SquirrelMeat said:

214 said:

Well, we may agree in that.

In 2003 I said to Prince, you need to play Gold again, its better than Purple Rain, he said, 'Well, you know that and I know that, but people have got songs they wanna hear and I love playing them".

Prince didn't know either.

I've often wondered why he revived it for those 5 or 6 shows in 2011 and 2012.

It's cheesy as hell but, man, when he opened with it in Malahide it was the best thing ever. Tears guys, tears.

[Edited 9/26/16 20:06pm]

214 said:

Iamtheorg said:

Have you seen the posts lately? I can believe it.

What fo u mean

That there are so may nonsense threads that yes I can believe that Gold is being considerd better than Purple Rain.

Plus there was the film Se7en and David Bowie rediscovering his mojo with Nine Inch Nails. What was the largest sensation of 1995? Manic Street Preachers?

It might have been a big hit if was released by Hootie & The Blowfish instead. Maybe even with Garth Brooks who was really popular at the time in the US. But Hootie and Garth wouldn't have gotten any R&B airplay though. This is the Top 30 albums for December 23, 1995, then the Top 20 singles on the Hot 100 and R&B charts, which gives an idea of what was hot then.

Hot 100

R&B

jaawwnn said:

MickyDolenz said:

It might have been a big hit if was released by Hootie & The Blowfish instead. Maybe even with Garth Brooks who was really popular at the time in the US. But Hootie and Garth wouldn't have gotten any R&B airplay though. This is the Top 30 albums for December 23, 1995, then the Top 20 singles on the Hot 100 and R&B charts, which gives an idea of what was hot then.

Hot 100

R&B

Chiswick!!!!

214 said:

controversy99 said:

214 said: What?! That's absurd. Dolphin is lyrically strong.

It's stupid, comeback as a dolphin, what the hell is that?

It's stupid, just like "even doves have pride" or "I'm not human, I'm a dove".

ForbiddenFruit said:

214 said:

It's stupid, comeback as a dolphin, what the hell is that?

It's stupid, just like "even doves have pride" or "I'm not human, I'm a dove".

Other things Prince did in 1995 - release the "Get Wild" fragrance, if only to point out how much of mid-nineties pop was essentially fashion accessory.

ForbiddenFruit said:

214 said:

It's stupid, comeback as a dolphin, what the hell is that?

It's stupid, just like "even doves have pride" or "I'm not human, I'm a dove".

Well then we probably have to take it back to the first manifestation of a pill press with a metal dove on the hammer

I really like both gold and dolphin a lot, and wish both of them could have been hit singles. I always thought that Prince was using a Dolphin as a metaphor and an example of a beautiful yet untameable free spirit, just like him. Not some belief in reincarnation. Given how he felt enslaved, he was trying to make the point that this was equivical to cutting off a fin of a dolphin. Moreover, like the dolphin still would be a dolphin no matter what someone did to change it, Prince would remain Prince no matter what the record company said. Their spirit is unbreakable!! For me, it was a much better way to make his point than all the free the slave chants in his concerts. Plus, it unites two of my favorite creatures, dolphins and Prince. What's not love here ?

[Edited 9/27/16 5:12am]

[Edited 9/27/16 7:04am]

dandan said:

The lyrics are childlike and contrived. It's pure cheese, in the worst way. People compare it to Purple Rain but I just don't see it AT ALL! It just doesnt compare. Purple Rain had the movie; that iconic image of him from that time that is as embedded in popular culture as the song itself. I doubt people even knew what P looked like at the time of Gold. The name change didn't help. Purple Rain was exciting. Gold wasn't. The lyrics in Purple Rain are just that perfect blend of ambiguity, empathetic and relatable. What's Purple Rain? It doesn't matter because everyone sings it like they know exactly what it means. The fact it's a live recording from the first night they'd played the song as a band just adds that whole new level of depth, emotion and a certain mythos to it all.

Gold... not so much

.

