I have been listening to some Prince songs tonight--including the long version of "Shockacdelica" and "Ole School Company" and I just simply don't like the "speeded up" version of his voice on these songs and others like them... Again, now I'm hearing the "speeded up" voice on "You've Got The Look" and I don't like it! I prefer to hear these songs in Prince's natural voice. Are there songs that you like to hear him sing in the "hyper-feminine" voice? To me, it sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks--and when I say that--I'm referring to the original "Chipmunks Christmas Album" my Mom played when I was a little kid! Am I wrong for liking these type of songs better in P's natural voice? I know it is a matter of choice, but they just sound better in his voice--IMO!

[Edited 6/5/10 14:37pm]

poetcorner61 said:

Am I wrong?

YES!

Absolutely wrong!

For me, the best album Prince ever assembled was the Camille album.

I absolutely love that effect.

BTW, not all songs with the speeded up voice can be called Camille songs.

You have to be a total newbie to Prince to dislike that. Maybe you prefer his current rubbish.

poetcorner61 said:

I have been listening to some Prince songs tonight--including the long version of "Shockacdelica" and "Ole School Company" and I just simply don't like the "speeded up" version of his voice on these songs and others like them... Again, now I'm hearing the "speeded up" voice on "You've Got The Look" and I don't like it! I prefer to hear these songs in Prince's natural voice. Are there songs that you like to hear him sing in the "feminine" voice? To me, it sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks--and when I say that--I'm referring to the original "Chipmunks Christmas Album" my Mom played when I was a little kid! Am I wrong for liking these type of songs better in P's natural voice? I know it is a matter of choice, but they just sound better in his voice--IMO!

different strokes for different folks i guess

i prefer his regular voice also

i dont necessary dislike "Camille" but i can do without her

I like it on most songs. I admit, there may be one here or there that I think would've been better using a natural vocal, the song "Sex" for instance. And if this is any indication, I love the live versions of "If I was Your Girlfriend."

Yes, you are wrong. Camille is holy.

How can anyone listen to Feel U Up, and not like that voice?

He seems to get into a different funk when he breaks out camille. I love it!

The Camille idea was unique and very different from anything Prince had done vocally to that point. There were inclings of it in stuff like "Erotic City", but no really big thing until 1987 or so. I wish Camille had been released, just as its own set of songs, by itself, as is, no promotion or anything. Just drop it out there like he did ATWIAD. Let people find it.

I don't believe things like "F.U.N.K.", or "Ol' Skool Company", and more recent stuff is the Camille voice, or should be considered Camille material. A vocal effect isn't the same as what he was doing w/ Camille. The whole Camille thing was an idea, a character. Shit like "F.U.N.K." is just him fucking w/ ProTools. Not the same.

If Camille is holy, and it is in the Prince world, then that stuff from that era should be the only Camille stuff. Until I see "Camille" listed on the credits of Lotus or whatever, it ain't Camille to me.

^Correct.

The ONLY tracks properly atributed to Camille are the 8 songs originally intended for the Camille album plus U got the look and Scarlet Pussy.

Even if he uses that effect on many other songs they're not Camille songs.

ernestsewell said:

The Camille idea was unique and very different from anything Prince had done vocally to that point. There were inclings of it in stuff like "Erotic City", but no really big thing until 1987 or so. I wish Camille had been released, just as its own set of songs, by itself, as is, no promotion or anything. Just drop it out there like he did ATWIAD. Let people find it.

I don't believe things like "F.U.N.K.", or "Ol' Skool Company", and more recent stuff is the Camille voice, or should be considered Camille material. A vocal effect isn't the same as what he was doing w/ Camille. The whole Camille thing was an idea, a character. Shit like "F.U.N.K." is just him fucking w/ ProTools. Not the same.

If Camille is holy, and it is in the Prince world, then that stuff from that era should be the only Camille stuff. Until I see "Camille" listed on the credits of Lotus or whatever, it ain't Camille to me.

Co - sign.

As a fan, I just love/respect the whole idea of the Camille voice/alter-ego, but objectively it has to be said that this infamous voice killed Prince's popularity within the mainstream masses during the late 80s (and the Lovesexy cover finished the job; thank God for the Batman soundtrack!)

I mean, I understand the hatred/surprise/disgust that this voice caused in the the casual fans (not the hardcore) during the late 80s...

[Edited 6/5/10 12:25pm]

.

[Edited 6/5/10 12:24pm]

The sped up voice effect is OK in small doses. Housequake, Feel U Up, Good Love, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Strange Relationship and SEX are absolute classics, but the majority sound just as good to me, if not better with regular vocals.

