I was amazed that this didn't get the airplay and chart impact it deserved in the U.S., the title was great, the groove was bang upto the minute, it mixed classic Prince funk with todays beats and had a great video. If i were P i'd be mighty pissed. What would you do in his situation, go jazz and TRC again or push damn harder to get on the dayum RADIO!.

i'd do whatever i wanted from now on with studio releases (i.e., 'rainbow children', 'N.E.W.S.', 'one nite alone' type of projects), and i'd keep making the big bucks by touring every couple of years and playing the hits.

I would open up a theme park called Princeworld, with a slow moving conveyor seats.

Anx said:

Now, that's a good idea!

FunkMistress said:

well, ya know, only the fans buy his albums anymore, and the fans love the "out there" stuff...and the fans AND the general public go nuts for his tours, so it only makes sense that he get the best of both worlds.

isn't this what most older rockers do anyway?

Anx said:

It certainly seems to be what Prince has been doing for the most part.

Anx said:

Completely agree.

I found Prince most musically satisfying recently from 2001-03 with 'TRC', 'One Nite Alone Piano & Voice', 'The ONA Live! set', 'Xenophobia', 'C-Note', 'NEWS' etc ... .

There was real depth, maturity, progression and experimentation present.

I don't think an Artist of Prince's calibre should have to worry about comprimising himself for commerciality or looking for 'hit' singles.

Unfortunately, it seems that it is Prince who pressures himself and seems to desire a larger audience from time-to-time.

'3121' sold well, giving Prince his first US no 1 debut, but I think it will be when Prince is not looking for a crossover hit that he will achieve one.

Maybe Prince wasn't going for a massive hit with Black Sweat. Prince thinks all his songs are monster hits. Someone at the record company (they're the ones trying to recoup) probably heard Black Sweat and figured they would milk it for all it was worth seeing as how it is probably one of his most accessible singles in recent history. Hence the video, yada yada yada. Prince ain't lookin for hits he just keeps doin what he's doin.
[Edited 6/26/06 10:26am]

Thetan said:

I believe that that too. I love 3121 but it's when we don't go looking for the things we want that we tend to get it and I think that'll happen for Prince, I really do.

he is probably right where he wants to be ... with regards to "hit" etc ... it is tough for an older rocker to have a "hit" these days ....

the good thing for Prince was "musicology" and "3121" got good reviews ... so people heard them ... they might not be sellin 19million or whatever (like purple rain etc) but .... like it or not ... the critics on your side is sooo important for aging rockers .... (to make them still relevant ) ...

I think Prince is still capable of making hit--I loved "Black Sweat". I just don't think that it was marketed properly and I hate that. It's not Prince's fault, but whoever does his promotion is probably the most liable to blame.

Anx said:

double ditto, cosign, hell yeah, agreed.

Was Black Sweat a great song that should have got alot of play?? YES. But he will never again have a #1 single unless its a duet with a younger artist. Ex. My radio station here in WV played every Prince single up untill 1999 TGRES. I called and requested BSweat, and they said they had it, but wanted to see how it did elsewhere..... So untill P gets some major air from pop station in the cities, he has 0% chanceof a #1. Now I know some of you will say, "Oh we heard that excuse from the never having a #1 album, but selling 200,000 copies is alot different than listining area airplay charts.

THAT having been said, "Black Sweat" was truly "deserving" of being a "hit", and "Love" would be a hit if it were released and promoted, with a kickin' video.

HOWEVER FOLKS, I love 'The Rainbow Children' (still massively underrated here), 'N.E.W.S.', 'Xpectation', etc. Prince could easily cross-breed the synth-driven pop stuff with the experimental... he actually does this 2 a certain extent on 'The Rainbow Children', which stands right up 2 'Lovesexy'.

Yeah, my body likes 2 feel it, but as a musician with hungry ears that I can't turn off, I like 2 hear Prince stretch out musically.

'3121' is a great album, with nearly perfect sequencing (track order)... diverse, yet cohesive. Strong as all get out. I coulda used some Funk Bass on the album, but hey... I can't have everything.

As far as drum programming goes... U just cannot complain whatsoever about "Black Sweat", and especially, "LOVE", which is PERFECT.

Let's skate... 4 now... but don't sleep. The next time Prince does decide 2 stretch out musically, and release it, we'll be swimming in it. At least those of us who have ears.

Damn.

Sorry 'bout that.

Peace.

G.

Siobhan, R U listenin'?

Again people,,it is the dayum radio stations...owned and operated by a few large corporations (Clear channel, anyone?).....they play what the record
execs pay them to play.....and P is still blackballed from his dispute w/Warner Bros....it sucks.

I still love the 3121 album, and I can´t understand why Black Sweat didn´t become a hit. Maybe he´s lost the momentum, maybe he´s been gone for too long ( at least for the casual listeners ) but whatever it is, I am as curious as ever about his next release, and that is the only thing that counts...he still keeps us guessing and is still everchanging after all these years.

