Considering this was one of his last major hits world-wide back in '94, I'm surprised he doesn't play it more live - especially since a lot of his recent shows over the last 7 years have featured most of his greatest hits. I know he's not going to play all the songs the fans want but this is one of his last big songs that the non-fan may well know.

Any thoughts on why he seems to avoid this important song?

bigbrother said:

Considering this was one of his last major hits world-wide back in '94, I'm surprised he doesn't play it more live - especially since a lot of his recent shows over the last 7 years have featured most of his greatest hits. I know he's not going to play all the songs the fans want but this is one of his last big songs that the non-fan may well know.

Any thoughts on why he seems to avoid this important song?

shits tough on his vocal chords

he usually sings it in a deeper register

but yes...unusual he doesnt sing it more

Maybe he doesn't want to think about the girl that he wrote it for. Just a guess.

Im glad its not a staple of his live shows I never cared much for the song

But i think "the Mustang mix"? that was cool

artist76 said:

Maybe he doesn't want to think about the girl that he wrote it for. Just a guess.

Agree. But if both TMBGITW and The One are about Mayte, so why he perform only The One? TMBGITW reminds him about her and The One not?

artist76 said:

Maybe he doesn't want to think about the girl that he wrote it for. Just a guess.

avoidance of a whole lot of nostalgia

FragileUndertow said:

This is a song that I've been meaning to cover acoustically.

There are several acoustic versions out there, but they're so chord-driven that they don't sound a thing like the original.

You've GOT to have that little run in there (the one after "Could you be..."). And the dramatic crescendo, too.

RodeoSchro said:

This is a song that I've been meaning to cover acoustically.

There are several acoustic versions out there, but they're so chord-driven that they don't sound a thing like the original.

You've GOT to have that little run in there (the one after "Could you be..."). And the dramatic crescendo, too.

Can you post your version when you do it? Is that allowed here? I'd love to hear it.

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[img:$uid]http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u257/djdaffy1227/Themostbeautifulgirlintheworld12inc.jpg[/img:$uid]

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[Edited 5/10/12 4:49am]

Like it was already said, the song is just too difficult for Prince to sing it properly live. It is probably the most difficult falsetto song in his catalogue. Even in the studio version his falsetto seems strained, almost unnatural.

The sentimental factor doesn't matter for Prince at all. If he could, he would include it with other hits.

It's a song that is nearly impossible to be done well enough live and even more difficult to sing live. There's too much that can go wrong in that song, sound-wise.

I'm pretty sure there is no nostalgia or stupid shit like that involved. Prince is a professional and this song was a hit. He's a musician and he has made the choice not to play it, because it's simply not a "live" song. It's a perfect studio production and that's the only way this song works properly.

I dont buy the whole "it's too hard" argument. He doesn't even get really high until the adlibs at the end. He just did Somewhere Here On Earth fairly frequently a couple of years ago, and Gotta Broken Heart Again back in 2002. TMGITW certainly can't be anymore difficult than those. Mabye he just finds it too boring and repetitive. Which it kinda is.

[Edited 5/10/12 7:47am]

SchlomoThaHomo said:

I dont buy the whole "it's too hard" argument. He doesn't even get really high until the adlibs at the end. He just did Somewhere Here On Earth fairly frequently a couple of years ago, and Gotta Broken Heart Again back in 2002. TMGITW certainly can't be anymore difficult than those. Mabye he just finds it too boring and repetitive. Which it kinda is.

[Edited 5/10/12 7:47am]

It's certainly not about frequency (some very high notes are easier to sing than some notes just below that, depending on how you're built and your singing technique) - it's mainly about vowel placement in relation to melody. Trust me, even the best singer in the world will say singing TMBGITW live is much, much harder than SHOE or Gotta Broken Heart Again etc.

Plus, TMBGITW thrives on little melodic details and quarter-notes, like the tiny slide on "be" in the chorus. If it's too flat, it sounds like Mayté's version, if it's too high it sounds way to "uncool". That's just one example of many why this song is so difficult to sing live.

I was surprised when this was a hit.

The Beautiful Experience E.P is a nice looking wee package but the remixes bore me, as do all the other 1,752 versions.

Even Mayte's version (The Most Beautiful Boy In The World) was a pound of mince, and her album is a guilty pleasure of mine.

