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Thread started 12/03/21 12:46pm

TrivialPursuit

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The Minneapolis Sound

So in another thread, Jam and Lewis are talked about, and the quote from Prince, "don't give away our sound." Prince felt they did, especially on Janet Jackson's Control record. That's also probably why Prince was still sore about it in 1990 when he performed "What Have. You Done For Me Lately" and chanted, "Who wrote that?!" It's almost as if he's claiming, "I could've written that." I see more of a similarity with that song with something like "Sexy Dancer" than anything toward the mid-80s with him.

That said, one could easily argue that Jam & Lewis have as much of the Minneapolis sound in their music as Prince did. They certainly have their own sound, whether it's SOS Band or Human League, we know who produced that song. (Ironically, I don't think anything on Control sounds like the aforementioned groups.)

Prince's sound really changed after Purple Rain. ATWIAD and Parade are incredibly different, and a huge 180º turn from something like "Private Joy" or "1999." Sorry not sorry, but a song like "Kiss" or "Raspberry Beret" is not the atypical Minneapolis signature sound.

On the same tip, Jam and Lewis had a wide versatility to their production. Not everything sounded like "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On" or "Human." I think their work with Janet is just as varied and interesting as anything Prince did in his golden era. None of her albums are like the previous one.

So who has a bigger claim to the Minneapolis sound? Prince, or Jam and Lewis? Is it equal? Is the true Minneapolis sound varied enough to let both lay claim? Did they both take general ideas and expand on them in their own ways, like two different varities of apples? One was Gala, one was Honeycrisp.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #1 posted 12/03/21 1:47pm

PJMcGee

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He said "Who wrote that?" about Respect too. Just pointing out that it's a cover.
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Reply #2 posted 12/04/21 10:50pm

GaryMF

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[quote]whether it's SOS Band or Human League, we know who produced that song. (Ironically, I don't think anything on Control sounds like the aforementioned groups.)

Some of the tracks on SOS Band Sands of Time use the same drum machine and synth soudns as Control.

rainbow
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Reply #3 posted 12/05/21 12:19am

Hamad

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I don’t think Jimmy & Terry ever claimed the Minneapolis sound, or even gave their own sound a name.

Prince wanted to assume more control over this type of situation than they did. It was a great way to affirm his agency, but at the same time it was to his detriment in certain instances.
Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/QLH82
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Reply #4 posted 12/05/21 1:22pm

BrotherWithout
APurpose

I know he didn't invent it, but when I think of the Minneapolis Sound, I think of Jesse Johnson. On his first album, he took the sound and really ran with it. It's quintenssential Minneapolis Sound! I also love that he kept the basic traits of the sound on his following two albums - but showed musical growth as well.

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Reply #5 posted 12/05/21 1:22pm

TrivialPursuit

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GaryMF said:

whether it's SOS Band or Human League, we know who produced that song. (Ironically, I don't think anything on Control sounds like the aforementioned groups.)

Some of the tracks on SOS Band Sands of Time use the same drum machine and synth soudns as Control.


In reality, it probably is the same instruments. They weren't buying new keyboard for every single record they produced. But I get what you're saying.

ANd let's remember, Jimmy has said multiple times that he always just used the preset sounds on a keyboard, instead of trying to overly filter them and change them. So the sounds on "What Have You Done For Me Lately" or "Nasty," etc. are what was in the keyboard out of the box.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #6 posted 12/05/21 2:41pm

funkaholic1972

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TrivialPursuit said:
So who has a bigger claim to the Minneapolis sound? Prince, or Jam and Lewis? Is it equal? Is the true Minneapolis sound varied enough to let both lay claim? Did they both take general ideas and expand on them in their own ways, like two different varities of apples? One was Gala, one was Honeycrisp.

IMO likely Prince has the best cards. He was the first to get famous with it and the others (while great musicians) followed in his slipstream. He also made my most favorite Minneapolis Sound tracks.

Jam and Lewis put their own spin on the Minneapolis Sound and are next in line for me, I love a lot of their early work. They have been very influential on me as a musician.

I admire all of them tremendously!

