Warning: This is a LONG read

I’ve been having doubts about enjoying “Come”… or simply Prince’s company in general the way I usually have. For some strange reason I’ve been feeling very off this week. It could be because of school with mid-terms coming up or it could be some lack of enthusiasm over having all of the albums for my collection that I could ask for (all thanks to a good friend).

When I let him to take me to “Space,” my mind just painted a picture of an entire storyline. Well, almost entire. Orgasm misses out on having anything to do with it at all. It’s just filler, outside information not really crucial to what came to mind.

The visual I ended up getting for the setting was the mansion Prince is standing in front of on the Come album cover, the disc design, which all comes from the book “The Sacrifice of Victor.”

With the title track, I didn’t get much of a visual. I couldn’t really picture Prince even though I could clearly hear him when he spends half of the song whispering in my ear. The bells that he has shaking in the background make me think of snow falling. That’s the majority of the visual I got. It’s a cold, frustrating, dark time in his life and winter usually signifies the end of something. When someone’s in the winter of their life, they’re close to death. The view I had of “Come” was very dark and depressing at this point, so I was getting those kinds of vibes and visuals. I figured that this song and the next were merely Prince’s attempts to escape his problems through sex, something he’s been known to do in his music. Or perhaps using it to ask help from God since he believes that sex brings him closer to God.

My mind simply took off with “Space” and what came out was a very beautiful, short but sweet love story. Looking back, it was the happiest moment in the album and also the part I enjoyed the most. I just let my mind wander, something it hasn’t been able to do in a long time.

When “Pheromone” came along, I wanted to hold onto the vivid visuals “Space” brought to me, so I held onto the feeling for as long as I could. Once “Pheromone” took over, I could picture Prince jamming with his band, giving us the play-by-play of this particular story. My visuals were a mix between the band playing and what was going on beyond “the crack in the door.” The musicality was very effective for creating the mood and what “Pheromone” truly means. I think about the word pheromone regarding Prince and his must be especially potent if he can mesmerize me the way he does. Casting me under his spell.

“Pheromone” was generally a music video playing in my head just as I had described it. Then it changes over to “Loose!,” which I think kills. I’d love to show it to my folks, but the fact he drops MF a couple of times automatically denies that opportunity. This is as close as Prince gets to techno, a thread on the rise and he uses it as a medium to, once again, tell about his “Uptown”/”Dance Music Sex Romance” philosophy.

This is all taking place at that mansion I mentioned before, but in the case of the next few songs, it feels like one of the rooms had gotten transformed into a nightclub. “Loose!” has people getting down on the dance floor because of the music.

“Papa” more or less feels like a poetry reading and the nightclub becomes one of those places where they have poetry readings. Everyone just chilling at their tables, having drinks while Prince tells a tale. I can’t get the visual out of my head of him picking up a book and reading from it. One sound effect before he speaks sounds like him turning a page in a book. He closes the book shut when he starts with the “smacks.”

In fact, Loose!, Papa and Race are all about him delivering different messages for his listeners to take to heart and live by the way he has. At the same time, they all take place at this supposed nightclub or “jazz club,” as I’ll call it now.

“Race” is nothing without the band, so that’s how it came to mind. The “jazz club” atmosphere changes yet again, but it’s no Housequake like in “Loose!” and it’s not completely subtle like in “Papa.” It’s something different altogether, though slightly different from the “poetry reading” visual I mentioned before. The rest of the song is pretty much self-explanatory, though I think the little record scratch truly belongs with “Continental” but “Race” wouldn’t be quite complete without it. Looking at that, I can almost see the resemblances between Race and the other album tracks.

Quite appropriate, when I listened to “Dark,” I got no visuals at all. I couldn’t get a picture of Prince into my head. Nothing but darkness and his voice trapped in a “shadow of pain.” I truly believe this to be one of the best songs on the album because it captures so much emotion and the lyrics are amazing.

One visual I do get leads to “Solo.” Prince enters a dark room and closes the door behind him without making a sound. He walks to the spotlight in the middle of the room and lies down in the light, looking at the ceiling. In his case, he’ll be looking at his own sky.
I concocted the following interpretation last night. The girl that ends up leaving him isn’t the girl from Come or Space. In general, the girl leaving him is the last straw. He has nothing left. I get to thinking, though, could the girl could be his mistress, music? Most likely not, but always is a possibility. When there is rain and thunder, the room flashes due to the lightening, but he’s unfazed by it. He’s in a very bad place here and after the girl leaves him, he’s got nothing left. Nothing he believes is worth living for. It even seems that he had lost track of who he was. I draw attention to the lyrics:

“I'm so lost, no one can find me
And I've been looking 4 so long
But now I'm done”

He can no longer recognize himself because he has lost everything. Or so he believes, but belief can be a very powerful thing. The song simply ends with him shutting his eyes and lying motionless on the floor.

