“Perhaps it’s detrimental in a way. Somebody like Prince, for instance — I think he’s quite slapdash. He’s a bit like a bull—he goes in with his horns down and charges, but there’s a chance he’s going to hit the right spot. He produces a lot.”

“I think much of what he (Prince) does is quite trashy and don’t like it all, but every now and then he does something that is really genius. He’s very, very talented, but the most important thing about Prince is that he’s braver than a lot of other people.”

“I don’t think I’m as brave as that. I may be too proud and scared of losing face, and maybe that does somewhat stifle what we do. Maybe I look too closely at what we do, and it’s not necessary to be that concerned.”

– Sade, 1988

Sade Surprisingly Explain...music.com)

slapdash.

Trashy SlapDash Sade.

What a fantastic name for an all female punk band.

She's not wrong. I think most evolving and improving songwriters work like Prince where they constantly churn out songs. That's the way you get better. You write 10 songs and one of them is really amazing if you're doing it right. The difference is that Prince was so good at performing and singing the songs that they sounded really fun to listen/dance to but they weren't necessarily that good in terms of just chord/lyric/melody. He released them anyway. Of course "good" is subjective, so to the right person everything Prince ever did was genius. Other assess it much more like Sade, myself being one of them.

steakfinger said:

She's not wrong. I think most evolving and improving songwriters work like Prince where they constantly churn out songs. That's the way you get better. You write 10 songs and one of them is really amazing if you're doing it right. The difference is that Prince was so good at performing and singing the songs that they sounded really fun to listen/dance to but they weren't necessarily that good in terms of just chord/lyric/melody. He released them anyway. Of course "good" is subjective, so to the right person everything Prince ever did was genius. Other assess it much more like Sade, myself being one of them.

Could you name some Prince songs that aren't good in terms of chord/lyric/melody structure as you put it?

And please, specifically you answer this - not anyone else. If you could - write out the chord structures and melodies and explain why the melodic phrases aren't good.

Thanks

steakfinger said:

She's not wrong. I think most evolving and improving songwriters work like Prince where they constantly churn out songs. That's the way you get better. You write 10 songs and one of them is really amazing if you're doing it right. The difference is that Prince was so good at performing and singing the songs that they sounded really fun to listen/dance to but they weren't necessarily that good in terms of just chord/lyric/melody. He released them anyway. Of course "good" is subjective, so to the right person everything Prince ever did was genius. Other assess it much more like Sade, myself being one of them.

+1

She is right. Really, she is saying she should let go a little bit. Prince was so free flowing creatively. He never was stuck in one sound like Sade is

That's amazing. It's Sade's taste, but she's also fair and accurate there. Artists would have regarded Prince as really brave in 1988.

I think this reflects a difference in approach... I am glad that prince got tracks down as fast as he did as it means we get to hear more of his ideas and more music some of the rougher edges on tracks I enjoy

“I think much of what he (Prince) does is quite trashy and don’t like it all, but every now and then he does something that is really genius."

If this quote is from 1988 I can only think WTF, really??? Prince was at his creative and ultimate high in that period and calling what he produced "trashy" is really absurd (no matter one's personal taste of music).

It reminds of Little Richard's statement in the Omnibus special around the same time on Prince's prolofic productivity: "A little bit of something beats a whole lot of nothing". Utter nonsense ofcourse knowing what Prince did exactly in that period.

but there’s a chance he’s going to hit the right spot.

think she knows?

They never worked together, while being famous at the same time.

Not enough interest from both ways i presume.

-

Well, besides the fact that he quoted her in one of his songtitle ''S.S.T.''

FanAllMyLife said:

but there’s a chance he’s going to hit the right spot.

think sheknows?

[Edited 12/3/21 1:28am]

Vannormal said:

They never worked together, while being famous at the same time.

Not enough interest from both ways i presume.

-

Well, besides the fact that he quoted her in one of his songtitle ''S.S.T.''

FanAllMyLife said:

but there’s a chance he’s going to hit the right spot.

think sheknows?

[Edited 12/3/21 1:28am]

Wasn't there some story from one of his associates that she came to Paisley Park to record and instead Prince and her were making out on his piano or something. I really hoped they wouldn have recorded something together.

[Edited 12/3/21 1:45am]

JorisE73 said:

Hamad said:

I read that she & Prince did record in 1989, don’t quote me though.

TheEnglishGent said:

Hamad said:

I read that she & Prince did record in 1989, don’t quote me though.

