I heard it today on lunch break. It doesn't get as much play as When Doves Cry, Purple Rain, Kiss, 1999, Little Red Corvette etc. But... too me it is the perfect revolution single.

Lyrically it is Prince at his best. Talking about social issues, personal issues, issues of race, gender etc. Wendy & Lisa on backing vocals, the funky bass, the ''pops'' this song embodied everything great about Prince with the revolution.

lyrically, musically, and vocally. Too me it's one of the songs where you can feel the whole bands input. On a lot of revolution era songs i just hear Prince influence in a lot of it. Hear everyone comes together to create a short but incredible work.

At least that's my take it on it. What do y'all think?

It's definitely a classic. I get what you're saying about how it feels like a cohesive band effort. But I'd say in that regard that the perfect Prince & The Revolution single is probably "Anotherloverholenyohead".

Militant said:

It's definitely a classic. I get what you're saying about how it feels like a cohesive band effort. But I'd say in that regard that the perfect Prince & The Revolution single is probably "Anotherloverholenyohead".

I could actually see that as a close second. I love the backing vocals on it! the entire song has a lot of layers of production. I can hear the band effort in that one as well. Probably one of the most Wendy & Lisa influeced tracks Prince ever did.

That was my highschool quote!

"Life, it ain't real funky.

Unless it's got that pop."

Short, no. The UK 12" drags on for 9 minutes. A great song nonetheless!

The "Shiela E" remix is my favorite. (Fresh Dance Mix) i'm not sure if she really remixed it, but she's definately on the drums!

However, for me, the perfect Prince & The Revolution single would have to be "Purple Rain".

It's really them. No confusing credits. No doubt.

.

Prost!

How can I not love it--bought it the day it came out.

I love Pop Life but the best, hands down (imo), is Purple Rain. If you forget how overplayed it is and just listen the it for what it is, it is still one of the most beautiful songs ever written. They were at the peak of their creativity when they wrote that.

I think what Gunsnhalen is saying is that with "Pop Life" you can hear the contributions of the whole band. That's what I took from it.

"Purple Rain" to me - is Prince on everything. Obviously, the studio version is based on live tracks so you've got the whole band playing. But Prince has the sole credit on it, and it sounds like all his ideas, to me.

"Pop Life" and "Anotherlover" sound like songs written by a band. In particular, Prince, Wendy and Lisa.

Militant said:

I think what Gunsnhalen is saying is that with "Pop Life" you can hear the contributions of the whole band. That's what I took from it.

"Purple Rain" to me - is Prince on everything. Obviously, the studio version is based on live tracks so you've got the whole band playing. But Prince has the sole credit on it, and it sounds like all his ideas, to me.

"Pop Life" and "Anotherlover" sound like songs written by a band. In particular, Prince, Wendy and Lisa.

Yea, he was pointing out his "perfect single" and PR is that for me. Wendy said that they sat in a warehouse all day working on that song together. On the back of the single it says "Produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince & The Revolution"?

[Edited 3/19/14 14:18pm]

Pop Life

[Edited 3/19/14 14:58pm]

Anotherlover

Bambi82 said:

Militant said:

I think what Gunsnhalen is saying is that with "Pop Life" you can hear the contributions of the whole band. That's what I took from it.

"Purple Rain" to me - is Prince on everything. Obviously, the studio version is based on live tracks so you've got the whole band playing. But Prince has the sole credit on it, and it sounds like all his ideas, to me.

"Pop Life" and "Anotherlover" sound like songs written by a band. In particular, Prince, Wendy and Lisa.

Yea, he was pointing out his "perfect single" and PR is that for me. Wendy said that they sat in a warehouse all day working on that song together. On the back of the single it says "Produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince & The Revolution"?

[Edited 3/19/14 14:18pm]

That's incorrect.

"Purple Rain", if you look it up in songwriters database, is solely credited to Prince. That aside, Wendy & Lisa confirmed on multiple times (including the Purple Rain 25th Anniversary DVD) that they didn't have anything to do with that song, and Prince wrote it all himself.

I've never heard Wendy say they wrote it together. She may have said they rehearsed it a lot together, which they obviously did for the live performances. But it's common knowledge that Prince wrote that song on his own.

I believe the only song on Purple Rain that any other bandmembers have writing credits on, is "Computer Blue". Wendy, Lisa and Dr. Fink all have credits on that song.

Double Post

[Edited 3/19/14 16:22pm]

Bambi82 said:

Militant said:

That's incorrect.

"Purple Rain", if you look it up in songwriters database, is solely credited to Prince. That aside, Wendy & Lisa confirmed on multiple times (including the Purple Rain 25th Anniversary DVD) that they didn't have anything to do with that song, and Prince wrote it all himself.

