Now, for me I love this song! The chord progressions! The mix and especially the way Prince sings this one. I'm not a fan of his falsetto voice. I always think he gets better expression with the lower octave vocals. How I wish he would sing this way more!!!!! Man, I'm not smackin' 3121 but I just don't play the album. Lately, his material IMO of course, lacks the daring attitude he had which drew me in as a admirer of his artistic expression.

jojofran said:

I agree about the falsetto. Except for "Beautiful Ones" it never appealed to me. It took Prince five albums to use his deeper voice! Why did he wait so long?

I'd say he's writing from a more mellow mindset lately. Maybe the new songs don't shock like "Sister," but they're more earnest than Rave and more accessible than Rainbow Children.

padawan said:

I just like his lower register. The high pitch gets to me at times. Specially when it seems forced. Ya know? His normal speaking voice is low so of course his singing is "forced" at a higher octave. But hey, he carries it off okay at times. I just don't evision the "type" of material that he has been doing of late due to his mindset. I think it may have something to do with trying to reach out more commercially. I am just not a fan of commercial music. Well, let me rephrase that. I am not a fan of commercial music coming from him. LOL!

I read somewhere once that Prince finds it more comfortable to sing in falsetto than in his lower register. I too am a fan of his deeper voice,especially on tracks like Computer Blue and Erotic city,it has a real resonance and timbre.
I don't know if the discomfort with the lower vocals still holds now he is olded,it would be interesting to know.

when I hear him sing, he sounds more comfortable in his higher register. the lower one seemed forced to me. when he hits high notes, the notes are strong and secure in pitch. not that i have ever heard him go off key...

Maybe it's just me. I think it's the other way around. It "has" to be forced if your speaking voice is low to begin with. I'm not saying he a Barry White or nothing. But when you have a lower voice your octave generally is lower. You generally have to stretch to hit a higher register. I can sing falsetto as well. But I generally "save" that for certain moments in a song. I think "thieves in the temple" is a great example of what I mean by his lower octave seeming more natural therefore more listenable. Feel me?