Just recently bumped into this song again, and was amazed again for it's way of combining many other classics by others. They're so damn recognizable, but I forgot which songs it was. I hear some Queen, and am I hearing some Brian Adam? :/ Has anyone analyzed this song in a pop music history perspective?

Easily one of the better songs on the album.

It's OK; a bit like a Queen track isn't it?

Bohemian Rhapsody part II....

3 Chains O Gold...... OK; Not my fave off this fantastic album:

i love that first verse, lyrically it's prince at his most sarcastic. the song itself is a bit schizo and mental, like prince at that time.

for me, 3 Chains O Gold is his greatest song. Never gets boring and even though it definitely borrows from the Bohemian Rhapsody vibe, he beats even that classic in my opinion. If this would have been released in the 70s as a single, it would be considered on the same level as BR at the very least.

this song is killer for me. off a killer album.

There is a bit of Billy Joel's track "All for Leyna" vibe in one part after "This is the best day of my life", and also the part where he goes "Last night I wanted a cup of coffee".

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... just like there's a part of Billy Joel's "The Stranger" (the intro melody) as the vibe of "Avalanche".

I always thought the double track "The Marrying Kind/If Eye Was the Man in Your Life" also had a Billy Joel "Glass Houses" vibe.

"If Eye Was the Man in Your Life" also got that Bill Conti "Rocky" soundtrack vibe.

I think Billy Joel's vast catalog is a secret Prince inspiration sometimes that most people seem completely unaware of. I brought this up to Femi Jeyi at the last "Xenophobia" celebration at Paisley Park, and he smiled and seemed to agree.

It's Queen and the Beatles all the way. "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "A Day in the Life" are probably the most notable references here.

It's such a big, ambitous and fun track that you have to appreciate it for what it is. Prince is trying to make his own rock opera climax. Unfortunately, it sounds more like a mishmash of other prog and glam songs rather than something new and fresh. But it makes for an exciting listen!

[Edited 8/8/11 16:13pm]

it doesnt work for me...i think prince had his tongue in his cheek with this track...its almost a queen homage and i dont think prince was taking it too seriously...

The song is a killer tune.

Makes me wanna watch 3 chain'0'gold lol.

Best part of this song 4 me is the "This morning eye wanted a cup of coffee but eye didnt have any cream"...priceless makes me smile everytime...

Can't get all the way through this Rock Opera... Self-indulgent nonsense IMO.

It was not innovative as people might want Prince to be all the time, but ability of Prince and the band to put together something as complex as that is amazing to me. Especially when we know that this is not a genre he's spent time doing. The choir is one of the most impressive things with the song.

i played this song for a friend that isnt a big prince fan, he absolutely loved it