Alphabet St.
1988 single by Prince
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"Alphabet St." is a song from American musician Prince's tenth album, Lovesexy (1988). It was the first single from that album and the album's only top 10 single, reaching the top 10 in both the UK and US. Initially written as an acoustic blues song, the song's final version includes a rap by Cat Glover and is full of samples. "Alphabet St." generally echoes themes from the rest of Lovesexy.
| "Alphabet St." | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
UK 7-inch single | ||||
| Single by Prince | ||||
| from the album Lovesexy | ||||
| B-side | "Alphabet St. (This is not music, this is a trip)" | |||
| Released | April 1988 | |||
| Recorded | December 30, 1987 | |||
| Studio | Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota, US | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Paisley Park | |||
| Songwriter | Prince | |||
| Producer | Prince | |||
| Prince singles chronology | ||||
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The B-side is a remix of "Alphabet St." called "Alphabet St. ("This is not music, this is a trip")". The title and other phrases are repeated at the beginning of the song, but essentially it is an instrumental with a few minor changes. "Alphabet St." was the first Prince single released as a CD, albeit only in the UK and Japan. A promo CD was issued in the US.
Critical reception
In his review of the song, Paul Clements from Melody Maker felt that "as a lighthearted bubblegum pastiche, it fairly shimmers. There's some judiciously spare scratch guitar, the usual assortment of percolating percussion, and a magnificent tumbling drum lick." He also noted its "almost shocking austerity", and concluded, "Hopefully, a ticklish harbinger of a long, deliciously hot summer."[4] Sean O'Hagan from NME wrote, "'Alphabet St' is, naturally, a record of rare brilliance. It unleashes its outre funk ideology over one of those patented Prince guitar riffs—a clipped, chunky groove that slips into the cerebral space once occupied by the subliminal 'Kiss' coda. From then on, the boy has it easy. 'Alphabet St' is meatier and a lot less meandering than much of the Madhouse future funk of 'Black', stating its case with a hip-shaking sass that is one of the maverick ruler's stock signatures."[5]
Music video
Directed by Patrick R. Epstein and produced on very short notice on March 20, 1988[6] by filmmaker Michael R. Barnard, the music video for "Alphabet St." shows Prince walking and driving a late 60's Ford Thunderbird through an environment made out of letters. The video contains hidden messages. The first one appears after the end of the first verse ("She'll want me from my head to my feet"), where there is a split second image with the hidden message "Don't buy The Black Album, I'm sorry." The second image says B "heaven is so beautiful"; the third image is D "4 the light dance"; the fourth image is G "funk guitar"; the fifth image is H (heroin) "is 4 punks"; the sixth image, when Prince is in the Thunderbird, says "if U don't mind". The final one is when Prince dances on the Thunderbird, "GOD I LOVE U ♡" being shown for a split second.
Track listings
- 7-inch single
- A. "Alphabet St." (edit) – 2:25
- B. "Alphabet St." (cont.) – 3:14
- 12-inch and CD single
- "Alphabet St." (album version) – 5:38
- "Alphabet St. ("This is not music, this is a trip")" – 7:48
- CD promo[7]
- "Alphabet St." (edit) – 2:25
- "Alphabet St." (LP version) – 5:38
- "Alphabet St." (extended version) – 5:40
- "Alphabet St. ("This is not music, this is a trip")" [Listed as "Alphabet St."] – 7:48
Personnel
Credits sourced from Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud[8][9]
- Prince – lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, Roland D-50, synthesizers, bass guitar, Linn LM-1, Dynacord ADD-One, cuíca, handclaps
- Sheila E. – drums, handclaps
- Eric Leeds – saxophone
- Atlanta Bliss – trumpet
- Cat Glover – rap, backing vocals
- Boni Boyer – backing vocals
- Ingrid Chavez – spoken voice
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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