In the UK there was a great buzz around this track. The most listened to station in the UK - Radio 2 - had A-listed it (unheard of for a Prince track on that station), the video was shown constantly on The Box and everybody seemed to 'rave' about what a great track it was.

Why was the release never seen through? This could've really put Prince back on the map.

Personally I never understood what he was going on about. Who was selling the romance, and why? Does anyone know? Was it about the Pam and Tommy video? Is romance selling a good or a bad thing, generally speaking?

I always thought he was talking about
the romance between him and his fans.
Hence, the greatest romance ever 'sold'.
Agree, some of the lyrics are a bit
odd, but it's his song, and he can do
whatever he wants with them.

that's funny, I was just thinking about this song a few days ago and how clive parker was hyping it, saying "Now THAT sounds like a hit! Doesn't that sound like a hit?!"

which I thought was nonsense because that song...isn't good, isn't radio material. I thoutht it was even worse than 'Letitgo' - the first time I heard a Prince single that went 'thud.'

just my objective opinion.

'TGRES' is a decent little song,but it's NOT a good choice for a first single.I actually think the remix with Eve is WAY more exciting than the regular version.

hmmm...i always thought prince was singing about the relationship between adam and eve. you know how the bible is often called the greatest story ever told? well prince called his song the gretest romance ever sold, kind of a play on that, since the bible is often thought to be the best-selling book ever printed.
i do wonder about the gold coins on the front of the CD cover. it does seem kind of cynical, especially when you consider that maybe his relationship with mayte was deteriorating around this time. since other songs on RAVE don't really present love/relationships in a very positive light (think "i love u but...", "silly game", "man o' war", "strange but true") i wonder what's truly going on in this song - the greatest romance ever sold.
what do y'all think?
btw, i love the song, it has a great flow and creates an atmosphere, especially the adam and eve re-mix. i think it is one of the coolest tracks on RAVE un2, a terribly underrated prince album. so many fantastic tunes! but hold your fire all u RAVE haters, this thread is about the one track, so let's keep it on target.

narcotizedmind said:

I've yet to see the infamous Tommy/Pamela video (I know, I've been under an internet rock, so to speak). Am I to understand that the background music was TGRES? That is so bizarre! If in fact that is what the above reference is alluding to, then don'tcha think that would have been better "served" bringing a lawsuit against that sorry astrick couple than all of his fans that he was in the process of suing?

-how u gonna get my back when ur fronting?

fms said:

THANK U &

Some Prince fans are mighty hard 2 figure, I don't know why they hate RAVE. Is it becoz of the GB connection? Or is becoz its a commercial piece? I don't have a problem with neither of 'em. If there's any GB connection like someone stated then GB is no way near a BAD lp(Remember I said LP not movie ) there4 Rave can be a good GB influenced. If its becoz its a commercial then why not?? Hell, youngsters are watching that shit and some of 'em get intrested in our type of music so like I said why not?

I'm in top 40 radio and i thought this should have been a hit!If u compare it other recent singles like"Dinner With
Delores" "Betcha By Golly Wow" it is WAY better,TGRES has
great melody,harmony,a bit fat hook and great guitar and
bass lines.In my opinion it is a classic and very underated
Prince song

JAMIESTARR said:

---

J-Low used the music for one of her songs and it was a big hit. One of those things that makes you go hum!!!

laurarichardson said:

they both used that craig mack sample flavor in your ear...
[This message was edited Mon Sep 23 20:01:49 PDT 2002 by Christopher]

Late reply, but I totally agree with Jamie Starr.

TGRES is underrated - It's a got a smoothness to it, it's very listenable, it's got a good vocal, and catchy musical embellishments. The video's nice too.

I think it was his best single since I Hate U. It may have been a bit formulaic, but I think it sounded fresh and had a good vibe. I was proud to hear it on the radio.

(Was I correct to write in the past tense?)

Eye also like this song, it took awhile though, but
the album version was 2 slow. The Neptunes remix could B a R&B chart topper in the States (& in Europe).
[This message was edited Tue Sep 24 0:20:59 PDT 2002 by talk2thejay]

Greatest Romance is in my fave Prince songs ever.
I love the original ahead of the Eve mix or Neptunes mix,tho th eeve mix is wild.
just the vibe of it & sensuality is outta this world,the lyrix are amazing.

So anyone know why the release was scrapped?

A decent promo vid would've helped. To say it was Coma inducing was an understatement. These days you need a decent video to assist the single. Sure it may have been on channels like The Box etc, but how many people actually sat through it? I know i struggled to sit there for the duration of the song so the Prince doesn't stand a chance against the average MTV viewer. The video sank the song.

???
Please listen to the songs again!
TGRES is kinda dull, Betcha By Golly Wow may be his best cover ever! Dinner With Delores is a nice little song...

Peace,
TheKid

THE GREATEST ROMANCE is definetly a hot R&B song.
It isnt funk...ROCK...jazz...or has an out dated 80's sound. It is a hot R&B song & not 4 nothing, I remember hearing it on some stations in NY like KISS FM & WBLS FM
(smooth R&B stations/sometimes Hip Hop) frequently. It had it's moments. It is a hot song, without a doubt.

Yea, the deaf Prince fan chart.

2freaky4church1 said:

WTF R U talking about? Im a fan of that stuff & Im an eternal Prince fan!

I think I read on the old prince.org that TGRES reached Number 19 on the Billboard R&B chart?

Prince has put out at least four or five potential hit singles since '96 and has not promoted them whatsoever.

That is why TGRES wasn't a chart topper. No promotion. And the video was five months late, and it sucked.

TheKid said:

BETCHA BY GOLLY WOW IS A WIMPY PIECE OF
SHIT!!!