Purple Rain

Little Red Corvette

When Doves Cry

Let's Go Crazy

1999

Raspberry Beret

Kiss

Batdance

Gett Off

Cream

TMBGITW

Rank them each out of ten and let's discuss which are deserving of their mass adulation and which (if any) don't reflect Prince's best work.

IMO, the only two from that list truly up there with his best work are PR and WDC.

[Edited 10/4/13 0:35am]

SOTT charted much better than Gett Off.

Check all the singles' scores and come back again and then we'll start the thread

It would be interesting to compare the above to songs like:

Computer Blue

She's Always in My Hair

IF I Was Your Girlfriend

I Could Never Take the Place Of Your Man

Lady Cab Driver

Last December

Holy River

Anna Stesia

Dolphin

Joy In Repetition

Days Of Wild

Extraloveable (original version)

Everyone's list of non-hits will be different, but, in my opinion, the hits really don't compoare with the songs that I like the most. Obviously, Purple Rain and WDC are two great songs that happened to be hits, but the rest of the hits do not represent his best work.

MattyJam said:

Purple Rain

Little Red Corvette

When Doves Cry

Let's Go Crazy

1999

Raspberry Beret

Kiss

Batdance

Gett Off

Cream

TMBGITW

you can't deny, these cornerstones of hits are very strong and incredible songs in music history...

the only reason not to like these is they are maybe overplayed -- played too much over the years.

databank said:

SOTT charted much better than Gett Off.

Check all the singles' scores and come back again and then we'll start the thread

It's not just about chart placings (and besides, Gett Off charted higher in the UK and most European markets than SOTT did), it's also about the songs that people remember.

Gett Off still gets played on the radio today, SOTT doesn't.

MattyJam said:

databank said:

SOTT charted much better than Gett Off.

Check all the singles' scores and come back again and then we'll start the thread

It's not just about chart placings (and besides, Gett Off charted higher in the UK and most European markets than SOTT did), it's also about the songs that people remember.

Gett Off still gets played on the radio today in UK, SOTT doesn't.

in France it doesn't and I think that SOTT is more remembered: Gett Off didn't chart or get any radio airplay in France, it only became somewhat populat because many people had it on either D&P or The Hits. Sexy MF or MDM2N were much more heard and sold much more back then (in France).

OK, so anyway, back to the thread...

MattyJam said:

Purple Rain 9/10 - Great a bit long, but still just brilliant

Little Red Corvette 10/10 A perfect sexually loaded and catchy rock pop song, a breakout song for him, its easy to see why it was his first huge hit, even the teeny bopper chart kids could not ignore brilliance

When Doves Cry 10/10 The sound, the video, the vibe and the coolness ensured this song was going to be a blockbuster. After this everyone wanted to know about Prince.

Let's Go Crazy 9/10 Another brilliant song

1999 10/10 Another smash and totally cool, Prince's first truly epic single

Raspberry Beret 10/10 A perfectly made pop confection, funky and catchy as hell and just enough innuendo to make it clever, the video was awesome too.

Kiss 10/10 Prince's sparse brilliance shines through here, this is masterful stuff and again like WDC everything is kept to a minimum except its impact.

Batdance 7/10 Its alright but really just samples played over the jangly and somewhat cliched bass loops, really hit because of the hype.

Gett Off 7/10 Again its catchy funky and sexy, but a very slight song, cool videos though

Cream 10/10 A perfect pop single, Cream is like Kiss in the sense its in yo face feel sells it well and has the unforgettable melody. This song was what made me a huge fan.

TMBGITW 10/10 Perfect falsetto and melody, Prince pulled it out at a time he had been written off as a self indulgent quirky weirdo. Prince could still shock and gave us a very accessible straightforward and sincere ballad.

Rank them each out of ten and let's discuss which are deserving of their mass adulation and which (if any) don't reflect Prince's best work.

IMO, the only two from that list truly up there with his best work are PR and WDC.

[Edited 10/4/13 0:35am]

Bloody well, not only were they big hits, but great songs too, people may rate them lower because they have been heard ad nauseam. But apart from Gett Off and Batdance which are okay, the rest are stellar, who could not like LRC or When Doves Cry, they are epics.

