So, what are some details on this bad boy? I don't hear very much about it. I assume the album and extended versions of UGTL are on it, along with Housequake and 7 Minutes MoQuake. Anything else worth knowing?

for me, it was the first prince 12" single that was just a little disappointing. i mean, i loved the long version of 'u got the look' (still do), and the mo'quake mix is fun, but nothing beats the good ol' formula of an extended/remix version on side a, and a new track on side b. even though it's got good stuff on it, this was the beginning of the end for prince's 12" singles...we'd get a few more good releases in future years, but they'd become fewer and farther between.

I believe that the 12" version is just the video cut.

squirrelgrease said:

for the most part, yeah, but there's some extra stuff happening at the end of the 12" mix that's not in the video.

now hold on here.

this questioner is not getting the answer he deserves and needs, which is:

this is a GREAT 12"! UGTL extended is NOT the same as the video version, nor is there merely 'some extra stuff happening at the end'. the 12" of UGTL is a classic. there's an extended start (a la the video version) plus a huge slab of weirdness in the middle, not to mention a new ending. the whole thing rocks like a mutha. i remember one reviewer putting this version of his all time 100 top rock/pop tracks, commenting that the album version just seems ok, like a normal straight-up pop song (which i actually disagree with, but never mind)... but that the 12" took the song to a new dimension, stretched it out, made it a mini pop-funk spectacular. which i can only agree with.

as for the b-side. 'mo'quake' is very damn cool. i've actually been listening to it a lot over the past week and it's just supergood. nothing beats the album version of 'housequake' but 'mo'quake' is an interesting variation on the theme. whilst the album version is driven by prince's neurotic sped-up vocals (james brown on diet pills) most of the mo'quake is instrumental and you really appreciate how much the drum beat fires it... there's some strong solos too - trumpet, guitar, i think there's an organ solo in there too but i may be wrong -, not to mention a chunky new riff which went on to feature in many a concert version of 'housequake'.

ignore this 12" at your peril, it's a really really good one!

anyway, yeah. it's okay.

hmm, anxiety. you say this was the first 12" that was a little disappointing, yet you love the a side?

how about 'anotherloverholenyohead' 12" in that case? in which the a side is FANTASTIC (one of the best things he's ever done, imo) - but in which the b side contains nothing new whatsoever. just unaltered versions of already released tracks. is that not a little disappointing? or did the fact that the a side was SO good make up for it?

imo the first 12" which really WAS disappointing was hot thing/ICNTTPOYM. now those mixes of hot thing are really poor. i'd take the album version any day and bin the rest - possibly the first time i could say this of a 12" version in prince's career. but sadly not the last.

I gotta listen to this song next. Haven't heard it in a while.

tiger2 said:

ok, i'll grant you that. anotherlover wasn't a great 12" single, but it did have a good a-side remix. then again, we got two videos at the same time when that single came out, so i kinda felt like it "made up" for the weak b-side...and that was back when they actually PLAYED new prince videos fairly regularly, especially on BET.

i guess my point is, there was a stretch of a few years in the '80s when a new prince single felt like an "event", because you always knew you were in for something special. for me, 'u got the look' was the first time a prince single release felt a bit anti-climactic. doesn't mean i don't like the material on it, but i was underwhelmed by it because i felt like there was just a slight lack of involvement in the remixes. the 'icnttpoym' single was even less whelming, i agree.

...
[Edited 11/3/05 8:01am]

i'll meet you almost halfway, anx. i recommend you take just a few steps over here, to where i'm sitting...

i used to think that mo'quake was uninvolved but i've been rediscovering it lately. try it on headphones, it kicks fat sexy ass. the beat is SO unlike any other beat, it's magisterial. go on, give it one last chance!

you're definitely right about the great 12" singles drying up around this general time, though. but imo this is because post-lovesexy everything was drying up - a sides, album tracks, whatever. not to say i don't love lots of p's post-lovesexy stuff. i do. but i'm firmly in the 80's camp.

post UGTL, some great 12" were:

i wish u heaven part 1.2.3./scarlet pussy
partyman (video mix) feel u up (long stroke)

um. that's sort of it for GREAT 12" as opposed to merely good. 'thieves in the temple' a side, 'arms of orion' b side, 'batdance' b side... but none of those had the great a AND b combo you mention. so, yes. on reflection i agree with much of what you say.

i think the b-side stuff on the 'new power generation' and 'gett off' singles was pretty interesting, but i think the sense of 'event' that came with new prince singles had long worn off by the early '90s, and it was just kind of a nice bonus when he'd offer an extended version or make a video ep. i guess the magic of those old prince singles was just something you had to be there to fully enjoy! i think the excitement of the time is still in the music of those singles, though.

Anxiety said:

I beg to disagree. I used to find these vinyl singles used at specialist stores in the mid-90s and they were an equal source of delight for me, as I couldn't afford The Hits/B-sides collection back in the day and had to settle for just buying several of the singles back then. Great cover art, great vibes.

Novabreaker said:

i'm not taking away from your experience, but there was nothing like being 15 years old and going to the wrecka stow when the new prince single was out...especially, oh my GOD, when a single came out that preceeded the album - you felt like you were being let in on a secret or that you were getting a sneak preview. and back then, you could share this stuff with your friends and they'd be excited because prince was still shit-hot and nobody knew what he was gonna drop next. i don't mean to detract from anything that's happened since, but being around for that stuff when it was fresh out of the oven was a time i will never forget.

Anxiety said:

But for me it was like finding a lost treasure in the midst of...

... okay, so your experiences might have been more ecstatic than mine. I can live with that.

Novabreaker said:

nah, i can dig it. the summer i spent discovering all of david bowie's old albums was one of the most ecstatic periods of my life as a music fan, but i can't even fathom what it must have been like when, say, "young americans" or "low" first came out, and his fans were all scratching their heads for the first time.

Anxiety said:

We "music fans" really haven't lived much, have we?

Novabreaker said:

speak for yerself! i originally wrote "one of the most ecstatic times of my life", but if hearing a bunch of bowie albums is one of the best moments of my life EVER, well...i'll admit it ranks up there, but that would be sad.

Anxiety said:

I kinda agree with this and what you said further above, but I think the I Hate U maxi single was a good reminder that Prince can still surprise us with an excellent maxi single...I mean the remix and the Quiet Night Mix with Eric Leeds were amazing, and the Get Wild remixes were also cool.Or the Gett Off EP....and so on.
But you´re right, the excitement wasn´t really the same anymore.