We know that it wasn't originally penned for 3121 and I think it shows.
Prince knew this was a gem, and had to give it a fresh airing. It's a class song from start to finish, and deserves to be part of a fantastic album. Maybe it was an attempt to rescue the album a little.

The Dance and Get on the Boat r my 2 favourite songs off of 3121

The Dance is certainly #1

and 1 of my all time favourite Prince songs

The Dance is amazing!

bonedaddy said:

haha. Who's we? I didn't know. Mind explaining where it was supposed to go?

I know what you mean though. It's such a beautiful song that tells a story... and the mix of instruments just works so well. I can definitely picture what Prince was like while writing it. He'd be like "i want to add a little of this here and add a little flute here..." that kind of thing. It flows so well.

It's definitely a gem on 3121, giving it a dose of class. It's part of the half of the album, I feel, that is too good for the album (Te Amo Corazon, The Word, etc.) based on the other songs that are more modern sounding (3121, Black Sweat, etc.).

bonedaddy said:

Prince has earned the right to put his songs where ever the hell he wants to and they are all works of art so stop yer bitchin' the whole 3121 is the bomb show some respect when it is well deserved!

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

What about Lolita Dreamy??? Have you seen the HQ American Idol performance, I love it!

I think the album is fine the way it is ...jmo

babooshleeky said:

I've seen the Idol performance quite a few times already... in ways its better than the album, but I also like the addition in the end that goes "Lolita, how bad are you girl... etc."
Actually, I saw the performance when it first aired... I was blown away that he actually showed up. But the last time I watched it, I was like "he's just here for himself and doesnt really want to be there"... his arrogance was never a problem 4 me b4, so that was a little weird. That was a brief funk I was in, thu. I see him from a much diff. glorious light now, but dont get me started on TGE again.

I think the sound for Lolita is more modern... which is why I rank it below the gems of the album... but it's still a fun song.
I love all of the songs on 3121, although Satisfied is the only one I really don't connect with... it kinda goes over my head, but it's better than "On the Couch" in Musicology.

Just to speak on the issue, I think a few songs here and there are too good for their albums, but they still fit in perfectly in their own way and won't fit anywhere else. (Gold, A Million Days, to name a few).

Too good! It's a piss poor version compared to the one that appears on The Chocolate Invasion, he shouldn't have even gone there!

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

you go girl!!!!! you so smart.....For REAL THO

FunkJam said:

-----
"Prince has earned the right to put his songs where ever the hell he wants to and they are all works of art so stop yer bitchin' the whole 3121 is the bomb show some respect when it is well deserved!"

Co-Sign. 3121 was the first CD that P had open a #1 and it was in the top five in a few countries. If it had been marketed a little bit better and if the industry was not in the slump it is in it would have done even better.

laurarichardson said:

Sure, he can do just what he likes with his music but that doesn't mean I have to like it!!!

FunkJam said:

No you don't have to like it...but I do.....

laurarichardson said:

i like the original version better - "IT'S NOT FAIYUH!!!" ruins it for me and makes me giggle ever since it was mentioned on here a while back.

but i thought it was an interesting experiment to re-do a song like that. i'd like to see him do that kind of thing some more, but not too much more.

babooshleeky said:

Yeah, we don't have to agree on what songs we like. I can't convince someone to go crazy for "The Dance" all the same that nobody can convince me to go crazy 4 say... "My Name is Prince"... just to throw in an example.

I've found very few Prince songs that I could call :cringe: throwaways... I always try to find the good in a song even if it bores me to death. [case and point, I still listen 2 Satisfied even if it bores me cuz it still works in the sequence of the album... the same applied to Endorphinmachine, theres still something about it that kinda rubs me the wrong way but cuz i have to listen 2 it cuz its needed in the sequence of TGE , its grown on me].

We're free to make up our own minds about his music, that's why it's so good that he's written so much, giving us enough great material to basically say, "for every song I don't like, there are 10+ more that I love"

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

Ditto!

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

good stuff.

The yelling at the end of The Dance is totally classic Prince. Love it! Although TAC did quite well in much of Europe, I still think that this would have been a better first single for 3121. To have his opening single for the album end with that screaming…shit yeah!

audience1 said:

Agreed! Someone pointed out that it's like 'The Beautiful Ones''s ending... I called it "passion with a capital P"... I still do.

I'm in no position to say what should have been a single when... but I can say that The Dance could have been a good single... Te Amo Corazon was a great choice 4 a single.

I was hoping that he would perform "The Dance" during the 3121 shows in Vegas....sadly we were not treated to it, he has yet to do that one live.

Ya know...in the very beginning....from this very website...there were LOADS of people who despised the song, I do recall being this song's warrior because I knew it had some serious potential. It is by far, one of his greatest slow ballads. I can say this with no hesitation.

Renato does a great version of it at the aftershows. But my favorite version was from Chocolate Invasion and it belongs on there in my opinion. Adding strings and a fake emotional ending to it was BS if you ask me. But it is still better than 95% of music today so I'm not complaining.

'THE DANCE' IS MY FAVORITE TRACK FROM 3121. ALOT OF FANS DIDNT LIKE THE ALBUM, BUT I CAN LISTEN TO THE WHOLE THING EVERYDAY! I LOVE IT. AND THE DANCE JUST REALLY SHOWS PRINCE'S GENIUS SKILLS. IT REMINDS ME IF 'THE BEAUTIFUL ONES'.

XxKristinaxX said:

why does everybody yell now a days?

InsatiableCream said:

haha, I dunno.

Case & point, I agree. Everything in the song just fits perfectly into place and flows so beautifully, musically & lyrically.

FunkJam said:

the new version is over done and unconvincing. way ott.

now the original, that's a cool song

The Dance is a beautiful song

damn right, the dance is a masterpiece and my favourite song on 3121!

Just to respond to a couple of points I read.
I never said it was a better version than the original, I said it was too good for 3121, a level above the rest of the material.
Off the top of my head, I don't think I could say this of ANY other track for a particular album, certainly not 'Gold' or 'A Million Days'. In fact I LOVE 'Gold' but it is probably the cheesiest track off the album, but it belongs just fine. Glad we all have different views, we all LOVE the same stuff, but in different ways!

bonedaddy said:

well i can see your point. and wether it is too god or too horrible for
the album remains a matter of taste. but the thing i agree on completely
with you is that it doesn't seem to fit on the album -at all.

i've always felt that somehow he might have gone for a more latin sound
for this project and then abandoned it.

te amo corazon
get on the boat
the dance

all feel like they were recorded for something else. they just don't sit
that well with me on this record. despite the fact that these 3 latin
tinged songs would probably lead the album into a more latin sound and a
bit of a 'tone' for the album, they still feel out of place.

the whole cd feels -just like musicology- like he took what he considered
the best songs from what sounds like 2 or 3 different projects and put 'm
together forming one album.

it amounts to an album's worth of above average songs with little to no
real filler. yet it doesn't lead to a real "album" either. a problem that
Musicology suffered from as well imo.

Sign O The Times was a grab bag of songs from various projects and in a
way it's not a cohesive album at all but the sheer brilliance of most of
the material coupled with some magical ingredient in the song selection
makes for it to be (probably) his best album

i can't help but feel that this is what he's done for musicology and 3121
as well. picked songs from various projects. it doesn't work that well
though since i think he's allowing too much room for commercial appeal in
his song choice.