Lovejunky said:

violetcrush said:

Nahhh, most of that album has nothing to do with his relationship with Mayte....

Thats funny

Prince himself said the second disc is dedicated entirely to her..

and of the Rest ?

"I recorded in freedom, so you hear the sound of freedom on the record.

Happiness from track to track."

Prince said many things to many reporters, especially at that time. During the time that he was promoting The Truth/Crystal Ball he was also moving Mayte to Spain, and beginning a relationship with Manuela T. So, you know....it's the "taking words with a grain of salt" situation.

*

So, on Disc II, how are the following tracks connected to Mayte:

*

Sex In The Summer (lyrics referencing hanging on the beach and jamming with his band)

Soul Sanctuary (lyrics referencing seeing reflections of an ex in the mirror and her memory is his soul sanctuary)

Emale (lyrics referencing connecting with a woman online and sleeping with her while wanting revenge on her current boyfriend)

Joint 2 Joint (lyrics referencing a chick/groupie who wants to sleep with him)

Dreamin' About U (lyrics referencing him alone in his room thinking about someone - does not specify a particular person)

*

The songs specifically connected to their relationship/baby are:

*

The Holy River

Let's Have A Baby

Saviour

The Plan

Friend,Lover,Sister,Mother/Wife

*

All of these tracks were written/recorded early 1996

ChocolateBox3121 said:

violetcrush said:

Oh....and Forever In My Life is another huge one that needs to be on that list....

"Forever In My Life" IS NOT a ballad..

It is absolutely a love song. No, it's not a ballad in the "traditional" sense, but it qualifies based on the lyrical content.

RJOrion said:

Count The Days is indeed a ballad...doesnt hane to be a love/sex song to classify as a ballad... and that song isnt just about WB... i dont agree with the "by the numbers" comment...theres no song on earth like Condition Of The Heart...by anyone...if anything, the batch of cover songs on Emancipation would be songs by the numbers...shit, theyve already been done already by someone else...someone elses numbers, at that

My definition of the ballad is a lyrical statement or profession of love/feelings for a particular person.

Some of the lyrics to Count The Days:

*

Count the days
Here's the church, here's the steeple
Here's a muthafucka that I gotta blow away
Here's my chance 2 cure the ills of the people
But not until I make this muthafucka pay
And oh, baby I count the days
*

Great day in the morning
The choir sing a pretty song
Every day I'm with yo ass
is another day wasted,

I swear its a day 2 long

*

Counting
Like Frankie Beverly without Maze
I'm counting
Muthafucka, I count the days

*

Definitely a message to WB....

*

Agree with you about the ballads on Emancipation though. Not nearly as inspired and as high in quality as most of his others on prior albums.

[Edited 8/15/18 7:16am]

violetcrush said:

ChocolateBox3121 said:

Prince celebrating the DOUBLE PLATINUM success of the MaStErPiEce he was born to make the Triple disk 1996 "Emancipation".....

Huge accomplishment for him, but I also wish WB would have approved the '86 triple disc Crystal Ball album. Always wonder what would have happened then....

Things happen the way they suppose to happen in the universe.

violetcrush said:

ChocolateBox3121 said:

It is absolutely a love song. No, it's not a ballad in the "traditional" sense, but it qualifies based on the lyrical content.

But the topic is ballads. Which it's obviously not. Love song or not. It's a mid-tempo composition that stands on it's own to prove he was ready to settle down.

SoftSkarlettLovisa said:

mtlfan said:

Sign o' The Times has "Dorothy Parker," "Slow Love," "Forever in My Life," "If I Was Ur Girlfriend" and "Adore" (maybe also "Strange Relationship" and "The Cross," depending on how we're defining ballad)...

The purpose of ballads is evoke sensuality and romance. "The Cross" is more a religious/ social commentary than a romantic one.

Actually, mtlfan is correct. The definition of a ballad is "a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas." Romance or tempo are not part of the definition, at all. The key element is that a story is being told.

By this definition, Little Red Corvette is a ballad. The Ballad of Dorothy Parker (surprise!) is a ballad. Hell, When You Were Mine is a ballad.

Random slow songs are not necessarily ballads.

Also...as others have pointed out, all three of the alleged ballads that you site in your original post are covers. So they aren't Prince's, to begin with - and they may or may not actually be ballads.

Put another way: No.