Even if it's not a 'proper' Camille track , I've always felt a very special love for 'Good Man #1'.

I've always thought it was a perfect example of what a 2nd Camille album could've sounded like in the 90s.

vitriol said:

Absolutely wrong!

For me, the best album Prince ever assembled was the Camille album.

I absolutely love that effect.

BTW, not all songs with the speeded up voice can be called Camille songs.

You have to be a total newbie to Prince to dislike that. Maybe you prefer his current rubbish.

Love your vitriolic ways! A "total newbie"? I don't think so...I first listened to Prince when I was in high school...and that was "I Wanna Be Your Lover,"...so...NOT!

squirrelgrease said:

The sped up voice effect is OK in small doses. Housequake, Feel U Up, Good Love, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Strange Relationship and SEX are absolute classics, but the majority sound just as good to me, if not better with regular vocals.

I should rephrase the heading for this post. I shouldn't have said the "Camille" voice but rather the speeded up version of his voice on some songs. I have not heard the Camille album so I can't honestly speak to that one...but some songs, such as those I have mentioned, simply don't sound as good in the "sped up" mode as they do in his natural voice. Alvin and the Chipmunks I don't like; I'll reserve judgment on Camille!

squirrelgrease said:

The sped up voice effect is OK in small doses. Housequake, Feel U Up, Good Love, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Strange Relationship and SEX are absolute classics, but the majority sound just as good to me, if not better with regular vocals.

Double-post...OOPS!

[Edited 6/5/10 14:14pm]

If you can bear with my vitriolic ways once more, I must say that your rephrasing of the thread title is absolutely terrible and misleading.

I wouldn't have entered the thread if that were the original title.

I liked more when it was lo-fi(ish) and sortof (i.e. SOTT). I feel that now it sounds a little too produced. Although let me contradict myself by saying that i LOVE his voice on Dance 4 Me.

vitriol said:

If you can bear with my vitriolic ways once more, I must say that your rephrasing of the thread title is absolutely terrible and misleading.

I wouldn't have entered the thread if that were the original title.

I just love the org! Can't please anyone so I'll just please myself! I'll put it back the way it was orginially stated. This place is a blast!

ernestsewell said:

The Camille idea was unique and very different from anything Prince had done vocally to that point. There were inclings of it in stuff like "Erotic City", but no really big thing until 1987 or so. I wish Camille had been released, just as its own set of songs, by itself, as is, no promotion or anything. Just drop it out there like he did ATWIAD. Let people find it.

I don't believe things like "F.U.N.K.", or "Ol' Skool Company", and more recent stuff is the Camille voice, or should be considered Camille material. A vocal effect isn't the same as what he was doing w/ Camille. The whole Camille thing was an idea, a character. Shit like "F.U.N.K." is just him fucking w/ ProTools. Not the same.

If Camille is holy, and it is in the Prince world, then that stuff from that era should be the only Camille stuff. Until I see "Camille" listed on the credits of Lotus or whatever, it ain't Camille to me.

I think it would be enlightening for those of us who haven't been privileged to hear the Camille album to explain the difference between the "Camille" voice and just a "sped up" vocal effect on certain songs... What is the difference?

ernestsewell said:

The Camille idea was unique and very different from anything Prince had done vocally to that point. There were inclings of it in stuff like "Erotic City", but no really big thing until 1987 or so. I wish Camille had been released, just as its own set of songs, by itself, as is, no promotion or anything. Just drop it out there like he did ATWIAD. Let people find it.

I don't believe things like "F.U.N.K.", or "Ol' Skool Company", and more recent stuff is the Camille voice, or should be considered Camille material. A vocal effect isn't the same as what he was doing w/ Camille. The whole Camille thing was an idea, a character. Shit like "F.U.N.K." is just him fucking w/ ProTools. Not the same.

If Camille is holy, and it is in the Prince world, then that stuff from that era should be the only Camille stuff. Until I see "Camille" listed on the credits of Lotus or whatever, it ain't Camille to me.

I think it would be enlightening for those of us who haven't been privileged to hear the Camille album to explain the difference between the "Camille" voice and just a "sped up" vocal effect on certain songs...

From Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreleased_Prince_projects

Camille

Camille is an unreleased album by Prince, recorded in 1986. The album was planned to consist of 8 tracks recorded by the singer in a funky, sped up vocal. The album was to be released under the name Camille (who would not be pictured on the cover) and not as a Prince album. Much of the music has been released officially in some form or another, however, one song, "Rebirth of the Flesh" remains unreleased in its original form. In 2001, a live rehearsal of "Rebirth of the Flesh" recorded with the Sign "☮" the Times band was released on Prince's Web site. This version, however, had profanity edited from the lyrics. The album was canceled weeks prior to its release in favor of the more ambitious Sign "☮" the Times album. The concept itself was also abandoned and most of the tracks were incorporated into Crystal Ball, which evolved into Sign "☮" the Times.

1. "Rebirth of the Flesh": Prince recorded this song at Sunset Sound on October 28, 1986, on the same day as "Rockhard in a Funky Place". When the Camille album was shelved, the song was slated for inclusion on Prince's next album project, Crystal Ball. It was going to be the opening track segueing into "Play in the Sunshine". The NPG Music Club made a 1988 Lovesexy Tour rehearsal recording available in September 2001, which means that all the Camille tracks have now been officially released, although the original studio version remains unofficially released on bootlegs.
2. "Housequake"
3. "Strange Relationship"
4. "Feel U Up": This outtake was recorded toward the end of 1981 and was taped in sequence with "Irresistible Bitch". Both songs were re-recorded later. "Feel U Up" was re-recorded in 1986 and the lyrics of both recordings are very similar. The track was finally released in 1989 as the B-side of "Partyman".
5. "Shockadelica": Originally written (unsolicited) by Prince in response to Jesse Johnson's then-forthcoming album titled Shockadelica(1986) because that album had no song to match/compliment what Prince felt was such a great album title. "Shockadelica" was later included as a B-side of "If I Was Your Girlfriend".
6. "Good Love": Released on the Bright Lights, Big City film soundtrack in 1988.
7. "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
8. "Rockhard in a Funky Place": Also included on The Black Album (1987) project.

Two other songs were credited to Camille after the album project was abandoned. The first was "Scarlet Pussy", which was released as the B-side of the 1988 single "I Wish U Heaven" featuring a black label with the artist Camille credited in deep peach. Also, "U Got the Look", which appeared on Sign "☮" the Times and was also released as a single. The video was recorded in France while Prince was on tour and the video was later added into the film Sign "☮" the Times.

Prince would later resurrect the character of Camille for the 1988 Lovesexy tour. Within the show, "Camille" sang in a low tone, with Prince's vocal filtered to sound slower. It is often reported in error that "Camille" is simply Prince with a sped up vocal style. Prince has used this technique on numerous occasions, uncredited to Camille. Prince confirms in the Lovesexy tour book that "Camille" is the creator of "The Black Album".

poetcorner61 said:

I think it would be enlightening for those of us who haven't been privileged to hear the Camille album to explain the difference between the "Camille" voice and just a "sped up" vocal effect on certain songs...

From what I remember, the original Camille idea was literally the slowing down of the track (non-vocal) by half or 3/4 or whatever as well as the tape recording Prince's voice. Prince would record his vocals for the song, singing it slower (of course). But when both tapes were put together and played back at normal speed, the song was at regular speed, but his vocals sounded "sped up".

There's actually a couple of ways to achieve that trick.

The difference now is that he just pulls up a digital effect in ProTools to get the same "voice". That's a real effect, opposed to an affect created by manipulation. The originla stuff wasn't so much of an effect as it was literally a practical (physical) manipulation of the recording process.

There is a great story of Abba literally splicing tape together and looping it around the studio, and the door knob to get a loop going for a song. THe song ends when someone opened the studio door and stopped the loop. THAT kind of raw "let's get it done" attitude is what made Camille great. (There are similar stories about "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" and "Forever In My Life" - SOTT was an album of glorious mistakes.)

For me, hearing the original Camille material and the newer stuff w/ that "effect" is night and day. It's no where the same. They sound totally different, to me. That's why the original stuff is sacred. It was Prince in one of his prolific segments of life experimenting with new sounds and ideas.

Stuff like "F.U.N.K." or whatever is just cheap and disposable. The stuff Squirrelgrease listed is awesome. Play those songs in that order. Hear the project as it was meant to be. It's classic.

Besides the technical way Prince altered his voice on the Camille inspired/credited tracks as Ernest pointed out above - the Camille concept was a project of a particular era. So some folks take issue when non-Camille tracks with sped up vox get labeled incorrectly. If anything, when fans speak up about what is and isn't "Camille", it does help keep the misinformation to a minimum and educates those who want to know more. It may seem like a pissing match at times, but if your skin has thickened up enough by now, the facts are there to put in the brain locker.

