GaryMF said:

smiler69 said:

If I remember on the old dtt-p lyric site, it says 'Bobby on the drum, ah!' so it was just an exclamation at the end...

Thanks. Isn't a little ironic since it's actually a Linn program? Or is Bobby playing pads triggering the Linn?

these are definately organic drums Bobby Z is playing

Definitely in my top 4 Prince songs.

The song was my salvation in the Summer of 86 because I just broke up with my first love.

Alexia de Paris is my ringtone.

muleFunk said:

Definitely in my top 4 Prince songs.

The song was my salvation in the Summer of 86 because I just broke up with my first love.

Alexa de Paris is my ringtone.

Poor Alexa is doomed to be mispelled.

You're a masochist: the masterpiece barely starts, you cut it.
Personnaly, while there's joy in repetition, I wouldn't deflower Alexa by visiting her too much.
With rare visits, I'm always surprised at how incredibly gorgeous she stays.

What a bizzare triumvirat of composers for this one: Prince, Clare and Sheila are equally responsible for the magic happening here.
But the real spice is of course SKipper himself, and his vision of the doomed couple, Romeo and Juliet, Christopher and Mary.
No one else would have make the whole thing derail like this.
They all would have played variations of the hook for four minutes,
and stay kinda composed, in self awe.

This is true romantism, you can tell Prince was truly in love when he laid this on tape.
Like in the "Kiss" extended version, by the end you hear syncopated plates smashing, drowned in waves of feverish passion.

And, in truth, this is Sheila smashing the splashes, the rides and the crashes,
maybe trying to steal Prince's attention from Susannah.

Clare receives this shit by the mail and ejaculates involuntarily on the spot and on the floor, rightly so:
Vengeance is his: with Prince's usual carte blanche, this will finally be a piece of rock'n'roll
where the symphonic orchestra will not be tamed by some tepid, inept bozo.
It will be a piece of rock'n'roll where the orchestra does not look or sound like a fool.

In pop music, 99 times outta hundred the orchestra plays a part that could have been played by a keyboard. It's very, very poorly arranged.
It just sounds grandiose because, well, an orchestra is made of musicians that worked their asses off for at least twenty years,
and it's all a rat race to see who is best, so imagine the high standards (pretty much Prince's).
It's these fucking strings. They do something to our brain.

But to Clare, violins are violins, cellos are cellos, french horns are french and horny, and here they all are, pushed to some pretty high limits.
Near the end you don't know if it's a catfight between the two or a monogamous orgy.

Like "Just my Imagination" from "Small Club", this is an intercourse between a man and a woman.
On the infamous 1988 guitar solo, Prince uses pitch and the fastest hand in the Midwest to simultaneously play the boy and the girl.
Guy groans, girl squeaks, yells, they both pant, the usual.

On "Alexa", I hear Prince playing the girl's part, and asking if this dreamy feeling of falling in love is really for real,
o Dear Journal, while Sheila plays the boy, who at some point decides that flowers are really nice, but it's really time to get down to business.
The girl resists. Eventually gives up. The usual.

Or maybe, as I said, they're just a couple in love having a fight before the reconciliation.
Whichever, Sheila is the one that provides the male foundation, and Prince lets his feminine side go wild.
Clare plays the voyeur and gives all this an astounding stage for the male/female characters to roam freely (fuck each other brains out).

I definitely go along with the "they're making it" option: In the last measure, it's clearly audible s(he)'s having a post-orgasmic shake,
repeating the same phrase twice, like she's catching her breath. As for (S)he(ila), extenuated guy ran out of steam.
Hell of a love ride.


Alexa de Paris ?
Très français, mon ami.

P.S. :
A speaker phone! You're a double drag fool in addition of being masochist.
Alexa will do nothing for you if she ain't got no bass.
Not to mention volume.

[Edited 9/17/17 9:38am]

bonatoc said:

muleFunk said:

Definitely in my top 4 Prince songs.

The song was my salvation in the Summer of 86 because I just broke up with my first love.

Alexa de Paris is my ringtone.

Poor Alexa is doomed to be mispelled.

