We have all heard the famous story of how Prince decided to take the Bass out of When Doves cry to shock folks.Has anyone ever heard the original WITH the bass line in it?

Prince and Peggy McCreary

kidmelody2012 said:

We have all heard the famous story of how Prince decided to take the Bass out of When Doves cry to shock folks.Has anyone ever heard the original WITH the bass line in it?

Prince and a few people heard it. They didn't share it with me, no.

kidmelody2012 said:

hopefularranger said:

kidmelody2012 said:

We have all heard the famous story of how Prince decided to take the Bass out of When Doves cry to shock folks.Has anyone ever heard the original WITH the bass line in it?

You haven't heard it? It's been on this site for a while now: http://soundbible.com/gra...p;type=mp3 You're welcome.

I fell for it.

ufoclub said:

ufoclub said:

hopefularranger said:

kidmelody2012 said: You haven't heard it? It's been on this site for a while now: http://soundbible.com/gra...p;type=mp3 You're welcome.

I fell for it.

I imagine since Price decided what the band plays live, it's probably the same bassline that Brown Mark and Levi played. I can totally see why he didn't keep it.

Questlove has said that he's heard it.

Mindbells9 said:

haha the REAL version is on Purple Rain. The version you're on about is an incomplete version.

It would make sense to inlcude it on the remaster, as it's gain a very intriguing cult status over the years.

jaawwnn said:

I would imagine over 100 million people have heard the real version - it was a hugely popular single in itself and released on a hugely popular album.

Slightly sarcy response but the real version is the one the artist chose to release and share with us. Any other version/s, including those incorporating a bass line, are alternatives that he chose not to proceed with.

So the REAL version is the one every knows (and should love - i believe it is one of the greatest songs ever...by anyone !) because this is the one he chose to put out there.

Because the song and artist are both so brilliant, alternative / formative versions are intriguing as they give an insight into the creative process that lead...........to the REAL version released.

but he took it out not to make the song better but to show how creative he was and different

FunkDr said:

I would imagine over 100 million people have heard the real version - it was a hugely popular single in itself and released on a hugely popular album.

Slightly sarcy response but the real version is the one the artist chose to release and share with us. Any other version/s, including those incorporating a bass line, are alternatives that he chose not to proceed with.

So the REAL version is the one every knows (and should love - i believe it is one of the greatest songs ever...by anyone !) because this is the one he chose to put out there.

Because the song and artist are both so brilliant, alternative / formative versions are intriguing as they give an insight into the creative process that lead...........to the REAL version released.

kidmelody2012 said:

^This is a sterile debate. He took away the bass because obvioulsy he believed the song was better that way, "innovative" and "different" being part of what makes a song "better". The "real" version of WDC means nothing, we have a "released" and an "unreleased" version, none is more real than the other and I think the OP understood that and simply chose the wrong adjective.

What we don't know for sure if a demo version of WDC exist different from the version with the Bass? (only Prince knows)

IIRC, He played it live with bass in the 80's.

susan rogers knows too!

love2thenines2003 said:

What we don't know for sure if a demo version of WDC exist different from the version with the Bass? (only Prince knows)

Bandmembers didn't hear a version with bass. So maybe just Prince and the engineers.

When I interviewed Matt Fink, his exact wording was that he said to Prince "I assume you'll be adding bass?" and Prince said no.

Militant said:

The first time Prince ever played "When Doves Cry" for me was without the bassline. I'll never forget he took me and Bobby Z on a ride in this big white Cadillac in LA. He popped in "When Doves Cry" and of course my immediate reaction was, "Hey, there's no bassline in this song. Are you going to add one?" [Laughs] And Prince just says, "No." And I'm like, "Well, why not?" And he goes, "Because that's how it's going to be." I really questioned him because it sounded funny without a bassline on there. I wasn't ready for it and it tricked the hell out of my ears. But the ridiculous thing is when you listen to "When Doves Cry" today it still sounds groundbreaking and so unique. It never gets old.

I think the Linn drum hit and the wild guitar intro with the weird vocals made people stop and say, "What the hell is this?" It was very weird, creepy, and brilliant. The lyrics are really intense. This is a pop song talking about someone dealing with having a difficult childhood and how it can mess you up. And then you got these slightly de-tuned strings sounds coming out of the Oberheim keyboard. And then there's that thing at the end where Prince does that crazy keyboard solo. I asked him, "How am I going to play that every night?" You almost have to be a virtuoso classical pianist, but I nailed it. The funny part is Prince revealed to me that he took the 24 track two-inch tape machine and slowed it down to the half speed setting. He played the solo half time and sped the tape back up, which made the solo much easier to play. But Prince always handed the football to me when we did "When Doves Cry" live. It was if he was saying, "Here, you play it, dude [laughs]."

