Rioub said:

The Cocteau Twins sample is true - Prince used a loop of the 4-12 seconds from
the beginning of the track, which can be heard all the way through "Love, Thy
Will Be Done" (and "One Of Us" which re-uses the same beat).

Not at all convinced by Gary Numan or En Vogue. Just listened to both tracks
and can't hear any parts that have been sampled. Plus, it's more than likely
that the beat to the En Vogue track actually samples something else in the
first place anyway.

(and I couldn't find a copy of the Headshock track anywhere to check).

ernestsewell said:

I've listened closely to the beginning of "Little Miss Lover" and "Tick, Tick, Bang" many times and I'm pretty sure "Tick, Tick, Bang" uses a *sample* of "Little Miss Lover".

Listen to the 1989 unreleased version of "Tick, Tick, Bang" (not the 1981 version). I think it's even more obvious.

BorisFishpaw said:

i don't think 50-50 clown was sampled, it sounds more that he just copied it to me, in a similar way to people thinking that delia derbyshires clouds doesn't sound like it was used on lovesexys intro, but he used a similar sound, probably from the fairlight CMI, i think the frank zappa sample on the black album (it's on something like the 4th zappa album, i can't remember the one) wass included as a stock sample on some keyboard. the hip hop to beebop is definately a loop/sample, the djs used to play the track at paisley and there was a fan edit/remix that used the track as the basis for the mix

i'll have to check, but i think the sample on la la la might just be the drum roll bit at the start (like 3 or 4 drum beats), perhaps a loop from the original track

unique said:

Are you saying Clouds was re-recorded by Prince for the intro? Because to me, it sounds like exactly the same piece of music. But if the Fairlight had that as a stock sound, I guess it's possible.

squirrelgrease said:

i'm 99% certain it's not clouds that was used. i made a few comparisons before and my findings were that it wasn't the same, but similar. it's just one or two chords through some effects. as she was part of the BBC radiophonic workshop i presume she used special weird electronic devices to create the sounds on her version, not a common synth like the fairlight, although at about £40k it wasn't really that common. i don't know for certain what synth was used on lovesexy, but there is a fairlight at paisley so he could have used that, it could have been another synth like the ensoniq mirage or the emu emulator 3

unique said:

I see. Wendy and Lisa mentioned that P got a Fairlight around the time they were in the band and I think they said one of the first songs it was used on was All My Dreams. I'll have to give Clouds another listen.

unique said:

http://bruchez.blogspot.c...jamie.html

"Passing Clouds" is credited to Roger Limb on the "Out Of This World" compilation, not Delia Derbyshire, and it is used exactly as it is on "I No", unless my ears are deficient.

olb99 said:

I've seen both persons credited for that song. Weird.

squirrelgrease said:

"Passing Clouds" is credited to Roger Limb on the "Out Of This World" LP and "Essential Science Fiction Sound Effects, Volume 2" CD (both official). The only place where I've seen the track credited to Delia Derbyshire is on the "Wow!" bootleg, where it is also mistitled.

olb99 said:

but have you tried playing both tracks at the same time and/or comparing them in sound editing software? that's how i came to the opinion they weren't the same, even if you time stretch or change pitch

http://bruchez.blogspot.c...jamie.html


after reading that article, i thought it might be worth mentioning that as people know that prince has used sound effects before on his records, such as lady cab driver, and the screams on we march etc, i noticed there was a box set of sound effects cds, like a 8 or 10 disc set that was sitting in the tape room/cupboard just off the studio in paisley

they had the fairlight on display at the first celly. apparently it was a nightmare to program, it would crash at times, and as it was so expensive they didn't have a backup, so using it in live gigs was concerning under those circumstances. they also had one of the linn drums, i recall he had two of them

duran duran also famously had a fairlight. lovesexy was recorded a couple of years after fairlights came out, and cheaper/better keyboards came out since then, and they were starting to include digital effects, so perhaps he used something else instead, and was toying with the sounds. it has been pointed out before that prince has a tendancy to use the preset sounds on keyboards a lot. i was also told that the drum sound on the linn drum was detuned to give the recognisable prince sound - the old analogue drum machines had pots/dials you turned and that changed the tuning/sound. my old boss had one like that, but i could never get it to sound anything like princes drums
[Edited 5/12/10 5:39am]

This topic is getting more & more interesting.

