Don't get me wrong, I think that this is a really good song, but I don't know why this is Prince's biggest hit? Yeah, the chorus is catchy, but that's about it. Mind you I was all of 1 year old when Purple Rain came out, so I don't remember all of the hoopla around it. I just think that he's put out much better songs that during that time period.

IMO, When Doves Cry is the most overrated song that Prince put out. But that doesn't mean I don't like it.

Haha, he** no, this is one of everyone's favorite. Probably some got tired of it, because of all the hoopla about it like you said, but I still play it, its a beautiful song. Where else had you heard anything like the words or the song, "When doves cry"? That's pretty powerful, I think so.
[This message was edited Sat Mar 30 18:59:45 PST 2002 by purpleleaf7]

i agree with u PurpleLeaf When Doves Cry is a very nice song with a great beat.

The cool thing about "When Doves Cry", is that it doesn't have a bass line. No bass is played on the song at all.

I have heard him incorporate bass into it while he is in concert but it is not on the studio recording.

It does suck that at one of those rare times when a DJ says "Comin up next, Prince..." U always KNO its gonna be When Doves Cry.

I think the whole doves and crying thing played over an over makes Prince out 2 be some sort of pansy ass. The song kicks ass, and I play it despite the overexposure (which is nothing compared 2 2day's artists)

Its just one of those quirky little songs with a great keyboard riff, the whole sound sums up Prince and its a very multi-layered track. I like the extended part at the end. They never play that part on the radio, so a lot of people dont know the about the scream toward the end or the very last few notes, which are known only to diehards and such.

ANYway, people get stuck in one groove and then they 4get what a bad-ass that Prince guy used 2 b!! When that happens, I just *wish* they could listen to the Hot Tracks Prince mix. DAYUMMMMM...I feel like I just was in a really bad fight, after hearing that shit. Kicks my ass.
[This message was edited Sat Mar 30 19:14:06 PST 2002 by Nep2nes]

All I can say is that it struck a personal chord 4 me at that day & time~ *shucks* it still does...

When Doves Cry is one of Prince's greatest songs. I don't think it's been overexposed. In the city where I live, the Prince songs that I hear on the radio are Kiss, Little Red Corvette, and Raspberry Beret.

In critics' ranking of great songs, When Doves Cry is usually somewhere at the top of the list.

I think Prince has overexposed Purple Rain by playing it too much. But When Doves Cry receives just the right amount of exposure -- not too much and not too little.

Paris9748430 said:

You being 1 at the time of its release MIGHT have something to do with it.

Most people who have heard "Doves" know where they were when they heard it the first time, and what they were doing. Even those who were previously not really Prince fans. This usually only happens with the truly great songs.

"Doves" is unique, not just as a Prince song - as a song, period. It's one of those truly innovative pieces of work, and it sounded like nothing else before it, and nothing else Prince had done before.

That intro blast of psychedelic guitar, the drum machine rhythm coupled with nothing but multitracked vocals during the verses by Prince...not only did it not have a bass, it didn't have a bassline played on any instrument. The synthesizer phrasing sounds like something a string section symphony would play.

The song is basically driven by the drums and vocals when you get right down to it. The arrangement is mainly what makes it what it is. It's also the reason it's sort of astounding that top 40 radio gave it airplay. But once it got its initial airplay there was no stopping it, because I'm sure people requested it all of the time. I think even to this day out of all the #1's Prince has had this one reached the top spot the fastest. The bottom line is that this song was a risk to release as Prince released it. Fortunately, the general public loved that risk.

I can't speak for how much you've heard it, but ANY song that is played to death over the years could lose its power for you.

A stark black and white experimental film released during a year of Technicolor slush.~Rolling Stone magazine.

Muchas gracias.

Thank you very much.

I can't help but thinking that we are not as "objective"* about songs as people were before the advent of video.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-technology and progress.
We are well into the video age, and I embrace it. It's here to stay, but not too many years ago, all people really had was audio-and maybe an appearance now and then of their favorite artist on a TV show like American Bandstand or Soul Train. I think you follow my drift. Listening was the primary means of determining whether you liked or disliked a song.
Our perception of songs is now often overshadowed by the videos associated with them. Images fill our minds. Our eyes are moreso involved in our perception or judgment about a particular song.
So, I guess I want to ask a question. Do you think When Doves Cry got as big as it did because of radio or really because of video, which helped to push the radio airplay?
Try to listen to the song and rid your mind of any influences from the video.





* I realize all people's likes or dislikes of music/songs is basically subjective. A personal opinion.

Isn't it interesting that the other Prince song that was a huge hit to the public, Kiss, is so similar to Doves in that there is such little instrumentation on it. I'm not quite sure what that means but I'm sure Supernova will be able to provide some insight to it.

The song is iconic Prince. It may not be his best or his catchiest or his most representative as to who he may be today, but this song is a tattoo that won't be rubbed off his persona's skin anytime soon, whether he likes it or not.

You know the picture of Marilyn Monroe pushing down her dress in "Seven Year Itch"? Most people connect her name to that picture, though there are certainly more beautiful and complimentary pictures of her in circulation. But that's what people who aren't mavens of her life and work relate to her.

Same with most folks who aren't Prince die-hards and "When Doves Cry". I can think of worse associations, heck.

Every time I hear When Doves Cry, it's like I've traveled back to my freshman year of high school. Anyone who liked (or didn't like Prince for that matter) didn't think he could come up with anything to top 1999. Yet he did. The pounding of the drums with the opening line 'Dig if U will the picture' to the passionate scream at the end of the guitar solo...I used to sweat every time I heard the song, and I hated that the radio would only play the 3 minute version. Playing only half the song was like cutting the Mona Lisa in half--you have to hear the whole song to get the full effect of it. There's never been another song like it, and probably never will. IMO

mistermcgee said:

Actually I totally agree with you about this issue. Especially when it comes to impressionable young kids. Fortuantely for me I grew up during a time when there were no video channels. MTV didn't exist until I was in high school, and I was already inspired by music so I knew how to appreciate it sonically without any added visuals. I think many kids nowadays seem to HAVE to see a video for a song in order to like the song (if they like it at all). I heard "Doves" on the radio prior to seeing a video for it. This is the way I experienced EVERY Prince song prior to seeing a video for it. Especially since his career pre-dated MTV by a few years. After that I was always up on when a single from his upcoming album would be released to radio, and when his latest album would be released.

To answer your question, both radio and video helped "Doves". Radio stations couldn't ignore it, and video channels couldn't ignore it once a video was made. And actually the video's not that great when I think about it. It's mainly scenes from the movie and shots of the band at the end. Any video in the rotation of a worldwide video channel is helped. But the PR album would have been big without video, it was a musical behemoth - but to what degree its popularity would have differed without video is something we'll never know.

Bosco said:

Yeah the drum programming, once again, is so different. Nobody but Prince would have thought to program the high hat the way he did. I think Prince consistently took drum machine programming to a level no one else did before or since. The guitar riff is obviously out of the James Brown cannon. "Kiss" always sounded out of place to me on the Parade album for some reason. But I like the wah wah guitar in it, although looking back on it it doesn't seem like he uses that effect that much throughout his career. He uses it on TRC though.

Supernova said:

I concur with Supernova on this... so much... there's nothing I could add to your statements.

*Brother 9/15 aka CR3