From Nov. 99 Bass Player article...

The Artist’s all-time biggest hit, "When Doves Cry" [Purple Rain], is most distinctive because of its lack of a bass line. The song had one but it was pulled at the last minute. "They were almost done editing the movie," he explains, referring to his big-screen debut in Purple Rain. "‘When Doves Cry’ was the last song to be mixed, and it just wasn’t sounding right." Prince was sitting with his head on the console listening to a rough mix when one of his singers, Jill Jones, walked in and asked what was wrong. "It was just sounding too conventional, like every other song with drums and bass and keyboards. So I said, ‘If I could have it my way it would sound like this,’ and I pulled the bass out of the mix. She said, ‘Why don’t you have it your way?’" From the beginning Prince had an inkling the tune would be better bass-free, even though he hated to see the part go. "Sometimes your brain kind of splits in two -- your ego tells you one thing, and the rest of you says something else. You have to go with what you know is right."

OldFriends4Sale said:

From Nov. 99 Bass Player article...

The Artist’s all-time biggest hit, "When Doves Cry" [Purple Rain], is most distinctive because of its lack of a bass line. The song had one but it was pulled at the last minute. "They were almost done editing the movie," he explains, referring to his big-screen debut in Purple Rain. "‘When Doves Cry’ was the last song to be mixed, and it just wasn’t sounding right." Prince was sitting with his head on the console listening to a rough mix when one of his singers, Jill Jones, walked in and asked what was wrong. "It was just sounding too conventional, like every other song with drums and bass and keyboards. So I said, ‘If I could have it my way it would sound like this,’ and I pulled the bass out of the mix. She said, ‘Why don’t you have it your way?’" From the beginning Prince had an inkling the tune would be better bass-free, even though he hated to see the part go. "Sometimes your brain kind of splits in two -- your ego tells you one thing, and the rest of you says something else. You have to go with what you know is right."

The above account by Prince (I presume) suggests that Jill was there when he decided to remove the bass part.

In DanceMisicSexRomance, Per Nilsen reports that Jill Jones and others attended many of the recording sessions at Sunset Sound during this period, and engineer Peggy McCreary gives this account of recording ,When Doves Cry':

'"He started the song the way he always did, with a drum machine... Then he added bass and synths, then this and that". The rough track completed, McCreary and Prince convened in the control room to mix the song. "Something was bothering him about it, but he couldn't put his finger on it at first. Finally, he reached over and punched out the bass track. That's when we knew we had something special. He said somethng like, "Nobody would have the balls to do this, You just wait, they'll be freaking." He knew exactly what he was doing... and just knew he had a hit. It was just the two of us in the studio".'

Militant said:

funksterr said:

IIRC, He played it live with bass in the 80's.

That's correct! Nude tour rehearsel Tokyo

Fhunkin,is that you?? Haven't seen you on the Org is a looooonng time!

langebleu said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

From Nov. 99 Bass Player article...

The Artist’s all-time biggest hit, "When Doves Cry" [Purple Rain], is most distinctive because of its lack of a bass line. The song had one but it was pulled at the last minute. "They were almost done editing the movie," he explains, referring to his big-screen debut in Purple Rain. "‘When Doves Cry’ was the last song to be mixed, and it just wasn’t sounding right." Prince was sitting with his head on the console listening to a rough mix when one of his singers, Jill Jones, walked in and asked what was wrong. "It was just sounding too conventional, like every other song with drums and bass and keyboards. So I said, ‘If I could have it my way it would sound like this,’ and I pulled the bass out of the mix. She said, ‘Why don’t you have it your way?’" From the beginning Prince had an inkling the tune would be better bass-free, even though he hated to see the part go. "Sometimes your brain kind of splits in two -- your ego tells you one thing, and the rest of you says something else. You have to go with what you know is right."

The above account by Prince (I presume) suggests that Jill was there when he decided to remove the bass part.

In DanceMisicSexRomance, Per Nilsen reports that Jill Jones and others attended many of the recording sessions at Sunset Sound during this period, and engineer Peggy McCreary gives this account of recording ,When Doves Cry':

'"He started the song the way he always did, with a drum machine... Then he added bass and synths, then this and that". The rough track completed, McCreary and Prince convened in the control room to mix the song. "Something was bothering him about it, but he couldn't put his finger on it at first. Finally, he reached over and punched out the bass track. That's when we knew we had something special. He said somethng like, "Nobody would have the balls to do this, You just wait, they'll be freaking." He knew exactly what he was doing... and just knew he had a hit. It was just the two of us in the studio".'

Thanks for this additional piece. I agree, I've read things that brought me to the same conclusion that many of those recording sessions had different people in his camp there with him.

.

I could easily see him wrestling with that decision for a while to take the bass out.

Next song is Around the World in a Day, and then Kiss