RIP Prince: thank U 4 a funky Time...
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Reply #7 posted 12/05/21 2:51pm

paraded

Anyone interested in the Minneapolis Sound deserves to listen to the Purple Snow box. It’s thesis is that the local scene was brimming with that hard to categorize sound which Prince and later Jam & Lewis apotheosized. It began as an energy in the cold air.
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Reply #8 posted 12/05/21 2:54pm

VaultCurator

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This is what I have heard regarding Janet Jackson’s ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’.

Apparently in the early 80s Prince had a piano motif that he would often play during jams and rehearsals. He recorded a track (no idea if it had lyrics or if it was just an instrumental) in either 1982 or 1983 based around this motif.

I’ve never heard this track as it isn’t widely circulating, but I have been told that it is recognisable as both an early version of Partyman, and also the genesis of ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’.

If you check out the ‘Baby I’m a Star’ official video (which was a live performance recorded on 20th November 1984, predating the recording of ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’) at around the 10:15 mark, Prince plays a small part of this piano piece.
https://www.youtube.com/w...Lgf2VU_M70.

Allegedly, Jam and Lewis either used this early 80s track as inspiration or possibly ripped it off.
Again, if you listen to the video for ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’ at the 3:10 mark you can hear the same piano motif. The bass line throughout resembles this piano part too...
https://www.youtube.com/w...9uizdKZAGE.


Legend has it that Prince wasn’t pleased about this, so he took this old demo and reworked it into what we know as Partyman in retaliation.
Partyman video: https://www.youtube.com/w...jY8HvpNu6o (Piano motif appears again at the 3:00 mark).

This is why he got Rosie to sing the lyrics to WHYDFML over Partyman on the nude tour. It also explains why he would also add “Who wrote this?”.

That’s everything I was told (not directly, but via a semi private forum) and the info comes from a trusted source. However (and this is where I begin to speculate so take this next part with a huge grain of salt), there may be a bit more to this story.

Rumour has it that Partyman wasn’t the first time that Prince had revived this early 80s track and reworked it into something we’d recognise. Allegedly, the piano part that we hear in the longer version of ‘Good Love’ (Good Love Part 2), was also born from this original piano track, although using a different segment of it, hense why we do not recognise it from either Partyman or WHYDFML.

The reason I find this interesting is because according to PrinceVault.com, Prince recorded a song on the 25th July 1985 entitled ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’. There is also a piece of trivia claiming that ‘Good Love’ was initially going to be titled ‘Good Drawers’.

Prince Vault doesn’t outright say that ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ and ‘Good Love’ are musically related as it may just be a title that Prince re-used, but it does open up the possibility. The reason I find this fascinating is because according to Wikipedia, ‘What Have You Done for Me Lately’ was recorded two months later in September 1985!

This could just be coincidental, but if there is a possibility that ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ also shared DNA with Prince’s early 80s piano piece, that means that both Prince and ‘Jam & Lewis’ both re-worked Prince’s earlier track with the space of a couple of months of each other.

Could Jam and Lewis have heard ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ in advance? Was Prince on better terms with them at the time than we realised? Did he offer it to them as a demo?

Probably not. ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ was recorded a month after ‘Old Friends 4 Sale’ so Prince was probably still bitter towards them at the time. I just thought it was an interesting connection. For all I know, ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ may have nothing to do with ‘Good Love’, or Prince’s piano piece for that matter. However, given the timing involved I thought it was worth mentioning.


.

[Edited 12/5/21 14:58pm]

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Reply #9 posted 12/05/21 3:55pm

TrivialPursuit

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I don't think Prince walked around for years "bitter" at anyone like that. The idea is bullshit. But did he feel violated or slighted? Maybe. But if he lived by his word of not living in the past, then why is he up in his feelings in 1990? Sure, he may call someone out or try to put someone on blast, but he's never been super mean about it. OF4S seems to be Prince just working out relationships around him.

Considering the time frame, he had a lot of old friends that had shot off into their own path in life. I can't imagine Prince - as everyone's described him as encouraging and invigorating them into doing things they didn't think they could do - wanting to preemptively or subsequently stump a person's musical journey, or life in general.

Yes, Prince was put off by Control, but whatever. Get over yourself, I say. He couldn't have been so short-sighted as to think no one would ever try to copy his sound. Goddamn, did he miss Ready for the World???

