I loved that Prince played 3 "The Time" tracks (Cool, Jungle Love, The Bird) and two "Sheila E" songs (Glamourous Life, A Love Bizarre) during his concert in Holland the 18th of November. To me they were the icing on the cake of an already very good concert. Honestly, I was so happy to see him play a full version of Cool that he could have ended the gig right after that track and I would still have left with a grin from ear to ear!!!

Still, there were complaints by both the media and by some fans about Prince proclaiming his "Too many hits, too little time" statement, and then playing a lot of tracks that officially are not hits under his own name.

What do yo feel about Prince playing tracks that were not released under his own name? Should he stick to his own material, or is he "allowed" to also play hits that he wrote for other artists?

If he wrote it I'm happy for him to play it. I personally don't need covers of other artists stuff though.

funkaholic1972 said:

I loved that Prince played 3 "The Time" tracks (Cool, Jungle Love, The Bird) and two "Sheila E" songs (Glamourous Life, A Love Bizarre) during his concert in Holland the 18th of November. To me they were the icing on the cake of an already very good concert. Honestly, I was so happy to see him play a full version of Cool that he could have ended the gig right after that track and I would still have left with a grin from ear to ear!!!

Still, there were complaints by both the media and by some fans about Prince proclaiming his "Too many hits, too little time" statement, and then playing a lot of tracks that officially are not hits under his own name.

What do yo feel about Prince playing tracks that were not released under his own name? Should he stick to his own material, or is he "allowed" to also play hits that he wrote for other artists?

I really don't think "The Glamorous Life" and "Cool" are what the fans and the media were complaining about. It's more about the songs by Rick James, Chic, Sly Stone, etc.

Well he does have alot of songs. I don't mind him performing his songs by others but I really don't want to hear him sing Rick James, Sly Stone or P-Funk because there too many of his that I would like to hear.

How many of the songs of his own that he plays even qualify as bona fide 'hits?'

He doesn't play 'When Doves Cry' or 'The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.'

Those two could be considered hits.

'Controversy' wasn't exactly a 'hit' was it? 'Take Me With U' wasn't a hit. 'Shhh!' wasn't a hit. Nor could 'Mountains,' 'Let's Work,' or 'Musicology' be considered hits.

Maybe 'so many songs, so little time' would be a more accurate statement.

For an artist who has as many songs as P, he has had comparatively few 'hits.'

Oh, and let's be honest, 'The Bird' is so corny, even The Time shouldn't play it.

i've always thought the "too many hits, so little time" was very lame.

why not just say "aah, so many songs to pick from". but even that is

lame if you stick to roughly 1/25 of your catalogue.

it's like someone bragging about how many shoes they have whilst

they wear the same pair for over a year, lol.

i don't mind him covering those songs that he wrote for others though.

it's a welcome change from the covers of sly and gcs or those snoozers

he lets his backingsingers perform half the time.

just wish that he would perform his songs on his own, with the help of

a backingvocalist or vocalists, but take the lead himself. i don't know

why he keeps pushing someone like shelby down people's throats. it'd

make sense if he were promoting her album but that seems to be just

another project that never comes to completion.

so in short, no more covers, except for song he wrote himself for some

other people.

time waits for no one

love..thy will be done

cool love

the dance electric etc etc

plus, be more creative with his setlists and include some good 90s songs

like stuff from the gold experience or even songs from the rainbow children

and lotusflower.

he says he adjusts the setlist to the crowd, and that a big stadium filled

with casual fans will not appreciate obscure material.

well, i'm pretty sure that the people in that stadium are more likely to have

heard a songs like "america" or "gold" than they are to have heard bluesy

covers sung by shelby.

Once heard his version of "The Dance Electric". Around 11:30 minutes i think.

fantasticjoy said:

What did he play by Rick James?

Give It To Me was played at the 2007 London gig that I was attending, but aborted shortly after it was started. Too bad, because I really like the track and would have loved to hear Prince perform it in full.

BEAUGARDE said:

Well he does have alot of songs. I don't mind him performing his songs by others but I really don't want to hear him sing Rick James, Sly Stone or P-Funk because there too many of his that I would like to hear.

When did he sing P-Funk songs?

Prince wrote "Love they will be done"? I just checked, I'm flabbergasted!

Just goes to to show you though, it never matters where lyrics and songs pop up in disguise; If the writer speaks to you, the lyrics and music will find you.

I liked Cool and Love bizarre in Arnhem, the others I don't really know.

I would have preferred a few Rainbow children tracks for sure.

But, I could write a playlist so long, Prince would need to play a 24 hour marathon in order for me to hear all that I would like.