The Cocteau Twins sample is quite obvious when you know about it, which i didn't until now. Amazing!!!

I share Boris' opinion concerning the Numan and En Vogue samples. The tracks'beats sound alike to the Prince songs, but nothing indicate a direct sample (they mighta been an inspiration, though).

As for Mad, i couldn't find the aformentioned track either, but it's quite obvious that the scat sample was taken from somewhere anyway.

Rioub said:

Gett Off doesn't sample En vogue Hold On, infact nobody has got that drum sound.
I read in a prince interview -prince astated that nobody has got this snare drum sound. he used the drum machine & live drum to achieve that snare sound.

Oldsoul said:

The original was a punk beat to tick tick bang. I find that alot of people are taking things out of context. He is simply embracing what he heard in old music. If he wanted to he could make an original groove.

"Fifty Fifty Clown" is definitely a sample.

The Gary Numan sample is there. It's the "whistling" percussion noise which is heard throughout "Rave..."

The En Vogue sample was confirmed by Michael Bland, I believe on this site

"Beebop Ta Hip Hop" is the most obvious sample of the lot. If you heard it, it sounds like an instrumental of "Mad".

Handcuffs said:

That snare is the exact same snare used on "Don't Distrub this Groove" By the system. It was just detuned a bit which Prince WAS famous for back then.

Sampling has been and always be a strange thing. But to this day I have heard loops in songs without credits. When you take an entire piece of music (Can't Touch this by Hammer for example) The writer deserves credit and payment HOWEVER if it is just a horn HIT or a snare hit. Not so much IMO. With Tick Tick Band You can clearly hear the Jimi sample all Prince did was add some kicks and a hand clap

Handcuffs said:

The En Vogue sample is the bass line, not the drums

olb99 said:

I think he uses a sample, too, but augments it with a drum machine

Rioub said:

Might be indeed, but the sound of it has been reworked then.

Efan said:[quote]

squirrelgrease said:

Yes, on one of the 12" promo remixes. It samples the 'that skinny MF with the high voice' line.

Rioub said:

Oh I was under the impression that he/she was on about the groove.
I'll have to check out both songs later on.

olb99 said:

I saw Delia Derbyshire given credit for "Clouds" on a jazz blog. Obviously it was just perpetuated misinformation. Thanks for clearing it up. Passing Clouds by Roger Limb it is.

I did just give a side by side comparison to Passing Clouds and Eye No and I conclude it's a sampled piece with some tweaking - perhaps rolling off some harshness - on Prince's end and not a re-recording. The same overlying dissonance is, to my ears, identical and in the same places as the underlying chord swells.

Just my two cents.

Oh, and I like this thread.

rlittler81 said:[quote]

Efan said:

Name the mix and time index.

ernestsewell said:

Yeah please, i though i'd listened to all the 1989 mixes and i never heard that

Might be a later mix, though (???)

Handcuffs said:

Funny how people skipped right over this. It was a Controversy era track, so it fit that record originally. It was reworked for GB.
Listened to them side by side - not really hearing it. At least not so I'd say- damn...what a rip off!.

ernestsewell said:

The track is "Like A Prayer" (Dub Beats) - 4:36 from the US promo. At about 8 seconds in the phrase That skinny motherfucker with the high voice is sampled from Bob George, but it's sped up to sound more "normal".

Got another question 4 ya'll is Prince's "We March" sampled on UniVision?

Oldsoul said:

Do you mean the scream? That's a stock sample that anyone can use for a fee.

squirrelgrease said:

Nope the first 4 seconds that sound like he's playing on a wind chime or something like that.