For You (Prince album)
For You | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 7, 1978 | |||
Recorded | September 1977 – February 1978 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 33:11 | |||
Warner Bros. | ||||
Producer | Prince | |||
Prince chronology | ||||
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Singles from For You | ||||
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For You is the debut
For You reached No. 163 on the
Production
Prince started recording in September 1977 at
Starting in October, the basic tracks were recorded over three months at the Record Plant. Vicari tried to exert his influence as producer but Prince shrugged off any advice that was contrary to his wishes.
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.[3] Warner Bros. 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 candlelight.[5] Prince completed the final mixes on February 28. The total project cost $170,500—US$796,479 in 2023 dollars[6]—three times the original budget.[3] With all the work, including 46 vocal lines layered into the first track, Prince was exhausted. He later said that he was a "physical wreck" when he finished.[7]
Singles
"Soft and Wet", the album's lead single, became a minor hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 92. However, it became a top 20 hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number 12. The second single released from the album, "Just as Long as We're Together", reached number 91 on the R&B charts.
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Blender | [8] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B−[1] |
Entertainment Weekly | B−[9] |
The Guardian | [10] |
MusicHound | 2.5/5[11] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
Yahoo! Music | (favorable)[13] |
Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote, "Like most in-studio one-man bands, the nineteen-year-old kid who pieced this disco-rock-pop-funk concoction together has a weakness for the programmatic—lots of chops, not much challenge. But I like 'Baby,' about making one, and 'Soft and Wet,' ditto only he doesn't know it yet. And his falsetto beats Emitt Rhodes."[1]
Commercial performance
On release in 1978, For You reached number 163 on the US
Track listing
All tracks are written by Prince, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "For You" | 1:06 | |
2. | "In Love" | 3:38 | |
3. | "Soft and Wet" | Prince, Chris Moon | 3:01 |
4. | "Crazy You" | 2:17 | |
5. | "Just as Long as We're Together" | 6:24 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "Baby" | 3:09 | |
7. | "My Love Is Forever" | Prince, Chris Moon (uncredited) | 4:09 |
8. | "So Blue" | 4:26 | |
9. | "I'm Yours" | 5:01 |
Personnel
- Prince – lead vocals, backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, clavinet, ARP Pro Soloist, ARP String Ensemble, Minimoog, Polymoog, Oberheim 4-Voice, bass guitar, drums, Pollard Syndrums, slapstick, wind chimes, finger cymbals, handclaps, fingersnaps, water drums, bongos, congas, brush trap, bell tree, wood block, producer, arranger, engineer, dust cover design
Technical
- Tommy Vicari – executive producer, engineer, remixer
- David Rivkin – vocal recording engineer (uncredited)
- Patrice Rushen – synth programming (uncredited)
- Charles Veal – string arrangement on Baby (uncredited)
- Steve Fontano – assistant engineer
- Dave Roeder – assistant engineer
- Bernie Grundman – mastering (A&M)
- Jeff Farmakes – art direction (The Ad Company)
- Joe Giannetti – photography
Charts
Chart (1978) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard Top LPs & Tapes[14] | 163 |
US Billboard Top Black Albums[14] | 21 |
Chart (2016) | Peak position |
---|---|
French Albums ( SNEP)[15]
|
200 |
UK Albums (OCC)[16] | 156 |
US Billboard 200[17] | 138 |
References
- ^ ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
- ^ ISBN 9781458429414.
- ^ ISBN 9781782119753.
- ISBN 9781429950732.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ISBN 9781476776750.
- ^ Blender review Archived August 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ISSN 1049-0434. Archived from the originalon October 19, 2014. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Price, Simon (April 22, 2016). "Prince: every album rated – and ranked". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
- ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8. Archived from the originalon October 12, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ Clay, Jennifer (January 1, 1982). "For You". Archived from the original on July 22, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Josephs, Brian (April 6, 2018). "Prince's Debut Album 'For You' Four Decades Later: Does It Foreshadow a Superstar?".
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Prince – For You". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ "Prince | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2016.