Love Symbol is the fourteenth studio album by American musician Prince. It is the second album in a series that includes his backing band, the New Power Generation. The album was released on October 13, 1992, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. It was originally planned as a "fantasy rock soap opera," featuring spoken parts that connect songs. The album includes music styles such as R&B, funk, pop, rock, and soul.

The official title of the album is an unpronounceable symbol shown on its cover. Prince copyrighted this symbol as "Love Symbol #2" and used it as his stage name from 1993 to 2000. He did this to protest how Warner Bros. Records treated him, including their refusal to release his previously unreleased music and their use of his real name for promotion. The album has also been called Love Symbol, Symbol Album, or Symbol.

The first two singles from the album, "Sexy MF" and "My Name Is Prince," had some success on the US pop chart. Both reached the top ten in the United Kingdom. The third single, "7," was less successful in the United Kingdom but became a top ten hit in the United States.

Background

An early version of the album included up to eight short musical pieces called segues, along with an introduction that described Prince's idea for a "rock opera." These elements helped create a story that connected the songs. Together, the songs explained the album's main story: An Egyptian princess (played by Mayte Garcia, who made her first appearance on a Prince album) falls in love with a rock star (Prince) and gives him a sacred religious object called the Three Chains of Turin (commonly called the 3 Chains o' Gold) after escaping seven assassins who killed her father to steal the valuable relic, as mentioned in the song "7."

In a last-minute effort to add a new song, "I Wanna Melt with U," which includes musical elements also found in "7" (and was originally planned as a bonus track for the "7" single), Prince had to remove many of the segues to make space for the song and fit the album's length. The remaining segues are confusing without the connecting parts that were cut. The removed segues have been shared by fans for many years, and it is likely that a future Super Deluxe Edition of the album by the Paisley Park Estate will include them again.

On the released album, the segues featuring Kirstie Alley as reporter Vanessa Bartholomew are mostly unchanged. In these, she tries to conduct an interview with Prince but fails when he hangs up after she tells him he is being recorded. In another segue, Prince teases Vanessa by giving vague and silly answers to her questions. Some lines in which Vanessa asks about the Three Chains of Turin were removed from the final version of the album.

"3 Chains o' Gold" (a direct-to-video film made and directed by Prince) was finally released in the fall of 1994, even though filming began in 1991 and was completed with the goal of being a visual companion to the album. Despite Prince's efforts to release it (after funding much of the project himself), Warner Bros. Records delayed its release. The film follows the same story and structure as the Love Symbol Album and includes several of the segues that were removed from the album.

Critical reception

The Love Symbol Album was ranked the 14th best record of 1992 in the Pazz & Jop, an annual survey of American music critics published by The Village Voice. Robert Christgau, the creator of the survey, later wrote about the album: "Designed to show his never-ending creativity after Diamonds and Pearls, which was his best-selling album since Purple Rain, this album labeled a 'rock soap opera' (is he serious? is he ever? is he ever not?) mainly proves that he has the funk."

Track listing

All songs on the album were written by Prince, except where stated otherwise. Prince and The New Power Generation arranged and produced all tracks.

The pronoun "I" in the song titles and liner notes is replaced with a stylized "👁" symbol. Prince fans often write this symbol as "Eye."

The song "My Name Is Prince" includes samples from three earlier songs: "I Wanna Be Your Lover" from his second album Prince (1979), "Partyup" from his third album Dirty Mind (1980), and "Controversy" from his fourth album Controversy (1981).

Multiple versions of the album were released. Early copies had a gold love symbol printed on the jewel case, sometimes with a matte or glossy finish. Later versions placed the symbol on the booklet or omitted it entirely. A special limited edition included a gold box with a purple love symbol engraved on the cover. Some boxed sets included a bonus CD single titled "Sexy MF," while others included a special CD single with different versions of "My Name Is Prince."

The original version of the album includes all the original transitions between songs. The track "The Sacrifice of Victor" is slightly longer in this version.

