was released on August 24, 1979, as the lead single from his second album, Prince. The song was Prince's first major hit single in the United States, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 26, 1980, holding the number 11 position for two weeks, and peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart for two weeks.
"Let's Go Crazy" is a 1984 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Purple Rain. It is the opening track on both the album and the film Purple Rain. "Let's Go Crazy" was one of Prince's most popular songs, and was a staple for concert performances, often segueing into other hits. When released as a single, the song became Prince's second number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the two component charts, the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Dance Club Play charts, as well as becoming a UK Top 10 hit. The B-side was the lyrically controversial "Erotic City". In the UK, the song was released as a double A-side with "Take Me with U".
"Cream" is a song by American singer-songwriter Prince and his backing band the New Power Generation, released in September 1991 as the second single from Prince's 13th studio album, Diamonds and Pearls (1991). In a 2004 MTV special, Prince joked that he wrote the song while looking at himself in the mirror. "Cream" became Prince's fifth and last number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying at the top for two weeks. The song entered the top 10 in 15 other countries worldwide, peaking within the top three in Australia, Canada, Norway, and Switzerland. Its music video was directed by Rebecca Blake.
"Gett Off" is a song written and produced by American musician Prince, released in June 1991 as the lead single from his thirteenth album, Diamonds and Pearls (1991). The album was his first with his backing band the New Power Generation. "Gett Off" was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number four in the United Kingdom; the maxi-single was too long and pricey to appear on the UK Singles Chart, so this release was classified as an album, peaking at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart in August 1991.
"Diamonds and Pearls" is the title track of American musician Prince and The New Power Generation's 1991 album and was released as a single in November 1991. The song is an upbeat ballad, given a rock edge with guitar and heavy drumming. It also features the vocals of NPG member Rosie Gaines. The ballad is an expression of love and not lust, as is the theme on some of the other singles from the album. It was a top 10 hit, reaching number three in the US and the top spot on the R&B chart. The pearls in the accompanying music video come from Connie Parente, a Los Angeles jewelry collector and designer.
"U Got the Look" is a song by American musician Prince. It opens the second disc of Prince's double album Sign o' the Times (1987), and became the album's runner-up chart single. Musically, the song is a standard 12-bar rock song with emphasis on the contrast between heavy drum beats by a Linn LM-1 drum machine and Sheila E.'s live percussion, and a vastly distorted almost completely saturated guitar sound. Although not credited on the single release, the song also features Scottish recording artist Sheena Easton. Prince sings in his sped-up "Camille" voice, although the song was not intended for the Camille album. The lyrics recite the familiar "boy versus girl in the World Series of love" line.
"Controversy" is a song by American musician Prince, the lead single and title track to his 1981 album. The song addresses speculation about Prince at the time such as his sexuality, gender, religion, and racial background, and how he could not understand the curiosity surrounding him.
"Scandalous" is the eighth track on Prince's soundtrack album Batman and was released as the album's fourth single, five months after the album was released. The music is attributed to Prince and his father, John L. Nelson. A maxi single was released after the single titled The Scandalous Sex Suite, which contained a three-part 19-minute suite of the song "Scandalous", with the three parts named The Crime, The Passion, and The Rapture. Kim Basinger, who was dating Prince at the time and who also played the character Vicki Vale in Batman, also appeared on the maxi single.
"Money Don't Matter 2 Night" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation from their 1991 album, Diamonds and Pearls. Co-written with Rosie Gaines, the lyrics deal directly with money, poverty, and greed. Overall, the song is a smooth delivery with layered vocals by Prince. It peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. The accompanying music video was directed by Spike Lee.
"Let's Pretend We're Married" is a song by American musician Prince from his 1982 album 1999. It was the final US single from the album and peaked at number 52 in the US.
"Still Waiting" was the third US single from Prince's second album, Prince. It was Prince's first ballad to be released as a single and was mildly popular on the R&B chart, reaching number 65. The ballad speaks from the perspective of a young man who has not yet found love but yearns for it. The track is mainly piano, acoustic guitar and synth-based and was often played live with extended instrumental solos and audience teasing. The song is a more traditional R&B ballad, before Prince established himself with trademark sexual romps like "Do Me, Baby" and "International Lover".
"Dirty Mind" is the follow-up single in the US, and title track to Prince's third album, released in 1980. The song is built around a keyboard riff created by Doctor Fink, which dominates the song. The demo-like song lacks a chorus, and is a stark departure of the smooth R&B sound of Prince's first two albums. The lyrics concern sexual thoughts, which are fairly representative of the other songs from the album. The single's B-side is the ballad "When We're Dancing Close and Slow", from the previous year's Prince. "Dirty Mind" reached number sixty-five on the soul chart. Along with the tracks "Uptown" and "Head", "Dirty Mind" reached number five on the dance chart.
"Insatiable" is a song by American musician Prince and The New Power Generation, from their 1991 album Diamonds and Pearls. It is a slow, simmering ballad that often draws comparisons to 1989's "Scandalous!". The B-side was "I Love U in Me", which was originally the B-side to "The Arms of Orion". "Insatiable" was only released in the US as a 7" single, a 12" promo was sent only to Urban radio stations, and the track was not released to Pop radio stations. It performed well on the R&B chart, reaching number 3, but did not break the top 40 on the US Pop chart. Its single sales were moderate, and it received heavy airplay on Urban and UAC radio stations, but it did not make the Hot 100 Airplay.
"Sexy MF" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, released as a single from their 1992 album Love Symbol. The music and most of the lyrics were composed by Prince, while Levi Seacer Jr. came up with the chorus and the song's title. Tony M. also delivers a rap, which he wrote. The song and its refrain "You sexy motherfucker" caused some controversy, and edited versions were produced for radio, the music video and the US version of the album. The song was recorded in Paisley Park's Studio A in December 1991.
"My Name Is Prince" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, released as the second single from the 1992 Love Symbol album. The song is about Prince himself and his musical prowess. The rap sequence is performed by NPG member Tony M. The intro to the song features vocal samples from Prince's earlier songs "I Wanna Be Your Lover", "Partyup", and "Controversy".
"7" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, from their 1992 Love Symbol Album. It was released in late 1992 as the third single from the album, and became the most successful in the United States. It features a sample of the 1967 Lowell Fulsom song "Tramp" and is composed of heavy drums and bass in an acoustic style. It has a distinct Middle Eastern style of music, and a Hindu reincarnation theme, and an opera-like chorus which features Prince's multi-tracked vocals. The lyrics have religious and apocalyptic themes. The song is ambiguous and can be interpreted in many ways, as the "7" mentioned in the chorus could be the song referring to the Seven Deadly Sins or the seven Archon of Gnosticism or the seven names of God in the Old Testament. The song received positive reviews and peaked within the top forty of many of its major markets.
"The Morning Papers" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation from their 1992 album Love Symbol. It was released as the fourth worldwide single from the album in March 1993; the B-side is "Live 4 Love", a track from Prince's previous album, Diamonds and Pearls. The UK CD single included "Love 2 the 9's" as well, also from Love Symbol.
"Pink Cashmere" is a song by American musician Prince, released as a single from his 1993 compilations, The Hits 2 and The Hits/The B-Sides.
