I bet this is done a hundreds times before, but currently i dont see no posts about this. I think in general the singles Prince did release from his albums were representative, but there are some records he could have done better with.

My thoughts:
- For you to Sign: good single choices, the most catchy tracks chosen that were representative of the albums sound.
- Lovesexy: I wish you heaven is a lame song, he should have released either Anna Stesia or The title track, with some amazing, highbudget video.
- Batdance: Prince should have released Trust instead of the Arms of Orion
- Graffiti Bridge: why not releasing The Question of U, its a classic, original Prince song?
- Diamonds and Pearls: no complaints, the released singles are the best cuts on this record
- The Symbol album: good choice of singles, but an epic song likes the Morning Papers does need a way better video then some cheap club-performance only halve filled with people, and prince wearing a grunge shirt (!?)
- Come: very mediocre record, Letitgo was a good single, Prince should have released Dark also, a classic ballad, or to provoke a bit, Papa.
- The Gold Experience: The most beautifull Girl in the world is one of his best selling singles ever, but its not representative for the material on the record. Dolphin was a good choice, but the videoclip to low-key. He should have released some of the dance cuts (Pussy Control or Billy Jack Bitch, especially the last song was played over and over on the radio when this record was released). An epic song als Gold, could, aggain, do better with an epic video.
- Chaos and Disorder: he definitely should have released I rock, therefore I am, that would have made a dancefloor filler all over the world
- Emancipation: Damned if i do (with a nice party-video, aka La Vida Loca), My computer (underrated pop-gem), Saviour (with a good epic video )
- NPG: i dont even remember any song this album, so what to say
- The Rainbow children: not much single material on this record, the cuts are too long, or too weird..lol
- Musicology: On the couch

he should have realeased "THE BEAUTIFUL ONES" as a single from Purple Rain. that is only like one of his best songs evr!!

Xavier23 said:

Hmmmm..I don't know. What would be the motivation for Prince to release some songs as singles rather than others? For more commercial appeal? Or to have his songs reach more people so they would be interested to find out more about him/his music? If so I'd say-

For you-The singles he released were perfect.
Prince-Again, I wanna be your lover and Sexy Dancer were great choices
Dirty Mind-I think Do it all night could have got mondo airplay if it were released as a single.
Controversy-Ehh, I think Private Joy would have been a better choice than Controversy
1999-No complaints here. Perfect choices for singles. PERFECT!
Purple Rain-Again Perfect choices.
ATWIAD=I actually think the title track would be a great single.
Parade-Was Mountians a single? I think so. If not it would have been perfect rather than Girls and Boys.
Sign of the Times-Uhhh, obviously U got the look was the most single sounding cut on that record so I think it was smart that he gave that to radio but Sign of the Times I don't think should of been. Maybe Strange Relationship and Starfish and Coffee would have been good. If I was your girlfriend should have never been a single-I think it is too werid and honest for your average joe to understand.
Lovesexy=Glam Slam should have been a single along with the title track.
Batman-Hmmm perfect choices can't complain.Even Batdance was perfect for promoting the movie.
Grafftit Bridge-OMG Prince's most geinus desicon ever was to release Theives in the temple as a single. Hearing that on the radio was what made me every single thing about the man. Other than that I think Can't stop would have been a rad single choice.
D&P- Really good choices. REALLY GOOD. Prince definalntly knows what is going to be a hit. But I think he should have added Willing and Able and Insatiable.
- My name is Prince? What was he thinking? Although when it came out I loved that song. But still.the Moring Papers? I guess it was a good single choice but god that song makes me wanna But maybe he sould of when with Blue Light.
Come-Uhhh I definatly think Loose! should have been a single. Letitgo was a good choice. Space would have been better though.
Gold Expereince-Ummm..not too many complaints here....in fact none!
Chaos and Disorder-Ummm no compliants
Emancipation=Get your groove on would have been good and Jam of the year and Sleep Around
NPS=Ohhh one of my favorties!!!!! Defiantly Push it up. amd wasted kisses
Crystal ball-Were there any simgles off of this???
Rave-Ummm great choices.
The Rainbow childeren?-No, just no.
Musicology=If I was the man in your life would have been way better than Cinnomon Girl.

Hi Krystal,

Not to nag too much, but Glam Slam WAS released as a single. It had a nice, energetic 'live'-video that accompanied it

And funny i forgot about Rave, i think that says enough how much impact that record on me....

Adore was never released as a single

Riverpoet31 said:

Oh you are not nagging. I am sure alot of Prince fans are way more knowlegable about his disography than I am.

I think he made some terrible single choices in the 90s....

