You seem to think we agree on at least two things - neither of which we do.

i want to know where u been

Number23 said:

(l'ange bleu - moderator: Thread title amended - please use the thread title to describe subject matter of thread) At least we're all agreed on one thing. That Promise 2 B True is the greatest thing Prince eve r did, sassy, high camp, high concept adrenaline rush of doo wop psycho Ronettes since the first pope was a boy

I remember when you (Number23) wrote the review ahead of the SDE release. I recall you loving it....when I heard it, as I was many times, I shook my head in amazement that this guy could put out such an infectious song and let it sit in the vault for the remaineder of his life. If anyone else could come up with this (or Walk in Glory, or Adonis, or Wally, or Emotional, or Crucial etc), it would a lead single for them. He was so confident in his abilities, he just locked it away and moved on.

I love this gem and he just had that x factor...making everything better.

This song passed me by when SDE SOTT came out as I think I was stuck listening to Cocoa Boys 39,839 times....

Promise 2 B True really is a fantastic track though.

I ABSOLUTELY love it. It does take a few listens to get it all in.

But (for me) its unfinished, like much of the bonus stuff on SOTT SDE.

In it's current state it's too congested.

This (in my mind) makes sense with what is known about Prince - when the ideas came to him, he had to get them down and wow there's a lot of (really great) ideas in it.

3:38 doesn't do it justice.

I'd love to know if the other versions are longer and what else they offer musically.

It's a shame that some beautiful vocal embellishments are virtually lost within the multitude of ideas thrown in, seemingly haphazard, into the mix. Lovely guitar licks are lost at the back of the mix in parts of it, and the ride is all over the place, it's wobbly and uncomfortably mixed to far to the right hand side.

Yet saying all that, it might still make it into my Top 50 Prince tracks. I really love the stuff in that 3:38.

The vocals at around 1:51 to 1:54 make me feel ... no words can describe.

Thanks for showing it love and reminding us about it.

^
Some songs can go on too long..... ...... .....

Would definitely be the case if Promise 2 B True was longer than 3:38. But that is the ideal length for a pop song. Btw there are short and long versions of Jealous Girl. Both versions are equally brilliant. Likewise, Promise 2 B True sounds perfect to my ears, in the sense that it can't be improved anymore.

ThePersian said:

This song passed me by when SDE SOTT came out as I think I was stuck listening to Cocoa Boys 39,839 times....

Promise 2 B True really is a fantastic track though.

I ABSOLUTELY love it. It does take a few listens to get it all in.

But (for me) its unfinished, like much of the bonus stuff on SOTT SDE.

In it's current state it's too congested.

This (in my mind) makes sense with what is known about Prince - when the ideas came to him, he had to get them down and wow there's a lot of (really great) ideas in it.

3:38 doesn't do it justice.

I'd love to know if the other versions are longer and what else they offer musically.

It's a shame that some beautiful vocal embellishments are virtually lost within the multitude of ideas thrown in, seemingly haphazard, into the mix. Lovely guitar licks are lost at the back of the mix in parts of it, and the ride is all over the place, it's wobbly and uncomfortably mixed to far to the right hand side.

Yet saying all that, it might still make it into my Top 50 Prince tracks. I really love the stuff in that 3:38.

The vocals at around 1:51 to 1:54 make me feel ... no words can describe.

Thanks for showing it love and reminding us about it.

By 'unfinished' you mean songs like Blanche, or It Be's Like That...i guess I can agree. I doubt you are talking about All My Dreams, Train, Eggplant or Adonis (or Crucial, or Forever In My Life or Wally or Walk in Glory)....my goodness, the amount of first rate material is astonishing.

I would rather hear Prince's Blanche or It Be's Like That no matter how unfinished. There is always something redeeming in 99% of the songs the estate has pulled from the vault.