We've talked about the quality of material that P has put out over the last 10 years. Some of it bad, some good. However, even bloody awful albums shift millions today.

It's all about having catchy singles released in the right sequence that will play well on radio. P hasn't had a Hit since emancipation and that was scuppered by a bad 1st single choice (Betcha by Golly Wow???) Even NPS had potential hit singles on it.

So what tracks, if released as singles, would of kept prince on top?

here's my verdict:

Chaos & Disorder:
1. I rock therefore I Am
2. Dig U better dead
3. Dinner with Delores

Emancipation:
1. Sleep Around
2. Holy River
3. Damned if Eye Do.

Crystal Ball:
1. Hide The Bone
2. Goodbye
3. She gave Her Angels

New Power Soul:
1. When You Love Somebody
2. In Your Arms Again
3. Funk Music

Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic:
1. So Far So Pleased
2. Baby knows
3. The Sun The Moon and Stars
(4. Wherever You Go)

Rainbow Children:
1. She Loves Me 4 Me
2. The Work
3. 1+1+1 is 3

What do you guys think?

"Come on" was a perfect choice for a single in NPS; All it needed were these things called promotion and decent distribution. It was just wasted...

odelay said:

Correct and I think the same 4 "the greatest romance ever sold".In fact his main problem is the promotion!

endorphin78 said:

Actually, it's more about how much money you have to pay radio to play your music.

IMO: love sign, days of wild, now, acknowledge of me, gold (+ full promo), dionne, my computer, sex in the summer, get your groove on, when u love somebody, so far, hot with u, baby knows...

Spellcheck COULD HAVE saved your message

As for Prince's career, well he should've chosen all those wonderful songs you wrote, or used your successful approach to marketing of course!

how did you become so famous?


Bob

"Dinner With Delores" and "The Holy River" were both released as singles and they both TANKED.

As far as what I think about your single selection; not good. Some of your selections have absolutely no commercial appeal. You must remember that just because you like a song does not mean that the general public will.

ok i forgot 'come on' (just like the rest of the world!). Sure your right about promotion. thats what's at the core of the industry today. But a shit song will still bomb (look at MJ’s Cry it got to 28 I think in the UK). When Rave came out I never heard TGRES played on the radio. It had no immediate hook and I always like a few more words in the chorus than the title. Yeah its a good song but So far so pleased would of done much better. Sometimes a good song can get to the top without much promotion (Remember TMBGITW?)

Holy River failed because ‘Somebody’s Somebody’ was played more, and people didn't get to know about how good it was.

Oh and some of my selection, i'm not too impressed with either. But doesn’t mean they wouldn’t sell. Some would need single edits for sure!

Oh and NewPowerNorth (or Batman Obsessive), I take it you are taking the piss? Jump in the Batmobile and f**k off saddo!!

'so far so pleased' from RAVE would have Xploded on radio! it is perfect spring/summer radio hit, but alas the no doubt camp squelched that when they wouldn't let it be released as a single.

endorphin78 said:

Depends on one's idea of what a shit song is really. There are a lot of songs that make it big that many people consider crap.

Yeah people have different tastes. I was just expressing an opinion.Thats the idea isn't it?

Thats why we have discussion forums

was betcha by golly wow a bad choice of a first single??? Hmmm it reached No.11 in the Uk, his last highest chart placing.

i think the first time i saw the "betcha by golly" vid a few weeks before emanciption came out, my heart SANK. i was expecting ild experimentation and a FREE-sounding song, and what I heard was the most generic, BoyzIIMen sacharine, whitebread song. TERRIBLE choice. face down or holyriver or joint2joint woulda been better choices, imho. of course now i kinda dig "by golly": like the rest of the set, it grows on me more and more as time goes by...though i still think it's his most conservative, "safe" album to date.

endorphin78 said:

Sure, I'm just saying it's not as simple as some might think.

Chaos & Disorder:
1. I rock therefore I Am
2. Dig U better dead
3. Dinner with Delores

Emancipation:
1. Sleep Around
2. Holy River
3. Damned if Eye Do.

Crystal Ball:
1. Hide The Bone
2. Goodbye
3. She gave Her Angels

New Power Soul:
1. When You Love Somebody
2. In Your Arms Again
3. Funk Music

Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic:
1. So Far So Pleased
2. Baby knows
3. The Sun The Moon and Stars
(4. Wherever You Go)

Rainbow Children:
1. She Loves Me 4 Me
2. The Work
3. 1+1+1 is 3

three words; "BILLY JACK BITCH!!!"

this song could have been a MAJOR HIT in the clubs, on radio.. would have exploded like a fat woman's bowels after eating bad mexican food..

instead, the masses got "Gold"..

:: yawn ::

i don't really think any track off "Emancipation" would have done anything positive for Prince, save for maybe "Sleep Around".. another song that could have been a club classic.. much more so than "The Holy River".. i was stunned when i found out that it was going to be a single..

The locals love anything on the top 40 countdowns. Take Purple Rain for instance. Ask a local what their favorite Prince joint was, or what they remembered from that one and most likely they will answer with "When Doves Cry."

I agree with "Billy Jack Bith." I would also add "Hot With U."

seventhson1975 said:

Releasing this song as the first single was a HUGE mistake.A better choice would have been "Sleep Around",with a great video and some killer remixes.

DavidEye said:

Nah, the best first single from this album would've been Right Back Here In My Arms! ALL (most of 'em anyway) formats of radio would've loved this one over Sleep Around.

endorphin78 said:

Dinner with Delores was a single. And the other two would not fly on black radio, or top 40 for that matter.




Nope to all three. Sleep around was played one time on the radio. The response was unenthusiastic. He released "Somebody's Somebody" to black radio, and had they paid the right people it would have gotten marginal airplay.I don't recall ever hearing Holy River played even though it was a single.





Maybe "Goodbye" but the others ..nope. My choice would be "Last Heart" market it as a gem from the vault.




Where do you live? None of this crap would get played in the D.C. area. "Come On" which was a single was a good choice. But, Wasted Kissed got regular airplay on an adult station here. Again the right palms needed to be greased.





Sun Moon Stars got played once or twice here, the feed back was zip.The remix with Eve on Greatest Romance got a little airplay.



No the all three. With 1+1+1+=3 being the only one that might have a chance. But the line about not giving a "duck" would get the song ridiculed to no end. But yet again with the right amount of $$$...
"Mellow" gets airplay here on the same adult station as I mentioned before.




.
[This message was edited Thu May 30 17:00:26 PDT 2002 by Ifsixwuz9]

I'm going with these choices:

LoveSign
2morrow
So Dark (definitely on Black Radio)
Crucial
Last Heart
She Gave Her Angels
Goodbye
Don't Play Me
Animal Kingdom (could have been a vegan anthem)
Strollin (nice summer night song)
Billy Jack Bitch
Strange Relationship
When 2 R In Love
Muse 2 The Pharoah
Mellow
1+1+1 is 3
5 Women +

man, you're talking about commercial potential!! All the songs have been great, but Prince really needs to do something like a diamonds and pearls style promotion effort to get into the mainstream again. Man, he just doesn't want that anymore. He had chance after chance throughout the 1990's and continually sent himself further into obscurity. He didn't have to do that. He had enough power to make some different decisions with his career. . .
He was on the WB board for God's sake! And had the highest payed record contract in the industry!! But, he gave it all up, and i'm actually glad. If he was still a chart topper, we'd never have our Celebrations!!