If it were up to me...

Graffiti Bridge: We Can Funk (I'm not sure how much of a hit this would've been but I'd love to see a video)
Symbol: Sweet Baby
Chaos & Disorder: Into The Light
Emancipation: The trouble is with this album, he thought by releasing Betcha By Golly Wow that he could re-create the success he had with TMBGITW. He was wrong. Face Down would've been a much stronger lead single.
NPS: Mad Sex, Wasted Kisses.
Rave: Other than The Greatest Romance (which was a great choice and I still reckon it could've been huge), I think Wherever U Go Whatever U Do has "HIT" written all over it.
Musicology: Illusion, Coma... could've been a hit, if it had a shorter title and a more 2005 production. I think What Do U Want Me 2 Do also has potential.
[Edited 4/10/05 0:25am]

Since MBGITW for almost every album upto Rave Prince had the unfortunate habit of releasing a ballad as the lead single, in the mistaken theory that because MBGITW (one of, if not the sappiest, most sacharin, non-sexy Prince ballad EVER) - because that was a hit, that he should release a ballad as the lead every album.

Eye Hate U, Betcha By Golly Wow!, The One, TGRES - Very bad marketing as a first single.

The 80s stuff was pretty good with singles - it's just that a lot of the time they were in the wrong order - Parade and SOTT for example.

Lovesexy - The title track was a missed opportunity, and Graffiti Bridge was just silly - NPG has dated very badly, and all top-drawer stuff like The Question Of U was left on the album (Prince should've gone with his original idea of making it the lead single).

Riverpoet31 said:

...i agreed with with your points until....
...
...
...I ROCK THEREFOR I AM ....terrible song...no way was that a single
...DAMNED IF I DO .....ANOTHER TERRIBLE SONG
...ON THE COUCH .....NEVER A SINGLE

MetroArea said:

Totally agree about the terrible ballad choices for first singles. I really hate TGRES. Worst single choice ever.

For You to Purple Rain : perfect or damn near.`

ATWIAD : First sign of the Single Selection Disorder (SSD) when Paisley Park is picked as the lead single in the UK. Great song, but the psychedelia was too thick to make it one of those massive pop singles. The other singles were well selected though.

PARADE : The SSD continues. Kiss was a megahit quite some time before the album was released, so when Mountains was released (in my market anyway) it was whimper not a bang though I love the song to death. I reckon AnotherLover should have been the second single and should have received the promotion it deserved instead of being released conjointly with Girls and Boys (again, in my market). Again, I love all these songs but there's no denying Parade's single strategy was a mess.

SOTT : The title track was a big hit and the album was selling well when Prince decided to release If I was Your Girlfriend, which temporarily killed the momentum the album had gained with the successful first single. The obvious second single choice was Housequake, or perhaps that should have been the first single -- the album track was frequently played on black radio long before Housequake was released as a b-side single.`

Lovesexy : same as SOTT -- Alphabet Street had a genuine impact in the mainstream but was followed by a bad second single choice with Glam Slam. It should have been Anastasia or Lovesexy. I Wish U Heavan was only popular in Europe.

Batman : again, nothing worked after the massive first single. Partyman was fun but sounded too much like a rethread. The Arms of Orion marked Prince first single choice that had no redeeming artistic value as far as i'm concerned. For the first time, he was selecting a song I thought was bad in a bad way.`

Graffiti Bridge : Thieves did great then he had to release, out of all the tracks, New Power Generation, which is at best a throwaway b-side.`

Diamonds and Pearls : it was as though Prince had cured his SSD. The selection was perfect from a marketing angle, with Get Off building great simmering momentum before the release.

Symbol album : Unfortunately, Prince was not cured. Sexy MF was a great move, but came very early before the album, so that when My Name is Prince was selected it didn't so much kill the momentum as fail to revive it. I feel the world didn't need an extra dose of Prince the Narcissist -- the song was not inspiring or sexy. The Morning Paper was not a great choice either -- it continued the pattern of releasing extreme ballads.`

After the success of the THMGITW's EP, the single selection strategy is uniformly bad with a few exceptions. Eye Hate U was a huge mistake, for instance. Ironically, I think his most logical selections were Dinner With Delores and The Work, Part I, considering that they were the most accessible, radio-friendly songs on these records... even if they were not even good singles. Musicology should have charted higher -- there's now a radio format problem to contend with on top of Prince's lack of single selection instincts.

Bad Choice: Betcha By Golly Wow! from Emancipation

I think Prince can release anything that Mani and Larry will let him. What do U all think?

Bad single choices:

"Take Me With U"---this is probably the weakest song on 'Purple Rain'.A better choice would have been "The Beautiful Ones",a song that everybody likes.