Personnel

Adapted from Benoît Clerc

• Prince – sang lead on tracks 1–5, 7–16, 18; rapped on track 13; spoke on tracks 6, 17; provided background vocals on tracks 1, 3–5, 7–10, 14–16, 18; played electric guitar on tracks 1, 3–5, 7–8, 10–13, 16, 18; played acoustic guitar on track 14; played electric sitar on track 14; played bass guitar on tracks 1, 5, 8, 10, 14; played synthesizers on tracks 1, 5, 7–12, 14; played piano on track 16; played drums on track 7; helped create electronic sounds on tracks 1, 5, 7–8, 10, 14, 18; snapped fingers on track 3; played percussion on tracks 4, 14; clapped on tracks 5, 12, 14; played tambourine on tracks 8, 16; played finger cymbals on tracks 11, 14
• Tony M. – rapped on tracks 1–3, 5, 13, 18; spoke on tracks 3, 12; provided background vocals on track 12
• Tommy Barbarella – played synthesizers on tracks 2–4, 9, 12, 15–16, 18; played Hammond organ on track 2
• Michael B. – played drums on tracks 2–4, 9, 11–12, 15–16, 18
• Damon Dickinson – provided background vocals on tracks 2–3, 12–13, 18; played percussion on tracks 2–3, 12
• Kirk Johnson – provided background vocals on tracks 2–3, 12–13, 18; played percussion on tracks 2–3, 12, 15–16
• Levi Seacer Jr. – sang lead on track 2; played electric guitar on tracks 2–4, 9, 11–12, 15–16, 18
• Sonny T. – played bass guitar on tracks 2–4, 9, 11–12, 15–16, 18
• Mayte – sang lead on track 3; spoke on tracks 3, 5, 16; provided background vocals on tracks 7, 15

• Brian Gallagher – played tenor saxophone on tracks 2–4, 10, 12–13, 15–16, 18
• DJ Graves – scratched on tracks 2–3, 5, 8, 10, 12–13, 18
• Dave Jensen, Steve Strand – played trumpet on tracks 2–4, 10, 12–13, 15–16, 18
• Kathy Jensen – played baritone saxophone on tracks 2–4, 10, 12–13, 15–16, 18
• Michael B. Nelson – played trombone on tracks 2–4, 10, 12–13, 15–16, 18
• Airiq Anest – helped create electronic sounds on tracks 5, 8, 10, 13
• Kirstie Alley – spoke on tracks 6, 11–12, 17
• Michael Koppelman – played bass guitar on track 7; played synthesizers on track 7
• Eric Leeds – played saxophone on track 7
• Carmen Electra – rapped on track 10
• String orchestra – played on tracks 11, 16
• Fred Steele, J D Steele, Jearlyn Steele, Jevetta Steele – provided background vocals on track 18

• Prince – produced the album
• Keith Cohen – worked as an additional producer and helped mix
• George Black – worked as an additional producer on track 8
• David Friedlander – recorded tracks 1–6, 8–18
• Steve Noonan – recorded tracks 1–6, 8–18; helped mix and master
• Ray Hahnfedt, Brian Poer – recorded tracks 1–5, 8–18; helped mix
• Michael Koppelman – recorded tracks 1–5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18; helped mix
• Peter Arata – recorded tracks 6, 11–12, 17–18
• Larry Mahn – recorded tracks 11, 16
• Airiq Anest, Dave Aron, Steve Durkee – helped record tracks 1–5, 8–16, 18; helped mix
• Tom Garneau, Bob Rosa, Steve Beltran – mixed
• Brian Gardner – mastered the album
• Clare Fischer – arranged string music for tracks 11, 16

Publishing

• All songs are published by Controversy Music/WB Music Corp., except for Track 1 (Copyright NPG Music/Michael Anthony Music), Track 15 (NPG Music), and Track 12 (Controversy Music/WB Music Corp.; includes a sample of "I Know You Got Soul" by Eric B. & Rakim, published by Songs of Polygram International Inc./Robert Hill Music; includes a sample of "Jazz It Up" originally by C.F.M. Band and a sample of "Niggaz 4 Life" by N.W.A., copyright Ruthless Attack Muzik/Sony Songs/Bridgeport Music). Track 14 is published by Controversy Music, with additional publishing by Powerforce Music/Budget Music; includes a sample of "Tramp" by Lowell Fulson, published by Blues Interactions, Inc.

Singles

• "Sexy MF" maxi-single (No. 66 US, No. 76 US R&B, No. 4 UK)
• "My Name Is Prince" maxi-single (No. 36 US, No. 25 US R&B, No. 7 UK)
• "7" maxi-single (No. 7 US, No. 3 US R&B, No. 27 UK)
• "Damn U" (No. 105 US, No. 32 US R&B)
• "The Morning Papers" maxi-single (No. 44 US, No. 8 US R&B, No. 52 UK)