JorisE73 said:

Vannormal said:

They never worked together, while being famous at the same time.

Not enough interest from both ways i presume.

-

Well, besides the fact that he quoted her in one of his songtitle ''S.S.T.''

[Edited 12/3/21 1:28am]

Wasn't there some story from one of his associates that she came to Paisley Park to record and instead Prince and her were making out on his piano or something. I really hoped they wouldn have recorded something together.

[Edited 12/3/21 1:45am]

Well, I really hope they made out on a pinao, hoping there is footage of it. )))

...instead of recording together.

I wonder, you think if Prince ever video recorded his sex affairs ?

Now that wold be something. LOL

Vannormal said:

JorisE73 said:

Wasn't there some story from one of his associates that she came to Paisley Park to record and instead Prince and her were making out on his piano or something. I really hoped they wouldn have recorded something together.

[Edited 12/3/21 1:45am]

Well, I really hope they made out on a pinao, hoping there is footage of it. )))

...instead of recording together.

I wonder, you think if Prince ever video recorded his sex affairs ?

Now that wold be something. LOL

That's something I would leave to the stalkery types like Udo who is obsessed about these personal kind of things.
I think it was ones reported he paid off a paparazzi when he was making out on a beach with Mayte or something. Nobody needs to see that.

shes very honest, and actually right.

prince did work in a hurried way.

apart from a few albums, he wasnt really interested in spending time on anything

he just hit when inspiration struck, got it down, and moved on.

he was not interested in thinking about what he was doing too long, it was more, this is my new thought, my new idea, let me just do it, whatever it is.

sades records are very thought out - not that everything SHE did or does is brilliant either tbh but its obv that she tried to get it to sound good. prince OTOH didnt care about polish or engineering, he was almost disinterested in making anything sound good from an engineering or production standpoint. he was only interested in the musical content, by and large.

neither approach is necessarily the right or best one.

but you listen to 80s sade and you do get a certain level of quality sounding records.

princes albums often did not sound that good.

and thats cos he recorded in weird places, quickly, and didnt care about them once he was done.

in and out, end of lol.

[Edited 12/3/21 6:11am]

pray4rain said:

RODSERLING said:

Who cares anyway? She s just a jealous girl.

if she said something 'wonderful' would U?

prince just had his own way of working.

i think in retrospect you can see maybe that stuff that sade didnt like didnt matter so much.

and if he had worked longer on certain stuff you might not have got the other stuff.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

prince just had his own way of working.

i think in retrospect you can see maybe that stuff that sade didnt like didnt matter so much.

and if he had worked longer on certain stuff you might not have got the other stuff.

Exactly...it was HIS process. I prefer Prince's experiments and bold adventures better than Sade's creative method (and I love her). She releases an album every 5 years, rarely tours and makes music collectively...music that can be boring (at its worst) and smooth but risk adverse.

Btw I Love Prince's "SST" Katrina song...wonder what she thought of it.

I love Prince, but most people have this same criticism about him, that he didnt edit himself. In the end of the day, he left some brilliant songs and is recognized as a genius, but I believe most people agree that he released stuff that seems rushed and not compatible with a guy of his genius.

GustavoRibas said:

I love Prince, but most people have this same criticism about him, that he didnt edit himself. In the end of the day, he left some brilliant songs and is recognized as a genius, but I believe most people agree that he released stuff that seems rushed and not compatible with a guy of his genius.

Maybe true as an overalll observation. Saying this back in 1988 doesn't make sense if you look what had released up until that point in his career. I wonder which album(s) she was refering to.

Hamad said:

I think the two can’t be compared even if they co-existed, one was more concerned about conveying musicianship & the other was more concerned about conveying lyricism & mood. Both were innovative in their own right Prince excelled at exploring musical landscapes, Sade excelled at tapping into deeply personal lyrics. Neither can do what the other is able to bring out, by Prince’ admission himself, he said he listened to artists that do what he can’t, Sade & Cocteau Twins were among the ones he listened to at the time. By the same token as highlighted earlier, Sade is not able to make the same music he did. Both breathed new life & magic into music, also saying Sade is jealous is ridiculous & embarrassing.

Well Put! And for someone who has seen both LIVE and own both catalogs, u nailed it. I wud add that Prince has had moments of "lyricism and mood"..."Joy in Repetition", "All the Critics Love U", "When the Lights Go Down" just to name a few.

GustavoRibas said:

jdcxc said: