I've always been a lil confused about the singles for this lp. I've also been confused about the track listing given the vast repetoire of music he had recorded at the time of release. I don't think anyof the Camille tracks should have been included on this lp (these songs should have been released as the Camille lp he intended), but since they were "Housequake" would have made a better single choice, followed by "Adore", and "Strange Relationship".

alexnvrmnd said:

and that statement there goes to show what a great album "Sign O The Times"
is , when we're saying that the awesome , fabulous record that is "It" is the weakest track on the album . I think It's one of the best tracks on there to
be honest , but maybe because its such a bold in-your-face track , with no subtlety , eccentricity or hidden pleasures , it never gets the respect it deserves . Also some Prince tracks that are wholly sexual get looked over sadly , if he writes something thats spiritual people will swoon and pontificate over it , but when hes down dirty and nasty in his lyrics theres less to analyse maybe and less love for the track .I'll take the sexual Prince's music over the spiritual guy's any day .

It's my favorite from the album strictly for the sound of it. But as far as lyrics go, I will definately take nasty Prince over spiritual Prince any day also.

moonshine said:

What I love about "It" is that the lyrics are simple and direct,and many people could easily relate to the lyrics...

"with U I swear,I'm a maniac---alright
U see it ain't no joke,it's just a natural fact---alright"


and that beat is so forceful and loud....it pretty much dominates the entire track.I'm convinced that the pop/MTV crowd would have ate this up.Without question,it would have fared better than "Iiwygf".


this is a great discussion (songs that we would have chosen as singles),perhaps we should do another thread like this?

DavidEye said:

I DO think the track is funky, but I just think that if it were released on radio, it would get repetitive to the average listener and essentially, not have that much commercial success. I guess this is more of a question on the public's taste and what they could handle rather than whether or not I feel the song has its merits, cuz it sho 'nuff does! Damn, David!! I've missed these occassional exchanges with ya. Just haven't had the time 'til lately to really post my thoughts like I've wanted to. I STILL remember the good ol' days of you, me, & Mistermaxxx. LMAO!!!!
[Edited 3/2/05 7:54am]

yeah,I miss those discussions we used to have,about Rick James,Teena,etc.You gotta post more often!


As for Mistermaxx? I'd be lying if I said I missed him,lol

I didn't even know that track was released as a single. My vague recollection went "Sign" straight to "U Got the Look," although I wasn't listening to much radio that year.

DavidEye said:

Hey man, I'm tryin'! As far as MM's concerned, isn't he still around over there on the Okayplayer (??) boards? Ah well...I got SO tired of hearing how supposedly great R Kelly was, especially when he was being put OVER the main man. Just got tedious, ya know. LOL! But back to Prince real quick, we keep hearing about him doing these parties and whatnot in LA, but we hear virtually NOTHING regarding great new music or tracks that're blowing people's minds. Back in the day, it seemed like he always had new music to play for people and it usually got rave reviews. These days, we only hear about his social calendar. That doesn't bode well for those of us waiting & wanting to be blown away by the "next SOTT". Probably more just so-so material.

vainandy said:

Releasing "adore" as a singe would have been redundant. It was already getting crazy airplay on R&B radio without officially being released.

MendesCity said:

"IIWYG" got very little airplay outside of R&B stations,which is why many people didn't even know it was a single.Plus,there was no video.