SchlomoThaHomo said:

The opening chord makes me sing "and then a hero comes along," by Mariah. I wonder if it's similar.

Thats funny. Its always made me think of the beginning of this song...sounds very very similar

[Edited 4/21/14 16:17pm]

purplethunder3121 said:

Just gotta love all the sour grapes...

we're serving straight up vinegar up in here

2020 said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

The opening chord makes me sing "and then a hero comes along," by Mariah. I wonder if it's similar.

Thats funny. Its always made me think of the beginning of this song...sounds very very similar

I can kinda hear it.

I admit the mix is bad but I think some are going way overboard here saying this is the worst ever. Hell listen to the end of Let's Go Crazy, Cybersingle, even Screwdriver. (Screwdriver from the Purple Music site sounded far better imo) Don't even get me going on Live Out Loud which has got to be the absolute worst mixed/mastered song of his I've heard to this day. My

.

Shit probably sounds fine on whatever he's playing it through though.

.

Where's good old Bernie Grundman when you need him? I think Lovesexy was the last Prince project Bernie was a part of.

[Edited 4/21/14 22:01pm]

ufoclub said:

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I try not to complain too much and I love the song, but this really does bug me. I have to turn the bass and subwoofer almost all the way down to be able to listen to it in my car.

Ppenguin said:

Some people need to get a grip...all this 'it had me in tears' shit...totally brainwashed; Prince says it's his fav song (clearly publicity as he knew the deal to release was in the pipeline) and everyone comes out saying its amazing, it's so emotional, had me in tears #emperorsnewclothes

It's quite laughable to me that you feel qualified to judge the emotions of others.

artist76 said:

I don't enjoy this released version as much as what I heard live last year in Anaheim with 3EG. Live, it sounded singer-songwriter-like - more vulnerable, tender, real. But so many of his recorded songs are better live. Something with the production (either overdone, or too sparse). Anyway, the positive way to look at it is that he's a really great live performer!

Agreed...Good song. The screaming makes me smile!

The sparse and not overdone production is what makes a good Prince song great in live performances. It's what he's known for.

I'm enjoying this, looking forward to hering more

Prince Releases New Surprise Single, 'The Breakdown'

http://www.rollingstone.c...n-20140419

artist76 said:

I don't enjoy this released version as much as what I heard live last year in Anaheim with 3EG. Live, it sounded singer-songwriter-like - more vulnerable, tender, real. But so many of his recorded songs are better live. Something with the production (either overdone, or too sparse). Anyway, the positive way to look at it is that he's a really great live performer!

That's why I love the acoustic version of "Love" so much more than the one on the album. It's not so overproduced and feels almost like a live version.

STILL not on UK iTunes. What's that about??

and now there is a video of robert deniro crying to 'the breakdown'.

DareNight said:

and now there is a video of robert deniro crying to 'the breakdown'.

....and it was hilarious!

Yeah, like this song a lot - not a fan of the bass-line though, makes it sound a little stodgy, would've been better without it in my opinion - more clean, minimal and ethereal.

Surely Prince's ears can pick up on the poor production. I think one of a few reasons have led to this:

.

1) He gave iTunes the wrong mp3 by mistake

.

2) He is using his fan base to beta test the new single which is currently in demo form (he wanted to give it away free, WB said no, they can pay to beta test.

.

3) All the live concerts have ruined Princes hearing

.

4) Prince has lost the ability to produce and he just cant handle new technology

.

5) This is how the song was intended to sound

.

Either way, it does suck from a production POV.

MattyJam said:

STILL not on UK iTunes. What's that about??

Its unbelievable that the can't manage 2 release it worldwide at the same day and choose US only, its like begging ppl 2 download it 4 free

Rebeljuice said:

Surely Prince's ears can pick up on the poor production. I think one of a few reasons have led to this:

.

1) He gave iTunes the wrong mp3 by mistake > If so he has handed out a whole lot of wrong mp3's in the last year!

.

2) He is using his fan base to beta test the new single which is currently in demo form (he wanted to give it away free, WB said no, they can pay to beta test. > Possible, but a bit unfair to his hardcore fans to let them pay for subpar product.

.

3) All the live concerts have ruined Princes hearing. > I have started to wonder if this might be the case?

.

4) Prince has lost the ability to produce and he just cant handle new technology. > I thought the Andy Allo album sounded pretty good production wise, although a bit on the safe (boring) side perhaps. But it could have been a rush job perhaps?

.

5) This is how the song was intended to sound. > My God, this is the most upsetting explanation!

.

Either way, it does suck from a production POV. > Agreed!

Really not digging this song but, whatever, I loved Da Bourgouise so keep em coming Prince

Rebeljuice said:

Surely Prince's ears can pick up on the poor production. I think one of a few reasons have led to this:

.

1) He gave iTunes the wrong mp3 by mistake

.

2) He is using his fan base to beta test the new single which is currently in demo form (he wanted to give it away free, WB said no, they can pay to beta test.

.

3) All the live concerts have ruined Princes hearing

.

4) Prince has lost the ability to produce and he just cant handle new technology

.

5) This is how the song was intended to sound

.

Either way, it does suck from a production POV.

