Prince: 3 Chains o' Gold

In this week's episode, Violet Vault host Ava Cyr dives into one of Prince's last albums released under his given name in the 90s- Love Symbol. She explores the concepts for the album as well as what could have been. Ava also explains the narrative storyline Prince built into the album as well an encouraging listeners to give the album a listen in order to experience the storyline and his impeccable vocal range. 

Transcript

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The first time Ava Steer heard Prince was the day he passed. At 12 years old, she sat in her room listening to Purple Rain, and something in her changed. Now, years later, that moment lives on through the Violet Vault, a podcast exploring Prince's legacy, his music, and the world he created. Join Ava Seer as she opens the vault. One story, one era, one purple mystery at a time.

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Hello, Purple family, and welcome back to the Violet Vault. I'm your host, Ava Seer, and this is episode 16 of our Purple Journey. Last episode, we discussed one of Prince's last commercially successful albums, Diamonds and Pearls, as well as the growing tensions between the artist and Warner Bros. And in today's episode, we'll be taking a look at another turning point for Prince, an album that began to plant the seeds for another major shift in Prince's life. And that album is known as the Unpronounceable Symbol, featuring only Prince's signature symbol, which has gone through many renditions throughout the years, but this album features its final form. The album can also be referred to as Love Symbol. So it was released on October 13th, 1992, a little over a year after the release of Diamonds and Pearls, and it was originally conceived as a rock opera, with segs weaved into the album to carry Prince's narrative story. And early versions of the album actually contained as many as eight segs, including an introduction. Hopefully the estate will eventually release this version for us. The storyline follows an Egyptian princess who was played by Maite Garcia. And this actually was her debut on a Prince album, and we'll keep continuing getting into her story as episodes go on because she continues to play an important role in Prince's life. But the princess falls in love with a rock star, which of course is played by Prince, and she entrusts him with a sacred religious artifact known as the Three Chains of Gold, which subsequently refers to one of the songs in the album of the same name. And she gives this relic to Prince after escaping from seven assassins who murdered her father in an attempt to capture the priceless relic. And that seven obviously refers to the song Seven. Prince ended up adding an extra song in the album titled I Wanna Melt With You, which contains samples from Seven, but this ended up causing Prince to cut many sags from the album because it just was too long, which makes the storyline a bit confusing to listeners. Christy Alley plays the reporter Vanessa Bartholomew, who is featured on a few sags and music videos such as My Name is Prince. And in 1994, Prince actually released a direct-to-video film called Three Chains of Gold, which featured a similar storyline and songs from the album. The album itself was voted as the 14th best album of 1992 in the pop and jazz category. And the singles released include Sexy MF, My Name is Prince, Seven, Damn You, and The Morning Papers. Their first two singles, Sexy MF and My Name is Prince, received decent success in the States and in the UK. However, the single Seven actually fared better in the US than the UK, which is interesting because the last few years we talked about, a lot of the singles actually did better in the UK than the US. So it's interesting to see that flipped again. And to me, Love Symbol is one of those Diamond in the Rough albums in Prince's catalog. It's funky, yet it's packed with rock elements, Middle Eastern inspiration, and powerful sensual ballads. I always enjoyed jamming out to Seven, The Morning Papers, The Max, Orving to Sweet Baby, or Blue Light. I also want to mention Prince's insane display of vocal range in the song Damn You. If you haven't had the pleasure of listening, I highly recommend, but make sure to take note of his impeccable range. Love Symbol marks one of the last few albums Prince released under his given name in the 90s as tensions continued to rise between Warner Bros and himself. It once again showed the world how Prince could utilize different inspirations and music styles to create a cohesive album while still maintaining his Minneapolis sound. Thank you so much for tuning into The Violet Vault. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to check out our other 15 episodes in our catalog, as well as following both our Instagram and Facebook to stay updated on new content. Next week we'll look at the beginnings of one of music history's most memorable shifts, as well as Prince's ever-evolving artistry and life. I hope you have a great rest of your weekend, and if you haven't listened to the Love Symbol album before, or if it's been a while, I encourage you to find some time to appreciate this gem of an album. I'm your host, Ava Steer. Peace and be wild.

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The Violet Vault is hosted by Aviser, celebrating the sound, style, and spirit of Prince. Subscribe wherever you find your podcasts, and follow the Violet Vault on Instagram and Facebook for new episodes and bonus stories.