As far as the piano motif - who knows. It's one of those "Do Yourself A Favor" things. And as far as Prince taking parts of his work to re-record it - not a new idea. I've always said he was a genius at taking elements of his songs and making them into something new. The EPs of "New Power Generation," "Gett Off," and "Cream" are perfect examples of this. He also reused stuff a lot - the lead line of "Rave" is in "The Max," as an example. That horn line in "Rockhard" is in other songs - a lot.

As a musician, I can't speak for every musician, but there is often a motif or idea we go to while practicing or noodling around, or whatever we're doing. Not all of us have the whole song in our head when we sit down, like Prince did. So the ad-libbing is normal. A motif is a motif, a thing. Hell, thank God no one can copyright a drum beat. Half of the 90s wouldn't be here, and even Prince's "Housequake" would be on the chopping block.

With the piano in "What Have You Done For Me Lately:" Jimmy Jam talked about how he was juat playing the piano while the song played. Lewis or whoever was recording him just sorta pecking on the piano, having a moment to himself. And on the 12" you can hear that extended section, what became the piano hook/solo in the song. Also considering it's all Minneapolis, we'll never know where that came from.

PrinceVault or whoever is only going by what's on tape and can be documented. It doesn't cover what someone does at home or in the studio when no one is around or a tape isn't running. I don't know if it's possible, or logical, to try and credit it to one source.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #10 posted 12/05/21 4:51pm

lurker316

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VaultCurator said:

This is what I have heard regarding Janet Jackson’s ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’.

Apparently in the early 80s Prince had a piano motif that he would often play during jams and rehearsals. He recorded a track (no idea if it had lyrics or if it was just an instrumental) in either 1982 or 1983 based around this motif.

I’ve never heard this track as it isn’t widely circulating, but I have been told that it is recognisable as both an early version of Partyman, and also the genesis of ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’.

If you check out the ‘Baby I’m a Star’ official video (which was a live performance recorded on 20th November 1984, predating the recording of ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’) at around the 10:15 mark, Prince plays a small part of this piano piece.
https://www.youtube.com/w...Lgf2VU_M70.

Allegedly, Jam and Lewis either used this early 80s track as inspiration or possibly ripped it off.
Again, if you listen to the video for ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’ at the 3:10 mark you can hear the same piano motif. The bass line throughout resembles this piano part too...
https://www.youtube.com/w...9uizdKZAGE.


Legend has it that Prince wasn’t pleased about this, so he took this old demo and reworked it into what we know as Partyman in retaliation.
Partyman video: https://www.youtube.com/w...jY8HvpNu6o (Piano motif appears again at the 3:00 mark).

This is why he got Rosie to sing the lyrics to WHYDFML over Partyman on the nude tour. It also explains why he would also add “Who wrote this?”.

That’s everything I was told (not directly, but via a semi private forum) and the info comes from a trusted source. However (and this is where I begin to speculate so take this next part with a huge grain of salt), there may be a bit more to this story.

Rumour has it that Partyman wasn’t the first time that Prince had revived this early 80s track and reworked it into something we’d recognise. Allegedly, the piano part that we hear in the longer version of ‘Good Love’ (Good Love Part 2), was also born from this original piano track, although using a different segment of it, hense why we do not recognise it from either Partyman or WHYDFML.

The reason I find this interesting is because according to PrinceVault.com, Prince recorded a song on the 25th July 1985 entitled ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’. There is also a piece of trivia claiming that ‘Good Love’ was initially going to be titled ‘Good Drawers’.

Prince Vault doesn’t outright say that ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ and ‘Good Love’ are musically related as it may just be a title that Prince re-used, but it does open up the possibility. The reason I find this fascinating is because according to Wikipedia, ‘What Have You Done for Me Lately’ was recorded two months later in September 1985!

This could just be coincidental, but if there is a possibility that ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ also shared DNA with Prince’s early 80s piano piece, that means that both Prince and ‘Jam & Lewis’ both re-worked Prince’s earlier track with the space of a couple of months of each other.