About covers. Nothing compares to u, Love thy will be done, I love the originals. Manic Monday too. Even if Prince wrote them, I prefer him not to sing them. Except love bizarre (see I'm just fickle)

It's the same though with Lennie Kravitz. I only want to hear him sing "flowers for Zoe & fields of joy." Coz that's what's imprinted on my mind. Anything else would sound foreign.

my question:

is prince playin "cool" by the Time because of snoop doogs rework /cover version? any idea? he didnt play "cool" in the past or am i wrong?

by the way: i like the written-for-others-"cover"-songs-playin-by-himself! i visited one of the 20ten tour dates this summer and he played them - IT WORKED PERFECT! the bird and jungle love were real highlights - for me

watch the video of the berlin concert and you will see what i am talkin about -it was funky -and thats whats counting for me.... because i danced my a.. of

QuasarOfRock said:

How many of the songs of his own that he plays even qualify as bona fide 'hits?'

He doesn't play 'When Doves Cry' or 'The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.'

Those two could be considered hits.

'Controversy' wasn't exactly a 'hit' was it? 'Take Me With U' wasn't a hit. 'Shhh!' wasn't a hit. Nor could 'Mountains,' 'Let's Work,' or 'Musicology' be considered hits.

Maybe 'so many songs, so little time' would be a more accurate statement.

For an artist who has as many songs as P, he has had comparatively few 'hits.'

Oh, and let's be honest, 'The Bird' is so corny, even The Time shouldn't play it.

Depends on your definition of a "hit." Controversy and Let's Work both reached the top ten of the R&B charts, and Take Me With U and Mountains were top 40 pop hits. Musicology reached number 44 on the R&B chart and Shhh received enough airplay at R&B stations (both by Prince and Tevin) to make the airplay charts even though neither one was ever officially released or promoted as a single.

In total, he had 19 top ten pop singles and 30 top 40 hits. He had significantly more at R&B. He actually had very many "hits."

yeah i don't need to hear the sly songs..its like how often eddie vedder covers the who at a pearl jam show. i think they closed with a who song all the times i seen em

I've been waiting for years for Prince to add Cool to his setlist. I know he's rehearsed it a couple times in the past, but glad to hear it front and center. Anything Prince wrote for others I would like to hear (and see) live.

With that said, here is my new improved setlist/wishlist of Prince penned covers:

A Million Miles

Chocolate

Get Blue

The Screams Of Passion

Madhouse 1 (with Prince on the bass. Is that too specific?)

G-Spot

The Dance Electric (yes I know about the Parade tour performances, but I want it back)

And I know it's not a cover, but can we have Moonbeam Levels? Just once?

P.S. yay

nay, i wish he would stick to his own stuff. enough already!

Are these songs really "covers" if he originally recorded them?

scorp84 said:

Are these songs really "covers" if he originally recorded them?

i would say yes because if you didn't know who wrote the songs they are associated with other artists.

i'm not especially keen on hearing prince do 'nothing compare 2 u & feel 4 u'

DoffieParker said:

scorp84 said:

Are these songs really "covers" if he originally recorded them?

i would say yes because if you didn't know who wrote the songs they are associated with other artists.

but if you didn't know that he wrote them, would you know that those artists were associated? i think in 2010, it's fairly well known if you're someone who's inclined to go to a Prince concert.

one of the smartest posts ever on the org.

exactly.. no more covers...give us the gems like "time waits for no one".. god id kill to hear that !

plus , we have all heard these same cover songs a million times..

and didnt prince say that he didnt like it when foo fighters covered darling nikki and that they should write their own songs or something...

who knows..

all i know is that i would rather hear 'joint 2 joint' , 'holy river', 'in this bed eye scream', 'last december', 'shy', 'dig u better dead' or any of the other brilliant songs that he never plays over the tired cover songs..

IstenSzek said:

i've always thought the "too many hits, so little time" was very lame.

why not just say "aah, so many songs to pick from". but even that is

lame if you stick to roughly 1/25 of your catalogue.

it's like someone bragging about how many shoes they have whilst

they wear the same pair for over a year, lol.

i don't mind him covering those songs that he wrote for others though.

it's a welcome change from the covers of sly and gcs or those snoozers

he lets his backingsingers perform half the time.

just wish that he would perform his songs on his own, with the help of

a backingvocalist or vocalists, but take the lead himself. i don't know

why he keeps pushing someone like shelby down people's throats. it'd

make sense if he were promoting her album but that seems to be just

another project that never comes to completion.

so in short, no more covers, except for song he wrote himself for some

other people.

time waits for no one

love..thy will be done

cool love

the dance electric etc etc

plus, be more creative with his setlists and include some good 90s songs

like stuff from the gold experience or even songs from the rainbow children

and lotusflower.

he says he adjusts the setlist to the crowd, and that a big stadium filled

with casual fans will not appreciate obscure material.

well, i'm pretty sure that the people in that stadium are more likely to have

heard a songs like "america" or "gold" than they are to have heard bluesy

covers sung by shelby.