You're a masochist: the masterpiece barely starts, you cut it.
Personnaly, while there's joy in repetition, I wouldn't deflower Alexa by visiting her too much.
With rare visits, I'm always surprised at how incredibly gorgeous she stays.

What a bizzare triumvirat of composers for this one: Prince, Clare and Sheila are equally responsible for the magic happening here.
But the real spice is of course SKipper himself, and his vision of the doomed couple, Romeo and Juliet, Christopher and Mary.
No one else would have make the whole thing derail like this.
They all would have played variations of the hook for four minutes,
and stay kinda composed, in self awe.

This is true romantism, you can tell Prince was truly in love when he laid this on tape.
Like in the "Kiss" extended version, by the end you hear syncopated plates smashing, drowned in waves of feverish passion.

And, in truth, this is Sheila smashing the splashes, the rides and the crashes,
maybe trying to steal Prince's attention from Susannah.

Clare receives this shit by the mail and ejaculates involuntarily on the spot and on the floor, rightly so:
Vengeance is his: with Prince's usual carte blanche, this will finally be a piece of rock'n'roll
where the symphonic orchestra will not be tamed by some tepid, inept bozo.
It will be a piece of rock'n'roll where the orchestra does not look or sound like a fool.

In pop music, 99 times outta hundred the orchestra plays a part that could have been played by a keyboard. It's very, very poorly arranged.
It just sounds grandiose because, well, an orchestra is made of musicians that worked their asses off for at least twenty years,
and it's all a rat race to see who is best, so imagine the high standards (pretty much Prince's).
It's these fucking strings. They do something to our brain.

But to Clare, violins are violins, cellos are cellos, french horns are french and horny, and here they all are, pushed to some pretty high limits.
Near the end you don't know if it's a catfight between the two or a monogamous orgy.

Like "Just my Imagination" from "Small Club", this is an intercourse between a man and a woman.
On the infamous 1988 guitar solo, Prince uses pitch and the fastest hand in the Midwest to simultaneously play the boy and the girl.
Guy groans, girl squeaks, yells, they both pant, the usual.

On "Alexa", I hear Prince playing the girl's part, and asking if this dreamy feeling of falling in love is really for real,
o Dear Journal, while Sheila plays the boy, who at some point decides that flowers are really nice, but it's really time to get down to business.
The girl resists. Eventually gives up. The usual.

Or maybe, as I said, they're just a couple in love having a fight before the reconciliation.
Whichever, Sheila is the one that provides the male foundation, and Prince lets his feminine side go wild.
Clare plays the voyeur and gives all this an astounding stage for the male/female characters to roam freely (fuck each other brains out).

I definitely go along with the "they're making it" option: In the last measure, it's clearly audible s(he)'s having a post-orgasmic shake,
repeating the same phrase twice, like she's catching her breath. As for (S)he(ila), extenuated guy ran out of steam.
Hell of a love ride.


Alexa de Paris ?
Très français, mon ami.

P.S. :
A speaker phone! You're a double drag fool in addition of being masochist.
Alexa will do nothing for you if she ain't got no bass.
Not to mention volume.

[Edited 9/17/17 9:38am]

Alexa De Paris is, of course, a gorgeous composition, but in the end I find myself even crazier about Venus De Milo. It's just so perfect and frail, playing on silences and making such a strong statement in such a short time. There's a certain bravado in Alexa that makes it somewhat epic, but I find Alexa much more subtle ans much stronger emotionally: it's over before you know it, but the aftertaste will last and last.

^ And that makes me wonder if a longer version of Venus De Milo, with or without strings, exists in the vault. I wouldn't be surprised. If so I'd love to hear it, but longer probably would break the charm in certain ways.

databank said:

^ And that makes me wonder if a longer version of Venus De Milo, with or without strings, exists in the vault. I wouldn't be surprised. If so I'd love to hear it, but longer probably would break the charm in certain ways.

I agree.

And I also agree, Venus de Milo is in a category of its own.
I have vivid memories of listening to Parade late at night in my Walkman when I was supposed to sleep,
and the sonic shock of abrupt silence that cuts "Life Can Be So Nice" (not quite: let's throw in an almost inaudible little delay for good measure)
and brings in the Venus still feels the same.