These all hit as they were mostly well written, clever and catchy with riffs and melodies with irresistible hooks. Plus like any good 80s track, you could dance to it.

[Edited 10/6/13 18:54pm]

I love the "hits" , but i think some of his best gems and truly awe inspiring songs were and are not hits when it comes to radio standards.

And i have a feeling that there are so many that have never even been heard or seen the light of day that would blow all our minds away!

His songs are his children. His babies. His life and heart beat. So what He chooses to give us I receive and view as a blessing cuz He is a MasterMusicial genius..... This we all fully Know!

There is no one like him and nor will there ever be, so im so thankful He's still choosing to give us what we love in him.

undertheesea said:

I love the "hits" , but i think some of his best gems and truly awe inspiring songs were and are not hits when it comes to radio standards.

And i have a feeling that there are so many that have never even been heard or seen the light of day that would blow all our minds away!

His songs are his children. His babies. His life and heart beat. So what He chooses to give us I receive and view as a blessing cuz He is a MasterMusicial genius..... This we all fully Know!

There is no one like him and nor will there ever be, so im so thankful He's still choosing to give us what we love in him.

Why are you spelling "he" with a capital H? Prince isn't the messiah.

MattyJam said:

Why are you spelling "he" with a capital H? Prince isn't the messiah.

No offense, MattyJ:

Prince used to be the messiah.

In my world, from 1978 to 1995.


thereafter, "he" is rather "human" with a lot of faults,

from 1996 to 2013.

The hits alone attest to a very talented pop songwriter/singer, but it would be difficult to infer musical genius from them. Purple Rain, WDC and SOTT have touches of greatness, and Thieves in the Temple certainly does, if it counts as a hit--I remember it getting a lot of air play where I am, but I'm not sure how it charted.

When I compare Prince's hits with other artists I admire, they really don't do him justice. Some of my favourite pop songwriters/bands/musicians such as The Beatles, Queen, David Bowie, Elton John, Sting, Kate Bush and Tori Amos all have obscure work that is wonderful, but the hits of those artists DO represent a lot of their best work and give a good indication of their musical achievements. When I consider Prince's entire oeuvre, he towers above all of them (except perhaps Lennon/Mccartney) but if I ranked them by the quality of their hits, he'd be a long last (in admittedly lofty company).

The legacy Prince will leave to posterity--such an immense catalogue of great and diverse work--will I feel be more appreciated in the future than it is at the moment.

Slightly off-topic..

I'm not so sure Prince has many of his 'hits' that are really in the public conscious...of them all, if you went up to someone in the street I think the strongest candidate would be 'Kiss'.

Amongst anyone under thirty, that's the only song they could probably tell you about..and maybe Purple Rain.

Compare that to MJ and most folk would ream off three or four quite easily...the same for the Beatles, Queen, Elton. Kate perhaps nothing beyond Wuthering Heights and you'd probably find most folk scratching their heads over Tori...Cornflake Girl would be the answer if any.

That's one thing I find disappointing about the public's notion of what an artist is..they don't know anything generally apart from, "Oh he's the purple rain guy" or "She's the weirdo flapping her arms around to Wuthering Heights".

Never mind the classic non-album tracks, they don't know of anything else. It's getting worse with the younger generation - I know thirty year olds who've never heard When Doves Cry (?). The biggest selling single of 1984 in the states and it's totally off their radar.

MattyJam said:

undertheesea said:

I love the "hits" , but i think some of his best gems and truly awe inspiring songs were and are not hits when it comes to radio standards.

And i have a feeling that there are so many that have never even been heard or seen the light of day that would blow all our minds away!

His songs are his children. His babies. His life and heart beat. So what He chooses to give us I receive and view as a blessing cuz He is a MasterMusicial genius..... This we all fully Know!

There is no one like him and nor will there ever be, so im so thankful He's still choosing to give us what we love in him.

Why are you spelling "he" with a capital H? Prince isn't the messiah.

uhhh..maybe i didnt realize that and maybe i did. Because its my response and my own prerogative.