That said, there's a lot we don't know about Camille and other tracks with the "Camille" voice. The 1987 script for Graffiti Bridge had Prince as the Camille character and referenced a song titled Camille. Other songs mentioned in the script may also have been intended as part of this high-pitched alter ego's set-list. Also, remember that Scarlet Pussy is credited to Camille, but the voice is slowed down and Prince remarking that the Black Album was Camille's, which features all kinds of voice manipulations and some normally sung tunes as well, means that the vocal has less to do with this character than whatever was going on in Prince's mind during the eighties.

Here's a blogger review of the Camille album for those with an interest. Note: do not purchase this CD, as it has never been released officially. It does make the rounds in various forms and configurations, but is available free and lossless. The one pictured below has been sold on eBay for big money, but it's not official, even though it's described as such by the seller and carries official logos:

[img:$uid]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n276/squirrelgrease/PrinceBootlegs-3/camille_front_small.jpg[/img:$uid]

http://www.musicianforums...umid=31180

Prince Camille

4.5
superb

1987 is the absolute Golden Standard for Prince’s insanely prolific output throughout the years. After the so-so response from fans over 1986’s Parade, Prince was in a recording frenzy. Literally, hundreds of songs were produced for Jill Jones, Sheila E, The Family (The latter being fronted by Susannah Melvoin, Prince’s fiancée and most important muse of his career. Also worth notable mention that The Family was the first to record the infamous “Nothing Compares 2 U”), The Bangles, and well, you get the point. Songwriting-wise, this man could really do no wrong. Prince was so proud of this material that he envisioned a triple LP set entitled “Crystal Ball” in which Warner Brothers flat-out refused to release. As the story goes, Prince and the Executives had very harsh arguments, and Warner subsequently won and Prince was forced to trim all of this material to a two LP set. This set is, of course, Sign ‘0’ The Times, and while the latter album being Prince’s Magnum Opus, some songs from 1986-87 that didn’t make the final cut deserved to be on it more than some of the songs that made it to the final version. These songs are easy to obtain, and strongly recommended (Google “Dream Factory”. Unbelievably cool recordings.)

Before Sign was materialized, Prince was experimenting with his voice, and out of nowhere, a Protégée was born. A few years before this, he did something similar with his voice, in which the cool-as-ice “Erotic City” was born. See, Prince rolled the Analog tape to a faster speed, and he spoke extremely slow to create this funky, feminine voice. This voice, dubbed “Camille”, Prince put together a total of eight songs, sequenced them, and sent the tapes to Warner Brothers, in which he was granted a Catalog Number. Unlike The Black Album, no copies were pressed and Prince took these songs and released them randomly. Since the Catalog Number was given, this record stands firmly as in the top 5 best Prince albums, even though it was never released in the standard album format. However; the songs are easy to get, and if you were to burn a disc with the tracks in the order Prince intended, you have an album that works so well, and flows even better. In short: One of, if not the most consistent Prince album ever written.

Things start off with a bang with “Rebirth of the Flesh”, a funky Hodge Podge of distorted guitars (I personally wouldn’t be surprised if Prince used a Death Metal guitar pedal to get the dark tone), funky sax licks, and sing-along-verses. This track sets the overall tone of the record in which nothing serious is to be thought, and the fun you find is the whole point. Strangely, this is the only track that has never been officially released from this album. Right out of nowhere the sounds of a record being scratched and Camille shouting “Shut up, already! Damn.” hits you, and off we go with Housequake, one of Prince’s funkiest tracks, and rhythmically explosive to boot. Originally released on Sign 0 The Times, it is sort of a James Brown rip-off, but Prince (or Camille) certainly makes it their own by using JB as the inspiration. Even my harshest friends that make fun of me for liking Prince straight-out love this song, dubbing it a “foot tapper”.

“Strange Relationship” comes up next, and this is absolutely one of the best songs written from this period. The songwriting itself is superb, and it’s very surprising how underrated it is. Two versions of this song exist on the internet. Co-written by Wendy and Lisa, one version was intended for the triple LP set I had mentioned earlier (with Wendy and Lisa’s vocals) until Prince took it over and added the Camille vocals and a few arrangement changes. This is also one of the rare occasions where Prince and Camille duet with each other and it surprisingly sounds awesome. This track also made its way onto Sign 0, and for good reason as this is one of Prince’s best written tunes ever.

