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Thread started 07/05/16 7:51am

Cloreen

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Today Do Yourself A Favor And Listen To "Kept Woman"

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We can have debates that would last ten thousand years over which is Prince's greatest song. But one thing is certain: after all the debating is over, "Kept Woman" sung by Bria Valente would make the top ten.

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Lyrically it is spot on and has a surprising tilt to it; musically it is phenomenal. The smooth bass line is one of Prince's best; tasty chordal guitar jabs perfectly compliment the song's rhythm. And, yes, the song has one of the most magnificent choruses in music. Bria's vocal delivery on it is pure perfection. Listen to the way she drags out 'kept" on the first line in the chorus. Superb.

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Everytime I hear this song I hope someone like Carrie Underwood would cover it. The song has a country-ish feel to it and if Underwood ever did do a version and release it, the song would be a monster hit. Huge hit and it would easily be Underwood's signature tune.

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Give it a listen. A hidden Prince gem. "Kept Woman" really is one of Prince's greatest songs.

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Reply #1 posted 07/05/16 7:58am

Bunsterdk

It's a fine song, but I can't listen to Bria Valente for long. She does nothing for me. Prince using the wrong body part to judge musical talent yet again IMHO. cool

With another singer, it'd probably be a great song.
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Reply #2 posted 07/05/16 7:59am

donnyenglish

Lots of hidden gems on this record. I actually like several songs on this album a lot better than Kept Woman like Everytime, Another Boy, All This Love and Elixer. I wish he had given this album to Andy Allo.

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Reply #3 posted 07/05/16 8:03am

EddieC

I'm not able to listen to either one again right now--but go ahead and listen to Tamar's version as well.

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Reply #4 posted 07/05/16 8:14am

Bunsterdk

EddieC said:

I'm not able to listen to either one again right now--but go ahead and listen to Tamar's version as well.



She does it much better, thanks.
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Reply #5 posted 07/05/16 8:35am

2020

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Agreed! I've never heard either version but Tamar's is far superior...

And is it a great song? mmm not really but its cool

The greatest live performer of our times was is and always will be Prince.

Remember there is only one destination and that place is U
All of it. Everything. Is U.
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Reply #6 posted 07/05/16 8:37am

TrivialPursuit

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This actually has a huge yacht rock/AM Gold feel to it. And not so oddly, a lot of music from that time had a country edge to it. Look at the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. It's not that country sometimes. And those songs were on AM pop radio as well as country stations. "Kept Woman" would have been on radio in 1977, and been a hit.

All that said, Tamar's voice is superior to Bria's. Whatever happened to Bria anyway? Talk about a flash in the pan.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #7 posted 07/05/16 8:44am

pdiddy2011

This may be one of Bria Valente's top ten. I will never agree this belongs in Prince's top ten, maybe not even top 100.

I am not even willing to say Bria's version is better than Tamar's version. Bria's version sounds very Lisa Stansfield-ish, and I think Lisa would deliver it better.

I'm curious to see your top ten Prince list if this made the cut. confused

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Reply #8 posted 07/05/16 10:45am

anangellooksdo
wn

Bria's voice is very sexy. I think he must've dug her a lot to stay with her for 3 years. They shared the JW thing. It was important to him. Then she for some reason up and left, and married someone else in the church.
I feel their time together was dark. To me. I don't know why I feel that. Maybe because we don't know much about it.

I like the song a lot but don't feel it's one of his best. I also like Tamar's version.
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Reply #9 posted 07/05/16 11:17am

Doozer

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I'm very confused.

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http://prince.org/msg/7/425868

Check out The Mountains and the Sea, a Prince podcast by yours truly and my wife. More info at https://www.facebook.com/TMATSPodcast/
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Reply #10 posted 07/05/16 11:25am

Baduizm

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This song is weak. Just my twocents

[Edited 7/5/16 11:27am]

I'm in the news again
For paying dues my friend
And not the type of ganda U prop up in my way
Don't Play me
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Reply #11 posted 07/05/16 11:28am

Bunsterdk

Doozer said:




lol Yeah, now you mention it.
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Reply #12 posted 07/05/16 11:29am

Baduizm

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Doozer said:

I'm very confused.

