Starting a thread here that will probably lead to flaming, but i dont mind.

Personally i think among the 'fams' here there is a tendency to talk down certain songs, that are actually quite great IMO.

Here is my top 5 of that kind of songs.

1. Animal Kingdom - The Truth
One of Princes best 'Beatles' influenced songs. Of course the lyrics are silly, but i really love the distorded Lennon-esque vocals, the sound effects, the overal weirdness and playfullness of this track. A little gem IMO.

2. Graffiti Bridge - Graffiti Bridge
Again, silly lyrics, but name me another 'musical' endsong that shows such tremendous musiciality. The bombast of the arrangement is a 'guilty pleasure' for me, i love how how the different leadsinger interact, and there is some of Princes most wild, mesmerising guitar-[playing to be heard in the background.

3. Glam Slam - Lovesexy
People accuse it of being 'cheesy', but for me it has one of his best melodies. The chorus is a wonder of majestic sounding notes. The mixture of world-music like drums, psychedelic harmonies and guitar-chords works tremendously.

4. I rock, therefore i am:
I am no rap / hip-hop lover, so its hard for me to judge the rappers / toasters on this track are any good, but that doesnt bother me. I mean: listen to the beat of this song: one of the best, most hardest grooves since Once nation under a groove. Listen to the catchieness of the chorus, Rosies cocky background vocals, the lyrics of the song, Princes guitarwork. Its one big 'Fuck you', and IMO Prince most underrated funk-rock groove EVER.

5. Dolphin - The Gold Experience
Another song that is sometimes labeled as 'cheesy', but i really think people are mistaking that word with 'catchy'. One of Princes qualities is that he is one of the few 'black' artists capable of delivering 'perfect popsongs'. I am thinking here about When you were mine, Raspberry Beret and Starfish and coffee.
And 'Dolphin' is another one of this songs in this vein: heavenly harmonies, a chorus to die for, and a band capable of delivering a 'soulfull' edge to what is in essence a 'white' form of music (especially noteworthy is Sonny T's tremendous basswork).

i've always loved "glam slam", it's catchy it's thumping and it's
got real drive. it fits well on the album and it was a good single
imo, eventho the fams will tell you how terrible a choice it was,
considering it didn't do well enough on the charts.

animal kingdom, from my fav 90's album "the truth" does indeed, i
have to admit have a bit of a cheesy thing goin on there but it's
saved by the many positives it brings to the table. i love what
he did with it. like you said, it's a little gem.

and well, "dolphin", i've always wondered why people dog on that
song so much. it's my fav song off "the gold experience" and the
one thing i fail to understand is why people call it "too weird"
or "to psychedelic". is that purely because of the lyrics? what
is it about them that is too weird?

it's one of his best mainstream rockers with a great solo and an
excellent chorus. the vocals at the beginning coupled with that
guitar are just heaven to my ears. love everything about this cut
and consider it probably his most beautiful 90's song.

i wonder if people would have liked it more, had it been a huge
hitsingle. shame it went to waste the way it did when prince had
the video released and all. with the single in stores at that
same time and riding the wave of TMBGITW this song should have
been a chart topper all over.

I agree, Animal Kingdom is really not that bad, and it does have a 'Beatles' sound.
Glam Slam is great, and I like the instrumentation on Dolphin but the lyrics are kinda childish to me.

Riverpoet31 said:

Dolphin is one of my favorites off TGE as well. But it is kinda sad at the same time. I saw an old VH1 video of it recently and to me, it feels like he's reliving the pain he dealt when his name was still Prince (kinda like the continutation/ending of Solo/Letitgo from Come). As for the song itself, I feel like its one of those songs that wrote itself. The music is so beautiful that I think he was really feeling the music. Makes it all the more brilliant to me.

Glam Slam and Dolphin are by far some of my favorite songs. and the lyrics to Dolphin are not childish at all. maybe u need to listen to that song again

i would have to add Call My Name to that list

I love the music on Animal Kingdom and the effects. its just conceptually contradictory for me though. i know P. probably wasn't where he is spiritually now though he was likely vegetarian, (most JW's aren't) but there IS a creational hierarchy and a FISH is NOT my relative. i hate that a good arrangement was wasted on a cheesy song about why u don't eat meat. (and i'm vegetarian too!)

Dolphin, Glam Slam are great! if they need explanation, those who dislike are incorrigible. LOL!

I Rock Therefore I Am does have a strong groove, but just lyrically flawed, that's what makes it not memorable, less so than the rap. the songwriting just isn't as strong as the music. that's a VELVEETA chorus if i ever heard one!
[Edited 6/21/07 12:10pm]

oh, i forgot Graffiti Bridge, absolutely indefensible.
if a song renders itself unlistenable on FIRST listen, that speaks volumes. there's actually, some great musicality on there? hmmmm, i shall never know. been i can't have blood dripping on my t-shirt from my ears. although its been 17 years, that's still 3-5 minutes of my life i want back. LOL

I like Animal Kingdom and GLam Slam.