Anx said:

Yeah and he can stop making those watered down stuff for folks that don't care anyways. Give me more "Out there" stuff anytime!

Thetan said:

I agree with a lot of this...unfortuneatly it is indeed Prince that wants the large audience he had back in the day. Personally I think it ruined a bit of him...as he has been clamoring for that since the Purple Rain days. His better days are when he's thinking about the music and experimenting and getting obscure.

adorable2 said:

Come come, now.


Prince does indeed want to have hit records. Otherwise he wouldn't bother going through big record companies to distribute his music, he would just keep his stuff on the net like he did before. His ego makes him think that the record companies didn't do enough to promote his stuff rather than accept the idea that mainstream listeners just aren't feeling him anymore.

That's why he had them pretty much purchase that number 1 billboard spot.Universal made good and damn sure no 'popular' artists released their albums the week his shit was coming out. That was part of the deal I am certain.

Black Sweat was a good song, but them kids ain't buying it. No strip joint video with 50 buck nekkid puerto rican girls jiggling in it. No remix with 35 rappers on it. so, no hit single.

thepope2the9s said:

That's the biggest reason right there. His being blackballed keeps him off the corporate playlists. Also, the general public is so dumbed down these days that they can actually be told what to like and what to buy by these same corporations.

guarinigirl2000 said:

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks that. The song should have been massive. I don't buy that "It just wasn't good" shit cause there are songs 10 times worse than that on the radio now and it's on the Top 10 on the pop charts. Promotion. as usual, sucked ass. Plus Clear Channels nazi ass is another reason.

He would be better off just writing songs that could be hit for other artists, and I don't mean artists like Carmen, girls with no talent; actual talents. People who already have a record of having hits, but not slouches like Britney. He could write stuff for Patti Labelle and the like as well. If he writes so many songs, he has to have hits.

He needs to stay current, understand that old sounds don't sell.

If he woulda given BlackSweat to a Britney Spears or J Lo or some other
artist,,it would of been #1 on the charts. sho nuff. He has been
black balled ya'll.

That fool can make hits in his sleep. And 3121 has several "hits" on it. The perennial problem with this man is picking the right singles (especially lead-off single) and then promoting the track.

I'm not going to start shoveling dirt on 3121 just yet; there's still a lot of time left (especially if there's a tour), so I'll be patient.

I think the reason y Black Sweat didnt do well is because of lack of promos, marketing was practically non exsistant in Australia, i saw an actual copy of the Black Sweat single for the 1st time last WEEK!
Te Amo Corozan was never released here either! Mayb the record stores around here are just lazy with their singles i dunno but either way i think the record reps couldnt b bothered wasting money on marketing and promos as they thought they could get away with Prince's name 2 sell the record and save all that money. Cashcows in other words.

Black sweat failed because it was released too early...
if he would of released it NOW...
that summers here it would've been a bonafide hit...
because summer jams don't have to good songs
point
Hot in HERRRRRE - Nelly
sucked musically...
but became the biggest jams of the summer

thepope2the9s said:

The reviews of 3121 from the mass publications were very positive, and these publications are owned by the same coporations that control the airwaves. So I think the logic here is a bit flawed.

For whatever reason, Black Sweat and 3121 in general failed cause P didnt promote it.

lazycrockett said:

-----
BLACK SWEAT DIDN`T FAIL.HOW CAN A PIECE OF MUSIC `FAIL`? EVEN IF IT IS LOVED & APPRECIATED BY ONLY ONE PERSON THEN IN MY EYES IT IS A SUCCESS!
IT WASN`T A SIGNIFICANT CHART HIT BECAUSE PRINCE HIMSELF NEEDED 2 PROMOTE THE SONG WITH VARIOUS TV APPEARANCES.ALSO HIS LOYAL FANBASE WERE GIVEN A SLAP IN THE FACE WITH THERE BEING NO REMIXES OR EXTRA TRACKS ON THE SINGLE.EVEN AN EXTENDED VERSION WOULD HAVE DONE! WHY SHELL OUT HARD EARNED MONEY WHEN U HAVE THE SAME VERSION ON THE ALBUM?
-----
ALSO HOW COULD J-LO OR BRITNEY HAVE A HIT WITH BLACK SWEAT WHEN THEY ARE NOT BLACK????? PHARELL MAYBE!!

the main reason black sweat wasnt a hit is because he is nearly 50!!!....the singles market has always been mainly teen based and how many teenagers are going to buy a new prince single...no matter how good it is....yes he may get lucky and have a santana type hit like he did a few years ago but prince is now an album artist like springsteen and other middle aged rock/pop stars and that is where the real money is anyway...
....
....i didnt think black sweat was that strong anyway...it has no real melody and would have struggled even in the 80s when he could do no wrong where hit singles are concerned...

In the US, I thought songs charted based on radio-play and not sales. Was there even a physical single in the States?