I've never heard Wendy say they wrote it together. She may have said they rehearsed it a lot together, which they obviously did for the live performances. But it's common knowledge that Prince wrote that song on his own.

I believe the only song on Purple Rain that any other bandmembers have writing credits on, is "Computer Blue". Wendy, Lisa and Dr. Fink all have credits on that song.

That's incorrect.

You might want to pull your dvd out again, I watched it just the other day and Wendy says something very similar to "So to answer your question, did Wendy and Lisa write Purple Rain? No, but did we help? Yea, yes we did" and she and Lisa sat there nodding in agreement. I think it was during the Riffs, Ruffles and a Revolution documentary. Do you not remember her story about the homeless lady that came in and listened to them writing it in the warehouse? They called her the Purple Rain Lady.

[Edited 3/19/14 16:24pm]

No, I just pulled it up, it's towards the end of the Backstage Pass document. Wendy is even playing the guitar, talking about the chords she wrote.
It's the 20th Anniversary Edition, btw, I don't think there was a 25th, was there?

[Edited 3/19/14 16:29pm]

Militant said:

Bambi82 said:

Yea, he was pointing out his "perfect single" and PR is that for me. Wendy said that they sat in a warehouse all day working on that song together. On the back of the single it says "Produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince & The Revolution"?

[Edited 3/19/14 14:18pm]

That's incorrect.

"Purple Rain", if you look it up in songwriters database, is solely credited to Prince. That aside, Wendy & Lisa confirmed on multiple times (including the Purple Rain 25th Anniversary DVD) that they didn't have anything to do with that song, and Prince wrote it all himself.

I've never heard Wendy say they wrote it together. She may have said they rehearsed it a lot together, which they obviously did for the live performances. But it's common knowledge that Prince wrote that song on his own.

I believe the only song on Purple Rain that any other bandmembers have writing credits on, is "Computer Blue". Wendy, Lisa and Dr. Fink all have credits on that song.

I don´t want to open a tiring debate again on how big the influence of Wendy and Lisa and the rest of The Revolution was on Princes music during that period, but IIRC on the same Purple Rain 25th Anniversary DVD you mentioned, Wendy and Lisa were asked about their input and they said (I paraphrase):

"Did we write Purple Rain - NO! Did we help writing it - YES!" before explaing how Prince came up with the structure and the chord progression and they considered it rather "simplicistic", so they sort of "fleshed it out" with him and changed some of the chords (especially the guitar intro).

So Bambi82 has a point. Sure, Purple Rain is written by Prince, but with a little help from certain members of The Revolution that helped him making it this anthem we all know... So maybe this qualifies it to be a "perfect Prince & The Revolution Single".

Gruntman said:

Militant said:

That's incorrect.

"Purple Rain", if you look it up in songwriters database, is solely credited to Prince. That aside, Wendy & Lisa confirmed on multiple times (including the Purple Rain 25th Anniversary DVD) that they didn't have anything to do with that song, and Prince wrote it all himself.

I've never heard Wendy say they wrote it together. She may have said they rehearsed it a lot together, which they obviously did for the live performances. But it's common knowledge that Prince wrote that song on his own.

I believe the only song on Purple Rain that any other bandmembers have writing credits on, is "Computer Blue". Wendy, Lisa and Dr. Fink all have credits on that song.

I don´t want to open a tiring debate again on how big the influence of Wendy and Lisa and the rest of The Revolution was on Princes music during that period, but IIRC on the same Purple Rain 25th Anniversary DVD you mentioned, Wendy and Lisa were asked about their input and they said (I paraphrase):

"Did we write Purple Rain - NO! Did we help writing it - YES!" before explaing how Prince came up with the structure and the chord progression and they considered it rather "simplicistic", so they sort of "fleshed it out" with him and changed some of the chords (especially the guitar intro).

So Bambi82 has a point. Sure, Purple Rain is written by Prince, but with a little help from certain members of The Revolution that helped him making it this anthem we all know... So maybe this qualifies it to be a "perfect Prince & The Revolution Single".

Yep, basically the same thing I said above.. I thought for a minute that I had imagined watching that. lol

Gruntman said:

Militant said:

That's incorrect.

"Purple Rain", if you look it up in songwriters database, is solely credited to Prince. That aside, Wendy & Lisa confirmed on multiple times (including the Purple Rain 25th Anniversary DVD) that they didn't have anything to do with that song, and Prince wrote it all himself.

I've never heard Wendy say they wrote it together. She may have said they rehearsed it a lot together, which they obviously did for the live performances. But it's common knowledge that Prince wrote that song on his own.

