With the correct promotion, it could have been massive. If "Loose!" had been the first single, dark SM themed video...a maxi-single of industrial mixes (some done by Trent Reznor...) Funky Goth fashion.


The tracklist would have been the same...no changes.
[Edited 1/30/08 13:55pm]

This is so true! I listened to 'Come' four days ago and was blown away by the music and lyrics. I haven't listened to the release in five years, so it was very refreshing and better than 90% of the music that's on the market today.

'Space' is still the song for me because its actually Prince singing on twelve different tracks mixed into one song.

'Loose,' should have been released to the electronica club circuit; 'Come' the "Undertaker" version, to the dance club circuit;

As you said, a S&M video compilation would have been perfect for this with 'Pheromone' as the highlight. It could have stared Carmen Electra or for the 1993 audience, Salma Hayek (think white snake in the 1996 movie "From Dust to Dawn")

What a waste! Thanks, Warner Brothers! That could have been more money in the company coffers.

race


in

a

space

i mark


human

I think if Prince had released an edited version of Pheremone as the first single and had a video with an S&M/dark kind of theme, it would have been huge and Come would have sold real well.

I like several songs from the album but there did not seem to be an obvious hit in the bunch. "Letitgo" was the only song that really sounded like it could have and should have taken off but no video plus pissed off Prince equals barely Top 40. Space is still a beautifully crafted song with some of the dumbest lyrics Prince has ever put down on paper. Pheremone is damn funky and sounded fresh but once again lyrics were a problem, way too profane for radio. Loose the same. On and on, some good songs, some really good songs but few hit singles in the bunch. I still like the CD but it definitely falls in the category of for the converted and not for the masses.

Not so. Come was the last album to be properly promoted by WB in the UK. There were posters everywhere (in London at least, where I lived at the time) and Radio One previewed the album primetime and gushed over its contents. WB worked their asses off over this in the Blighty. The reason why the album failed? Prince could not be arsed. Or would not. Simple. MTV or VH1 played the Beautiful Experience video thang a number of times... Prince did not support the release, which is a shame, I believe, because it is a marvellous album and, essentially, is part one of The Gold Experience - which was not properly promoted but spawned Prince's last UK top ten hit.

GottaLetitgo said:

I agree.I don't hear alot of "hit" material on this album.The album is actually kinda dark and isolated-sounding (if that makes any sense,lol).

If anything was an 'obvious' hit off Come it was Race... or Come in the original version... or, possibly, Space.

I don't think it would've been a hit album without some tracklist changes. The
released album is a pared down version of what was originally intended. I think
it would have had potential if one of the earlier versions of the album had been
released instead.

Heh, I told myself that I wouldn't post here because I'm still focusing on the 80's, but I can't resist. This album is one of my favorites.

As for anything that happened so far back I have no control over it, I don't really care so much about whether certain albums were hits or not or what the masses thought of them. As far as I can tell, a lot of people here like the album so much (I had been told that it is good and somewhat essiental cuz I already own/love TGE). These kinds of what if's don't concern me too much personally.

But from what I hear, I think this album could have been more popular with the masses with promotion. As for singles, "Space" and "Letitgo" were the perfect candidates for, but I lean towards "Letitgo" because Prince probably would have stood by it more (seeing as it was newer material than the rest)... and it had this catchy quality that made it stick for me when the album just whipped past me the first time.

People call this a contractual obiligation, which I don't really believe since he wanted to release this & TGE at the same time, with this being the old material and TGE being the new () material. He didn't want to promote this as much because its older material that he "outgrown" at that time... and lost all interest in to work on his next thing.

TGE, he would have promoted a bit more than this, but not quite enough I think. Because there was all this talk about it never being released (or so David Letterman said... eh, that performance still doesn't settle well with me).

No, no, and thrice, no.

BorisFishpaw said:

feel like typing out one of those original track lists?

I made my own come version and the result is great!
1. interactive
2. come
3. space
4. Pheromone
5. acknowledge me ( inspired by beautiful experience )
6. the most beautiful girl ( inspired by beautiful experience )
7. loose
8. papa
9. race
10. letitgo( On the cool out Tip radio edit ) remix
11. so dark
12. 18 and over
13. letitgo ( Caviar Radio edit ) remix
14. Strays of the world

i know some song were orginally recorded for TGE(?) but they fit perfectly on Come ( Acknowledge me, most beautiful girl, interactive have all that cold sound and/or were recorded the same way like come. Campare simply beautiful girl single version and the TGE version and u will see what i mean, i dont know what they did with TGE but i really hate that sound of it.)


by the way does anyone know if prince was involved in making the remixes for letitgo! i think both tracks ( Caviar Radio edit and the ON the cool.out tip ) are really great; simply perfect!