Dave1992 said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

I dont buy the whole "it's too hard" argument. He doesn't even get really high until the adlibs at the end. He just did Somewhere Here On Earth fairly frequently a couple of years ago, and Gotta Broken Heart Again back in 2002. TMGITW certainly can't be anymore difficult than those. Mabye he just finds it too boring and repetitive. Which it kinda is.

[Edited 5/10/12 7:47am]

It's certainly not about frequency (some very high notes are easier to sing than some notes just below that, depending on how you're built and your singing technique) - it's mainly about vowel placement in relation to melody. Trust me, even the best singer in the world will say singing TMBGITW live is much, much harder than SHOE or Gotta Broken Heart Again etc.

Plus, TMBGITW thrives on little melodic details and quarter-notes, like the tiny slide on "be" in the chorus. If it's too flat, it sounds like Mayté's version, if it's too high it sounds way to "uncool". That's just one example of many why this song is so difficult to sing live.

Now you've got me scared to sing it! But what the heck, I'll try anyway. I already know I'm a bad singer!

Dave1992 said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

I dont buy the whole "it's too hard" argument. He doesn't even get really high until the adlibs at the end. He just did Somewhere Here On Earth fairly frequently a couple of years ago, and Gotta Broken Heart Again back in 2002. TMGITW certainly can't be anymore difficult than those. Mabye he just finds it too boring and repetitive. Which it kinda is.

[Edited 5/10/12 7:47am]

It's certainly not about frequency (some very high notes are easier to sing than some notes just below that, depending on how you're built and your singing technique) - it's mainly about vowel placement in relation to melody. Trust me, even the best singer in the world will say singing TMBGITW live is much, much harder than SHOE or Gotta Broken Heart Again etc.

Plus, TMBGITW thrives on little melodic details and quarter-notes, like the tiny slide on "be" in the chorus. If it's too flat, it sounds like Mayté's version, if it's too high it sounds way to "uncool". That's just one example of many why this song is so difficult to sing live.

IDK...i'mma try it in the shower today and see how it goes. I don't remember it being too difficult when I used to sing along to it on the radio, though. My neighbors are in for a real treat.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Dave1992 said:

It's certainly not about frequency (some very high notes are easier to sing than some notes just below that, depending on how you're built and your singing technique) - it's mainly about vowel placement in relation to melody. Trust me, even the best singer in the world will say singing TMBGITW live is much, much harder than SHOE or Gotta Broken Heart Again etc.

Plus, TMBGITW thrives on little melodic details and quarter-notes, like the tiny slide on "be" in the chorus. If it's too flat, it sounds like Mayté's version, if it's too high it sounds way to "uncool". That's just one example of many why this song is so difficult to sing live.

IDK...i'mma try it in the shower today and see how it goes. I don't remember it being too difficult when I used to sing along to it on the radio, though. My neighbors are in for a real treat.

Best way to test it properly: record it. When we sing to ourselves we don't hear what other people hear (and what they might not like), because we're used to our voice sounding this way. Record it and listen to it - you will hear that this song has to be sung absolutely flawlessly to really sound good, which is bloody difficult!

This one is a perfect popsong (The single version)! maybe his best. Great music, great melody, sweet lyrics and a great Production/Mixing. Even his falsetto fits perfect.

Where is that difficult to sing ( i dont talk about the chorus........there are so many different parts...)

It has a very simple melody to sing, so i dont know! And think about the effects he used for his vocals

Did he ever sing it in his falsetto live (i remember the one performance from the glam slam parties in 94........But he sounded real bad )

in 97 he did it live, but with his normal voice and the chorus from Tape!

shame he dont do it live..one of his biggest hits!

I'm not sure if we will ever hear it live along w/ Betcha By Golly, Sex In The Summer, or Let's Have A Baby, soThat chapter is closed.

I love it, but the live versions have been rather weak.

I think it's hard to sing live, because you'll need to stay very focused on it. It's essentially the same, very simple melody line sung all throughout the song, but what makes it interesting are the nuances on the recorded version. The way he alternates between the "cleaner" and the "dirtier" modes of his falsetto makes the song so appealing to me.

Personally I think his live falsetto vocals have improved recently. I don't think he always sounded so great when doing falsetto live in the 1990s. He could give it a shot.

Prince obviously reads the Org, because he played this song last night in Australia.

I don't know if it was a full band version or part of the sampler set or what, but he played some version of it.

Thanks, Prince!

RodeoSchro said: