This highlights that Prince needs to work with other talented people more often. Nikka's intricate lyrics aren't something i think Prince could come up with these days, but Musically it can't be faulted either.

good stuff.

Sdldawn said:

***
all i gotta say is that it MosDefinitly hit me harder than
U.S.O.D.***

Mazerati said:

Does anyone else think his vocals are in top shape? His vocals are amazing.. he brought more out of this song than his past album.. (vocally)

Oh shooks, I stretched my creditcard to the maximum limit -and beyond- and now I'm
unable to download this new song.

I think I'm gonna die if I don't get my hands on a new Prince jam the day it's been
released.

This hasn't happened since, like, uhm, 1988.

The vocals are in top shape, but sadly the song is probably the most boring thing of his I've ever heard that has been officially released. Seriously.

mrdespues said:

I take it you never heard Breathe then....

On the first listening: The song is missing a chorus, isn't it??? IMO one cannot compare it at all to Sometimes it snows in April...

But - good singing...

I have only listened to it twice and yes
, that piano is definitely ONA-ish. I like
it andalso find it very refreshing to hear
Prince sing other people´s lyrics

WHOA!!!

I had this dream that I was the "P" logo from the top of the Org.

Then I realized that I fell asleep in the middle of "Silver Tongue"

Guess I'll go back and give it another listen to hear if I missed something...

THis would have been an beautiful addition to the One Nite Alone piano album. Prince never ceases to amaze. The playing and singing are pristine, sharp, and sparkling. While I am no Nikki Costa fan, I must say that the lyrics are nice as well. A true slice of heaven for 77 cents. I have said it once and I will say it again: NPGMC is more than worth it.

Holy hell, I've gotta hand it to the NPGMC -- I am more than thrilled with the "virtual b-side" idea. If someone had told me 5 years ago that I'd be able to buy new P music at 77 cents a track, I wouldn't have even believed it. We've got great quality downloads at prices that virtually anyone can afford. Awesome. Silver Tongue is just plain great -- an instant gem.

Now, about the DRM licensing...totally stupid and a waste of time.

theblueangel said:

I've heard Breathe and that is a serious contender for one of the most boring songs he's done, too.

The problem with Silver Tongue is that it lacks a discernable contour or shape....it's a demo, so it's forgivable, but the song hasn't really taken form yet. The hook is misplaced and it ends very abruptly.

Well, I hope this one is good. The other ´virtual B sides´ were disappointing...

Doozer said:

thank god for total recorder

suomynona said:

Seriously, any image, video or audio that can be played on a computer can very easily be obtained with complete control regardless of DRM licensing. Licensing only makes it harder for people who legitimately purchase the music. Not to mention PP9 himself said that the club didn't disapprove of re-ripping the files and making MP3s for personal use. It is really silly.

I've listened to Silver Tongue a couple times now and really like it. As a demo, it's a really neat way to hear a song in progress. Will be really cool to perhaps heare the finished track on Costa's album.

I love the song, but I don't buy that it's really a DEMO, i think that is just a marketing ploy. If this song is a demo, so is everyone song on ONA.

Peace

Well, every song on One Nite Alone is at least labelled a demo...look at the cover. It's a piano demo CD.

theblueangel said:

Yeah I don't buy that either Another way to make something "more" of the project. Prince is too proud of his songs to release "demos", he can call it whatever he wants, but the tracks are as he intended, complete, finished, reworked a number of times I am sure.

Just an opinion. BTW I love ONA, it's one of my most played albums of his since it came out, but demos? nah.....

Peace

leadline said:

if he calls them demos, they're demos. as a musician, i can see why he might label them demos....they're sketches....doesn't matter that they sound excellent, they're still demos because that's what he called them. silver tongue is definitely demoish; very sketchy.

leadline said:

I hear what you're saying, and to be honest I don't consider any of them demos, either. Everything on ONA for example is definitely produced..they're not one-off "demo" performances, they've got sounds added for ambience and flourish.

theblueangel said:

they're still demos.