Genesia said:

SoftSkarlettLovisa said:

The purpose of ballads is evoke sensuality and romance. "The Cross" is more a religious/ social commentary than a romantic one.

Actually, mtlfan is correct. The definition of a ballad is "a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas." Romance or tempo are not part of the definition, at all. The key element is that a story is being told.

By this definition, Little Red Corvette is a ballad. The Ballad of Dorothy Parker (surprise!) is a ballad. Hell, When You Were Mine is a ballad.

Random slow songs are not necessarily ballads.

Also...as others have pointed out, all three of the alleged ballads that you site in your original post are covers. So they aren't Prince's, to begin with - and they may or may not actually be ballads.

Put another way: No.

Good point Genesia. Maybe the distinction should be a "love song" vs. a "ballad"??

OldFriends4Sale said:

jaawwnn said:

There are no bad songs on Crystal Ball '86/87 and they all deserved to come out at the time but damn SOTT is a better listen. I know it might be because i'm more used to the flow of SOTT but I just don't think the Crystal Ball album works very well.

[Edited 8/15/18 6:57am]

The June 3rd 1987 configuraton of Dream Factory + the Camille set are perfect flows

for real with Camille. I never realized how wall to wall funky that record is. Probably because I've never heard all these songs compiled together.

TrivialPursuit said:

Wlcm2thdwn3 said:

No.

Boop. The truth.

"Betcha" was a cover, so that's not even really his to begin with. The best ballads in 3 hours of love, sex, and liberty are "Soul Sanctuary" (again, not totally his as he took it from Sandra St. Victor), "The Love We Make" (although not a full-on romantic song), "Saviour" (often overlooked, I think), "One Kiss At A Time" (the one that really throws back to stuff like "do me, baby" or

Stuff like "Let's Have A Baby" or "Curious Child" are cute, but they're hardcore fanbase appreciation, not part of the overall canon of the best Prince ballads. Because if you're really throwing ballads together, you have to put things like or "Let's Have A Baby" up against "International Lover", "Adore", "The Beautiful Ones", "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "When 2 R In Love", "Scandalous", "Insatiable", and "damn U" to name a few. That doesn't even mention later released tracks like "dark", "Shhh", "Wasted Kisses", "Extraordinary", Some of the ballads on Emancipation cannot hold their own against those superior tracks.

So no, his best was not on Emancipation. BUT the album certainly offers a small handful of ballads that deserve a place on the canon of great Prince slow jams.

And that's the TEA periodt!

herb4 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

The June 3rd 1987 configuraton of Dream Factory + the Camille set are perfect flows

for real with Camille. I never realized how wall to wall funky that record is. Probably because I've never heard all these songs compiled together.

So prolific he was.....

Lovejunky said:

herb4 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

The June 3rd 1987 configuraton of Dream Factory + the Camille set are perfect flows

for real with Camille. I never realized how wall to wall funky that record is. Probably because I've never heard all these songs compiled together.

Magnificent!!!! ALL OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OldFriends4Sale said:

jaawwnn said:

There are no bad songs on Crystal Ball '86/87 and they all deserved to come out at the time but damn SOTT is a better listen. I know it might be because i'm more used to the flow of SOTT but I just don't think the Crystal Ball album works very well.

[Edited 8/15/18 6:57am]

The June 3rd 1987 configuraton of Dream Factory + the Camille set are perfect flows

Yeah! That'd be a twin release i'd be down with. Both versions of Strange Relationship released would be a super cool way of linking them as well.

A year or two ago I remember saying on here I found Camille a bit fatiguing to listen to but I think i'm over that and i'm now back on board the Camille train.

[Edited 8/16/18 3:44am]

jaawwnn said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

The June 3rd 1987 configuraton of Dream Factory + the Camille set are perfect flows

Yeah! That'd be a twin release i'd be down with. Both versions of Strange Relationship released would be a super cool way of linking them as well.

A year or two ago I remember saying on here I found Camille a bit fatiguing to listen to but I think i'm over that and i'm now back on board the Camille train.

[Edited 8/16/18 3:44am]

Man, I went into some fantasizing of what 1987 Dream Factory/Camille could have been like...

the middle single release being Strange Relationships. side 1 Prince & the Revolution(Dream Factory) side 2 Camille ... and the idea of a possible extended version

other great Prince ballads not on Emancipation:

""Girl" - The Time

"Baby" - (For You lp)

"Way Back Home"

RJOrion said:

other great Prince ballads not on Emancipation:

""Girl" - The Time

"Baby" - (For You lp)

"Way Back Home"

That's Prince's(R.I.P.) goodbye song.