BoySimon said:

What???? Mate! Where in London do you see all this? My memories of the release of come, which when I explain you'll understand why have stuck in my head, are the absolute opposite.

I remember all the excitement building up to SOTT and my sister out at the crack of dawn to buy it. The following year, Lovesexy received not only what seemed to be his most pre-hyped album, the promotions and press coverage seemed to be in full swing months prior to its release! Batman, well, cant argue to how that was advertised on a monumental scale! Grafitti Bridge had the extra pre-sale boost due to Thieves in the Temple being shown before all (nearly 30) U.K. Nude shows. Diamonds and Pearls was strongly advertised and with the strength and high chart position of Gett off, every one knew about it. and then , was prudently advertised during the D & P shows, and a 5 minute video ad before the shows showing clips from 3 chains o gold! was played on a loop for hours!!!

One day I had a monday off work and I went to do some shopping locally, and noticed when walking past some pokey little Our Price, They had a single poster in the window, stating New release!!!!

I still can't work out to this day how a Prince album got released, without knowing? It's not even like I knew there was a new album due and just missed the release date! This for me, at that time, was a bit of a shock! In the few weeks after I noticed the odd posters here and there but nothing special. The only thing that I remember that drew peoples attention was the statement Prince is dead 1958 - 1993. No-one had a clue what it meant and why Prince seemed to getting killed off, coupled with poor promotion of the album, and just as damaging absolutely no pre release publicity or press coverage explaining the concept and idea behind the album and why Prince is dead!

That day, to me, is the exact Benchmark in time, where I felt I witnessed the beginning of the End!
[Edited 2/1/08 23:08pm]

"What???? Mate! Where in London do you see all this? My memories of the release of come, which when I explain you'll understand why have stuck in my head, are the absolute opposite."

I used to work in Roehampton. The posters were all over Putney and Wimbledon... and, if memory serves... up in town too. The Beautiful Experience had been shown after TMBGITW reached no.1 - prior to Comes' release. I remember having a conversation with the manager of the NPG store - something Poole... her husband was the agent who tried to sue Prince... - anyway, I remember speaking to her about the album's content and her telling me that there wouldn't be a Sssh or Now on it, but Loose, Papa and Race were etc...

Radio One hyped the album greatly... made great play of the fact they would be getting the premiere of the album on UK radio. They played most of the songs of the album over a day or so, usually with a long-spiel-like intro from the DJ in question... I distinctly remember Nicky Campbell's intro for Space - for example.

So - TV exposure through VH1, huge poster campaign across the city, countrywide promotion through Radio One and I remember the album being the front display for HMV in Oxford Street the week of the reelase.

Prince was just going into his 'I'm not playing mode' (claiming spirituality and sucking us all in when, in fact, it was a fiscal move on his part - as admitted in the 1999/2000 rebranding of the artist...) and did not promote the album. Letitgo was released as a single and no video accompanied, no performance on TOTP etc... no second single, as I remember... and so the album lost impetus.

BoySimon said:

letitgo did have a video, it was some crap footage though.

come went to no.1 so how could of been an even bigger hit?

BoySimon said:

Thanks for helpping fill the huge gap in my brain, where memories just like yours should already be.

I used to visit the NPG store frequently. I got my beautiful experience ep there, I sat and watch the B.E. film as that was always played in the sandwich bar, and I know that I would've asked lots of questions about the film naturally because it was new and I did know much about it. But remember vividly that all my conversations with people about it would end up speculating about something called the Dawn!!!!!

Come seems even more lost than ever before!!! Although it was the same year that I went hardcore in clubland!!! And to think that I was more than sure that my new weekly passion was having absolutely no impact or effects on my life in general!!!!!

its a great album but by that point Prince was already a pariah in the media.

Did letitgo have a video? Or was it an Arms of Orion 'video' compiled by WB for the MTV stations to have something to play?

i love that album, but i honestly don't think so. there aren't any strong "singles" on it, if you ask me. anything could be a massive hit album if its correctly/heavily promoted.