Could Jam and Lewis have heard ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ in advance? Was Prince on better terms with them at the time than we realised? Did he offer it to them as a demo?

Probably not. ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ was recorded a month after ‘Old Friends 4 Sale’ so Prince was probably still bitter towards them at the time. I just thought it was an interesting connection. For all I know, ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ may have nothing to do with ‘Good Love’, or Prince’s piano piece for that matter. However, given the timing involved I thought it was worth mentioning.


.

[Edited 12/5/21 14:58pm]



I just heard this story recently. If I recall correctly, it was in the Sunset Sound interview with Peggy Mac and David Z posted on Youtube a month or so ago.



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Reply #11 posted 12/05/21 11:50pm

funkaholic1972

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The piano bit also reminds me of another 're-use' by Jam & Lewis, and that is the bell melody that comes in at the end of "17 days". A very similar melody is used in an Alexander O'Neal tune from his first J&L produced album, "A Broken Heart Can Mend". I wonder who first came up with that?

RIP Prince: thank U 4 a funky Time...
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Reply #12 posted 12/06/21 12:40am

JorisE73

lurker316 said:

VaultCurator said:

This is what I have heard regarding Janet Jackson’s ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’.

Apparently in the early 80s Prince had a piano motif that he would often play during jams and rehearsals. He recorded a track (no idea if it had lyrics or if it was just an instrumental) in either 1982 or 1983 based around this motif.

I’ve never heard this track as it isn’t widely circulating, but I have been told that it is recognisable as both an early version of Partyman, and also the genesis of ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’.

If you check out the ‘Baby I’m a Star’ official video (which was a live performance recorded on 20th November 1984, predating the recording of ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’) at around the 10:15 mark, Prince plays a small part of this piano piece.
https://www.youtube.com/w...Lgf2VU_M70.

Allegedly, Jam and Lewis either used this early 80s track as inspiration or possibly ripped it off.
Again, if you listen to the video for ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’ at the 3:10 mark you can hear the same piano motif. The bass line throughout resembles this piano part too...
https://www.youtube.com/w...9uizdKZAGE.


Legend has it that Prince wasn’t pleased about this, so he took this old demo and reworked it into what we know as Partyman in retaliation.
Partyman video: https://www.youtube.com/w...jY8HvpNu6o (Piano motif appears again at the 3:00 mark).

This is why he got Rosie to sing the lyrics to WHYDFML over Partyman on the nude tour. It also explains why he would also add “Who wrote this?”.

That’s everything I was told (not directly, but via a semi private forum) and the info comes from a trusted source. However (and this is where I begin to speculate so take this next part with a huge grain of salt), there may be a bit more to this story.

Rumour has it that Partyman wasn’t the first time that Prince had revived this early 80s track and reworked it into something we’d recognise. Allegedly, the piano part that we hear in the longer version of ‘Good Love’ (Good Love Part 2), was also born from this original piano track, although using a different segment of it, hense why we do not recognise it from either Partyman or WHYDFML.

The reason I find this interesting is because according to PrinceVault.com, Prince recorded a song on the 25th July 1985 entitled ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’. There is also a piece of trivia claiming that ‘Good Love’ was initially going to be titled ‘Good Drawers’.

Prince Vault doesn’t outright say that ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ and ‘Good Love’ are musically related as it may just be a title that Prince re-used, but it does open up the possibility. The reason I find this fascinating is because according to Wikipedia, ‘What Have You Done for Me Lately’ was recorded two months later in September 1985!

This could just be coincidental, but if there is a possibility that ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ also shared DNA with Prince’s early 80s piano piece, that means that both Prince and ‘Jam & Lewis’ both re-worked Prince’s earlier track with the space of a couple of months of each other.

Could Jam and Lewis have heard ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ in advance? Was Prince on better terms with them at the time than we realised? Did he offer it to them as a demo?

Probably not. ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ was recorded a month after ‘Old Friends 4 Sale’ so Prince was probably still bitter towards them at the time. I just thought it was an interesting connection. For all I know, ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ may have nothing to do with ‘Good Love’, or Prince’s piano piece for that matter. However, given the timing involved I thought it was worth mentioning.


.