At the time, you thought Prince could have been under the influence of Clare Fischer, given the presence of orchestra all over Parade.
I'm still baffled by the facts: they never met each other, and "Venus" is apparently a 1982 composition.
Then this instrumental ends being the apex of Parade, the instant where Christopher is truly in love.
Then it's mountains, ups and downs: suspicions of lies,
sex gets more important than love, then there are rumours of another lover,
and all of this for what, I ask, if we all have to die in the end?
The ultimate Golden Age of Hollywood melodrama, the poor troubadour and his piano,
rebooted by a Mid-West neo-romantic Punk with european artistic aspirations.

An American in Paris indeed.

OldFriends4Sale said:

GaryMF said:

smiler69 said: Thanks. Isn't a little ironic since it's actually a Linn program? Or is Bobby playing pads triggering the Linn?

these are definately organic drums Bobby Z is playing

Part of the drum beat is definately programmed.

GaryMF said:

i'm not sure they did the melody. They did the groove for sure. .

.

.

also, he wrote the crazy chord changes before the ending vamp.

.

.

PS No one gonna answer about the "Bobby our drummer?" question above?

Yup. W&L confirmed that. Best part of the song imo.

paulludvig said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

these are definately organic drums Bobby Z is playing

Part of the drum beat is definately programmed.

Yeah I know that.

paulludvig said:

GaryMF said:

i'm not sure they did the melody. They did the groove for sure. .

.

.

also, he wrote the crazy chord changes before the ending vamp.

.

.

PS No one gonna answer about the "Bobby our drummer?" question above?

Yup. W&L confirmed that. Best part of the song imo.

wow, lol

the best part of the song?

This is an appreciation thread

bonatoc said:

bonatoc said:

stpaisios said:

bonatoc said:

To really appreciate Parade, you have to somewhat train your ears to very specific acoustics.
There is simply no other album that sounds like it, it's a bit Pet Sounds, a bit Sergeant Pepper, a bit Növo, a bit Free Jazz, a bit Vaudeville, some fusion, some stripped-to-the-bone Funk, some Opera-Bouffe, all drenched in symphonic glacis... and then, out of nowhere, one of the most haunting acoustic ballads ever put to record in the history of rock, probably in one single take.

This is an album to absorb in one, long flow.
Side A closing with Venus de Milo, and side B opening with Mountains, that was crucial.
The pause between the two vinyl sides, one was black, the other was white.

It's a demanding album: 40 minutes of your full attention, preferably in an absolute darkness, sitting on the peak of the stereo triangle.
You've got to let images coming to you from the shadows of your and Prince's mind.
Like Batman, it's up to your fantasy to create the movie the sounds evoke.
UTCM remains priceless, but the visions I got from the album, before the movie came out, were closer to get an Oscar in my mind, not a Razzie.

SOTT is even more difficult. First, you need a proper source, and second, the sound is so shaped to a unique vision, that you need a full week with it before you start hearing how many layers there truly are in each song. There's no screaming delay, no blatant reverb, everything sounds so dry at first. The "look Ma, I made a demo tape out of a million bucks studio" production approach, which took months to Prince and Susan Rogers to get just right. Bruce Swedien my ass.

We have a soft spot for Parade and Lovesexy because they're so focused.
Lyrics, music, gimmicks, clothes, haircuts, lighting, stage design, instruments, color palettes, arrangements, choreographies all going in one direction, without ever seeming forced, like propelled by outer powers. Sexual equality in society, in the bedroom, the hippie credo, the Uptown ethics, man, sometimes I think Prince was punkier than punk: in retrospect, they look heroic, but they also look like bums and losers. Prince stole the show, the cash register and the Mashed Potatoes girl, all in one slide on the knees across the stage. While looking impeccable from start to finish (well, there are some debatable panoplies 4 sure).

