I listened to the song and was somewhat astonished by the VERY abrupt end. It does sound a little strange actually - so I "examined" it in Wavelab.

- the total length of the song (ripped on my hd), is 3:13.733
- the sound ends at ca. 3:12:2xx

somewhat this sounds wrong to me, a case of editing or do I have a lemon cd?

Yes it's a funny little song.

I can remember my friend Rachel pointing out the lyrics "Scramble eggs so boring" and I realised that there was nobody else in the world who could write that !!

Pricelessly quirky and peculiar...

Oh and then after it you've got the gentle Venus De Milo...

Nobody but nobody makes albums like this these days....it's a rarity !

IN my top 5 prince jams...So funky and just.....PRINCEY !!!!

sounds like u've got a lemon cd-ripper instead

Snap said:

I'll have to check again, though the others songs are okay, as far as I believe. Did not listen to the CD for a long time (due to my digital archive), but I remember it being also there on cd, not sure right now.

Btw, I think it was allmusic.com where I read that some of the songs from Parade do contain - as the writer states it - too much reverb and echoey effects. Do u feel that way, too? The sound is different (which is good), but I never felt being disturbed because of the reverb. (e.g. on Christopher).

if you're a Miles Davis fan, you probably have an ear for that type of thing
some people thought the album should've been more "raw" than what it was
but he was definitely going for that "French" aura throughout
i think he did a good job attaining it
yeah, some songs sound messy (from an American producer's standpoint, i'd think)
but really, to me, i think it makes the album a cohesive whole
and A LOT of FUN to listen to
there's so much to get off on
it's cool
really it is

SenseOfDoubt said:

It does end abruptly...with the words "So NICE"

I assumed it was because it was originally recorded on a cassette or something and the side ran out...

SenseOfDoubt said:

Yes I would say. Sometimes even Prince sounds drowned out by those steel drums . Something's going on with those noise levels on the first track, Christopher Tracey's Parade.

I used to cringe evertime I heard it.

But actually now they are partly the reasons why I like it !!

Life can be so nice is the best tune on the album. with so much noise coming out of that tune its a great way to end it. love it.

The ending makes perfect sense to me. The song is so frantic and chaotic that the sudden stop is like someone switching the CD player off mid song, not being able to take anymore. If you listen really carefully, after the stop you can hear the faintest echo "so nice, so nice" etc. (at least it does it on my CD)

Prince loves doing weird shit like that - like the cough in Raspberry Beret or the "what kind of fuck-up ending was that" bit in Rockhard In A Funky Place

Definately in my top 10 Prince songs

This song is fucking genius! One of my all time favs!!!

Right after the "abrupt ending" you can hear (very soft) the word "Nice" 2 or 3 times like an echo...

Check it!

doesn't sound abrupt to me
sounds... um... "nice"

So u could perfectly mix the song 'Sense of doubt' by Bowie just after the abrupt ending....
[Edited 1/14/06 4:00am]

Pellwormer said:

and why you want to do that?

The song ends suddenly because life can end suddenly. It's a song about making the most of what time you have left.

Number23 said:

hmmm didnt think of it like that before. but sounds about right

Number23 said:

pepper7 said:

I love this line also. It perfectly describes that time-shifting, all encompassing feeling of being in the love. The world is beautiful and you are so wrapped up in your "wonderful world, paradise" that the day to day (Scrambled Eggs!) are meaningless. This song is aural and audio euphoria. Parade is the best arty, underground, quirky and brilliantly wierd album ever created by a mainstream pop artist - Prince at his personal, introspective and genius best. He was in a zone.

Does anyone know the Tutu album by Miles? It came also out in 86, and parts of it remind me vey much of Parade and vice versa. Marcus Miller - who wrote most of the songs -, once said that his bass playing was influenced by Prince, especially the phrasing. I think that I have heard it, at least...

Number23 said:

SenseOfDoubt said:

Miles and Prince were collaborating by exchanging tapes of new compositions just prior to Tutu. I don't think anything made it on to Tutu but Miles was looking for a vibe that incorporated Princely elements. Miles was also playing a Prince composition in concert during this period. Also, Miles performed on a Chaka Khan Prince song in 1986. You can notice a prominent placement of a Miles album cover in a UTCM scene. There was a lot of mutual admiration going on between the two geniuses right before his death. I believe a Prince letter was read at Miles' funeral. Too bad there wasn't time for a more formal collaboration. They were both iconoclasts who march to a strange, brilliant drummer.

Life can be so nice!
Definitely a song I play during our "PRINCE MUSIC NIGHTS" in ANewPowerDetroit!
Usually the crowd goes bananas over it...because most don't expect to hear it in a club setting!

I love it!

Number23 said:

i'll agree with you it's one of my all time favorite songs

Number23 said:

Yep I think this is a really good point !

"Life" really is brilliant talk about abrubt Girls & Boys another simply brilliant song end just as abruptly and Life begins. I don't know the reason but Parade is simply one of my favorite Prince records

When I was in college Girls & Boys, Kiss, Mountains, Anotherlover...were classic Prince songs as I've matured that albumn has really become to mean a lot more to me.

Prince is truly an artist and he simply was in a zone during this period. Just an unbelievable piece of work...brilliant

Does it have to end like that for a reason, other than sounding good?

Love the album, love the track (had it on in the car this weekend and turned it right up.)

SenseOfDoubt said:

Do you mean there is one second silence at the end of the track? Or do you mean the song was originally of different length altogether on the original CD than what came out of the ripping process? In the latter case, all computers have their unique synchronization values in regards with their soundcard and motherboard conjunctively, which can often result in mismatching lengths in recorded/ripped audio (it happens). In the first case, there's just some added silence so that "Venus De Milo" doesn't hit straight off after "Life Can Be So Nice", that simple.

jdcxc said:

The Chaka Khan Prince song was STICKY WICKED, and that wasn't recorded until June of 1988. The song Miles was playing was probably Movie Star which was recorded in the Spring of 1986. I think Miles also played a Madhouse tune. All of these facts are from memory and I just woke up, so check it out in the DAYS OF WILD book, or THE VAULT.

dawntreader said:

just a thought about the author's name....uh..