Thinking about how much TV time the aweful BLACK SWEAT and Te Amo C. got, and listening to Love and The Dance today in the gym, I just couldnt beleive the missed opportunity to have two more massive hits. Black Sweat just did cut it, no one bought it despite lots of of airplay, rarely given so much promotion, it was a big chance and it faded away taking 3121 along with it. Missed opportunity to have a couple of big hits. I beleive its only Prince fans that even know about 3121 now, it could have been a household name with hits behind it to promote the CD. Oh well.

vinx98 said:

I am so glad you said that! I thought from the first second I heard The Dance that it was so incredible. I could not believe that one did not get airplay. I wonder if it is because I am a fan that I thought it was a major hit? Or if it would have really had mass appeal? I am so glad someone else thought that was one of his great hits.

Fury is a proper hit off the album. Its just typical Prince I feel. I do like Love and Lolita as well. Te Amo Corazon is my least favourite track off the album followed by the Dance

Love could have definitely been a dance hit...

The Dance, however, I hear more as a fan favorite.

I think Love would have been huge

Of course the whole cd is good, and Black Sweat...great club song...if u are
fortunate enough to go to clubs.

The Dance is an incredible piece. I'm still waiting to hear it live!!!!

^
It was played during one of the recent London aftershows (13th September).

giotto said:

Did he actually sing it? In Vegas I know that Renato played it on keys but the song was never sung!

No, he didn't sing along to it. But it was fun watching the crowd's reaction to the melody. Most knew it sounded very familiar but failed to recognise it was "The Dance"...

uh, no?

black sweat wasnt very successful commercially (it was quite a "difficult" song with a very offbeat groove) but it was very well-received critically. ive never read a bad review of it, and most it not all critics consider it a high point of prince's recent work. i think most hardcore prince fans like it anyway, but outside of hardcore prince fans its quite highly regarded: its still in the top 20 of his weekly last.fm charts, and even higher on the last six months chart ( http://www.last.fm/music/Prince ), the highest post-TRC track apart from guitar (which only just edges it in the six months chart). the two songs on 3121 with most hit potential were fury and black sweat.

love is quite boring, frankly, and was rarely if ever pointed out as a highlight of 3121 by critics.

the dance is a great track but wouldnt have been a hit, let alone a big one, in a million years. it would have had even less chance than the similarly slow-paced greatest romance ever sold or te amo corazon.

theghostoftonym said:

you might have a point

3121 is one of Prince's most under-rated albums.

It has some faults in production, song sequence, and trite lyrics (where are Prince's friends to tell him such things??), but otherwise, it's one of his stand-out albums with some of the best songs he's released in a decade.

I made my own compilation and really like it this way: 1. Love, 2. The Word, 3. Lolita, 4. Black Sweat, 5. 3121, 6. Fury, 7. Incense & Candles, 8. Satisfied, 9. Beautiful, Loved, & Blessed, 10. Te Amo Corazon, 11. The Dance, 12. Get On The Boat, 13. SST, 14. Brand New Orleans

theghostoftonym said:

im not denying it got airplay and it made some charts, but its not a big hit. go on the street and ask someone if they know Black Sweat.

vinx98 said:

that could b said about the work, musicology, call my name, cinnamon girl and any single that was released commercially in the last 10 years. black sweat is a HOT ass track and even those that aren't prince fans that heard it, where bobbing their heads.

from the moment i heard LOVE , i wanted 2 hear this song either in a club or in a arena with that beat bouncing off the walls!

the dance on the other hand i agree is more of a fan hit than a commercial hit. and it's one of the songs i can easily skip when listening 2 3121 as a album

vinx98 said:

i know lots of people who are music fans but only casual prince fans, who know and like black sweat. id guess i dont know anyone who likes prince who wouldn't know it.

and most people in the street would be struggling to name more prince hits than purple rain, kiss & 1999, so i dont see your point really.

As far as these songs being a hit, I don't know if the general public would like it. I think that it has to have like a catchy beat for other than Prince fans to like it, someone mentioned instant gratification before. But us fans seem to just take it all and appreciate it for what it is.

These are actually 2 of my favorite songs from this album though. Love brings an image of flying to my mind, especially when I'm driving in my car (I justify speeding that way).

Speaking of The Dance, I almost fell out of my seat when I heard the ending (I was driving too by the way). Don't know why I felt compelled to mention driving!?!?

theghostoftonym said:

my point, is that if it was a top 10 hit NOW non-prince fans would know it NOW. I wasnt talking about one of hits he had in the 80s or 90s, but even then... most non-prince fans know

TMBG in the world
SOTT
Raspberry Beret
Controversy
7
Aplhabet St.
etc.

so I dont see your point.

I agree Love has alot of attitude in it making you want to dance, I'd love to have seen him do it an aftershow That one, Fury and The Dance could have been big pop hits.

Love could have been a Top 40 in the R&B market
The Dance would have been a flop in any market

I used to work at macy's at the clinique counter. and I use to play "love" all the time, And as the people would walk by they would always ask who is that. Is that prince? I would say yeah and they would say that's hot. even teenagers would come by and say that shit is hot who is that, and I would say prince, and they would say forreal that's good I like it. So I do believe with a video and the right promotion "love" would have been a hit. The dance I don't know too much maybe if it was on a soundtrack or something. The dance is very dramatic so I think it could have fit pretty well in a movie soundtrack or something.