DoffieParker said:

scorp84 said:

Are these songs really "covers" if he originally recorded them?

i would say yes because if you didn't know who wrote the songs they are associated with other artists.

i'm not especially keen on hearing prince do 'nothing compare 2 u & feel 4 u'

Well, "Feel For You" was recorded and released as a Prince record way before Chaka re-did it, so that can't be included on a list of songs he "took back" by performing it all the time.

DoffieParker said:

nay, i wish he would stick to his own stuff. enough already!

I have to disagree. I love to hear Prince sing "Can't Hide Love" by Earth, Wind and Fire. I so dig that!!! Maybe he has to keep the shows exciting for himself so he adds songs that he has loved forever, ya dig? I mean, to hear Prince sing "Journey to the center of your heart" is so beautiful when he sings it. And when I heard Prince sing "Elixer", I truly fell in love with song more......

[Edited 11/30/10 0:26am]

fantasticjoy said:

What did he play by Rick James?

A great, funky version of "Give It To Me Baby". Although I love Shelby, I really wanted to hear Prince sing this one, though.

scorp84 said:

Are these songs really "covers" if he originally recorded them?

Exactly, they're just Prince songs with someone else's lead vocals. It is his material and I think he's entitled to play it, and I enjoy it when he does pull out songs we haven't heard him play live before, like "Cool".

I'm also always interested in hearing his take on songs by other artists. I hate to say it, but some of the fresher covers he plays are the highlights of the shows for me lately. I could do without the stuff he's played to death like the Sly Stone covers, "The Bird", "Jungle Love", etc., though.

Of course, the ultimate, is when he does delve deeper into his own catalog, such as surprising us with "In A Large Room With No Light" last year. Or actually playing something new. IMO, he does still record some music that's worthy of playing live. Why couldn't "Lavaux" or "Sticky Like Glue" (besides its one aftershow appearance) fit into the 2010 tour setlist?

I do have to try to keep in mind that he's not playing for people like me who listen to every boot that gets released, though.

[Edited 11/30/10 1:56am]

trickster said:

by the way: i like the written-for-others-"cover"-songs-playin-by-himself! i visited one of the 20ten tour dates this summer and he played them - IT WORKED PERFECT! the bird and jungle love were real highlights - for me

watch the video of the berlin concert and you will see what i am talkin about -it was funky -and thats whats counting for me.... because i danced my a.. of

Agreed!!!

funkaholic1972 said:

I was so happy to see him play a full version of Cool that he could have ended the gig right after that track and I would still have left with a grin from ear to ear!!!

I totally agree with statement, in a very hits show in Roma this was the bomb. This song just oozes cool.

Like most others on this thread I dont like him doing covers of other artists songs, I'm not interested whether he can play someone else's songs. Let's face it we only ever heard 7 songs from Lotusflow3r/MPLS performed live

Colonized Mind

Old Skool Company

Feel Better...

Dreamer

Crimson & Clover

Dance 4 U

No More Candy 4 U

Lotusflow3r is a masterpiece and it really is a shame that Prince did not see it fit to perform those songs live and even to this day only Dreamer gets a look in once in a while.

From 20Ten he played Future Soul Song a couple of times and Sticky Like Glue once

Apart from the aftershows the most interesting setlist in recent times is from Club Nokia and Montreaux in 2009.

The only thing worst IMO than him performing covers is recording them and putting on his studio albums.

[Edited 11/30/10 8:21am]

I'm all for him doing the songs he did for the time sheila e. etc. Hell those are some of his best songs he's ever done! I always thought it was crime his lead vocals weren't on those albums. The general public really doesn't realize how talented he is.

HA, if he wrote 'em, he can do whatever the hell he wants with them. I don't consider them covers if the artist that wrote them is performing them. Especially when it comes to Prince, the only thing that is different about the artist releases are the vocals. Music, instruments, production is ALL Prince...that goes for The Time and Sheila E stuff. They were just his outlets;alter egos he created to circumvent the record label telling him he could only release so much music. Definitely NOT covers.

[Edited 11/30/10 15:36pm]

All I can say is I wish he'd play more of his OWN songs that he don't play so often. Of all the AMAZING songs Prince has...why is he waisting time playing crap by The Time or Sheila E? I mean, really?! What about his other songs that he rarely plays anymore like Somebody's Somebody or Blue Light? If he does do cover songs, please at least cover nice songs like Betcha By Golly Wow!

DaphneLovesPR1NCE said:

Of all the AMAZING songs Prince has...why is he waisting time playing crap by The Time or Sheila E?

These Sheila E and The Time songs are topnotch tracks, way better and funkier than the Prince tracks that you suggest!