It's probable that in the most severe runs (some weeks of 1985 are just litteraly incredible, according to Princevault), Prince was the first surprised by the swiftness of his own talent, how much it poured upon him.
Hence the funny personas and avatars.
It must have helped him staying... humble (as much as Christopher or Joey Coco could ever be).

[Edited 9/16/17 13:48pm]

Well, this is some serious education on Parade era, ladies and gentleman. Wait ill i print-out this, and alexa de paris above. Did u ever have a thought to write a prince related book or something? [Edited 9/22/17 19:59pm]

He really should

Thank you guys.

But bear in mind, I'm already late giving back homework to OldFriends,
so a whole book of english grammatical loopholes, that's asking for the (cherry) moon.

I always thought he was cool and talented, I had heard the radio hits, Purple Rain from start to finish (on crude apple headphones from a mp3 source mind you)

But I became a Prince fan when my Dad played me Parade for the first time.

I heard it at the age of 13 and was transported psychologically somewhere else, and transmuted spiritually into another form entirely, what a perfect age for it all to have gone down.

I actually have memories of peaking the vinyl cover as a young child at tthe beginning, something about the his poise and that aloof yet penetrating stare resonated, yet it seemed distant, the stream of pure art within the inner sleeve made my hands tremble as I realized the union between the spirtual and material, a record from another time and place, yet right there in that moment within my hands.

The distance mentioned was the adult physicality that my childlike body was incapalbe of experineg yet, and the ever watchful gatekeeper, the Father denied me entry into the sonic acquisition from his days of yore. "Listen to this one instead" and he hands me Bad by Michael Jackson.

I instantly noticed the similarities in the sleeves, though Jackson's was decidely more rigid and defined by pop culture confectionary. This one I could handle, supposedly. I couldn't help but notice those brimming numbers too, 1986 for Prince, 1987 for MJ. I would have to put up with the imitation for awhile it seemed.

The first half of Parade is a left me daring to wonder if it could outdone, surely this was the point where the filler tracks would que up? You can't make something so perfect that ends with Venus De Milo and follow it with the same standard in quality.

This is what makes Mountains so transcendent, you suddenly are transported to the top of the cloud canopy, looking at the majestic peaks of the monoliths off in the distance. Prince and The Revolution (if ever there was a more apt name) straight up manifest you into the ether on this track, and make it funky at that.

Around the World in a Day (track) gets close but is rooted in the textures of the world, an invitation to some bohemian adventure that promises palatial vistas, or a barn with some confused horses. A good time, but there is some trepidation, no doubt, like when he takes us to church to sing about The Ladder.

Mountains eschews that when you look down, and see said ladder beneath you, realizing we already made it fam.

It's his best song, my favorite off the album and just timeless. The 10" white 45 is among my most personnel possesions, in all manners of the word.

OldFriends4Sale said:

stpaisios said:

bonatoc said: Well, this is some serious education on Parade era, ladies and gentleman. Wait ill i print-out this, and alexa de paris above. Did u ever have a thought to write a prince related book or something? [Edited 9/22/17 19:59pm]

He really should

Right? he is good with words.

controversy99 said:

The #1 most overrated song by the fan base. The general public has it right with this song ... it didn't climb high on the charts at the time and is basically forgotten now. Here's my appreciation of it: Mountains is a decent album track that shouldn't have been single. Songs on Parade that are better than Mountains are New Position, I Wonder U, Girls & Boys, Do U Lie, Venus de Milo, Life Could Be So Nice, Kiss, Anotherloverholeinyohead, and Sometimes It Snows in April. That's mostly a reflection of Parade being an amazing album. On a lesser album, Mountians could be among the top three songs. When the Peach & Black fan vote top 20 songs started with Mountains, I almost turned off the episode. There are 20 songs better than Mountains released within one year of it (1985-7). And P&B is my favorite Prince podcast.