I believe the only song on Purple Rain that any other bandmembers have writing credits on, is "Computer Blue". Wendy, Lisa and Dr. Fink all have credits on that song.

I don´t want to open a tiring debate again on how big the influence of Wendy and Lisa and the rest of The Revolution was on Princes music during that period, but IIRC on the same Purple Rain 25th Anniversary DVD you mentioned, Wendy and Lisa were asked about their input and they said (I paraphrase):

"Did we write Purple Rain - NO! Did we help writing it - YES!" before explaing how Prince came up with the structure and the chord progression and they considered it rather "simplicistic", so they sort of "fleshed it out" with him and changed some of the chords (especially the guitar intro).

So Bambi82 has a point. Sure, Purple Rain is written by Prince, but with a little help from certain members of The Revolution that helped him making it this anthem we all know... So maybe this qualifies it to be a "perfect Prince & The Revolution Single".

Correct, Prince has songwriting credit,because the basic of the song he wrote, but Wendy & Lisa and someone else I can't recall said that song the whole band was in the warehouse working on their musical pieces adding to the creation of the song. Wendy did create the the chords that open the song/she's playing. That is a full band creation, Prince might have added some sounds over the live version, but that is the song with the whole band, he did not remove their input.

How did this thread go from Pop Life to this ? lol

We know that on many songs throught that 1980s period every band member wasn't given credit. Like no one fully knows what songs JJ sang on overall. Yet Lisa talked about singing 'underneath' Apollonia on Take Me With U, because Prince said her voice was too shaky. Matt Fink talked about the creation of Computer Blue and that Bobby Z was on the drums/linn work at the recording of that song.

"Help" isn't a quantitive term. "Help" can basically mean nothing but agreeing with a decision or changing the most minor part.

They didn't contribute enough for it to be worth giving them a writing credit. Nothing on the song is consistent with any of Wendy or Lisa's original musical ideas, unlike "Mountains" for example which is clearly consistent with their songwriting and playing.

It's debateable. Personally, I don't think they had any more or less to do with that song than most other songs of that time, or the other band members. Giving opinions, suggesting changes, et al does not equal writing or co-writing the song. They said that themselves.

And of course they're gonna say, on an interview for the film, while talking about the title track, that they helped. What do you expect them to say - "Quit asking us about a song we had nothing to do with?"

The point is, Purple Rain the song would have sounded almost exactly the same without The Revolution. If that group of people did not exist, that song would be pretty much the same song. You can't say that about songs like "Mountains".

If you want to talk about the perfect Prince and the Revolution song, you've got to pick a song that they have obvious undeniable contributions to.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Matt Fink talked about the creation of Computer Blue and that Bobby Z was on the drums/linn work at the recording of that song.

Yes, which is why The Revolution have writing credits on "Computer Blue".

Militant said:

"Help" isn't a quantitive term. "Help" can basically mean nothing but agreeing with a decision or changing the most minor part.

They didn't contribute enough for it to be worth giving them a writing credit. Nothing on the song is consistent with any of Wendy or Lisa's original musical ideas, unlike "Mountains" for example which is clearly consistent with their songwriting and playing.

It's debateable. Personally, I don't think they had any more or less to do with that song than most other songs of that time, or the other band members. Giving opinions, suggesting changes, et al does not equal writing or co-writing the song. They said that themselves.

And of course they're gonna say, on an interview for the film, while talking about the title track, that they helped. What do you expect them to say - "Quit asking us about a song we had nothing to do with?"

The point is, Purple Rain the song would have sounded almost exactly the same without The Revolution. If that group of people did not exist, that song would be pretty much the same song. You can't say that about songs like "Mountains".

If you want to talk about the perfect Prince and the Revolution song, you've got to pick a song that they have obvious undeniable contributions to.

Well it's obvious you're not changing your mind, and that's fine-you're entitled to you're opinon.. but I'd be willing to bet anything that if you wrote even a single chord on that song, you'd be expecting a writing credit, right? What about the picture I posted?

Bambi82 said:

Militant said:

"Help" isn't a quantitive term. "Help" can basically mean nothing but agreeing with a decision or changing the most minor part.

They didn't contribute enough for it to be worth giving them a writing credit. Nothing on the song is consistent with any of Wendy or Lisa's original musical ideas, unlike "Mountains" for example which is clearly consistent with their songwriting and playing.

It's debateable. Personally, I don't think they had any more or less to do with that song than most other songs of that time, or the other band members. Giving opinions, suggesting changes, et al does not equal writing or co-writing the song. They said that themselves.

And of course they're gonna say, on an interview for the film, while talking about the title track, that they helped. What do you expect them to say - "Quit asking us about a song we had nothing to do with?"

