I feel like I'm in a big minority here but after a few listens I personally seem to find myself preferring the released version of the Kate Bush song, 'Why Should I Love You?' over the demo that Michael Koppleman seems to have released to the public lately.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...Nt5t3sL-kE - Released 'Prince' version

http://www.youtube.com/wa...bP-dapt09Q - Demo

I'd be interested to hear the version Prince originally did, that Kate Bush seemingly hated so much she asked for all the tapes to be destroyed!

http://gaffa.org/moments/2_2j.html - Story behind it all from the perspective of Michael Koppleman. I remember when he was posting on here a lot for a bit (Or am I 'misremembering'?).

Anyway, I can see the appeal of the demo, which is stripped back, which makes it more subtle but I just feel like the tune sticks in the head a bit more on the released version. I'm just not sure if it doesn't drag on a bit in terms of both length and song - feels a bit sluggish at points. I'd agree that the released version is a bit more obviously dated though - with the sound of the synth, guitar and drums.

Ironically the bit I like least about the released version is probably the bit Prince had nothing to do - getting Lenny Kravitz to sing on it!!

Which brings me to another thing, if Kate Bush hated it so much I don't know why she split the difference in the first place. I suppose it's good ol' English manners that she might not have wanted to offend Prince but even so (especially odd considering they never worked in person and were just posting stuff to each other) - I find the thought of putting out something that you weren't happy with when you're in the position of artistic independence that Kate Bush and Prince have very odd.

Funnily Michael Koppleman felt a part of the reason Prince wanted to work with Kate Bush was to impress Koppleman - in a funny way I can see it although Prince did 'work' with her again on My Computer years later and was already a big Kate Bush fan.

What's your thoughts?

MK....why should eye love u?

softandwet said:

I feel like I'm in a big minority here but after a few listens I personally seem to find myself preferring the released version of the Kate Bush song, 'Why Should I Love You?' over the demo that Michael Koppleman seems to have released to the public lately.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...Nt5t3sL-kE - Released 'Prince' version

http://www.youtube.com/wa...bP-dapt09Q - Demo

I'd be interested to hear the version Prince originally did, that Kate Bush seemingly hated so much she asked for all the tapes to be destroyed!

http://gaffa.org/moments/2_2j.html - Story behind it all from the perspective of Michael Koppleman. I remember when he was posting on here a lot for a bit (Or am I 'misremembering'?).

Anyway, I can see the appeal of the demo, which is stripped back, which makes it more subtle but I just feel like the tune sticks in the head a bit more on the released version. I'm just not sure if it doesn't drag on a bit in terms of both length and song - feels a bit sluggish at points. I'd agree that the released version is a bit more obviously dated though - with the sound of the synth, guitar and drums.

Ironically the bit I like least about the released version is probably the bit Prince had nothing to do - getting Lenny Kravitz to sing on it!!

Which brings me to another thing, if Kate Bush hated it so much I don't know why she split the difference in the first place. I suppose it's good ol' English manners that she might not have wanted to offend Prince but even so (especially odd considering they never worked in person and were just posting stuff to each other) - I find the thought of putting out something that you weren't happy with when you're in the position of artistic independence that Kate Bush and Prince have very odd.

Funnily Michael Koppleman felt a part of the reason Prince wanted to work with Kate Bush was to impress Koppleman - in a funny way I can see it although Prince did 'work' with her again on My Computer years later and was already a big Kate Bush fan.

What's your thoughts?

I didn't know Kravitz sang on the song!!!! Are you certain that he did? I don't remember the linear credits saying anything along these lines.

J

Kate has never said that she hated Prince's version, and she is certainly not the kind of artist to put out something she is not happy with, she is a legendary perfectionist. If she was not in any way happy with the end result of "Why Should I Love You?" then it would not have appeared on her album, period. She and Del Palmer worked on the track (Prince's version) for close to two years (on and off) before it was deemed good enough to release.

jayARDAHB said:

softandwet said:

I feel like I'm in a big minority here but after a few listens I personally seem to find myself preferring the released version of the Kate Bush song, 'Why Should I Love You?' over the demo that Michael Koppleman seems to have released to the public lately.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...Nt5t3sL-kE - Released 'Prince' version

http://www.youtube.com/wa...bP-dapt09Q - Demo

I'd be interested to hear the version Prince originally did, that Kate Bush seemingly hated so much she asked for all the tapes to be destroyed!

http://gaffa.org/moments/2_2j.html - Story behind it all from the perspective of Michael Koppleman. I remember when he was posting on here a lot for a bit (Or am I 'misremembering'?).

Anyway, I can see the appeal of the demo, which is stripped back, which makes it more subtle but I just feel like the tune sticks in the head a bit more on the released version. I'm just not sure if it doesn't drag on a bit in terms of both length and song - feels a bit sluggish at points. I'd agree that the released version is a bit more obviously dated though - with the sound of the synth, guitar and drums.

Ironically the bit I like least about the released version is probably the bit Prince had nothing to do - getting Lenny Kravitz to sing on it!!

Which brings me to another thing, if Kate Bush hated it so much I don't know why she split the difference in the first place. I suppose it's good ol' English manners that she might not have wanted to offend Prince but even so (especially odd considering they never worked in person and were just posting stuff to each other) - I find the thought of putting out something that you weren't happy with when you're in the position of artistic independence that Kate Bush and Prince have very odd.

