I was just listening to Chocolate Box for the umpteenth time... and I agree with those who said this.

Don't get me wrong... I love the album version... but it could have been a minute and a half shorter and still been just as enjoyable. You can almost hear where it was going to end around the 4:40 mark... then kicks into a slightly different 'Disco Jellyfish' mix. I could have done without that section.... maybe leaving in the guitar bit after that..... but I'll say a good 45 second to a minute should have been trimmed of the release mix.

Hmmmm

I still love it. Just read a few people coment on its length and I do agree.
[Edited 3/26/09 13:11pm]

I hear you, especially after (a demo version of) this song was known a few days before the album was. This made me learn half of it by heart already and now all the other songs (except for Another Like Me) have to catch up and just seem more fresh and exciting. The length of the first two tracks is an issue because we have already heard them before we have heard the rest of the album. Plus they are the first two tracks of the album.. not putting them back to back would have helped not to get bored too easily by already knowing them.

I still like them both, although they are not my favourites of the album.

i don't like this track too much. this one and there will never be another
like me are the only 2 tracks out of the entire package that i think are
nice enough but would have been better as one off tracks, not on the lp's.

but as it is, i don't think it's too long. it would have been nice if the
actual disco jellyfish was the appendix instead of this so-so mix of it.
the 1st disco jellyfish had that piano/harpsichord and wilder guitar and
i liked that a lot.

I think it's exactly 6 minutes 14 seconds 2 long.

Well, Prince is infamous for going overboard with certain songs that he likes. Moreover he usually remixes them over and over and over again like he did with The Most Beautiful Girl in The World, Get Off, Eye Hate U, and Scandalous. If I was really into the song, I wouldn't mind it being a bit long. One of my favorite songs from Prince is The War and that's almost a half an hour long!!

Maybe you should take a break from playing Mplsound non-stop for the past 2 days since you downloaded it and possibly it won't sound so long

Go listen to Elixer instead

dartluv5 said:

I kinda like Elixer btw.

JOYJOY said:

I Love Elixer! I hope more people actully listen to it with an open mind...they may discover a few songs on there that are actually decent. IMO, it's a solid smooth jazz like album which fits well with the Lotusflow3r CD set.

comegetwild said:

Co-sign.

IstenSzek said:

yeah, i agree. these are one-off NPGMC-era type tracks to me, and are the only ones that drag the whole project down just a little bit for me (and maybe "4ever" and the absence of "Crimson & Clover").

imagine F.U.N.K. taking their place

errant said:

F.U.N.K.

As I said in my review on the Mplsound thread, I definitely think it's too long. It's a funky song - and I loved the instrumental (Disco Jellyfish), but Prince could've shortened this by 1:30 to 2:00 and not lost a thing.

I listened to F.U.N.K. a little earlier for the first time in ages and I thought - damn, as much as I really do like MPLSoUND, if this was on it, it would actually be the best track. Love it.

And back on topic - hated Chocolate box when it was a snippet on the site in January, love it now. It's not too long for me - reminds me of an old 12" B-side like Hello with its funked-out extensions. Mmmm-mmm.

i really chocolate box the way it is.
although,after a while i do find myself craving chocolate.
wait
...maybe it should be shorter

asideorderofham said:

Except that on the old 12" b-sides, the extensions explored new musical territory. Chocolate Box just repeats and repeats and repeats.

I don't think they're too long. In fact, given that this album is a throwback to the 80's, when Prince had a thing for long albums tracks (particularly on Controversy and 1999), I think it's appropriate.

I really like CB, as well. I think Another Like Me is not the best opening track though.

jtfolden said:

Uh oh - CB is already used for Crystal Ball. Are we going to have an acronym faceoff?

Se7en said:

How about we just stop using them?

CHCK-BX

Se7en said:

Given the title of the thread, it shouldn't cause much confusion.

dartluv5 said:

Aw.... what you trying to say...?

You just want me to listen to Elixer and get in a all soft and romantic mood n' stuff. 'Psst'

I got a Chocolate Box just 4 U

BigDaddyHQ said:

I bet u do

I have to say, both track #1 and #2 are a bit too long on MPLSound... Not really a fan of 6+ minutes songs anyway, it worked for "Purple Rain" or "Gold" but still...

the length of his chocolate is none of your business lol

^ Haha!

To be honest, he should have made a single edit.

underthegraffitibridge said:

his chocolate shoulda bin cut up ages ago

PussInJuice said:

into smaller toblerones

dartluv5 said:

Yeah i went in expecting to be slow and dull..but I like it ALOT! It's an album Amel lerriux should do!

I love that Chocolate box ix extended. It's kinds like one of his old 12inches... like Kiss.. the song we all know and love then a whole other bit tagged on the end.
I'm sure there's been chat on these boards about how we wished Prince would do more of those extended mixes.. and here we have one.
Love it.

2 long??? Somebody needs to slap the taste out of your mouth. If you ever had any
[Edited 3/28/09 11:39am]

funkyfine said:

It depends if the song is suitable for an extended version or not. I do think the "chorus" (the first line) being repeated over and over gets a bit boring here.