Harps said:

Krystalkisses said:

Harps said:

Surprised that no one has mentioned Breakdown yet? I could live without the Star Wars sound effects but for me this song is absolutely stunning and his last great masterpiece.

This song is one of my favorites.

Especially the 2013 Montreux performance of the song. He was very emotional

violetcrush said:

violetcrush said:

Emancipation is one of the highlights of his career. The ballads are great.

violetcrush said:

Genesia said:

Actually, mtlfan is correct. The definition of a ballad is "a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas." Romance or tempo are not part of the definition, at all. The key element is that a story is being told.

By this definition, Little Red Corvette is a ballad. The Ballad of Dorothy Parker (surprise!) is a ballad. Hell, When You Were Mine is a ballad.

Random slow songs are not necessarily ballads.

Also...as others have pointed out, all three of the alleged ballads that you site in your original post are covers. So they aren't Prince's, to begin with - and they may or may not actually be ballads.

Put another way: No.

Good point Genesia. Maybe the distinction should be a "love song" vs. a "ballad"??

This is a silly argument, really. The meaning of the word has changed over time and most everyone is familiar with what the word has become to mean in the modern times. Just because a word had a certain meaning in the past, doesn't mean that the contemporary use of the word is incorrect.

Even the Oxford dictionary recognizes "a slow sentimental or romantic song" definition along with the older one:

https://en.oxforddictiona...ion/ballad

Likewise, in the context of contemporary music the meaning of a "chorus" is entirely different from the ancient times. Originally it referred to a group of singers or dancers commenting to a play. It had nothing to do with the catchy, repeated part of a pop song.

Sorry, just had to crawl out of my cave to comment on this

206Michelle said:

violetcrush said:

Prince said many things to many reporters, especially at that time. During the time that he was promoting The Truth/Crystal Ball he was also moving Mayte to Spain, and beginning a relationship with Manuela T. So, you know....it's the "taking words with a grain of salt" situation.

*

So, on Disc II, how are the following tracks connected to Mayte:

*

Sex In The Summer (lyrics referencing hanging on the beach and jamming with his band)

Soul Sanctuary (lyrics referencing seeing reflections of an ex in the mirror and her memory is his soul sanctuary)

Emale (lyrics referencing connecting with a woman online and sleeping with her while wanting revenge on her current boyfriend)

Joint 2 Joint (lyrics referencing a chick/groupie who wants to sleep with him)

Dreamin' About U (lyrics referencing him alone in his room thinking about someone - does not specify a particular person)

*

The songs specifically connected to their relationship/baby are:

*

The Holy River

Let's Have A Baby

Saviour

The Plan

Friend,Lover,Sister,Mother/Wife

*

All of these tracks were written/recorded early 1996

Sex in the Summer has the heartbeat of their son, Amiir, on it. SITS was initially titled Conception. [Edited 8/18/18 9:53am]

Yes, I know that he put the heartbeat on the SITS track, however, the lyrics do not relate to conceiving the baby or their relationship. The song "Let's Have A Baby" plays that part. The baby was born in mid October, therefore, conception would have been early to mid January, which is said to be the time frame that he wrote LHAB....

novabrkr said:

violetcrush said:

Good point Genesia. Maybe the distinction should be a "love song" vs. a "ballad"??

This is a silly argument, really. The meaning of the word has changed over time and most everyone is familiar with what the word has become to mean in the modern times. Just because a word had a certain meaning in the past, doesn't mean that the contemporary use of the word is incorrect.

Even the Oxford dictionary recognizes "a slow sentimental or romantic song" definition along with the older one:

https://en.oxforddictiona...ion/ballad

Likewise, in the context of contemporary music the meaning of a "chorus" is entirely different from the ancient times. Originally it referred to a group of singers or dancers commenting to a play. It had nothing to do with the catchy, repeated part of a pop song.

Sorry, just had to crawl out of my cave to comment on this

Yes, the "ballad" vs. "love song" definition is a bit technical. I usually consider them to be synonymous..

"Soul Sanctuary" is one of his all time best songs, I think.