To be fair,I don't think he's ever been particularly bothered about production-more about feel.I remember Sheila E saying something similar in a bbc Omnibus documentary back in the day-for him it was always more a bout emotion/feel rather than correctly micing etc...His records have always sounded very different to everyone elses but I guess that's what makes him Prince!

mrjj71 said:

Rebeljuice said:

Surely Prince's ears can pick up on the poor production. I think one of a few reasons have led to this:

.

1) He gave iTunes the wrong mp3 by mistake

.

2) He is using his fan base to beta test the new single which is currently in demo form (he wanted to give it away free, WB said no, they can pay to beta test.

.

3) All the live concerts have ruined Princes hearing

.

4) Prince has lost the ability to produce and he just cant handle new technology

.

5) This is how the song was intended to sound

.

Either way, it does suck from a production POV.

To be fair,I don't think he's ever been particularly bothered about production-more about feel.I remember Sheila E saying something similar in a bbc Omnibus documentary back in the day-for him it was always more a bout emotion/feel rather than correctly micing etc...His records have always sounded very different to everyone elses but I guess that's what makes him Prince!

It's a difference between what you do with the material afterwards, and how you are placing the mics. All his 80s albums all the way to Lovesexy has an interesting, distinct and creative sound, because he was creative in the studio. It's a difference between being "correct" and being creative. An educated sound engineer that is going for an "authentic" sound, would do whatever it takes to just make all instruments sound like we think they sound, and make all the "important" frequencees from each instrument and voices get enough space in the mix to blend in niceley without removing clarity of each sound. Prince was more interested in creating an exciting mix that moved us in new ways. Being authentic was not his goal. Being creative and original was. This new mix however neither represents his skills of producing something authentic, nor does it show is creative studio personality. It just sounds like some random put together sounds, extreme compression and horrible mixing. Even then I think the song is pretty damn good. That is saying something though. How would this be with help from Brent Fischer, a more organic mix and no lazers? Now we're talking. We'll see. Maybe we will hear another mix.

Just in case you don't already know it's up on Amazon U.S.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/..._tlw_trk53

i remember when a prince song had the distinction of sounding good on ANY set of speakers .. clock radio .. car .. giant 3 grand system .. now its the opposite

MIRvmn said:

MattyJam said:

STILL not on UK iTunes. What's that about??

Its unbelievable that the can't manage 2 release it worldwide at the same day and choose US only, its like begging ppl 2 download it 4 free

Yeah, that. Seems pretty basic.

Production aside, the song sounds like an Emancipation outake. I just Dont like it. I find it boring and uninspiring and musically it is very bland. Could do much better.

MIRvmn said:

MattyJam said:

STILL not on UK iTunes. What's that about??

Its unbelievable that the can't manage 2 release it worldwide at the same day and choose US only, its like begging ppl 2 download it 4 free

Exactly what I've just done after waiting for a few days for it to appear on UK iTunes. Dont understand why it hasnt gone worldwide by now. Normally fans would put this down to the standard cock-up Prince plan but now being with Warners you'd expect for it all to go smoothly

.

As for the song itself - its good to have the full studio version after hearing the Dakota clip. I like the part where he sings in his lower register and also like Andy Allo's back-up vocals. The sound quality and lasers dont take anything away from the song for me

donnyenglish said:

Reminds me of Empty Room, but better. My interpretation of the song is that it is not sad at all but about a woman that has made him a better man. Am I missing something?

Really??? Empty Room is a bonafide classic in my humble opinion, The Breakdown is mediocre at best for me.

Rebeljuice said:

Surely Prince's ears can pick up on the poor production. I think one of a few reasons have led to this:

.

1) He gave iTunes the wrong mp3 by mistake

.

2) He is using his fan base to beta test the new single which is currently in demo form (he wanted to give it away free, WB said no, they can pay to beta test.

.

3) All the live concerts have ruined Princes hearing

.

4) Prince has lost the ability to produce and he just cant handle new technology

.

5) This is how the song was intended to sound

.

Either way, it does suck from a production POV.

The most likely explanation in these type of cases is usually,

6) Too much bass having been left in the mixes before the limiting process has been applied and not bothering to check out the end result from a varied selection of speakers.

The waveforms ufoclub posted suggest just that. The overall db level of the song is very low when the song starts with the keyboard chords and the voice, but jumps up considerably when the bass, the drums and the strings kick in. Unfortunately, this type of a song structure with quieter parts followed by louder sections are rather hard to mix and master properly according to the "loudness" levels expected by contemporary listeners using their iPods, or whatever, for listening. I think EQ'ing out as much excessive low-frequency energy from the choruses would have been the right thing to do if they wanted to also push the entire song to "competitive levels" by using a limiter. Then again, that could have easily resulted in the song feeling less warm and appealing in many sound systems (although as some on this thread have reported they have to seriously cut back the bass on their systems to be able to listen to the song).

[Edited 4/22/14 7:20am]

murph said:

2freaky4church1 said:

Masterpiece, really?? Sure, it is a good song, but no masteranything--needs mastering. lol.

Listen to John Legend's new album, that's what I want from our Prince. Legend may be the new Prince.

lol.....

this is funny!