THIS is the post I was looking for. Couldn't have expressed it any better. To each their own, but I find it staggering that anyone - Prince fan or not - would place cornball "Gold" over "Purple Rain." It seemed then (and now) like such a bald-faced attempt at writing a similar anthem. It could've have missed the mark by any wider margin.

.

Not that corny, cringe-worthy singles haven't been hits. Maybe "Gold" would've impacted the charts more had it come out ten (or even five) years earlier. Even then it would rank among his least-deserving hits. But "I Hate U" notwithstanding (which was the end of the run, in the US at least), it was completely over for Prince as a singles artist by this point.

.

ForbiddenFruit said:

214 said:

It's stupid, comeback as a dolphin, what the hell is that?

It's stupid, just like "even doves have pride" or "I'm not human, I'm a dove".

No, it's not.

ThePanther said:

I was surprised to note the failure of 'Gold' on both the US mainstream and R&B charts! It reached a dismal #88 on the US charts, and fared even worse on the R&B chart.

. Why?

Umm...it was a very trite sounding song (and not a very good one at that)

blacksignparade said:

. The reason the single flopped was because it wasn't a very good song at all. Or a good album either. I was very disappointed. Didn't really like the song purple rain either. The guitar work is always great but getting to that point, well, not so good. Not bad but not the greatest. Much like guns and roses song November rain. Guitars at the end were great but the song itself to get to them was abominable. And no I'm not saying purple rain is bad, it just doesn't come into my top 100 prince songs. .

It's a great song. It's instantly catchy, it bounces along at a nice tempo, then there is the awesome guitar/synth at the end.

The album itself is one of the most cohesive pieces of work he ever produced, not to mention the album also doubling as a message to the entire music industry that when computers became ubiquitous their industry was over. Granted we use the term "playlist" rather than "experience" but other than that the guy was right.

TGE 1994 (released 95)

iTunes 2001.

I thought it was elevator music style schmaltz. It was too 'non' to be anything other than background music - at least thats what I thought of that particular song...

Its not bad - its just zzzzzz

^ Yeah... I mean if you'd said that about "Venus De Milo" I'd conceed that you had a point.

I find that Gold isn't a bad song - but he should have REALLY chosen either a different synth tone or recorded the sythn part with an orchestra. I can't believe he thought that was a good idea.

.

Obviously it's pandering to Purple Rain styles - and the fact that he thought it'd make a good single shows how far off the mark he had gotten.

.

I LOVE that era - don't get me wrong - but he was trying too hard to be part of the creative zenith at that point. If he hadn't cared I feel he would have continued being the artist he was in the 80s to more of his fans. I still love all his work - TGE included - but man I wish he had just given us all the finger and not just WB cause I bet his career would have looked way different today.

My pre-teen kids absolutely LOVE that song - I'm positive it would have been a big hit with some record company push

26ten said:

I find that Gold isn't a bad song - but he should have REALLY chosen either a different synth tone or recorded the sythn part with an orchestra. I can't believe he thought that was a good idea.

.

Obviously it's pandering to Purple Rain styles - and the fact that he thought it'd make a good single shows how far off the mark he had gotten.

.

I LOVE that era - don't get me wrong - but he was trying too hard to be part of the creative zenith at that point. If he hadn't cared I feel he would have continued being the artist he was in the 80s to more of his fans. I still love all his work - TGE included - but man I wish he had just given us all the finger and not just WB cause I bet his career would have looked way different today.

Other than being big album closers PR and G have nothing in common. It's not even like he was tryng to ape the PR production. They're nothing alike.

If G had been the follow-up single to TMBGITW - I think it would have been received much better.

The entire album is a masterpiece in pop. The songs are great, the music is great. The concept was futuristic at the time and in retrospect damn near prophetic.

AlgeriaTouchshreek said:

Chiswick!!!!

to me,there is nothing wrong with the song itself.The war with Warners is to blame.Under different circumstances,"Gold" would have been a Top 10 pop smash and the album would have been his biggest seller of the 90s.