[Edited 12/5/21 14:58pm]



I just heard this story recently. If I recall correctly, it was in the Sunset Sound interview with Peggy Mac and David Z posted on Youtube a month or so ago.




Nah, it was mentioned somewhere else by someone who has those tracks.
Peggy Mac and David Z didn't mention this.

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Reply #13 posted 12/06/21 1:05am

lurker316

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JorisE73 said:

lurker316 said:



I just heard this story recently. If I recall correctly, it was in the Sunset Sound interview with Peggy Mac and David Z posted on Youtube a month or so ago.




Nah, it was mentioned somewhere else by someone who has those tracks.
Peggy Mac and David Z didn't mention this.



The only interviews I've watched recently were two Sunset Sound interview, one with Peggy Mac and David Z, the other with Peggy Mac, Dweezil Zappa and some other guy. I would swear the story was in one of those two, but it's entirely possibly I'm misremembering. The only thing I am certain of is that I heard this story for the first time in the past month.


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Reply #14 posted 12/06/21 1:41am

JorisE73

lurker316 said:

JorisE73 said:


Nah, it was mentioned somewhere else by someone who has those tracks.
Peggy Mac and David Z didn't mention this.



The only interviews I've watched recently were two Sunset Sound interview, one with Peggy Mac and David Z, the other with Peggy Mac, Dweezil Zappa and some other guy. I would swear the story was in one of those two, but it's entirely possibly I'm misremembering. The only thing I am certain of is that I heard this story for the first time in the past month.



It was posted on a private group in september (september 7th to be exact)

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Reply #15 posted 12/06/21 2:55am

Vannormal

To me Prince invented much more 'sounds' than the known 'Mineaplis Sound' we're talking about here.

Prince did some, and then left the Minneapolis sound after the others started to develop it, and made it their own.

He moved on.

He had so many other styles to conquer.

Think of songs like Crystal Ball, Life Can Be So Nice, I Wonder U, There's Other's Here With Us, When 2 R In Love, etc...

I can not imagine Jam Or Lewis writing songs like anything on Parade (though it was more of a group effort here), nor like the songs on ATWIAD even.

IMHO of course.

The Minneapolis Sound, as we know it from Jam & ewis productions on, came more fro mthe work Prince did for The Time tbh. At least how I see it.

Not even Vanity 6's album comes close to that Minn. Sound i believe.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts" (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)
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Reply #16 posted 12/06/21 3:06am

JorisE73

Vannormal said:

To me Prince invented much more 'sounds' than the known 'Mineaplis Sound' we're talking about here.

Prince did some, and then left the Minneapolis sound after the others started to develop it, and made it their own.

He moved on.

He had so many other styles to conquer.

Think of songs like Crystal Ball, Life Can Be So Nice, I Wonder U, There's Other's Here With Us, When 2 R In Love, etc...

I can not imagine Jam Or Lewis writing songs like anything on Parade (though it was more of a group effort here), nor like the songs on ATWIAD even.

IMHO of course.

The Minneapolis Sound, as we know it from Jam & ewis productions on, came more fro mthe work Prince did for The Time tbh. At least how I see it.

Not even Vanity 6's album comes close to that Minn. Sound i believe.


The Camille album still has a sound that I never heard before and never heard since from any other artist.

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Reply #17 posted 12/06/21 7:40am

2freaky4church
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I'd actually term it AvantPurple.

All you others say Hell Yea!! woot!
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Reply #18 posted 12/06/21 9:39am

TrivialPursuit

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PJMcGee said:

He said "Who wrote that?" about Respect too. Just pointing out that it's a cover.


He also didn't throw a copy of Aretha's record on her lawn and drive off.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #19 posted 12/06/21 10:14am

TrivialPursuit

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funkaholic1972 said:

The piano bit also reminds me of another 're-use' by Jam & Lewis, and that is the bell melody that comes in at the end of "17 days". A very similar melody is used in an Alexander O'Neal tune from his first J&L produced album, "A Broken Heart Can Mend". I wonder who first came up with that?


Are you talking about the sound or the melody? Because "17 Days" also sounds a whole hell of a lot like "Blue Limosine" and "Toy Box." It's all practically the same lead hook.