“Feel U Up” made its official release a few years after it was recorded as a B-side to Partyman, the infamous single from the Batman album. Equal parts funky and filthy; the song is a fan-favorite and is easily accessible to the casual or non-fan. “Shockadelica” is a story in its own right. Jesse Johnson had recently completed the recording of an album entitled Shockadelica and Prince asked to hear the title cut. JJ said there was no title cut, and as a joke, Prince made a quick single with that title, and released it before JJ even released the album itself! So in other words, people initially thought JJ had stolen that title from Prince when in reality it was the exact opposite. So because Prince did this song as a joke, it is a rather mediocre song, and is the reason this album will not get a 5 star rating. Hilarious story, though.

Up next is the artificial sweetener track “Good Love”, a track that is saved by the unbelievably cool song arrangement. Originally released on a soundtrack (which for the life of me I can’t find any info on), and later released on the 4-disc Crystal Ball outtakes set. A good track, but it falls short compared to the other sheer quality songs on this album. Good, but not nearly the best on here.

One of the most talked about songs in Prince’s career, “If Eye Was Ur Girlfriend” is usually wrongly received. Since Camille was a “feminine” voice Prince created, he messed with a gender switch. The lyrics deal with his girlfriend, and how he’s jealous and misunderstanding of how women as best friends are more open to each other. Prince, it seems, badly wants to be a part of what women get from each other. Supposedly the song was written about Susannah’s relationship with her sister, Wendy, and how they were inseparable and talked on the phone for hours and did everything together. It takes a while to actually get what he is saying. But (to be a jerk for a second) most people would think that Prince is gay and that he wants to be a man’s girlfriend after hearing this song, which is pure ignorance. Prince’s brilliance really shines here as he challenges the listener for open thinking. Nonetheless, it is a brilliantly written song which boasts a fantastic line (would you run to me if somebody hurt you even if that somebody was me). Prince seemed to like this song so much that it made its way to Sign 0, and he released it as the second single in which it flopped. However, it has become a cult favorite, and Jay-Z and Beyonce used a sample of this song for their duet together back in 2002.

Alas we end with “Rock Hard in a Funky Place”, which is my personal favorite from the Camille project. Released on The Black Album, I won’t go into detail about it as I did already in my review for TBA. I like the song so much that it is my Myspace URL, and the title of my Blog (I’m kind of a dork, just a little).

While the average person wouldn’t really know about Camille since he or she randomly makes appearances on a few of Prince’s albums, Prince basically used Camille as an outlet for his funkier, more questionable material, much like he did for The Time. Since the Camille album was never officially released, Prince used Camille as a special guest of sorts to randomly pop out of nowhere to make his albums that much more interesting. Since the Camille album is treated as an official album to fans, most hold it in the highest regard, much like Purple Rain and Lovesexy. His creativity on this album is astonishing, and this album as well as the other two proposed (Dream Factory, and Sign 0 of course) are fine examples of how great Prince can be when he’s in the zone. One of the best albums of his recorded output, Camille leaves you wondering what it would have been like if he actually did release this without people knowing it was Prince all along. But since Prince does things his own way, Camille is like an Easter Hunt and once you find all of the tracks, the results are absolutely genius.

ernestsewell said:

Until I see "Camille" listed on the credits of Lotus or whatever, it ain't Camille to me.

Even if it was, I wouldn't consider it so. Camille is from that time period ONLY.

Camille was the one that really made me a Prince fan, If I was your girlfriend was the track, i loved that voice. At that time i didn't even know it was a sound effect, i thought he just sang with a different voice LOL

Still remember the press was sometimes confused too. I remember in a paper somebody said his voice on Kiss wasn't his real voice, but a speed up one.

I just love Camille

poetcorner61 said:

I have been listening to some Prince songs tonight--including the long version of "Shockacdelica" and "Ole School Company" and I just simply don't like the "speeded up" version of his voice on these songs and others like them... Again, now I'm hearing the "speeded up" voice on "You've Got The Look" and I don't like it! I prefer to hear these songs in Prince's natural voice. Are there songs that you like to hear him sing in the "hyper-feminine" voice? To me, it sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks--and when I say that--I'm referring to the original "Chipmunks Christmas Album" my Mom played when I was a little kid! Am I wrong for liking these type of songs better in P's natural voice? I know it is a matter of choice, but they just sound better in his voice--IMO!

[Edited 6/5/10 14:37pm]

I HATE the Camille voice, sped up, slowed down...whatever you want to call it. I have been a fan for 27 years, so the whole newbie thing is bunk! I don't dislike the songs, but I would take any live performance over the studio versions. I totally agree with the Alvin and the Chipmunks statement, it just sounds stupid to me. To each their own, though.