MattyJam said:

undertheesea said:

I love the "hits" , but i think some of his best gems and truly awe inspiring songs were and are not hits when it comes to radio standards.

And i have a feeling that there are so many that have never even been heard or seen the light of day that would blow all our minds away!

His songs are his children. His babies. His life and heart beat. So what He chooses to give us I receive and view as a blessing cuz He is a MasterMusicial genius..... This we all fully Know!

There is no one like him and nor will there ever be, so im so thankful He's still choosing to give us what we love in him.

Why are you spelling "he" with a capital H? Prince isn't the messiah.

He definitely exists though, so he's got the leg up on most of the other messiah's people worship.

MattyJam said:

Purple Rain

Little Red Corvette

When Doves Cry

Let's Go Crazy

1999

Raspberry Beret

Kiss

Batdance

Gett Off

Cream

TMBGITW

Rank them each out of ten and let's discuss which are deserving of their mass adulation and which (if any) don't reflect Prince's best work.

IMO, the only two from that list truly up there with his best work are PR and WDC.

[Edited 10/4/13 0:35am]

Two of the best songs ever written:

Purple Rain 10/10

When Doves Cry 10/10

Good little songs but not up there with his best work:

Let's Go Crazy 8/10

1999 8/10

Raspberry Beret 8/10

Gett Off 7/10

Kiss 7/10

Little Red Corvette 7/10

TMBGITW 7/10

Right place, right time hits:

Cream 5/10

Batdance 4/10

Scotsman1999 said:

Slightly off-topic..

I'm not so sure Prince has many of his 'hits' that are really in the public conscious...of them all, if you went up to someone in the street I think the strongest candidate would be 'Kiss'.

Amongst anyone under thirty, that's the only song they could probably tell you about..and maybe Purple Rain.

Compare that to MJ and most folk would ream off three or four quite easily...the same for the Beatles, Queen, Elton. Kate perhaps nothing beyond Wuthering Heights and you'd probably find most folk scratching their heads over Tori...Cornflake Girl would be the answer if any.

That's one thing I find disappointing about the public's notion of what an artist is..they don't know anything generally apart from, "Oh he's the purple rain guy" or "She's the weirdo flapping her arms around to Wuthering Heights".

Never mind the classic non-album tracks, they don't know of anything else. It's getting worse with the younger generation - I know thirty year olds who've never heard When Doves Cry (?). The biggest selling single of 1984 in the states and it's totally off their radar.

That's a great post, and I couldn't agree more.

I think you can tell Prince is an awesome, groundbreaking musician from many of his hits.

My favorite Prince songs are a mix of big hits (When Doves Cry, 1999, Theives In the Temple, etc.) and album tracks/non-hit singles (Something In the Water, The Beautiful Ones, Money Don't Matter 2Night, etc.).

I do think some hits are less interesting and ambitious than Prince's best stuff (but so are even more of his album tracks). TMBGITW is a nice soul song that doesn't really hint at how Prince is different from any good, fairly traditional soul singer, and "Cream" is a glaringly obvious copy of T-Rex's "Bang a Gong (Get It On)," but there are album tracks that rank far below either of those songs, such as "Ronnie Talk to Russia," "Graffiti Bridge," and "Jughead."

I'm pretty sure I would prefer the "Ultimate Prince" album compared to a hypothetical album called: "Prince: Randomly Selected Album Tracks." If Prince has 10-15 legitimate big hits and maybe 4 or 5 of them are masterpieces, that's an awesome ratio... much better than the ratio for his (or anyone else's) album tracks imo. I also think his biggest chart hit, "When Doves Cry," is exceptionally original and daring, and has a strong argument for being his best song.

When Doves Cry

Let's Go Crazy

Purple Rain

Raspberry Beret

Kiss

Cream

Are all among my most favorite Prince songs ever.

Much as I love them, most if the hits wouldn't make my top 10. Kiss it probably the only one that would.

I was disappointed with the fan choices on the Peach and Black countdown.

I love Purple Rain, but think its over hyped. Didn't even manage to break the top 5 in the UK, smack in the middle of his golden era.