"If I Was Your Girlfriend"---great song,but too quirky for a single.

"Glam Slam"---a VERY weak choice and it deservedly bombed.I like this song as an album track,but it didn't stand a chance as a single.The title track was just begging to be released.It's a much more exciting song than "Glam Slam"

"New Power Generation"---a lame R&B track.It would have made more sense to follow up "Thieves In The Temple" with a more exciting song like "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" or "Elephants and Flowers".

"The Morning Papers"---I don't hate this song,but there are much stronger songs that could have been released instead,such as "The Continental" or "And God Created Woman".

"Betcha By Golly Wow"---a less-than-thrilling remake of a classic R&B song.The bright,uptempo "Sleep Around" would have made an excellent first single.

Riverpoet31 said:

I forgot about 'Rave' too


I think "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" was a poor choice for a first single (blame Clive Davis).A better choice would have been "So Far So Pleased",which is an obvious "hit song" just begging to be released.

Riverpoet31 said:

tell me, which prince song is not an original prince song?

TGRES is an amazing track. It would've been huuuuge if they hadn't of messed up with the video and everything.

It was massive over here, in the UK. It was on the radio all the time. And I mean ALL the time. I started to get sick of it I heard it so much! It was the first time since TMBGITW that he had a record which had set the airwaves a light.

Probably the last time too.

I agree with Aerogram and DavidEye.

Prince certainly seemed to lose his touch with single choices from about 1995 on.
The success of The Most Beautiful Girl In The World seemed to make him wanna
always release ballads as lead singles. He also loses interest in albums quickly
so he often moves onto his next album too early without leaving a breathing
space between.

For You
Good single choices.
If he had decided to release a 3rd single, my vote would have gone for
My Love Is Forever or Baby.

Prince
Again, good single choices.
This album was packed with good commercial hits, so he could've released almost
anything from it.

Dirty Mind
The singles were good, but why wasn't When You Were Mine released as a single?
It's probably the most obvious hit on the album.

Controversy
Again, very good single choices, Perfect.

1999
Again, the right singles were released. Though I do think D.M.S.R. should've
been released as well. The club appeal would've made up for potential lack of
airplay due to lyrical content.

Purple Rain
No complaints here. He could've milked it for a few more hits if he'd wanted
though. Baby I'm A Star might have been a better choice than Take Me With U
and The Beautiful Ones was certainly a fan favorite that might have done
well enough as a final single to warrant it's release.

Around The World In A Day
Good choices. He could have even released Paisley Park as a 4th single too.
I think it was a mistake to release it as the lead single in Europe.

Parade
The first time the order of release was a bit off IMO. Kiss was a great lead
single, but it should have been followed by Girls & Boys rather than Mountains,
which should have been the 3rd or 4th release.

Sign O' The Times
Same problem, great first single in the form of the title track, but If I Was
Your Girlfriend was the wrong choice as 2nd single. U Got The Look or Housequake
should have been the follow up. Though I think If I Was Your Girlfriend was
one of his best songs I think it was too odd to be a hit. Maybe it should have
been the b-side to Adore, which should have been released as the 4th single.

Lovesexy
Again, excellent first choice of single, but Glam Slam wasn't the right follow
up. Lovesexy and/or Eye No would have been better choices.

Batman
Even though it was a massive hit I'm still unconvinced by Batdance. I think he
could have released anything as the first single and it would have done the
same due to all the hype about the movie. The Future and/or Electric Chair
would have been good single choices. It's a shame they were only officially
released in Europe as a parting shot.

Graffiti Bridge
Great first single, but only 2 (Prince) singles? He should have followed up
Thieves In The Temple with Elephants & Flowers then The Question Of U, and
maybe even Can't Stop This Feeling I Got too. New Power Generation is OK,
but only as a final single if the momentum was still there.

Diamonds And Pearls
Back on form with single choices. He could have even released Willing And Able
as well before moving on.


Good first choice, though I think it would have benefitted from a clean single
edit being produced (personally I think the song sounds just as good, if not
better, without the 'Fucker'. Though replacing it with an 'Ow-ah' was terrible).
I've never been convinced by My Name Is Prince either. Other potential singles
were The Continental, Blue Light and Eye Wanna Melt With U.

Come
Letitgo and Space are OK, but he should have released something other than just
mid-paced tracks. Come, Race or Pheromone would all have been good choices.

The Gold Experience
Again, what with only releasing ballads? Some of the more uptempo tracks
should have been released too. Dolphin, Endorphinmachine, 319 or P Control
all had potential.

Emancipation
Again, ballads and mid-paced tracks...why? Personally I'm not keen on Prince
putting cover versions on his albums anyway, let alone releasing them as
singles. He was obviously trying to replicate the success of The Most Beautiful
Girl In The World, but it didn't work. Good single choices would have been
Sleep Around, Face Down, The Love We Make, Sex In The Summer & Somebody's
Somebody.

Rave Un2/In2 The Joy Fantastic
The Greatest Romance had potential, but it was scuppered by not have a video
ready in time. Better first single choices would have been an uptempo rocker
like So Far, So Pleased or Baby Knows (which he seemed to be promoting at that
time anyway).

.
[Edited 4/11/05 5:50am]

why was "erotic city" and "she's alway in my hair" b-sides? both could have easily gone to no1
there should have had a video for "money don't matter tonight"
and "anotherloverinyohead" and "sometimes it snows in April" should have been released.

baby knows should have come out as a single with a video

Wonders why most Prince peeps, dont like I Rock, there for i am, it has a fucking HARD beat, an big urgency and drive and carries a Fuck-You All attitude.... A song to free your mind (and your ass will follow) on the dancefloor..

I agree, its a bit overproduced, with this raps and toasting in between, but a song wich such a beat and drive is one hell of a gem to keep you dancing, and let yourselve go on the dancefloor! Period

mancabdriver said:

There are two video for Money Don't Matter 2Nite. Spike Lee directed it. And There is a video for Anotherloverholenyohead also. It's a live video.

Interesting opinions. "Blue Light" as a single in the US I´m not sure, it did get lots of airplay on IRIE FM in Jamaica though, in the real reggae market, so that says plenty. I do defend Arms of Orion cuz by that time the movie had lost momentum and so too did the soundtrack he needed a ballad, it would have been #1 if released in place of "Batdance" I think.

For me, worst single choices:

1. "Manowar" from Rave - he had an offer from FATBOY SLIM to remix "Everyday is a winding road" shouldda taken him up on it, apart from that there were many other better tracks on this one.

2. "I wish U heaven"/"Glam Slam" - As someone else said the title track would´ve been better with some strategic editing though...can´t imagine "you´ve got me dripping...dripping all over the floor" on the radio.

3. "Eye hate U" - Love the song but not a good lead single, P control, Endorpohinmachine, Billy jack bitch all better.


Songs that should´ve been released

1. Jam of the Year
2. Everyday is a winding road
3. So far so pleased
4. Live 4 Love
5. Saviour

any1 who releases bettcha by golly wow and dinner with delories as singles are a bit fruit and nut if u as me!

Riverpoet31 said:

Amen! this song rocks! i love it and dont care about all u haters! haha (Evil laugh)

Thanks!

For You: I'm Yours, Just As Long As Were Together
Prince: Sexy Dancer, Bambi
Dirty Mind: Partyup, When You Were Mine
Controvery: Private Joy, Annie Christian
1999: Lady Cab Driver, International Lover
Purple Rain: Computer Blue, Baby I'm A Star
Around The World In A Day: Paisley Park (in the States), Temptation, Around The World In A Day
Parade: New Position, Under The Cherry Moon
Sign O' The Times: Hot Thing, It, Strange Relationship, Play In The Sunshine, Adore, Slow Love
Black Album: Dead On It, Cindy C, LeGrind
Lovesexy: Lovesexy, Postivity
Batman: Electric Chair, the Future, Vicki Waiting
Griffiti Bridge: Tick, Tick, Bang, Can't Stop This Feeling I Got, We Can Funk
Diamonds & Pearls: Daddy Pop, Walk Dont Walk
Love Symbol: Eye Wanna Melt With U, Blue Light
The Hits: Pope
Come: Race, Loose!, Come
Gold: Endorphinmachine, Dolphin, Now, 319, Billy Jack Bitch
Choas & Disorder: Zannalee, I Like It There, The Same December
Emancapation: Right Back Here In My Arms, Style, Sex In The Summer, Dreaming About U, Joint 2 Joint, One Of Us, My Computer
The Truth: Animal Kingdom, Don't Play Me
Crystal Ball: Acknoledge Me, Calhoun Square, Strays Of The World, 18 & Over, The Ride
New Power Soul: Mad Sex, Freaks On This Side, Shoo-Bed-Oooh
The Vault: 5 Woman, Sarah
Rave: Hot Wit U, So Far, So Pleased, Strange But True
Rainbow Children: 1+1+1=3, Last December, Muse 2 The Pharaoh

If I Was Your Girlfriend sucks so much. The most overrated song of all time. Making it a single? What the fuck?