Obviously it's hard to challenge IIWYGF. But I see alot of people praising this album beyond comprehension and hardly anyone is putting this song in the upper tier. This might be my favourite dance jam of his. And I recently discovered it's potential when streaming the video from the movie on my phone.

The kickdrum was hitting me so hard my head nearly exploded by it's intensity. When I listen to the album version the kick drum is nowhere near as loud. And that got me thinking. If Prince should decide to release a remaster of SOTT. Make the drum on Hot Thing sound as loud and vibrant as in the movie. To qoute Toejam from P&B Podcast, the beat could go on all day and I wouldn't loose a second. Got damn. If I was a DJ at a random night club. This is the banger I would've put on. It's filthy, nasty, sexy, horny. Makes you wanna f*ck in a heartbeat. So brilliant.

As recently as yesterday i discovered the power of It, it sounds like a horror movie soundtrack and thanks to a slant review of the album. Hot Thing is good but It is better.

funny that IT was always the "filler" or "weak" track on the album when it came to the major reviews of the time. when actually IT IS the fucking shit! amazing. hypnotic, powerful, strange, sexy. Hot Thing is in a similar vein also. I really want prince to use drum machines in this way again, just set them off and see where it goes, rather than the pathetic retro sound he tries to emulate on MPLSound.

the whole album is brilliant.. every single note.. is wonderful.....

only Slow Love is kinda weak: maybe something about the production because in the movie it's fantastic.

i've purposely not listened to Sign O The Times in about 2 years, since i'd been
listening to it so often over the past 24 years that i'd grown quite bored with it.

can't wait to start listening to it again though. hot thing is such a great song

and that last bit of It with those distorted vocals deep in the mix

Dandroppedadime said:

funny that IT was always the "filler" or "weak" track on the album when it came to the major reviews of the time. when actually IT IS the fucking shit! amazing. hypnotic, powerful, strange, sexy. Hot Thing is in a similar vein also. I really want prince to use drum machines in this way again, just set them off and see where it goes, rather than the pathetic retro sound he tries to emulate on MPLSound.

This.

Hot Thing is very good--but I'm with the people praising It. I love the contrast between the unhinged quality of much of the lead vocal and the insistent monotony of the "all right"'s, and those synth hits. I love this track, and always have.

Love the Sign O the Times concert movie version too, Prince on the keys and later ripping the dress of Cat naughty Prince

I didn't care much for the album version, but when I saw it performed in the SOTT movie, it was MY JAM. There was a Cincinnati music critic, Cliff Radel, who panned the song in his review of the SOTT album. Because 'hot thing' is repeated so many times, the critic wrote "Your record's stuck. Your record's stuck." I've disliked that guy ever since.

[Edited 3/10/16 9:53am]

Dandroppedadime said:

funny that IT was always the "filler" or "weak" track on the album when it came to the major reviews of the time. when actually IT IS the fucking shit! amazing. hypnotic, powerful, strange, sexy. Hot Thing is in a similar vein also. I really want prince to use drum machines in this way again, just set them off and see where it goes, rather than the pathetic retro sound he tries to emulate on MPLSound.

Totally agree with you.

Prince was the undisputed master of drum computers back in the days.

I wonder why his drum programming sounds so drastically different these days. Maybe it´s because he hears his own music differently?

He knows how to analyze and improve other people´s songs but could it be possible that he doesn´t really "hear" what we hear in his music, particularly the way he used to program those drum computers? I have friends who make music professionally, and sometimes, when we talk about their music, I get the same impression.....namely that a musician often does not hear what or how the listeners hear a certain song or beat.

It would be interesting to see how a 1984 Prince would react if he had the chance to listen to an album such as MPLSound or HitNRun Phase One, or New Power Soul.

Some of his more recent music is technically great, and younger Prince would probably like the way current Prince plays guitar or drums but when it comes to drum programming, I much prefer the way he used to program them back then.

Wolfie87 said:

Obviously it's hard to challenge IIWYGF. But I see alot of people praising this album beyond comprehension and hardly anyone is putting this song in the upper tier. This might be my favourite dance jam of his. And I recently discovered it's potential when streaming the video from the movie on my phone.