With the start of “Letitgo,” I can see myself returning to that very same room where “Prince” supposedly “died.” All that’s left is a rose in a vase of water and a letter. I pick it up and hold it to my heart, shedding tears for he was now gone.
The scene cuts to outside the mansion where Prince stood in the black & white photo, but here he is with his whole band. They play with their instruments and all, and the snow from the first song has once again started falling. It looks like a new beginning. In fact, it feels a little bit like “Mountains,” the way it was used in the movie “Under the Cherry Moon.” Because Prince supposedly “dies,” Solo is like the song where he dies (like “Sometimes it snows in April” where Christopher Tracy has already died). Like “Mountains,” Prince uses “Letitgo” as a vehicle to send one last message to those who’ll listen. This is where he ultimately gives the truth of his “condition” and why things are the way they are.

During this time, I’m reading the lyrics on the letter he left behind. The second verse is where this takes place. I look on, not believing that Prince truly wasn’t happy even though during “Space,” he seemed perfectly all right. I think, ‘I had no idea he felt this way.’ It sounds like he was trapped for a long time and not allowed to truly express himself. The last verse is a shot directly at WB, saying that they’ve got nothing on him, how radio stations were hesitant to play his songs on the album, and he and his band will continue to play the funk without their help.

Although I can still feel sadness coming from this song in general, I can’t help but feel happy when I listen to it. I enjoy it so much. The visual of Prince and the NPG performing in the snow outside is also a nice touch.
The last scene plays out where I hear them singing one more time, “Letitgo, lay back and let the vibe just flow.” Here I come to the window and believe I see them/him outside in the snow performing. I blink and then they’re gone, though the music continues to play. I stroke the window pane, turn around and hold the letter to my heart as I lean my back against the wall.
[Edited 3/14/08 8:01am]

The visual I ended up getting for the setting was the mansion Prince is standing in front of on the Come album cover,

Don't want to rain on your Parade, but I think you will find that the 'mansion' is the Sacradia Familia Cathedral in Barcelona.

DUMMYDOG said:

No worries

That's a great story. Come is a weird yet exhilarating trip. I haven't heard this CD in a while, I should listen to it later on tonight. Thanks for sharing with us Dreamy.

One of my favorite albums

Specialy the title track

not a particularly rated album
but nonetheless one that seems to be cherished by PRINCE fans

i love it-its a great dark FU album

DUMMYDOG said:

Don't want to rain on your parade, but its actually the Sagrada Familia Cathedral.

That is a very nice, poetic description..of your listening experience...
I enjoy the "Come" album.

Come is a strange little album and I do mean little album as I see it as a minor work rather than one of his Magnum Opus (not sure what the plural is there...Opi?)

However, it really could have been better with the inclusion of a few of the outtakes that were around at the time. With the joy that is iTunes I always make my own versions of albums, here's my version of Come...

Name (ie What's My Name)
Interactive
Pheromone
Loose
Papa
Race
Dark
Pope
Peach
Go (ie Letitgo)
Come
Strays (ie Strays of the World)

Just works better for my taste.

My "Come" Experience = best P album for a nasty and emotionless

my come experience is private

Whoa Dreamy...that was awsome...ure imagination is astounding.
Papa is for me reminders of echoes of my childhood...probably not a good thing, but I feel it not because it is exactly the same thing he is singing about, but simular experiences maybe.
Pheremone...well, visuals abound with this one, the images of the couple, the thought of him watching , putting himself in the mans place, I have to say this is one of my favorite songs I find it erotic, sensual, and well...nevermind

Anyway...great ideas dreamy, keep on Dreamin'

That's an amazing read Dreamy.... I think you might write a book about Prince and his music one day....

I'm going to listen to this album again, now. I really love the descriptions of Dark, Solo and Letigo.... him lying in the spotlight, the rose and the letter - how romantic....great imagination. Thanks!

great post and very expressive indeed.
Come is one of my least favorite Prince albums,and probably the first Prince album since that I thought was a step backwards for him. It just seemed to lack spirit.

I remember reading a Spin article (I THINK it was Spin) where Prince played both albums for a music journalist. The journalst said that the COME album , he liked alot, but Prince seemed impatient with it, skipping the track after just a few seconds. The Gold Experience was a differnt animal altogether. According to the journalist, Prince was completely animated when he played that for the guy. He was doing air guitar, etc. etc. really getting into it.

It's almost like Prince deliberately wanted to release simultaneous 'sister' albums ala Black Album vs. Lovesexy. But whereas the Black album holds its own, Come doesn't quite match with The Gold Experience--which to me is the most underrated Prince album ever.

4 U

Once again, the dove speaks...
Dreamy pictures from the depths of her soul
Even in the darkness u can c the light
'Cause lonely's never lonely with a friend in sight

Words never say all that should b said
A letter is written that remains unread
One day will find us sharing a cloud
Speaking all our thoughts out loud

So close and yet so far apart
Such distant longings of the heart
But take comfort in the end
Just knowing that u r my friend

.nevaeH U hsiW eyE

Imago said:

yeah i remeber that-i think it was the VIBE innerview

though years later on the love 4 one another site prince was waxing lyrical about come-esp the horn arrangment"like a fine wine"

bluefish said:

i meant to say thats beautiful

i love it

Off the cuff, I know that Come has a dark ambiance to it, but I always note that Prince makes an effort to "not stay in the dark." It was touted as his "swan song" as Prince (before the name change, that is), but if there is dark that he has to go through, he also knows there is light out there, too.

I also think that, just like the Black Album and Lovesexy, that Come and The Gold Experience are written in the same frame of mind.

Damn dreamy u r dreamy. Great post. I think Come is quite a good album. I remember being slightly disappointed with it when it first came out, but the more time passes the better it gets. Like a lot of Prince's albums once u place it in context with what came before and after u get a greater sense of its uniqueness in his catalog.

Yes, come is good.

tricky99 said:

I was bound to hear that sooner or later

Like TGE b4 it, I wasn't interested in getting this album simply because I didn't want to hear Prince when he wasn't in a good place. I heard this one was pretty dark, angry and depressing. Or so that's what I thought. People kept telling me that it's not dark at all... and they also told me that this album is a "grower"... so it'd take a while for me to get into it.

They were right. When I heard it the first time, not much stood out, so I was a bit disappointed. Come & Letitgo were the only ones that jumped out at me. But I just had this feeling it'd become one of my favorites, it just needed some time sink in.

I've been listening to the album over the past several days and making my own notes. I think I could very well write my own short story with the songs as inspiration. Though I may have to toy around with the order of the tracks.

I'm not gonna say that it'll be my honest take on the different songs or the album as a whole. It'll just be a fictional story written around the music and the only truth in it is that it has to do with the falling out between Prince and WB.

I'll put it up on my blog so I don't take up too much space here with my own imagination
I can say, though... that it all starts with the crafting of "Dark," which makes WB start to suspect Prince.
Then the sequence of Come thru Pheromone will be in reverse. He meets the love interest when she comes to see him perform Pheromone, Space will be their first "true" encounter... then she sees him perform Loose!, Papa and Race (all in order).

I've got a skeleton of a storyline down and with the tracks as fuel for inspiration, it should be an interesting undertaking

I love this album..."Space" is my favourite song from it

I've been working on it little by little, though its nowhere near close to finished.
I posted my short story on the thread below.

http://prince.org/msg/15/263590

So feel free to check over to the Artists community boards and read what resulted from that initial experience I had with the album.

Dear Dreamy tank’s for sharing I truly enjoy your post, 4give me I’ve had 24-hour amnesia… . SEriouSlY in order to response 2 U, I pick up my dictionary, the Come album (hum! That’s going 2 be long ), and sat 4 resonate, devouring with appetite my huge crush (COME). Still remember with nostalgia… .a long time ago… .all-consuming

Solo 4 me is a despair voice trapped in the entrails of an enormous dangerous creature: a red fish, the echoes bounce in the darkness of is empty stomach.
The biggest creature had swallow the miserable soul wailing, wailing...
All of a sudden came (Im going insane) or could it be (Zaire)… he wasn’t sure and that was more he could take. Red fish roars and had an indigestion, living behind the sorrow soul waving back to the ocean. He felt much better.
Dangerous creature had kept an image, in its memory was glowing Suzanna.O Suzanna
ok! stop the crap it's about Prince right... ok!
just thought that it would change 4 a couple of second

Pole said:

thats the most sense any1 has ever made on these boards.

Dead On It.