Noodled24 said:

26ten said:

I find that Gold isn't a bad song - but he should have REALLY chosen either a different synth tone or recorded the sythn part with an orchestra. I can't believe he thought that was a good idea.

.

Obviously it's pandering to Purple Rain styles - and the fact that he thought it'd make a good single shows how far off the mark he had gotten.

.

I LOVE that era - don't get me wrong - but he was trying too hard to be part of the creative zenith at that point. If he hadn't cared I feel he would have continued being the artist he was in the 80s to more of his fans. I still love all his work - TGE included - but man I wish he had just given us all the finger and not just WB cause I bet his career would have looked way different today.

Other than being big album closers PR and G have nothing in common. It's not even like he was tryng to ape the PR production. They're nothing alike.

If G had been the follow-up single to TMBGITW - I think it would have been received much better.

The entire album is a masterpiece in pop. The songs are great, the music is great. The concept was futuristic at the time and in retrospect damn near prophetic.

I have to disagree on this. Again - me noticing this or feeling it doesn't mean that I don't like the album or song, which I hope I've made clear.

.

They both end in big build up to a guitar solo which then turns into a wordless vocal refrain. They both have the name of a color in the titles and also within the chorus the color is mentioned several times.

.

Yes, they're both the closers and yes they're roughly about the same length, were both released as singles. I'm pretty sure I saw or read an interview where Prince referred to Gold as the Purple Rain of the 90's as well. This is a clear attempt to make a song in a similar vein as PR. I'm not talking about the way the song *sounds* there is a clear difference - but the man took the things that made PR so iconic and did the same thing all over again almost 10 years later - and it sounds like 10 years difference too. PR is very 80s (and awesome) and Gold is very very 90's (and awesome).

.

imo I guess- I'll drop it I promise

gandorb said:

I always thought that Prince was using a Dolphin as a metaphor

.

Wow, just imagine how disappointed the marine-biologist Prince fans out there are gonna be...

I get that mine was an overly obvious statement, but I was reacting to those who had implied that the song really was about reincarnation

ThePanther said:

gandorb said:

I always thought that Prince was using a Dolphin as a metaphor

.

Wow, just imagine how disappointed the marine-biologist Prince fans out there are gonna be...

26ten said:

Noodled24 said:

Other than being big album closers PR and G have nothing in common. It's not even like he was tryng to ape the PR production. They're nothing alike.

If G had been the follow-up single to TMBGITW - I think it would have been received much better.

The entire album is a masterpiece in pop. The songs are great, the music is great. The concept was futuristic at the time and in retrospect damn near prophetic.

I have to disagree on this. Again - me noticing this or feeling it doesn't mean that I don't like the album or song, which I hope I've made clear.

.

They both end in big build up to a guitar solo which then turns into a wordless vocal refrain. They both have the name of a color in the titles and also within the chorus the color is mentioned several times.

.

Yes, they're both the closers and yes they're roughly about the same length, were both released as singles. I'm pretty sure I saw or read an interview where Prince referred to Gold as the Purple Rain of the 90's as well. This is a clear attempt to make a song in a similar vein as PR. I'm not talking about the way the song *sounds* there is a clear difference - but the man took the things that made PR so iconic and did the same thing all over again almost 10 years later - and it sounds like 10 years difference too. PR is very 80s (and awesome) and Gold is very very 90's (and awesome).

.

imo I guess- I'll drop it I promise

But that's like saying every ballad since "Do me baby" is a clear attempt to write a song like "Do me baby" initmate, falsetto, scream...

Lyrically, musically, the tempo, even the guitar solo (Which on Gold is like a duel with the synths). Even the underlying emotion of the songs... PR is ooking for salvation. Gold has an anger bubbling under it.

214 said:

I am not sure I am buying into the reasons listed for it lack of success.
For me, I just never really liked it. Way too cheesy and contrived for my tastes.