Prince - For You (1978) [1987, Reissue]

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Prince - For You (1978) [1987, Reissue]

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Prince - For You (1978) [1987, Reissue]

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On his debut album, "For You", Prince shows exceptional skill for arranging and performing mainstream urban R&B and funk, but his songwriting remains conventional. Only on the mildly racy "Soft and Wet" does he demonstrate a personal touch, but the song is still more of a promise than a fulfillment. While "For You" isn't a bad record, it is merely a pleasant one, and it offers very little indication of his staggering talents.

"For You" is the debut studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on April 7, 1978 by Warner Bros. Records. The album bore the soon-to-be classic tag "produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince". Prince started recording in September 1977 at Sound 80 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he had previously made a demo recording. Friend and producer David Rivkin (later known as David Z) provided advice and engineering assistance. Rivkin was being considered for the role of executive producer, but Warner Bros instead chose Tommy Vicari, known for his work with Carlos Santana, one of Prince's heroes. Vicari was disappointed with Studio 80 and suggested taking the project to a studio in Los Angeles that was better equipped. Prince's manager Owen Husney balked; he was worried that Prince would get distracted by the nightlife in Los Angeles. The Record Plant in Sausalito, California, was chosen as a compromise location. Shifting the project to Northern California, Prince, Vicari, Husney, and Husney's wife settled into an apartment in Mill Valley, with a view looking down at Sausalito and out to the San Francisco Bay. The basic tracks were recorded over three months at the Record Plant, starting in October. Vicari tried to exert his influence as producer but Prince shrugged off any advice that was contrary to his wishes. Prince worked obsessively on the project, singing all the parts and playing all the instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes piano, synth bass, various keyboard synths by Oberheim, Moog and Arp, orchestra bells, drums, percussion and bass guitar. He used the Oberheim to provide the sound of a horn section, but with guitar lines layered into the mix. At the end of December 1977, the basic tracks were finished. Husney later observed that Prince had drained Vicari during the recording process, such that Vicari "was heartbroken, because he had just been treated like shit." In January 1978, Prince and Vicari moved the project to engineer Armin Steiner's Sound Labs studio in Hollywood, to begin overdubs and final mixing. Prince distanced himself further from Vicari, concentrating on laying down multiple vocal lines to create a polished commercial sound. Warner selected an art director to design the album cover but Prince booked his own photography session with Joe Gianetti, resulting in a head shot taken in a dark room, with Prince's face lit by candle light. Prince completed the final mixes on February 28. The total project cost $170,500 (US$639,723 in 2017 dollars) – three times more than was budgeted by Warner. With all the work, including 46 vocal lines layered into the first track, Prince was exhausted. He later said, "I was a physical wreck when I finished." The album was released on April 7, 1978. Its lead single, "Soft and Wet", became a minor hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #92. However, it became a top 20 hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at #12 and establishing Prince as a popular teen star in the market. The second single released from the album, "Just as Long as We're Together", stalled at #91 on the R&B charts. Critical reviews were mixed. While critics felt Prince had talent and possessed "the most thrilling falsetto since Smokey Robinson", the album itself was regarded as a promising but somewhat insubstantial early disco effort. The album originally peaked at #163 on the US Billboard 200 chart when it was released in 1978 and #21 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart. It went on to sell approximately two million copies worldwide. In 2016, the album re-charted on the Billboard 200 and peaked at #138 after Prince's death. The album also reached #200 on the French Albums Chart and #156 on the UK Albums Chart, although it did not originally chart in those countries.

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Prince - For You (1978) [1987, Reissue]

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Prince - For You (1978) [1987, Reissue]

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