I had completely forgotten about that until I found this while searching through usenet archive narkive.com: http://alt.music.prince.n...m-livesexy

Too bad that site only has posts going nback ten odd years. Would love to see posts from the mid-1990s to early 2000s, when amp was a major player.

that's only the lovesexy live arrangement (prince has done a lot of mash-up type arrangments of his own songs mixed with covers). the studio version (if my memory serves me) doesn't use any melodic elements from that song.

he payed tribute to Duke Ellington... what a bastard...

he pulled that stunt before during the Sign 'o' the Times concerts with Parker's Now's the Time

what's next, you're gonna tell us he quoted a bit of Muddy Water's Electric Man during Head in 1986?

Thanks for posting this, Bart!

I love the live version of this song (and it's not just from Livesexy, is it Dandroppedadime? Isn't it from the Nude tour as well?), and it's great to hear the song that it came from.

pantoufle, who said Prince was a bastard for using elements of old jazz standards? I certainly don't see that in Bart's post...instead, I see an actually NEW and INTERESTING piece of information on this otherwise relatively dead site.

dear theblueangel,

read my post again...if you still think I was being serious

then I do apologise, I was just "inspired'' as Bart puts it

Eric also incorporated "It Don't Mean a Thing If You Ain't Got That Swing" in his solo between "Delirious" and "Jack U Off".

BartVanHemelen said:

I had completely forgotten about that until I found this while searching through usenet archive narkive.com: http://alt.music.prince.n...m-livesexy

Too bad that site only has posts going nback ten odd years. Would love to see posts from the mid-1990s to early 2000s, when amp was a major player.

wow, good catch bart loved AMP back in the day

this band is much better than 3rd eye girl

BartVanHemelen said:

I had completely forgotten about that until I found this while searching through usenet archive narkive.com: http://alt.music.prince.n...m-livesexy

Too bad that site only has posts going nback ten odd years. Would love to see posts from the mid-1990s to early 2000s, when amp was a major player.

Bart doesn't exactly attack Prince in the post, but if you've been primed to expect him to, it's easy to assume that's what the "inspired" means (why else put the quotes unless he really means something else. There's nothing wrong with his sharing the information, it's just easy to assume he means something bad by it. Obviously, there's nothing unusual or shameful about such use.

Prince's use of this song (as well as Billie's Bounce) in the live version of If I Had A Harem is mentioned on Princevault, but nice of Bart to post it (esp the youtube link), regardless. Also, cool to have the archive link for a.m.p. There did use to be some fun stuff on there (I lurked mostly, back then).

Ah AMP -- where the crazed grazed the purple prairie with unique dramatic aplomb! Back then, you were no one if you did not fixate on Carmen Electra's failed project or own a minimum of 5 dozens boots.

If I had an Harem always had a very familiar feel. Also I'd like to report that Prince stole one line from Pink Floyd and paraphrased another from the Stones in Fixurlifeup, and I ought to be calling the police.

Is "If I Had a Harem" an actual Prince song registered in the Library of Congress, etc.? Or is that just the name we've given to what's basically a jam/mash-up of this old song?

RodeoSchro said:

Is "If I Had a Harem" an actual Prince song registered in the Library of Congress, etc.? Or is that just the name we've given to what's basically a jam/mash-up of this old song?

It's an actual, copyrighted song by Prince:

wow so prince stole from ellignton too wow

RodeoSchro said:

RodeoSchro said:

Is "If I Had a Harem" an actual Prince song registered in the Library of Congress, etc.? Or is that just the name we've given to what's basically a jam/mash-up of this old song?

It's an actual, copyrighted song by Prince:

Type of Work:	Music
Registration Number / Date:	PAu001166396 / 1988-11-15
Title:	If I had a harem / written by Prince.
Description:	1 sound cassette + lyrics sheet.
Copyright Claimant:	Controversy Music
Date of Creation:	1988
Authorship on Application:	words & music: Prince Rogers Nelson a.k.a. Prince.
Names:	Nelson, Prince Rogers
	Controversy Music

errant said:

I'd almost blocked Earnest Sewer from my memory. Thanks a lot.

Oh the days of AMP, how you're missed.

I'm sending you a 5GB DVD of "Hey Hannigan" - complete w/outtakes, live versions, cover versions... THE WORKS!

kidmelody2012 said:

wow so prince stole from ellignton too wow

RodeoSchro said:

It's an actual, copyrighted song by Prince:

Type of Work:	Music
Registration Number / Date:	PAu001166396 / 1988-11-15
Title:	If I had a harem / written by Prince.
Description:	1 sound cassette + lyrics sheet.
Copyright Claimant:	Controversy Music
Date of Creation:	1988
Authorship on Application:	words & music: Prince Rogers Nelson a.k.a. Prince.
Names:	Nelson, Prince Rogers
	Controversy Music

The studio version of 'If I Had A Harem' sounded very different to the live version, it didn't interpolate Ellington's song.

I thought everyone new that melody/music on the live version was jamming on a cover of a standard... It's instantly familiar even if you don't know the exact name of it.

kidmelody2012 said:

this band is much better than 3rd eye girl

BartVanHemelen said:

I had completely forgotten about that until I found this while searching through usenet archive narkive.com: http://alt.music.prince.n...m-livesexy

Too bad that site only has posts going nback ten odd years. Would love to see posts from the mid-1990s to early 2000s, when amp was a major player.

Are you smoking crack?

no any musician will tell you 3rdeyegirl cant fuck with the ellington band! are you crazy

laurarichardson said:

kidmelody2012 said:

this band is much better than 3rd eye girl

Are you smoking crack?

SuperSoulFighter said:

And I'm sure the title was inspired by the late great Pete Seeger's If I Had a Hammer!

Haha. You might just b joking or you might not b, but I wouldn't put it past P's sense of humor.

It's not a 'song' - it's a joke!

Prince quoted Duke Ellington songs several times in 87-88. "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night" from the Sign 'O' The Times film contains a line from "Take The 'A' Train", and "Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic" has a guitar line which sounds not unlike "Caravan".

This type of referencing to past works is completely new to me as a listener of African-American music.

purplethunder3121 said:

Nice clip/info, but I thought that most people knew this information. Also, given the fact that a core element of jazz is troping one song/groove and then building and improvising from that song/groove, I don't know why some people are not understanding what Prince was doing. In the same way that he troped James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, he is troping "Things Ain't What They Use to Be," and then building on it, especially since only the intro/refrain is what Prince's uses. The course/verse lines are different, which is where he fulfills the responsibility of building upon and improvising. As such, good job by Prince working within the context/theory of jazz. Additionally, I am not saying that troping is unique or exclusive to jazz, but the innate competitive nature of the musical founders of jazz due to certain cultural aspects cause the troping to be more identifiable because they want the listener and the other artists to know what they are doing as a way of saying, "I can take your sh** and make it better," or in this case "make it current" or "make it my own," which is what Miles, Dizzy, and many others have asserted in their autobiographies and other interviews. So, again, nice job by Prince working within the context/theory of jazz.

purplethunder3121 said:

BTW is it really him on the pic?????????????

You can hear the brass lead within his guitar solo during the LiveSexy version clearly now. Nice find.