LOL the thread is called Appreciation Thread: "Mountains"

OldFriends4Sale said:

controversy99 said:

The #1 most overrated song by the fan base. The general public has it right with this song ... it didn't climb high on the charts at the time and is basically forgotten now. Here's my appreciation of it: Mountains is a decent album track that shouldn't have been single. Songs on Parade that are better than Mountains are New Position, I Wonder U, Girls & Boys, Do U Lie, Venus de Milo, Life Could Be So Nice, Kiss, Anotherloverholeinyohead, and Sometimes It Snows in April. That's mostly a reflection of Parade being an amazing album. On a lesser album, Mountians could be among the top three songs. When the Peach & Black fan vote top 20 songs started with Mountains, I almost turned off the episode. There are 20 songs better than Mountains released within one year of it (1985-7). And P&B is my favorite Prince podcast.

LOL the thread is called Appreciation Thread: "Mountains"

I was just about to say they same thing!

I never understood why one feels the need to enter a thread posted about how someone loves a certain tune/artist/movie to state how much they dislike it. If it doesn't grab you for whatever reason why bother? The thread is filled with praise for Mountains (me included!), ok to state your opintion I guess, but no one is going to be like..."you're right! I never thought of it that way...this song is totally overrated!".

Poplife88 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

LOL the thread is called Appreciation Thread: "Mountains"

I was just about to say they same thing!

I never understood why one feels the need to enter a thread posted about how someone loves a certain tune/artist/movie to state how much they dislike it. If it doesn't grab you for whatever reason why bother? The thread is filled with praise for Mountains (me included!), ok to state your opintion I guess, but no one is going to be like..."you're right! I never thought of it that way...this song is totally overrated!".

Whenever fans appreciate a song there are people that say 'it's overrated' I never thought anyone was overrating it, but appreciating it for what it does for them

The extended version is amazing, the album version is nice.

bonatoc said:

johnnyribcage said:

After getting in the correct frame of mind tonight, I can tell you for a fact Mounains is just a fucking AWESOME track. Also, Prince Dabbled.

To really appreciate Parade, you have to somewhat train your ears to very specific acoustics.
There is simply no other album that sounds like it, it's a bit Pet Sounds, a bit Sergeant Pepper, a bit Növo, a bit Free Jazz, a bit Vaudeville, some fusion, some stripped-to-the-bone Funk, some Opera-Bouffe, all drenched in symphonic glacis... and then, out of nowhere, one of the most haunting acoustic ballads ever put to record in the history of rock, probably in one single take.

This is an album to absorb in one, long flow.
Side A closing with Venus de Milo, and side B opening with Mountains, that was crucial.
The pause between the two vinyl sides, one was black, the other was white.

It's a demanding album: 40 minutes of your full attention, preferably in an absolute darkness, sitting on the peak of the stereo triangle.
You've got to let images coming to you from the shadows of your and Prince's mind.
Like Batman, it's up to your fantasy to create the movie the sounds evoke.
UTCM remains priceless, but the visions I got from the album, before the movie came out, were closer to get an Oscar in my mind, not a Razzie.

SOTT is even more difficult. First, you need a proper source, and second, the sound is so shaped to a unique vision, that you need a full week with it before you start hearing how many layers there truly are in each song. There's no screaming delay, no blatant reverb, everything sounds so dry at first. The "look Ma, I made a demo tape out of a million bucks studio" production approach, which took months to Prince and Susan Rogers to get just right. Bruce Swedien my ass.

We have a soft spot for Parade and Lovesexy because they're so focused.
Lyrics, music, gimmicks, clothes, haircuts, lighting, stage design, instruments, color palettes, arrangements, choreographies all going in one direction, without ever seeming forced, like propelled by outer powers. Sexual equality in society, in the bedroom, the hippie credo, the Uptown ethics, man, sometimes I think Prince was punkier than punk: in retrospect, they look heroic, but they also look like bums and losers. Prince stole the show, the cash register and the Mashed Potatoes girl, all in one slide on the knees across the stage. While looking impeccable from start to finish (well, there are some debatable panoplies 4 sure).

It's probable that in the most severe runs (some weeks of 1985 are just litteraly incredible, according to Princevault), Prince was the first surprised by the swiftness of his own talent, how much it poured upon him.
Hence the funny personas and avatars.
It must have helped him staying... humble (as much as Christopher or Joey Coco could ever be).