To me, the keyboard sound is similar on O'Neal's song, but it's not the same musical motif.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #20 posted 12/07/21 1:44am

Vannormal

JorisE73 said:

Vannormal said:

To me Prince invented much more 'sounds' than the known 'Mineaplis Sound' we're talking about here.

Prince did some, and then left the Minneapolis sound after the others started to develop it, and made it their own.

He moved on.

He had so many other styles to conquer.

Think of songs like Crystal Ball, Life Can Be So Nice, I Wonder U, There's Other's Here With Us, When 2 R In Love, etc...

I can not imagine Jam Or Lewis writing songs like anything on Parade (though it was more of a group effort here), nor like the songs on ATWIAD even.

IMHO of course.

The Minneapolis Sound, as we know it from Jam & ewis productions on, came more fro mthe work Prince did for The Time tbh. At least how I see it.

Not even Vanity 6's album comes close to that Minn. Sound i believe.


The Camille album still has a sound that I never heard before and never heard since from any other artist.

Exactly that! Perfect example. Thank You JorisE73

It is pop in its pure unearthly form, very uplifting, happy and totally new.

An album that should be released as a RSD album, or even have a serious release on its own

I won't mind.

Complete with artwork and lyrics and promotion, why not.

I even dare to say that it will stand the test of time.

Might even be received by the general public and critics as a true real new sound. wink

No matter for the known released songs.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts" (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)
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Reply #21 posted 12/07/21 2:22am

JorisE73

Vannormal said:

JorisE73 said:


The Camille album still has a sound that I never heard before and never heard since from any other artist.

Exactly that! Perfect example. Thank You JorisE73

It is pop in its pure unearthly form, very uplifting, happy and totally new.

An album that should be released as a RSD album, or even have a serious release on its own

I won't mind.

Complete with artwork and lyrics and promotion, why not.

I even dare to say that it will stand the test of time.

Might even be received by the general public and critics as a true real new sound. wink

No matter for the known released songs.

That album sounds more fresh than anything out now which to me is the main problem with new 'pop' music tehse days, everything sounds dated the moment it's released.

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Reply #22 posted 12/07/21 4:06am

lurker316

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JorisE73 said:

lurker316 said:



The only interviews I've watched recently were two Sunset Sound interview, one with Peggy Mac and David Z, the other with Peggy Mac, Dweezil Zappa and some other guy. I would swear the story was in one of those two, but it's entirely possibly I'm misremembering. The only thing I am certain of is that I heard this story for the first time in the past month.



It was posted on a private group in september (september 7th to be exact)



Ah, you're correct. Sorry -- I was being dense. I've found that old thread now.


[Edited 12/7/21 8:29am]

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Reply #23 posted 12/07/21 4:23am

JorisE73

lurker316 said:

JorisE73 said:


It was posted on a private group in september (september 7th to be exact)



Ah, you're correct. Sorry -- I was being dense. I've found that old tread now.


thumbs up!

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Reply #24 posted 12/07/21 5:46am

PJMcGee

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TrivialPursuit said:



PJMcGee said:


He said "Who wrote that?" about Respect too. Just pointing out that it's a cover.


He also didn't throw a copy of Aretha's record on her lawn and drive off.



I don't know that story, but you should have used it as evidence of Prince being upset at Jam & Lewis, not "Who wrote that?"
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Reply #25 posted 12/07/21 9:44am

paisleypark4

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VaultCurator said:

This is what I have heard regarding Janet Jackson’s ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’.

Apparently in the early 80s Prince had a piano motif that he would often play during jams and rehearsals. He recorded a track (no idea if it had lyrics or if it was just an instrumental) in either 1982 or 1983 based around this motif.

I’ve never heard this track as it isn’t widely circulating, but I have been told that it is recognisable as both an early version of Partyman, and also the genesis of ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’.

If you check out the ‘Baby I’m a Star’ official video (which was a live performance recorded on 20th November 1984, predating the recording of ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’) at around the 10:15 mark, Prince plays a small part of this piano piece.
https://www.youtube.com/w...Lgf2VU_M70.

