i think its fair to say the opening song on princes albums was always a big deal - you could usually expect that to be the first song played on the tour too. he always wanted to start with a bang. and it worked brilliantly, until the mid 90s. come, the song, was an ok opener. but pussy control was def the worst. is this the most embarassing opener he ever recorded? if it wasnt at the start of the album, it might have been less of an issue, as it would just be buried deep in the middle, but to put it at the start, he must have thought it was good as controversy, lets go crazy, sign o the times, 1999. ugh.

top 3 worst, in order of terribleness -

pussy control

my name is prince

thunder

[Edited 1/25/21 8:22am]

I love the three tracks you listed! Worst three openers for me are :

Silicon
The Rest of My Life

Can't Stop This Feeling I Got

I don't like Silicon at all. I actually quite like the other two but they just don't compare with some of the other openers.

Lovesexy is one of my favourite albums of all time but i don't think I Know is amazing.

I love the intro (rain is wet...) i'm just not so crazy about the whole song.

I also love the demo of Around the World much better as the orginal

Thunder never really did it for me although the accapella intro is amazing, i think i just dont like the beat

RODSERLING said:

For You, of course. This is not even really a song.

But the opening with it at the Nude tour was pretty cool

Thunder

My Name is Prince

I dont mind "P-Control" as much as used to.

My name is prince - worst opener and worst single ever released (together with 1999 The New Master)

No list to choose from?

"Art Official Cage"

RODSERLING said:

This is sad to read because Thunder, My Name is Prince, and P Control are some of my favorite Prince tracks overall. I guess with 40ish to choose from though, there's gonna be lots of differing opinions!

For me, least favorite opener is (There'll Never B) Another Like Me. It's okay but goes on too long and sounds almost identical to Chocolate Box.

Out of his classic great albums, I think "Christopher Tracy's Parade" is a bit of a sonic mess. Needed a few more passes

"...all...WB albums"?

No more choices?

If not, "Million$Show".

billymeade said:

This is sad to read because Thunder, My Name is Prince, and P Control are some of my favorite Prince tracks overall. I guess with 40ish to choose from though, there's gonna be lots of differing opinions!

For me, least favorite opener is (There'll Never B) Another Like Me. It's okay but goes on too long and sounds almost identical to Chocolate Box.

40ish? Prince released 40 albums with WB? Pretty sure he didn't.

Genesia said:

billymeade said:

This is sad to read because Thunder, My Name is Prince, and P Control are some of my favorite Prince tracks overall. I guess with 40ish to choose from though, there's gonna be lots of differing opinions!

For me, least favorite opener is (There'll Never B) Another Like Me. It's okay but goes on too long and sounds almost identical to Chocolate Box.

40ish? Prince released 40 albums with WB? Pretty sure he didn't.

What did i just say?

is this thing on?

nayroo2002 said:

Genesia said:

40ish? Prince released 40 albums with WB? Pretty sure he didn't.

What did i just say?

is this thing on?

No one's talking to you.

And that isn't what you said.

Always loved that his opening tracks were also usually the title track (he did that nearly 20 times). And if the title song wasn't the opener it was usually then the closer. Which makes me wonder if the 2nd album hadn't been self-titled would he have named it "I Wanna Be Your Lover"? Would 0(+> have been named "My Name Is Prince" or, more likely, "The Sacrifice of Victor"?

Eh, probably not. But he clearly put thought into his title tracks and their placement on the album. "Lovesexy" and "Diamonds & Pearls" are two of the few that were in the middle.

[Edited 1/25/21 12:31pm]

nayroo2002 said:

"...all...WB albums"?

Genesia said:

nayroo2002 said:

What did i just say?

is this thing on?

No one's talking to you.

And that isn't what you said.

Whoa!

that was three times now.

[Edited 1/25/21 12:37pm]

Of the WB albums, I think Prince was pretty consistent when it came to good opening tracks. Even when it comes to songs that I’m not particularly keen on like ‘Around The World In A Day’, I can still see why others find it appealing and why it makes a great opening number.
The first album where I would question the opening track is indeed ‘The Gold Experience’ which is a shame as I used to be quite a fan of ‘Pussy Control’ when I first became a fan. I think ‘Interactive’ or even ‘Acknowledge Me’ would have made for a better opener, and that Pussy Control would have been better suited as a B-side.

When it comes to the post WB albums, ‘Compassion’ is a pretty dreadful, although I’m biased as I really don’t like the 20Ten album on the whole. ‘Art Official Cage’ is abominable, having said that I appreciate the contract it creates between itself and ‘Clouds’ which I think is an amazing song.

‘Million$Show’ - Amazing intro, great build up, the songs itself is very disappointing.

‘Baltimore’ - Is an ear bleeder.

Always interesting when org'ers limit prompts to WB albums (in the title) how many race to steamroll name-check NPG-era records.

.

It's like "Worst opening--""UH UH, JAMOFTHEYEARNORTHMILLION$SHOW"

[Edited 1/25/21 14:24pm]

i mean if people do want to talk about crappy openers for post-wb albums, that's okay, but it's just like, which of those DID have good openers?

peedub said:

Yeah, My Name or P Control. No contest.