The kickdrum was hitting me so hard my head nearly exploded by it's intensity. When I listen to the album version the kick drum is nowhere near as loud. And that got me thinking. If Prince should decide to release a remaster of SOTT. Make the drum on Hot Thing sound as loud and vibrant as in the movie. To qoute Toejam from P&B Podcast, the beat could go on all day and I wouldn't loose a second. Got damn. If I was a DJ at a random night club. This is the banger I would've put on. It's filthy, nasty, sexy, horny. Makes you wanna f*ck in a heartbeat. So brilliant.

I love the movie version, especially the organ intro and the beat and Cat´s choreography.

How do you like his newer version of it? The one that he occasionally played during concerts, with the sampler and a bass guitar?

I quite liked what he did in Stockholm a few years ago. Some found it a bit lazy but as long as the bass and the vocals are live I don´t mind him using sampled beats every now and then. It was nice to see him play that song again.

That's not a confession, it's an opinion.

RodeoSchro said:

That's not a confession, it's an opinion.

Its a confession of an opinion

Dandroppedadime said:

funny that IT was always the "filler" or "weak" track on the album when it came to the major reviews of the time. when actually IT IS the fucking shit! amazing. hypnotic, powerful, strange, sexy. Hot Thing is in a similar vein also. I really want prince to use drum machines in this way again, just set them off and see where it goes, rather than the pathetic retro sound he tries to emulate on MPLSound.

It is fantastic and one of my favourite tracks.

The cold drum, the spare synths and the way he sings it so powerfull.

There is so much emotion in his singing, it's like the need for sex really hurts.

Great track and the extended version on the Ultimate album is even better. But on SOTT, SOTT is just better. It's such a unique song. Timeless for sure. Good to dance to.

I've always loved the line, "Maybe u should give yo folks a call/tell em youre going 2 the Crystal Ball/tell em ya comin home late if youre comin home at all/tell em u found a brand new baby doll", but it's not even top 5 on my list of SOTT tracks. Its hot though...to each his own...

best song is IIWYG. Hot Thing is in the top 3. great song but it has weird mix. it almost sounds mono. sounds like a song he didn't sped that much time on

[Edited 3/10/16 18:37pm]

It is about sex obsession?

One of my stupid college roommates thought it was called "Hot Dang".

HOT DANG

[Edited 3/11/16 5:11am]

SOTT is not among my favorite P. albums..and Hot Thing is fun...but really nothing very special...

Dandroppedadime said:

funny that IT was always the "filler" or "weak" track on the album when it came to the major reviews of the time. when actually IT IS the fucking shit! amazing. hypnotic, powerful, strange, sexy. Hot Thing is in a similar vein also. I really want prince to use drum machines in this way again, just set them off and see where it goes, rather than the pathetic retro sound he tries to emulate on MPLSound.

Sorry--this is off the main topic but I had to tell Dandropped how much I agree with what was said here about "It". Took me like a decade to really get into this song but when I did...man I was just floored. Not that I didn't like the song in the first place, but I had a much deeper, multidimensional experience of it years later.

.

On topic: I actually heard "Hot Thing" on the radio a month or so ago. That beat is #(%@* merciless. Wolfie, you wuz right 'bout that killer kickdrum.

101 said:

SOTT is not among my favorite P. albums..and Hot Thing is fun...but really nothing very special...

Why?

This is just the kind of assessment people do after years of listening to a classic album, where the songs that were the least striking initially become "the best" because the mega tracks are now so overly familiar.

For instance: oh Pretty Young Thing is actually the best track on Thriller, not Billie Jean.

Hot Thing is fun but it was underwhelming and familiar compared to other tracks when SOTT came out. I still love it, but it's a distillation of his sexy funky dancey tracks of the past. There are at least five songs that are better in my book on that album.

Aerogram said:

This is just the kind of assessment people do after years of listening to a classic album, where the songs that were the least striking initially become "the best" because the mega tracks are now so overly familiar.

For instance: oh Pretty Young Thing is actually the best track on Thriller, not Billie Jean.

Hot Thing is fun but it was underwhelming and familiar compared to other tracks when SOTT came out. I still love it, but it's a distillation of his sexy funky dancey tracks of the past. There are at least five songs that are better in my book on that album.

"Hot Thing" could easily be a hit song today!! It NEVER ages..

Hard to pick the 'best track' in a seemingly perfect album