If Prince had released the Camille album, do you think it would have gone over well? It seems to me when I listen to Rebirth and Rock Hard, they were both songs that were years ahead of their time. And along with the other favorites like Housequake and Feel U Up, it could have done what the Black Album could never have done. Thoughts, orgers?

Could you provide a track list so I could give an honest opinion?

It's my favourite Wendy-and-Lisa-less Prince album.

Darwintheorgangrinder said:

Side 1:
01. Rebirth Of The Flesh
02. Housequake
03. Strange Relationship
04. Feel U Up
Side 2:
05. Shockadelica
06. Good Love
07. If I Was Your Girlfriend
08. Rockhard In A Funky Place

.
[Edited 12/31/08 11:23am]

A very raw album
and no one does raw better
First cut- Bag it and ship it
Class stuff if I been Asked
As to How well it would have done, it is hard 2 say.
It would have come out after the Under The Cherry Moon and (i believe)before Crystal Ball, with-out Princes name being involved which wouldn't have lasted too long as it wasn't any real secret.
To be honest there would have being a couple of successful singles while the album might have hit top 20.

I think it was certainly a more palatable collection of tracks for the mainstream listener than The Black Album BUT would it have changed Prince's chart trajectory any? I'm thinking not, at least not without some creative marketing. As much as I love some of these tracks, there's nothing that screams "hit" here except, maybe Housequake.

I never really "got" the Camille concept, or at least I never got how far Prince wanted to take it. Was he going to pretend Camille was a real person when he released the album? Was Camille going to be presented as a protege, or would people know it was really a Prince album? Was it a "Chris Gaines" or an "I Am Sasha Fierce" kind of thing?

Moreover, Camille the persona was male, but "Shockadelica" referred to Camille as a female. Which I guess is part of the sexually ambiguous fun of Prince in the '80s. Also, the vocal effect was cool, but it didn't disguise the fact that it was Prince singing (although Rolling Stone seemed to fall for it in their review of SOTT; they mentioned Camille as a new singer on the album).

I don't know if it would have sold well or not, but my inclination is that it wouldn't have, despite how great those songs are.

jtfolden said:

I think If I Was Your Girlfriend and Strange Relationship Would have lit the charts but these are all songs from SOTT 'nuff said

Being a teenager at this time, i think it would have done great.

It would have been one of the hippest albums out that year.
More energetic, funkier, rockier than anything since purple rain.

I think it would have crossed demographic record buying lines. I could see it playing on both alternative rock and urban stations.
In the eighties edgier music had crossed over to the mainstream and the mainstream musical spectrum was all over the place. On one side the Beastie Boys had a huge hit with rap and bands like The Cure were played on the same rotation as some Heavy Metal bands and coarse pop legend MJ at the very middle.
I think music is a more homogenous now than the mid eighties. I turn on MTV or BET and it all seems mechanical, like all out of the same mold.

It was easy to spot a Prince song on the radio in those days, they boldly stood out even among all the other flavors floating around.

COOL COVER!
Was this going to be the real cover, or is this from a boot?

jfrost said:

..but "If I Was Your Girlfriend" was the second single from SOTT and it bombed rather spectacularly at the time, reaching only 60-something at pop radio... Which is why I discounted it.

Strange Relationship might have been an interesting choice.

Don't know but the tour would have been the shit.