Unfortunatelly because "Dity Mind" didn't have a "Little Red Corvette", "When doves cry" or "U got the look" hit single associated with it. The general public doesn't know the album as well as they know the others.

I suppose it's a turning point album rather than a pop blockbuster. Some people (FOOLS) have trouble with it's relatively lo-fi production, critics got it right on this one from day 1 though.

I always wonder if When You Were Mine would have been a hit if it had been a single in 1980 or would the production have scared too many people away.

Dirty Mind is Prince's Rubber Soul

To me DM is one of Prince's finest albums, the critics have always loved it as well. I guess the lack of a hit single is why DM is not held in the same esteem by the general public.

I think because the record is basically two classics that people didn't even always associate with Prince, and then a side of the record that writers only talked about in terms of image.

Head, Sister, Partyup, and Uptown are not his best songs, or particularly groundbreaking (You could make an argument for Head though), got written up for the provocative live shows, and the g strings. They didn't have the musical edge of being inventive. The songs are classics once you know what came after.

[Edited 1/12/21 12:22pm]

emesem said:

Dirty Mind is Prince's Rubber Soul

My brain has been trying to formulate a response, or even just my own feelings on this, but it keeps shutting down and rebooting I mean, I'm not saying I agree or disagree, my brain just cannot process the comparison. My eyes feel funny. I think I smell burnt toast. Awwwwww I'm in my 20's Awwwwwww.

lavendardrummachine said:

I think because the record is basically two classics that people didn't even always associate with Prince, and then a side of the record that writers only talked about in terms of image.

Head, Sister, Partyup, and Uptown are not his best songs, or particularly groundbreaking (You could make an argument for Head though), got written up for the provocative live shows, and the g strings. They didn't have the musical edge of being inventive. The songs are classics once you know what came after.

[Edited 1/12/21 12:22pm]

Exactly.

In hindsight, I´d say that they (Prince and WB) probably underrated the potential of When You Were Mine, which is, in my opinion, a very catchy and well-written pop song that many listeners beyond his usual fanbase could have related to.

djdaffy1227 said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

Anyone with more than a passing knowledge about Prince place it near the top. When You Were Mine is absolutely one of his most classic songs. All the critics loved him
As far as non-fans/general public who gives a shit?
[Edited 1/12/21 15:01pm]

Because it was released after the disco backlash. Even though there's no disco on it, pop radio stopped playing damn near all black artists except some of the hugely well known established ones. They started out playing "I Wanna Be Your Lover", then the backlash hit. They never played the second single, "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad" which was even more appropriate for pop radio because it was rock but R&B radio played it and they also played the hell out of "Dirty Mind", "Controversy", and many tracks from the "1999" album as soon as it was released long before pop radio finally picked up the second single, "Little Red Corvette". Prince was a big star on R&B radio long before the pop world knew him. He was big enough to already have two side groups under his belt and have Rick James' feathers ruffled and badmouthing him because he knew he was a threat.

KoolEaze said:

In hindsight, I´d say that they (Prince and WB) probably underrated the potential of When You Were Mine, which is, in my opinion, a very catchy and well-written pop song that many listeners beyond his usual fanbase could have related to.

R&B radio was playing "Uptown", "Dirty Mind", "Head", and "Partyup". Radio didn't wait for singles back then. A lead single went out and they played it but once an album hit, they started playing several tracks as soon as they got it. I've often wondered if many artists waited to see what the popularity of the tracks on radio was to determine their follow-up singles. "When You Were Mine" would have been perfect for pop radio at the time but their dumbasses wasn't playing any black artists afer the disco backlash began unless they were huge like Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, or The Pointer Sisters. "When You Were Mine" was even released as the B-Side to the "Controversy" single before that album came out and B-Sides in general for most artists were considered throw away tracks (this was before Prince started doing non-album B-Sides). Actually, a lot of pop fans think it's Cyndi Lauper's song so yeah, it would have been a perfect track for pop radio if they hadn't been so stupid.

jn2 said:

djdaffy1227 said:

Unfortunatelly because "Dity Mind" didn't have a "Little Red Corvette", "When doves cry" or "U got the look" hit single associated with it. The general public doesn't know the album as well as they know the others.

DM has the masterpiece When You Were Mine and the classic Uptown. [Edited 1/12/21 14:41pm]

I don't deny that but how many non-hardcore fans know either of those songs? Not nearly as many who know "Little Red Corvette", "When doves cry" and "U got the look".

TwiliteKid said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

Anyone with more than a passing knowledge about Prince place it near the top. When You Were Mine is absolutely one of his most classic songs. All the critics loved him As far as non-fans/general public who gives a shit? [Edited 1/12/21 15:01pm]

Nah. I’ve been hardcore for 30+ years. It’s not in my top 10.

I'm the same. It's nowhere near my top 10.

vainandy said:

"When u Were Mine" was a sleeper for me as well until I watched the 2009 Montreux version on YT. He rocked that song with such confidence that I sometimes return to it. Even Renato played a

vrtuoso solo; Prince 'hi-fived' him with a guitar response. Very cool.

KoolEaze said:

In hindsight, I´d say that they (Prince and WB) probably underrated the potential of When You Were Mine, which is, in my opinion, a very catchy and well-written pop song that many listeners beyond his usual fanbase could have related to.

When You Were Mine is my favorite Prince song ever. It is just a slice of perfection.

The live version from Sam's Club in 1982.

[Edited 1/13/21 11:49am]

SantanaMaitreya said:

Although "Dirty Mind" was critically acclaimed it actually turned a LOT of Prince's(r.i.p.) fans which were mainly his rnb following off. Plus it got hardly any radio play. Even WBR offered his contract back since it was considered a flop after the crossover hit "I wanna B Your Lover". It was Prince's(r.i.p.) most bold artistic statement to date. It turned him into an underground artist & my hero.

Genesia said:

KoolEaze said:

In hindsight, I´d say that they (Prince and WB) probably underrated the potential of When You Were Mine, which is, in my opinion, a very catchy and well-written pop song that many listeners beyond his usual fanbase could have related to.

When You Were Mine is my favorite Prince song ever. It is just a slice of perfection.

The live version from Sam's Club in 1982.

[Edited 1/13/21 11:49am]

My favorite will always be the rendition from August 1983, First Avenue. It has a certain energy and aggressiveness that is missing in later versions. And I like the slight lyric change ( "I´ll kick his ass baby, you know I ain´t too yella." )

And Prince and the Revolution sound extremely energetic and hungry. I just love that version.

-

Now I have to check out that Sam´s Club version if I can find it. My archiving skills have deteriorated in the last couple of years, not even sure if I have it on my hard drive.

[Edited 1/13/21 13:47pm]

It was NOT a hit. That is the main reason why. I do remember WXRT in Chicago (my sis fave station at the time) playing When You Were Mine back then. I had zero opinion about the song or Prince for that matter (I was 11 and really into arena rock at the time . But got the cassette prob around 85 and it slowly grew on me over the years. I love it now.

its too lo fi for universal acclaim amongst the general populus ..

Poplife88 said:

It was NOT a hit. That is the main reason why. I do remember WXRT in Chicago (my sis fave station at the time) playing When You Were Mine back then. I had zero opinion about the song or Prince for that matter (I was 11 and really into arena rock at the time . But got the cassette prob around 85 and it slowly grew on me over the years. I love it now.

Didn't Cindy Lauper make it into a hit?

Margot said: