If there’s any song on Art Official Age that harkens back to his Golden Era, look no further than “Time.” Prince and Andy Allo’s vocal theatrics have an engaging freshness, a positive chemistry that you can’t teach. The slick and soulful production straddles the line between modern R&B and pop, from its vaguely militaristic drum beat to the cosmic synth riff swelling in the background. You also have His Royal Badness at his bass-thumping best that you almost wanna yell into the speakers back to him, “If that ain’t Larry Graham, you’re doing a darn good impression of him!” All in all, “Time” is a classic slow jam that feels vintage and futuristic, all at once.

I strongly agree.

My favourite song from AOA and an instant classic.

Probably my favourite track of last few years. I love a bit of Andy, the little This Is What It Feels Like and Breakdown mentions, the bass and horn/synths near the end..

ChrisLacy1990 said:

NorthC said:

coldasice said:

coldasice said:

coldasice said:

NorthC said:

I never really understood why folks here love this song so much. It's a funny little duet between Prince and his "animal half my age" and the bass part is good, but there's other songs (Breakdown, Gold Standard, This Could Be Us, Way Back Home) that are much stronger.

Gold Standard? Really? Lol

You must be a newbie.

I agree: I think "Time" is a great song, on a great album, and it definitely showcases the chemistry between Prince and Andy Allo.

Latin said:

ChrisLacy1990 said:

If there’s any song on Art Official Age that harkens back to his Golden Era, look no further than “Time.” Prince and Andy Allo’s vocal theatrics have an engaging freshness, a positive chemistry that you can’t teach. The slick and soulful production straddles the line between modern R&B and pop, from its vaguely militaristic drum beat to the cosmic synth riff swelling in the background. You also have His Royal Badness at his bass-thumping best that you almost wanna yell into the speakers back to him, “If that ain’t Larry Graham, you’re doing a darn good impression of him!” All in all, “Time” is a classic slow jam that feels vintage and futuristic, all at once.

Thanks for posting this. Love that song.

Love the song and I'm glad we got one last solid concept album from Prince.

I really hate that his glasses are so crooked. Look at the temple on the right compared to the left - it's considerably lower. #offtopic.

[Edited 5/3/17 12:26pm]

I LOVE this song....it has a very mellow, laid back rhythm remiscent of If I Was Your Girlfriend, Ballad of Dorothy Parker or What Do You Want Me 2 Do?.

Not that they are similar, that´s not what I´m saying, but the vibe is very reminiscent of those songs I mentioned above.

The lyrics are among his better lyrics of his newer songs and more relatable, albeit the line "animal that´s half my age" and the mention of hotel rooms make it less accessible to casual listeners but I still like them.

Sure, it´s not a musical revelation or epiphany like some of his classic songs but hey, so what? I like it and to me it´s right up there with some of my all time favorite Prince songs.

And I like Andy´s raspy, simple voice and vocal delivery. No melisma, no oversinging, no gimmicks. I also love her version of We Can Funk, though the lyrics don´t make too much sense sung from her point of view.

I wish Time was a bit longer than it already is. This song should´ve been his longest song but I think that title goes to The War and The One Song.

I´m glad Prince and Andy met, and I´m glad she inspired him to write some nice, mellow little songs like Time and This Is What It Feels Like.

Not really masterpieces but highly enjoyable songs, in my opinion at least.

Doozer said:

Couldn't agree more. Easily his best track of both the 2014 albums. I especially like the vocal distortion. 'phoned-in' but in good way

Time is everything you want/ expect from Prince - difference, innovation and length.

NorthC said:

One of the very best songs from the last 20 years or so! IMHO

A true classic.

Time was one of a handful of classics to me on AOA, including Way Back Home, Breakdown, and The Affirmation trio. They seemed to reflect a new maturity and tone to his music that made AOA one of his few great CDs after the 80s.

ChrisLacy1990 said:

If there’s any song on Art Official Age that harkens back to his Golden Era, look no further than “Time.”

I agree. It reminded me of elements from Lovesexy..specifically IWUH and Positivity

I would take Time over International Lover or even Adore, every single day. Not joking at all.

NoSwan said:

I would take Time over International Lover or even Adore, every single day. Not joking at all.

^^totin a machine gun

^^ Absolutely YES. Time & Way Back Home too.