Allegedly, Jam and Lewis either used this early 80s track as inspiration or possibly ripped it off.
Again, if you listen to the video for ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’ at the 3:10 mark you can hear the same piano motif. The bass line throughout resembles this piano part too...
https://www.youtube.com/w...9uizdKZAGE.


Legend has it that Prince wasn’t pleased about this, so he took this old demo and reworked it into what we know as Partyman in retaliation.
Partyman video: https://www.youtube.com/w...jY8HvpNu6o (Piano motif appears again at the 3:00 mark).

This is why he got Rosie to sing the lyrics to WHYDFML over Partyman on the nude tour. It also explains why he would also add “Who wrote this?”.

That’s everything I was told (not directly, but via a semi private forum) and the info comes from a trusted source. However (and this is where I begin to speculate so take this next part with a huge grain of salt), there may be a bit more to this story.

Rumour has it that Partyman wasn’t the first time that Prince had revived this early 80s track and reworked it into something we’d recognise. Allegedly, the piano part that we hear in the longer version of ‘Good Love’ (Good Love Part 2), was also born from this original piano track, although using a different segment of it, hense why we do not recognise it from either Partyman or WHYDFML.

The reason I find this interesting is because according to PrinceVault.com, Prince recorded a song on the 25th July 1985 entitled ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’. There is also a piece of trivia claiming that ‘Good Love’ was initially going to be titled ‘Good Drawers’.

Prince Vault doesn’t outright say that ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ and ‘Good Love’ are musically related as it may just be a title that Prince re-used, but it does open up the possibility. The reason I find this fascinating is because according to Wikipedia, ‘What Have You Done for Me Lately’ was recorded two months later in September 1985!

This could just be coincidental, but if there is a possibility that ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ also shared DNA with Prince’s early 80s piano piece, that means that both Prince and ‘Jam & Lewis’ both re-worked Prince’s earlier track with the space of a couple of months of each other.

Could Jam and Lewis have heard ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ in advance? Was Prince on better terms with them at the time than we realised? Did he offer it to them as a demo?

Probably not. ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ was recorded a month after ‘Old Friends 4 Sale’ so Prince was probably still bitter towards them at the time. I just thought it was an interesting connection. For all I know, ‘(U Got The) Good Drawers’ may have nothing to do with ‘Good Love’, or Prince’s piano piece for that matter. However, given the timing involved I thought it was worth mentioning.


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[Edited 12/5/21 14:58pm]

YOU CAME WITH RECEIPTS. See this is what I like.

Straight Jacket Funk Affair
Album plays and love for vinyl records.
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Reply #26 posted 12/07/21 11:59am

TrivialPursuit

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PJMcGee said:

TrivialPursuit said:


He also didn't throw a copy of Aretha's record on her lawn and drive off.

I don't know that story, but you should have used it as evidence of Prince being upset at Jam & Lewis, not "Who wrote that?"


Jimmy Jam recently told the story. Prince was so miffed about Control and thought J&L had stolen his (Prince's) sound, that he drove by Jimmy's house, tossed a copy of Janet's record on Jimmy's lawn and drove off.

I don't know that has upset about it 4 years later or what. The call out is just weird. He couldn't have been that miffed about them if they just pulled them into a movie and helped produce a new album for them.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #27 posted 12/07/21 12:42pm

PJMcGee

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Um, chalk it up to his mischievous sense of humor?
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Reply #28 posted 12/07/21 1:58pm

TrivialPursuit

avatar

PJMcGee said:

Um, chalk it up to his mischievous sense of humor?


Yeah, I sorta believe it was part being miffed, part humor.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #29 posted 12/08/21 1:54am

Vannormal

JorisE73 said:

Vannormal said:

Exactly that! Perfect example. Thank You JorisE73

It is pop in its pure unearthly form, very uplifting, happy and totally new.

An album that should be released as a RSD album, or even have a serious release on its own

I won't mind.

Complete with artwork and lyrics and promotion, why not.

I even dare to say that it will stand the test of time.

Might even be received by the general public and critics as a true real new sound. wink

No matter for the known released songs.

That album sounds more fresh than anything out now which to me is the main problem with new 'pop' music tehse days, everything sounds dated the moment it's released.

...or, we're getting old(er)...

wink

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts" (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)
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