The more i see the Call My Name video..and hear the song i am begining to realize this song is classic Prince and will be remembered along with his other classic hits..the only downside is unless Prince releases a cd single for the song it has no shot to be a top 40 pop hit with the way radio is right now and that is a shame

I still haven't seen the VIDEO!!!!!

CherryMoon said:

vh1 has shown it 3 times from 2am till 6am central! you can probably catch it on vh1 at 9a m central on fresh new music

yeah... where are you people seeing this video?? none of the video channels are playing it in Belgium. i'm pissed!!

prince needs to release a single for "call my name" with the video on it. this song has an enormous possibility of becoming his next "do me baby" or "adore" - it's a classic prince bedroom ballad - but it needs more attention from the mainstream. i'd hate to see this tune slink into relative obscurity, it has amazing potential.

Mazerati said:

It's funny you say that because I was thinking the same thing when I heard it on the radio yesterday. I was thinking how much it sounded like his 80's ballads and how it would not have been out of place on an album like 1999. It wouldn't go in the first tier of prince's best ballads (Adore, Do Me Baby, Damn U) but I would rank it right below. The song has definitely grown on me.

I dont really care for the video, but the song is great! Definately classic Prince!

BlueEyedAngel said:

The vid's a drag ain't it... Boring as fuck and seems to never end...

Neversin.

Has it been shown anywhere in the UK? I don't even think I saw the Musicology video on TV here.

L

GottaLetitgo said:

LMMFBAO!
"Free" or "Call My Name"...
"Free" is a classic and has a unique sound like everything else on "1999"...
"Call My Name" is lame, boring and played out, it could have been good 10 years ago when not every other "R&B" act made songs like this...

Neversin.

Neversin said:

Wow, I don't think I have ever gotten a LMMFBAO before!

I still think the song is a lot stronger than you are giving it credit for...compare it to drivel like Usher's Burn to see how much better it is han what passes for ballads these days.

Free is only a classic because time has made it so...it is always hard to evaluate an artists current work to music we have been listening to (and loving) for over 20 years. But CMN is one of those songs that has resonanace and could have staying power eventually as a Prince classic.

I don't blame music stations for not playing the video - it's truly God-awful. I downloaded it for free last night and literally couldn't sit through a couple minutes of it before I clicked it off. Icky. But hey, y'all KNOW I got an asshole (as in my opinion).

GottaLetitgo said:

No... "Free" was an instant classic just like "Little Red Corvette" or "Purple Rain" was...


"Call My Name" is just the same boring drivel as we heard with "U Make My Sun Shine" or the numerous other forgetfull ballads of the last 10 years or so...

Neversin.

For anyone who hasn't seen it yet...

http://www.lerapport.com/...entry53152

Zip password: musicology

Neversin.

Neversin said:

To be fair, looking at your other fave bands, doesn't seem like you're much of an R&B fan, so it makes sense you don't like his R&B ballads. For many of us, though, it's a classic right up there with "Free."
[This message was edited Thu Jul 1 8:41:22 2004 by MendesCity]

Neversin said:[quote]

GottaLetitgo said:

No... "Free" was an instant classic just like "Little Red Corvette" or "Purple Rain" was...

I like Free as much as the next guy but when did Free become an "instant classic". Does anyone have this in their Top 25 of Prince songs or even Top 50. Just because it is on a classic album does not make it a classic song.

MendesCity said:

I see you missed the part where it states "and dozens of others"...
I actually love his, as you call it, "R&B" ballads well the original ones at least, not these "what's hip now" clone ballads...
(I hate the term "R&B" since R&B has nothing to do with all this crap that is labeled "R&B" these days...)
I am actually a huge R&B (as in Rhythm and Blues) fan...


I just don't get what people hear in his "R&B" ballads nowadays...
His ballads nowadays are just "Prince doing [insert whatever hip "R&B" product/ho] doing Prince"...
But to each their own I guess...

Neversin.

GottaLetitgo said:

How many people have "It's Gonna Be Lonely" or "I'm Yours" on their "Top 25 or Top 50 Lists"?
Just because people don't put 'em on some worthless Top whatever list doesn't mean the songs ain't classics...

Neversin.

Neversin said:

hey neversin , ta for the link , youre obviously not a fan of the song but it was good of you to share the video with us anyhow .

Main Entry: classic
Function: noun
1 : a literary work of ancient Greece or Rome
2 a : a work of enduring excellence; also : its author b : an authoritative source
3 : a typical or perfect example
4 : a traditional event

I gotta agree with Neversin on this one. While I do think that "Call My Name" is a good choice for an R&B single, mainly due to its commercial potential, it isn't anything special. Prince has basically done this song over and over again in the last ten years. There is absolutely nothing original or inspiring about it. It sounds like about a dozen other Prince ballads.

Now, "On The Couch" is far more interesting, due to its bluesy feel. Its not single material, but it is a much better song, and it doesn't sound like every other Prince R&B seduction song.

I clicked this thread thinking, "I STILL HAVEN'T SEEN IT!!" Then I turn to VH1Soul & boom, it's on. Missed the first verse but I do like it. The outfit is a little questionable (the yellow shirt should have been, um... tighter ) but Princey looks SO good in it. I like the monogamy message (obviously) but the scene toward the end w/ the mating dance or whatever that tradition (?) is properly called was a little long IMO.

Nice vid - this thing needs to blow up on radio & video - definitely potential to become one of his classic ballads (already is to me). Somebody mentioned Damn U - it's better than Damn U

I don't care for the song much myself - it's not offensively bad, just a bit tepid, it's "Prince ballad by numbers".

The video would work great as the opening credits to Oprah.

dang that download link didnt work properly for me so I've still yet to see the video

I saw the vid really late last night on VH1 Soul channel. I didn't particularly care for the video, but I had four distinct thoughts running through my head:

1. If Prince is going to do music videos again, he needs to allow himself to work with a director who has a unique narrative vision and a clever eye for artistic direction. "Call My Name" has neither. ("Musicology" fared better because of the song's nostalgic theme. It presented Prince performing live to a generation of kids who have NEVER seen a Prince music video, if you think about it).

2. Prince made such a big deal about not lip-synching (particularly at the 6/25 Chicago show). I wonder if he's just willing to "suck it up" for the sake of the benefits derived from finally having a video at all. Seeing a Prince video just made me think about whether or not Prince struggles with this issue or plays both sids of the fence.

3. Given the nature of the "Call My Name" video, and probably because of what just happened to our favorite drummer and his family, I was actually sitting there watching and wishing that the credits said: Prince and the NPG. It seems to me that the video seems to feature "the band," not just P.

4. In not caring for the video, I was thinking that the song itself is, for me, a lovely 80s throwback, as some of you have mentioned. I seem to be enjoying it more and more!

Keith/Kacey

NouveauDance said:

Brilliantly apt.

To everyone who hasnt seen the video on TV:
There was a link around in one of these threads the other day that had a download of the video I watched it twice at school yesterday. Also if you have BET try Midnight Love

Kacey725 said:

Can you clarify this?

wow it pats to read the whole thread before responding...lesson learned

Thanks for link to video.

Main impression : my eyes are tired with the damn fading in and out every two seconds ! I know I'm getting old, but please, it's like inverse strobing !

I liked the visuals between the band segments and would have rather seen longer sections of that, or a linking story. The best things about the quite standard band bits were seeing all the band members in turn, and the glockenspiel (?xylophone) being played throughout by some mystery blonde (don't know why, but it lightened the mood a bit !)

Video could have easily been up to the standard of the 'Musicology' vid - feels torn in two as if the director wanted to go down one route with the visuals and Prince another with the band.