Okay, so just out of curiosity...what exactly makes them demos, aside from the fact that the NPGMC calls them demos? Or is that the only reason?

All you said in your post was that they were sketchy sketches.

I think it is an OK track, nothing that immediately sticks out.

I have not listened to it enough yet but it obviously fits in well with ONA, who cares if they are demos or not they are songs at the end of the day!

theblueangel said:

Because PRINCE calls them demos, not the NPGMC, is what I said.

The artist has called them demos, therefore they are. Just as if Van Gogh had called Sunflowers a sketch, it would have been. That's all there is to it.

Also, they are mainly sketched out on piano alone and it doesn't matter if they have other minimal accompaniment or not, they are basic skeletons of songs. It doesn't matter that they sound so good - demos often do. Giving them the subtitle "demo" doesn't denounce their quality, it just means they are basic ideas. Check the live version of Avalanche for a more fleshed out version as an example of where the original demo went. As a trained muso myself I can tell you that the stamp or name you give to a piece of music as an artist is the final word. Prince calls them demos, THEY'RE DEMOS.

.
[This message was edited Sat Jul 17 23:38:17 2004 by mrdespues]

mrdespues said:

Im sorry, I have to respectfully disagree with this. If you are saying that because Avalanche live has more instrumentation and is fuller over the one on the album, and that fact makes it a demo, then every song that Prince has ever performed live that exists as a studio track on an album is also a demo. Most of his songs are better live, his tunes are always revamped and made (fuller) when done live.

Just becuase ONA is filled with skeletons of songs as you put it, does not make them demos. The ideas are far from basic, the fact that there is just piano and vocal does not make them basic ideas, nor a demo. Are we to believe that there is supposed to be drums bass synths horns more vocals and tamborines on all the songs on ONA if Prince just had the time to finish it? I dont think so, they are as they are meant to be, full complete songs. If Prince wants to add stuff to it live, so be it, good for him, more likely than not it will be much better than the album version, but if he does do that, it doesn't make the studio version less of what it was originally intented to be, nor does it make it a demo.

Prince just does not release demos, it is a marketing move and thats it. We all know how picky he is about what he releases and how controlling he is with his music, and rightfull so, he is the creator, but anything that actually winds up on a CD for sale in stores, is finished and complete music. Basic ideas and demos wind up on unofficial CD's, not CD's officially released. The entire crystal ball set was so people could hear what Prince originally intended the songs to sound if given the opportuniy to complete them. He went through all that trouble of redoing/finishing all these songs becuase demos of the songs with basic ideas were floating around on CD's. That point alone should be enough to convince anyone that he wouldnt be releasing unfinished basic idea demo work on purpose.

Mrdespues I usually agreee with most of your posts, but I have to "respectfully" disagree on this one.

Peace

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you were a trained muso. FYI, so am I, not that it pertains to the discussion particularly.

If Van Gogh called "Sunflowers" a sketch, then there would be a myriad of academic articles written over the years explaining why he decided to call an obviously meticulously produced painting a mere "sketch." There is no way that the artistic community would just say "Well, Van Gogh said that it's a sketch, so it's a sketch."

leadline said:

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying Prince calls it a demo, it's a demo. Period.



Prince calling it a demo makes it a demo. Period.



It may indeed be a marketing move, but if he calls it a demo, it's still a demo and THAT'S it.

out.

.
[This message was edited Sun Jul 18 22:03:05 2004 by mrdespues]

theblueangel said:

The artistic community would still refer to it as a sketch if that's how Van Gogh titled it. It may not be widely known as a sketch, but the intelligentia would know it thus.


.
[This message was edited Sun Jul 18 21:59:52 2004 by mrdespues]

Heh. Okay MrDespues, you can be part of the intelligentsia and I'll just sit here and feel unwanted.