20 years ago (or so), I discovered that the length of the Parade album was perfect for driving from the town I work in to another small town on the banks of the Wisconsin River. The drive is along a winding 2-lane road that sweeps down from the Military Ridge (going north) and climbs back up (going south) through the Driftless region. Along the way, you pass Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin estate. It's an absolutely beautiful drive - one that is perfectly suited to what I believe to be Prince's "happiest" album.

Every spring since then, on the first dazzlingly sunny, perfectly azure, 70-degree day of spring, I've made that drive. I open the sunroof and listen to side A on the way down, stop at Culver's for a cheddar butterburger and a Diet Pepsi, then listen to side B going back. It's my "spring ritual."

Last spring, I wasn't sure I would be able to do it so soon after Prince died. But I shook myself and said, "C'mon, now. This has given you joy for 20 years. It should be no different this time." And it was as wonderful as always.

Poplife88 said:

Genesia said:

bonatoc said:

To really appreciate Parade, you have to somewhat train your ears to very specific acoustics.
There is simply no other album that sounds like it, it's a bit Pet Sounds, a bit Sergeant Pepper, a bit Növo, a bit Free Jazz, a bit Vaudeville, some fusion, some stripped-to-the-bone Funk, some Opera-Bouffe, all drenched in symphonic glacis... and then, out of nowhere, one of the most haunting acoustic ballads ever put to record in the history of rock, probably in one single take.

This is an album to absorb in one, long flow.
Side A closing with Venus de Milo, and side B opening with Mountains, that was crucial.
The pause between the two vinyl sides, one was black, the other was white.

It's a demanding album: 40 minutes of your full attention, preferably in an absolute darkness, sitting on the peak of the stereo triangle.
You've got to let images coming to you from the shadows of your and Prince's mind.
Like Batman, it's up to your fantasy to create the movie the sounds evoke.
UTCM remains priceless, but the visions I got from the album, before the movie came out, were closer to get an Oscar in my mind, not a Razzie.

SOTT is even more difficult. First, you need a proper source, and second, the sound is so shaped to a unique vision, that you need a full week with it before you start hearing how many layers there truly are in each song. There's no screaming delay, no blatant reverb, everything sounds so dry at first. The "look Ma, I made a demo tape out of a million bucks studio" production approach, which took months to Prince and Susan Rogers to get just right. Bruce Swedien my ass.

We have a soft spot for Parade and Lovesexy because they're so focused.
Lyrics, music, gimmicks, clothes, haircuts, lighting, stage design, instruments, color palettes, arrangements, choreographies all going in one direction, without ever seeming forced, like propelled by outer powers. Sexual equality in society, in the bedroom, the hippie credo, the Uptown ethics, man, sometimes I think Prince was punkier than punk: in retrospect, they look heroic, but they also look like bums and losers. Prince stole the show, the cash register and the Mashed Potatoes girl, all in one slide on the knees across the stage. While looking impeccable from start to finish (well, there are some debatable panoplies 4 sure).

It's probable that in the most severe runs (some weeks of 1985 are just litteraly incredible, according to Princevault), Prince was the first surprised by the swiftness of his own talent, how much it poured upon him.
Hence the funny personas and avatars.
It must have helped him staying... humble (as much as Christopher or Joey Coco could ever be).

20 years ago (or so), I discovered that the length of the Parade album was perfect for driving from the town I work in to another small town on the banks of the Wisconsin River. The drive is along a winding 2-lane road that sweeps down from the Military Ridge (going north) and climbs back up (going south) through the Driftless region. Along the way, you pass Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin estate. It's an absolutely beautiful drive - one that is perfectly suited to what I believe to be Prince's "happiest" album.

Every spring since then, on the first dazzlingly sunny, perfectly azure, 70-degree day of spring, I've made that drive. I open the sunroof and listen to side A on the way down, stop at Culver's for a cheddar butterburger and a Diet Pepsi, then listen to side B going back. It's my "spring ritual."

Last spring, I wasn't sure I would be able to do it so soon after Prince died. But I shook myself and said, "C'mon, now. This has given you joy for 20 years. It should be no different this time." And it was as wonderful as always.

Great.