Funnily Michael Koppleman felt a part of the reason Prince wanted to work with Kate Bush was to impress Koppleman - in a funny way I can see it although Prince did 'work' with her again on My Computer years later and was already a big Kate Bush fan.

What's your thoughts?

I didn't know Kravitz sang on the song!!!! Are you certain that he did? I don't remember the linear credits saying anything along these lines.

J

It was UK TV comedian Lenny Henry who sang on the track, not Lenny Kravitz.

TheDigitalGardener said:

jayARDAHB said:

I didn't know Kravitz sang on the song!!!! Are you certain that he did? I don't remember the linear credits saying anything along these lines.

J

It was UK TV comedian Lenny Henry who sang on the track, not Lenny Kravitz.

Doh! I knew that! Talk about typo. Bloody hell!

Thanks for the correction.

Lenny Henry / Kravitz

I didn't think either song was that great. But I've never been into her music. Talented, but not my cup of tea. Same goes for these two songs.

It never worked for me. Not that thrilled with the demo either...they both made up for it on My Computer...

I think it's funny that in the comments on the Prince input one, one person criticizes it as clunky and dated, but the demo sounds much more clunky and dated to my ears. It seems like Prince tried to make it more breezy and less clunky on the beat, and move faster on the chorus.

I'm a massive Kate fan. To be honest I think both versions are'nt great. Kate's version is one of the worst things she's done in my opinion. The Prince one is better, but pretty average.

My Computer's a classic to my ears. Maybe needs a little bit more Kate though

I don't hate the released version, but I'm not sure why Prince did what he did to it, it already sounds like a Prince song from the original demo - reminds me of some unreleased stuff put I can't put my finger on it. Just some backing vox or some of that delicious 88/89 guitar sound here and there would've done it.

Yeah it does sound like a poor collaboration between these two amazing artists. Prince adding flourishes to what she has done already, as opposed to them sitting down together in the studio and creating together. This method of sending recordings back and forth worked better on Paradigm with George Clinton, maybe because they are of like minds.

XNY said:

I didn't think either song was that great. But I've never been into her music. Talented, but not my cup of tea. Same goes for these two songs.

I agree with you as neither song moved me

I'd be interested to hear the version Prince originally did, that Kate Bush seemingly hated so much she asked for all the tapes to be destroyed

do your research

kate never said or felt that way

BS thread

jonylawson said:

I'd be interested to hear the version Prince originally did, that Kate Bush seemingly hated so much she asked for all the tapes to be destroyed

do your research

kate never said or felt that way

BS thread

OK calm down, I'm basing it on what Michael Koppleman said, which seems to be the biggest source of information on the collaboration and I said 'seemingly' as opposed to 'definitely'. There doesn't seem to be any quotes from Kate Bush on what she thinks so it's all I had to go on.

The way it reads from Koppleman is that Prince kinda 'did his thing' all over it and then Kate Bush said it sounded 'american' (which doesn't sound like a compliment given how un-american her music is) and in the context of the piece where Prince is behaving in an arrogant and evasive way, him saying Kate Bush 'liked it' and said it sounded 'american' sounds very much like she was being polite and didn't like it! But I freely accept that's my interpretation. Plus she asked for all the original tapes of the Prince version to be destroyed.

After which she spent two years trying to make it 'right'. From that I inferred she didn't like the Prince version.

Anyway, as TheDigitialGarden said above Bush was a perfectionist so as I stated originally I would be surprised if she put something she wasn't totally happy with on one of her albums, which is why I posted this to see other people's opinions and see if there was any other info out there.

Working on that basis and re-reading what Koppleman says you could argue that perhaps his account is coloured by the fact he's still (understandably) bitter over the way and reasons Prince sacked him and that he's an incredibly biased Kate Bush fan.

So another way to interpret it could be:

i.e. She wanted the originals destroying just because she didn't want them to 'leak' rather than she didn't like them.

She spent 2 years working on it because she's a perfectionist not because Prince ruined the song (in her opinion) and she wanted to make it right.

Bear in mind though that Koppleman, the only person to have heard both versions, says the released version essentially splits the difference between the two - so whatever way you read that it suggests she didn't like Prince's version enough to put it on her album, or perhaps she did but just felt it didn't fit a 'Kate Bush' album?

Either way, I'm glad to see I'm not the only person in the world who actually prefers the released, more Princeified version to the demo, though I can see both sides and would agree that it seems funny in a way for Prince to put so much on when he could have just embellished it quite nicely.

Maybe he was trying to impress her as he was a big fan and he just tried too hard?

yeah we all know koppleman said

but i dig your thread

Prince and Kate are my ultimate favourites, I love the prince version more. It's diffrent for her whilst the demo is classic Kate.

I like it more than the original. The album needs an uptempo number like that one. It was one of my favourite tracks when I first heard the album and I didn't even know Prince had been involved on it until I checked out the liner notes.

I think it's obvious that she and her associates did quite a lot of work on it themselves after Prince sent the track back to them. Does it really sound like the music Prince himself was doing around that time? I don't think so.

You don't have to "hate" a track to consider it unfitting for an album project. If something just doesn't go well together with the rest of the tracks it's usually either changed to fit the rest or dropped altogether. Prince himself has done that plenty of times with his own album projects.