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Prince and the art of the Bridge I have been always amazed by the structure of most of Prince songs, and particularly his art of the bridge.A bridge is an interlude that connects two parts of a song, building a harmonic connection between those parts. With Prince, sometimes the whole song structure heads off in another direction , in a very surprising and bold way, taking the listener in another dimension and making everyone absolutely nuts. James Brown used to take us to the « Bridge » and Prince is doing the same with his musicianship. One My favorite bridge « à la Prince » is in Crystal Ball at 4 :49. People tell me what is yours You can tell about Prince's Future , but his Past is utterly unpredictable | |
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That is a GREAT observation. You are right on target.
One that sticks out is "Paisley Park". Another is "Take Me With U". Not only is it a great bridge, but 20 years after he wrote it, Prince changed it by adding a chord. What a genius. | |
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y u wink at me dogs do not c
ur still a cat built up in a tree give me the benefit of one night of fun u've got 9 lives i only got 1  [Edited 7/30/09 9:20am] man, he has such an amazing body of music that it's sad to see him constrict it down to the basics. he's too talented for the lineup he's doing. estelle 81 | |
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RodeoSchro said: That is a GREAT observation. You are right on target.
One that sticks out is "Paisley Park". Another is "Take Me With U". Not only is it a great bridge, but 20 years after he wrote it, Prince changed it by adding a chord. What a genius. I would call this kind of structure: The Russian Doll effect. In a Prince song you can find another song nested inside.Btw where can I listen the "new" TMWY? You can tell about Prince's Future , but his Past is utterly unpredictable | |
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The Father's Song solo in Computer Blue is really a bridge. And a great one at that. If prince.org were to be made idiot proof, someone would just invent a better idiot. | |
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Great thread topic. 
Before someone else says it: Adore... Prince took the it from the swoony-soul verse and chorus right on back to the nickelodeon with that bridge... from the boudoir to the parlor for some mints, a fan and some pastries, before heading back to the boudoir to close the song's deal with the vamp. I in fact would like to hear Prince do a 1920s treatment of Adore. The half-step modulation the bass takes in the pre-chorus of the first chorus foreshadows the keyboard riff of the bridge nicely. But the bridge's bass/chord progression is really a 1960s-style 1-7-4 rock riff (complete with a slapped bass!) throws some undistorted rock and funk into the mix that complement the racier lyrics of the bridge, all building to the vamp. I love it. Prince was on top of his game, that day. | |
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Erotic City's bridge is 10 times too funky.
Same with Partyup. I know its documented Morris Day wrote this song, but that bridge is ALL Prince. | |
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raspberry beret's bridge is cool, too. | |
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wwoowww..im soo loving this thread////
ill say Automatic, his version of shhh ..wow....joy in repetition. question of u. Marry me 2day and 2night we'll make love until the world stops turning | |
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Lady Cab Driver, the solos...  | |
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I WOULD DIE 4 U !!! extended
the intro starts starts with a BRIDGE | |
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I know it's Jill Jones but Violet Blue change at 3:23 with the strings at 3:54 is gorgeous ! | |
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The Dance Electric ! this thread is addictive  | |
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utopia7 said: The Dance Electric ! this thread is addictive
I'll take it to the bridge here, and then you can carry on as you were...  Just somewhere in the middle,
Not too good and not too bad. | |
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Graffiti Bridge is the worst bridge.  RIP  | |
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Anotherloverholenyohead - on the extended version. Love the horns and strings...  We don’t mourn artists because we knew them. We mourn them because they helped us know ourselves. | |
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"Family Name."... "The Lion Sleeps Tonight... | |
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Dance 4 me.. Dude goes from 80's electro to grimy geetaaar...  
Extraodinary "people tried to break us up...." bit is lush.. 
Pheromone - the heartbeat "her eyes are closed bit is SUPER lush
forgot to add Pheromone edit [Edited 8/5/09 9:22am] One minute they want peace……
Then do everything to make it go away.  | |
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Eye Hate U  | |
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I do love the bridge on "Do U Lie"!!! "Do you liiiie...u're not around....I wear a frown.....tell me why....tell me why u wanna go.....and leave me all alone..." Love that rolling breezy, bassline and yeah, it does make me wish he had made that part its own song! [Edited 8/20/09 23:07pm] "Be glad for what you had baby, what you've got..." | |
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I like the bridge at the end of Beautiful, Loved and Blessed.
Is a bridge also known as a breakdown? | |
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sweething said: I like the bridge at the end of Beautiful, Loved and Blessed.
Good question. I had to google this and according to this page: http://hubpages.com/hub/SongLyrics, the bridge often leads to the breakdown but they are not the same:
Is a bridge also known as a breakdown? The BREAKDOWN of a song does what it sounds like: it breaks the song down to almost nothing. Almost the entire song "falls apart", it sounds like most of the musicians have left, becase almost everyone performing stops.
Often during a breakdown only one instrument remains to keep the rhythm (usually bass guitar or drums) for a short while, then one more instrument is added (perhaps a piano, another guitar, or the singer), then another instrument, then another, until everyone is "back" (even though they never left) to perform the song's chorus a few more times. The majority of contemporary songs do NOT contain a breakdown, but many do. If the song has a bridge, a bridge often leads into the breakdown. And, like the bridge, a song's breakdown always occurs in the final third of the song, and always leads to a return to the main imagery of the song, the chorus, before it ends. "Be glad for what you had baby, what you've got..." | |
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bettybop said: sweething said: I like the bridge at the end of Beautiful, Loved and Blessed.
Good question. I had to google this and according to this page: http://hubpages.com/hub/SongLyrics, the bridge often leads to the breakdown but they are not the same:
Is a bridge also known as a breakdown? The BREAKDOWN of a song does what it sounds like: it breaks the song down to almost nothing. Almost the entire song "falls apart", it sounds like most of the musicians have left, becase almost everyone performing stops.
Often during a breakdown only one instrument remains to keep the rhythm (usually bass guitar or drums) for a short while, then one more instrument is added (perhaps a piano, another guitar, or the singer), then another instrument, then another, until everyone is "back" (even though they never left) to perform the song's chorus a few more times. The majority of contemporary songs do NOT contain a breakdown, but many do. If the song has a bridge, a bridge often leads into the breakdown. And, like the bridge, a song's breakdown always occurs in the final third of the song, and always leads to a return to the main imagery of the song, the chorus, before it ends. Thank you, quite interesting and surprising especially the breakdown and bridge occurring in the last third of the song -- Ima check it.  | |
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sweething said: bettybop said: Thank you, quite interesting and surprising especially the breakdown and bridge occurring in the last third of the song -- Ima check it. [Edited 8/24/09 22:02pm] "Be glad for what you had baby, what you've got..." | |
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