'America'

I think 1999 is really the album where he mastered it all, ground zero for the fully formed genius. So I go with Lady Cab Driver, so many cool parts to it. Second choice for similar reasons would be Crystal Ball.

CalhounSq said:

Cloreen Bacon Skin!

If I Was Your Girlfriend

What am I missing about the suggested "Wally" track? What's the story?

berlinas2k said:

CalhounSq said:

Cloreen Bacon Skin!

Not sure if you're joking or not but I have a feeling that those two had a blast recording that together.

Arms of Orion

ForeverPaisley said:

justAmeda said:

Any of his upbeat Funky ones such as FunkNRoll, Delirious, and so on. I just get the feeling it would be awesome to see him get into his groove while recording those.

[Edited 6/24/16 6:39am]

I agree with you, FunkNRoll would be incredible, I imagine the energy would be contageous too.

Oh yeah I would have a very hard time not jamming out in my seat to that one!

renfield said:

TrivialPursuit said:

"Wally"

But someone asked this question a month or two ago at most. My answer then was "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker", just to see the look on Susan Roger's face, and his face, when they realize the whole high-end of the board was out, ergo the muffled lower tones in the song overall.

Or if you were there when he was recording "Forever In My Life" would you tell him he came in late and threw the backing vocals off? I love that song the way it is but I've always been curious to see how much of a difference it would make if he had come in at the right time.

Has anyobe tried to line up the backing vocals as they were supposedly intended? Would it work?

TrivialPursuit said:

"Wally"

But someone asked this question a month or two ago at most. My answer then was "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker", just to see the look on Susan Roger's face, and his face, when they realize the whole high-end of the board was out, ergo the muffled lower tones in the song overall.

I would like someone with knowledge about sound engineering to comment on this story. Is it possible for (just) the high-end to go out because of a power failure? Does this story make sense from a technical point of you?

Old Friends 4 Sale

The b-side "Girl". His vocal solo is amazing.

If I could set the scene with low lights, me, candles, and a bed: International Lover.

"Adore", cause it has so many layers...just watching him put together the harmonies would be awesome.

AzifWeKare said:

Old Friends 4 Sale

Funklov said:

I would love to have been there for When Doves Cry. To see him play that guitar opening and keyboard run at the end. He never played those parts live so no one has seen him do it except whoever was there in the studio.

Great post. I would love to have seen the takes of that opening guitar riff, that will NEVER be topped as a opener for a song IMO.

Funklov said:

I would love to have been there for When Doves Cry. To see him play that guitar opening and keyboard run at the end. He never played those parts live so no one has seen him do it except whoever was there in the studio.

I would like to think that he did it in one take, then had the guitar sent to Lake Minetonka so it could be purified.

[Edited 6/27/16 16:45pm]

Power Fantastic.

Insatiable or Black Sweat

The one that comes to mind right now.... ANNA STESIA.

"Take Me With U". I would ask Prince:

-Where did that funky beginning come from? What prompted you to go from F to F# minor?
-That drum lick - it's unlike any other he's ever used.
-The drumbeat. Was it always that so-cool ONE-two-three ONE-two-three?
-Did you try any other basslines over the melody other than the quarter-note runs?
-Where in the world did the bridge chords come from?
-Did you have that G/A chord ever in the bridge back then, or was that something that came later?

Etc etc etc.

lynx said:

Funklov said:

I would love to have been there for When Doves Cry. To see him play that guitar opening and keyboard run at the end. He never played those parts live so no one has seen him do it except whoever was there in the studio.

Great post. I would love to have seen the takes of that opening guitar riff, that will NEVER be topped as a opener for a song IMO.

I've been working on that opening riff, and many guitarists I've asked that have studied it think it was something Prince just ripped right off the top of his head, in the spur of the moment. Some even think there's a "mistake" in it (an open string towards the end).

It seems to be universally admired among pro players. One guy even told me that while some people might consider that open string a "mistake", this is Prince we're talking about and he doesn't make mistakes!

Others I'd like to have seen (because I just can't stop at one, sorry!):

"Forever In My Life" to hear what the harmonies were supposed to sound like.

"Guitar" to hear how Prince went from the funky original version to the rocking album version.

"Sometimes it Snows in April" because....you know.

"In This Bed Scream" to watch how Prince constructed a great groove out of many different orchestral parts.

"Computer Blue" to see the whole dang thing once and for all, since I have about 6 different versions of this song

"Shy" only to hear the guitar parts.

I have to stop now.

RodeoSchro said:

lynx said:

Great post. I would love to have seen the takes of that opening guitar riff, that will NEVER be topped as a opener for a song IMO.

I've been working on that opening riff, and many guitarists I've asked that have studied it think it was something Prince just ripped right off the top of his head, in the spur of the moment. Some even think there's a "mistake" in it (an open string towards the end).

It seems to be universally admired among pro players. One guy even told me that while some people might consider that open string a "mistake", this is Prince we're talking about and he doesn't make mistakes!

Are you talking about the very end where the guitar repeats the same notes over and over?

The whole Lovesexy album.