I'd KILL to hear this. Anyone whos heard it care to give a little description of how Prince performs it?

hmmm... i love gnarls's version... if prince swayed on the side of error i would be devastated... so lets not and say we did...

He performs this?
Damn.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE IT. But I wouldn't kill to hear Prince sing it.

He needs to make his own great songs again.

That last thing he needs is a hit by copying somebody else.

He'd play himself and his new lame stuff would appear lamer by comparison.

* and this is from a fan!
[Edited 12/1/06 20:00pm]

Wow, standards for Prince are way higher than they are for others. But I guess because this is such a novelty song, I can understand why many would have a prob with him doing it. Still, I'd love to hear it. Maybe it shouldn't be officially out there but if he invited Gnarles to do it with him in LV, that would be different.

I do not want the boot for this, because I do not support boots. In fact if someone were to send this to me, like tonight, I would rid of it expeditiously. I would love the opportunity to express this sentiment & and I would tell no one of it.

I knew he'd appreciate this song. I'm glad. However, I haven't liked too many of his versions of other people's songs. And considering Cee-Lo's voice is what makes the song to my ears, I just can't see Prince's version satisfying me.

But I'd shole give 'er a listen

It was at the end of a 20 minute jam that included Bounce to the Ounce by Roger when the band went into a different groove. It was very funky and I didn't recognize it because it was actually a live band. Mike Phillips, one of the horn players for Prince, used a talk box to sing the lyrics. So far, after going to 3 shows, it was one of the best moments in my opinion. It sounded beautiful. I would love to get my hands on a copy of it.

A talk box is a musical sound effects device that allows a musician to modify the sound of a musical instrument by changing the shape of the mouth. The effect can be used to shape the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (such as singing) onto a musical instrument, typically a guitar (its non-guitar use is often confused with the vocoder) and keyboards.
A talkbox is an effects pedal that sits on the floor and contains a speaker attached with an air tight connection to a plastic tube. The speaker is generally in the form of a horn driver, the sound generating part of a horn speaker with the horn replaced by the tube connection. The box has connectors for the connection to the speaker output of an amplifier and a connection to a normal instrument speaker. A foot-operated switch on the box directes the sound either to the talkbox speaker or to the normal speaker. The switch is usually a push-on/push-off type. The other end of the tube is taped to the side of a microphone, extending enough to direct the reproduced sound in or near the performer's mouth.
When activated, the sound from amplifier is reproduced by the speaker in the talkbox and directed through the tube into the performer's mouth. The shape of the mouth filters the sound, with the modified sound being picked up by the microphone. The shape of the mouth changes the harmonic content of the sound in the same way it effects the harmonic content generated by the vocal folds when speaking. The performer can vary the shape of the mouth and position of the tongue, changing the sound of the instrument being reproduced by the talkbox speaker. The performer can mouth words, with the resulting effect sounding as though the instrument is speaking. This "shaped" sound exits the performer's mouth, and when it enters a microphone, an instrument/voice hybrid is heard.
The sound can be that of any musical instrument, but the effect is mostly commonly associated with the guitar. The rich harmonics of an electric guitar are shaped by the mouth producing a sound very similar to voice, effectively allowing the guitar to appear to "speak".

Roger used a talk box. So did Peter Frampton. And you can hear Richie Sambora using one on "Living on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi.
[Edited 12/1/06 23:00pm]

they've been using the vocoder/talk box for "3121" performances like on the BET awards.

There's also an unofficial mash-up doing the rounds of "Crazy" and "Sign O The Times". Not a bad idea, but whoever made it left the "Sign O The Times" parts way down in the mix.

pkidwell said:

Now, that I would've loved to have heard/witnessed!!! Wish I could've seen them when they toured together...

Love that song a bunch. Prince could probably rock it out!

i'd love to hear that
wow...