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http://prince.org/msg/7/425868

yeahthat

[Edited 7/5/16 11:29am]

I'm in the news again
For paying dues my friend
And not the type of ganda U prop up in my way
Don't Play me
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Reply #13 posted 07/05/16 12:06pm

EddieC

Doozer said:

I'm very confused.

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http://prince.org/msg/7/425868

What confuses you? Apparently Mountains (the last "great song") is around number 9, Kept Woman is number 10, I Wish U Heaven is probably 11. Ormaybe Cloreen just got around to hearing it recently, and is just more enthusiiastic than consistent.


I don't know. I don't think it's even the best on Elixer--or on Milk and Honey.

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Reply #14 posted 07/05/16 12:47pm

Cloreen

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EddieC said:

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Apparently Mountains (the last "great song") is around number 9, Kept Woman is number 10, I Wish U Heaven is probably 11.

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No. If I (off the top of my head) were to make a Prince All Time Top 10 it would be:

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1. "Mountains"

2. "Strollin'"

3. "Kept Woman"

4. "I Would Die 4 U"

5. "Cloreen Bacon Skin"

6. "Space"

7. "Never Take The Place Of Your Man"

8. "Hyno Paradise"

9. "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got"

10. "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"

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Reply #15 posted 07/05/16 12:51pm

Cloreen

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anangellooksdown said:

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Bria's voice is very sexy.
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Bingo!

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I never heard that Tamar version before, but the Bria version blows it away for the reason you gave -- Bria's voice is very sexy. She sings the song as a sex kitten. Tamar sings it like every girl who tries out for "American Idol" - trying desperately to put some black soul into it.

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Reply #16 posted 07/05/16 1:57pm

NorthC

Thanks to this thread I listened to Bria's album again and most of it is laid back jazzy/soulful grooving and crooning that goes in one ear and out the other, but I do agree that Kept Woman is the best track on here although putting it into a Best of Prince Top 10 is of course a joke and not even a very funny one.

What I have a problem with, are the lyrics. What they tell us, is a young girl who meets this man and is in awe of him and becomes his "kept woman". And for crying out loud, she even sings "sometimes I cry." And then it goes on, "He doesn't like it when I raise my voice". This really is the woman Prince sang about in Private Joy: somebody he can just keep to himself and that no one else knows about. In fact, this whole album can be summed up as "My man is so great", while lots of Prince's love songs can be summed up as, "I'm gonna be such a great man 2 U", so on all the songs he wrote for Vanity and Sheila and Bria and all the others, Prince was just making love to himself.
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Reply #17 posted 07/06/16 1:05am

perfume

Tamar's voice is far superior to Bria's, however Bria's delivery of this particular song surpasses Tamar's.
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Reply #18 posted 07/06/16 12:58pm

XxAxX

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Doozer said:

I'm very confused.

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http://prince.org/msg/7/425868

lol

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Reply #19 posted 07/07/16 8:46am

tmo1965

perfume said:

Tamar's voice is far superior to Bria's, however Bria's delivery of this particular song surpasses Tamar's.

yeahthat

I think that if Prince had stayed in the music industry's good graces, some of his lesser known works would have been hits.

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Reply #20 posted 07/08/16 8:46am

laurarichardso
n

NorthC said:

Thanks to this thread I listened to Bria's album again and most of it is laid back jazzy/soulful grooving and crooning that goes in one ear and out the other, but I do agree that Kept Woman is the best track on here although putting it into a Best of Prince Top 10 is of course a joke and not even a very funny one.

What I have a problem with, are the lyrics. What they tell us, is a young girl who meets this man and is in awe of him and becomes his "kept woman". And for crying out loud, she even sings "sometimes I cry." And then it goes on, "He doesn't like it when I raise my voice". This really is the woman Prince sang about in Private Joy: somebody he can just keep to himself and that no one else knows about. In fact, this whole album can be summed up as "My man is so great", while lots of Prince's love songs can be summed up as, "I'm gonna be such a great man 2 U", so on all the songs he wrote for Vanity and Sheila and Bria and all the others, Prince was just making love to himself.

--- No he was writing about the things going on in his life and things that go on in life in general. He had kept women and it is obvious he wanted to have chicks on stand by for his use when it suited him this stuff goes on much more than any of us want to omit,
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Reply #21 posted 07/08/16 11:12am

ZahndiFadzhina

[Snip - luv4u]

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