Just listened to TMBGITW again for a while and i had goose bumps like i didn´t have for a while when listening to Prince music.

I always loved this song but now i feel it has to be in the same category like PR, SOTT, Kiss, When Doves Cry etc. This song is just epic and i wonder why P don´t play this song more often live than just in his piano sampler set...

As a pop song I think it's brilliant. Memorable, big open chorus, excellent production etc. It's never really done much for me on an emotional level though. Maybe it's just a little too sugary...

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[Edited 1/9/14 14:47pm]

Good song

The original single version.

It's a sugary pop tune and I love it. Even with what some call over producing.

Friend, lover, sister, mother, wife is better...

It is outstanding.

I remember when it came out how it really stood out from the rest of the stuff on the radio. By that time pop and r&b music had lost what once made it beautiful. TMBGITW was a beautiful song, it was well-produced and Prince's "raspy falsetto" vocals gave it an additional edge. Whether or not you liked it when it came on the radio, or MTV, you just had to admit that as an artist Prince was so above the rest that there was no competition for him.

For me, I still think it's his best produced song. Sonically, it just sparkles.

When it came out I liked it, mainly because I was at the peak of my fandom, not really because I thought the song was that great. It is pretty sappy, and musically quite repetitive. That didn't stop me from making a cassette of the song on repeat for my car in an attempt to force myself to get into it, though. I was way more impressed with the Mustang Mix a few months later.

That said, the song just came on at work a couple days ago over the sound system and it really sounded great - the production all sweeping and grand. Got a little goosepimply. And you can't fuck with those vocal adlibs over the fade out. Wow.

The single mix is way better than on the album, can't really explain why but it just feels much better

Xibalba said:

For me, I still think it's his best produced song. Sonically, it just sparkles.

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It's interesting that both this song and 'I Hate U' were both co-produced by Ricky Peterson. I'd like to know what parts Ricky Peterson came up with, and what it is he has that Prince felt he needed.

Giovanni777 said:

Xibalba said:

For me, I still think it's his best produced song. Sonically, it just sparkles.

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It's interesting that both this song and 'I Hate U' were both co-produced by Ricky Peterson. I'd like to know what parts Ricky Peterson came up with, and what it is he has that Prince felt he needed.

Oh Gio, that's a really good point, because that is another fantastically well produced song! The other one I would really rate in this arena would be "Call My name" - that shimmers well too.

I agree it's an impeccably produced track. As for the actual composition: The bridge is gorgeous. I hate the rest of it.

[Edited 1/10/14 11:20am]

Good song and was his last across the board hit, yes thats right Prince hasnt had a hit single in 20 years, accept it people. I dont count "I HATE U" though it was Top 15, it was all sales generated, it had zero airplay at pop radio so it wasnt an across the board hit by any means.

lastdecember said:

Good song and was his last across the board hit, yes thats right Prince hasnt had a hit single in 20 years, accept it people. I dont count "I HATE U" though it was Top 15, it was all sales generated, it had zero airplay at pop radio so it wasnt an across the board hit by any means.

I recall hearing "I Hate U" getting a bit of airplay on Top 40 radio at its initial release. But, yes, it sort of stalled. And it's too bad. That song is excellent. I can recalll DJs going nuts over the closing guitar solo, short as it was. I thought the track might really have broken the Top 10.

[Edited 1/10/14 11:33am]

Lammastide said:

lastdecember said:

Good song and was his last across the board hit, yes thats right Prince hasnt had a hit single in 20 years, accept it people. I dont count "I HATE U" though it was Top 15, it was all sales generated, it had zero airplay at pop radio so it wasnt an across the board hit by any means.

I recall hearing "I Hate U" getting a bit of airplay on Top 40 radio at its initial release. But, yes, it sort of stalled. And it's too bad. That song is excellent. I can recalll DJs going nuts over the closing guitar solo, short as it was. I thought the track might really have broken the Top 10.

[Edited 1/10/14 11:33am]

It had to be very localized maybe Chicago and Minnie, RB radio is really where everything has gone now for him and thats why i think alot of what he has been getting airplay with now is all in the same vein, sexual innuendo lyrics, typical prince beats etc...

Love this song and the entire era.

From 92 thru 98 - during the WB fallout -

Prince was on fire, especially 93-95. Absolute best performances I've ever seen.

Glam Slam and Paisley Park were the center of the universe and magical.

toejam said:

As a pop song I think it's brilliant. Memorable, big open chorus, excellent production etc. It's never really done much for me on an emotional level though. Maybe it's just a little too sugary...

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[Edited 1/9/14 14:47pm]

It is a decent rnb pop song, I hated it when it was released and I still don't really like it today: too sugary and safe. I blame this song to be the reason why the Emancipation album was so sappy. That album was my biggest Prince disappointment ever.

Great pop single and the music video is excellent, too..

Thibaut said:

The single mix is way better than on the album, can't really explain why but it just feels much better

The later 'Gold' version incorperated the NPG lineup in the coda so it then had a proper ending for the album sequence.

The music was essentially plagarism, but I always get goosebumps when I listen to the song.

funksterr said:

The music was essentially plagarism, but I always get goosebumps when I listen to the song.

There are only 12 notes.

I'm not too sure about how many goosebumps, though.

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Prost!

I liked it alot in 1994 when it was released.Cool song,great message and the production is nice.

but,as is the case with the song "Diamonds and Pearls",I now find it too sugary and safe.As someone else pointed out,it's success probably inspired all those other sugary songs that came later (on albums like Emancipation)

funksterr said:

The music was essentially plagarism, but I always get goosebumps when I listen to the song.

That´s what I thought when I heard that song by those two Italian guys who released their song way earlier (in the 70s ?) .

I never liked this song when it first came out and still don´t to this day, but then again I also didn´t like Cream,which was also a big hit and also borrowed heavily from another song.

I do like the Mustang Mix though.

SoulAlive said:

I liked it alot in 1994 when it was released.Cool song,great message and the production is nice.

but,as is the case with the song "Diamonds and Pearls",I now find it too sugary and safe.As someone else pointed out,it's success probably inspired all those other sugary songs that came later (on albums like Emancipation)

But the sugar worked on D&P, TMBGITW, and BBGW. It didn't translate so well on the rest of the Emancipation album for me. But, I always have said that the album is great minus producing choices.

Just imagine if he gave it a different sound, say like Parade or Sign O the Times?

It's a good song, but a bit lazy in my opinion. There's no real melodic variation between the verses and the chorus. Paddy McAloon has called this recently the "strophic form". Interesting, but in the case of Prince's song it sounds lazy to my eras.

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On the other hand, I must say I terribly disliked the song back in the day, but I like it much more now. The reason is that back then I saw it, together with "Peach" and "Pope", as the beginning of Prince's decline. (I thought the two albums with the NPG were awesome). But now, having seen a more stressed decline and really much worse tunes, my perspective has changed and I can appreciate more the quality of "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World".

One of the finest pop songs of his career and a well-earned hit.

We may think what we want about the song, but the fact is that it has become a classic. In Spain, it's one of the three Prince songs you usually listen to on the radio or watch on TV (together with "Purple Rain" and "Kiss").

[Edited 1/13/14 0:32am]