The point is, Purple Rain the song would have sounded almost exactly the same without The Revolution. If that group of people did not exist, that song would be pretty much the same song. You can't say that about songs like "Mountains".

If you want to talk about the perfect Prince and the Revolution song, you've got to pick a song that they have obvious undeniable contributions to.

Well it's obvious you're not changing your mind, and that's fine-you're entitled to you're opinon.. but I'd be willing to bet anything that if you wrote even a single chord on that song, you'd be expecting a writing credit, right? What about the picture I posted?

Of course I would, which strengthens my position that they didn't contribute much to it, since A) they don't have writing credits, and B) they flat out said "No" when asked if they wrote it.

The picture sleeve credits are meaningless, because we know - for example - that Prince did everything on songs like "When Doves Cry" on his own. It's his signature drum programming combined with his vocals and his guitar and synth parts.

The album is credited to "Prince & The Revolution" because they played on some of the songs, and it's a soundtrack to a movie that's about a band, and it's deliberately appealing to a rock audience who are used to the idea of bands rather than solo recording artists.

Musically and in terms of songwriting, this is almost exclusively a "Prince" album.

"Parade" can claim to be a Prince & The Revolution album, because Wendy & Lisa's footprints are all over it, Wendy even has a lead vocal on "I Wonder U". And Eric Leeds too, for that matter. Essentially, "Parade" is an album you can legitimately claim would sound a LOT different without The Revolution. You simply can't say that about "Purple Rain".

FINE

Mountains, if it MUST be from Parade.

I realize their is a songwriting debate and such. But on 1999 and even Purple Rain it still feels like a solo album too me. Brown mark had some great bass lines, Wendy & Lisa were the most obvious influences at the time, and Bobby Z did his thing. But Those 2 albums felt like a Prince solo album most of the way through.

Around The World In A Day & Parade is where i felt this wasn't just a Prince album. I could feel the bands energy come together perfectly. They had finally felt comfertable with each other, felt comfertable going to new places, and comfertable just jamming.

There's that story Brown Mark told about America. That they kept playing till the tape ran out, and didn't even notice.

Gunsnhalen said:

on 1999 and even Purple Rain it still feels like a solo album too me.

That's because they are essentially Prince solo albums. There's very little contributions from others overall on those records. You're right about ATWIAD. That's where you start to hear more contributions and influence from other bandmembers.

I agree that Around the World in a Day and Parade felt less like a Prince record and more of a cohesive band effort. Pop Life is a great example.

.

Back then after the split with the Revolution I was bummed because I felt the best was yet to come from them. It was like they were just at the peak of things. I just assumed that Prince felt like he was losing control or his identity and pulled the plug. Back then we did not have the internet and there wasn't much info about the split. So really there was only speculation at the time.

.

In retrospect I understand he needed to move on and somewhat glad he did. I just wished they would have had just one more album together.

.

Ironically since then he has kept people around him much longer than he needed to. This is where I agree with some that he keeps people around nowadays that don't challenge him. Sure he has worked with some top notch musicians that are better drummers, guitarist etc. than some of the Revolution. I just think the Revolution/Wendy & Lisa brought out the best of his songwriting in general.

Gunsnhalen said:

I realize their is a songwriting debate and such. But on 1999 and even Purple Rain it still feels like a solo album too me. Brown mark had some great bass lines, Wendy & Lisa were the most obvious influences at the time, and Bobby Z did his thing. But Those 2 albums felt like a Prince solo album most of the way through.

Around The World In A Day & Parade is where i felt this wasn't just a Prince album. I could feel the bands energy come together perfectly. They had finally felt comfertable with each other, felt comfertable going to new places, and comfertable just jamming.

There's that story Brown Mark told about America. That they kept playing till the tape ran out, and didn't even notice.

I don't understand why you say 'felt like a solo album' especially Purple Rain which only had 3 songs that were solo Prince totally. Let's Go Crazy, Computer Blue, IWD4U, Baby I'm A Star & Purple Rain were full band recordings, Take Me With U there is some Lisa Coleman (Jill Jones) in there.

.

The one thing about the bad back then is that they did emulate Prince, so did the proteges:Vanity 6, the Time, Sheila E etc That's also a part that makes it so interesting. The skills they brought were filtered thru Prince's sound/vision. I even remember reading something Sheila E said about her band and the other bands, that they would listen to Prince's albums to learn his sound/playing to do their thing on the albums or live.

.

I do sorta agree with the next real opening is ATWIAD but because the sound changed and that was the result of other peoples cohesive synergy with Prince, lots of people not even in the band were on those albums

Pop Life is indeed a perfect single....!!

Therefor I miss a music video to this song..

Just like I miss a good video to Paisley Park as well, (the song), with Prince in it..