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Thread started 11/11/22 6:55pm

SpookyPurple

Shy - Why all the hate?

Anytime the group discusses THE GOLD EXPERIENCE, SHY always seems singled out as a weak track or one that many would remove and I've always wondered... why? It's easily one of my favorites. I love the guitar, enjoy the "story" aspect and it's not overproduced (for the most part) like so many other GOLD tracks. So would love to hear why people don't like this track... but like WE MARCH which baffles me hmmm

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Reply #1 posted 11/11/22 7:01pm

SoulAlive

I like this song music it has a relaxed,bluesy sound and some really interesting lyrics.It's totally unlike the other songs on the album.

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Reply #2 posted 11/11/22 7:03pm

paisleyparkgir
l

avatar

I like it.

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Reply #3 posted 11/11/22 7:12pm

robertgeorge8

I like shy. Nice rhythm guitar, nice chorus and the outro is cool with a psychedelic tinge.


For me the weak song is "We March" which always reminded me of "Walk don't Walk" from Diamonds and Pearls but an inferior version.

I would say I am in agreement with you pretty much.

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Reply #4 posted 11/11/22 7:40pm

MIInsane

"Shy" has always been one of my favorite tracks on the album.

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Reply #5 posted 11/11/22 7:45pm

laytonian

I'm on the Shy train also and "We March" is the one TGE song I skip.
Welcome to "the org", laytonian… come bathe with me.
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Reply #6 posted 11/11/22 11:39pm

LoveGalore

It's trash, for starters.
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Reply #7 posted 11/12/22 2:34am

WhisperingDand
elions

avatar

I don't like "Shy" one bit. Can't believe all the people who "like" it here. Nope, nuh uh, nah brah... "Eye" love it.


The spare blues rock riff is fantastic for the verses. Prince tracks especially on this album often get overwhelmed by the arrangements. There are far and few moments in his oeuvre where he scales it back and gives you Prince + one instrument. They should all be cherished. Then that mellifluous chorus stepping it up a notch higher. I like the juxtaposition from crunchy to dreamy, nice and mellow, takes it where you do not expect it.


It seems the more ardent Gold Experience fanboys are the one who dislike this, maybe that's where we differ. Generally, TGE is pretty mediocre record that ages like sour milk, but this track is an absolute stand-out. My only hypotheses' are maybe the "hot virgin white" upsets some sensibilities, a lot of fans are slaves to the lyrics, look at "Free" stans,

And TGE stans generally exist because they get a rush from his cheeseball take on the rock genre, which got cornier and cornier with each successive decade he moved further and further from the 70s/early 80s, which was the only time his rock sound was remotely pop-culturally progressive,


Somehow over an hour of cornball 90s "rock'n'roll" Prince just isn't quite enough steaming hot limburger for TGE stans, so they take it out on the one track that has the everloving decency to do something *gasp* different with dynamics / expectations on the album. If he built the blues riff to a overwrought chorus cluttered with digital synths, NPG operator sound FX and a Hi-NRG cheeseball guitar wash it would probably be held up to the same rarified air as "Endorphinemachine", "Gold" and all the other blah experience that is absolutely laughable when compared to literally any other 90s rock artist you can throw a dart at.


"We March" is okay.

[Edited 11/12/22 2:48am]

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Reply #8 posted 11/12/22 6:02am

RJOrion

Best song on that album...by far
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Reply #9 posted 11/12/22 6:47am

MIRvmn1

avatar

It's not a bad song but it's definitely the weakest track on TGE.
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Reply #10 posted 11/12/22 7:12am

LoveGalore

WhisperingDandelions said:

I don't like "Shy" one bit. Can't believe all the people who "like" it here. Nope, nuh uh, nah brah... "Eye" love it.



The spare blues rock riff is fantastic for the verses. Prince tracks especially on this album often get overwhelmed by the arrangements. There are far and few moments in his oeuvre where he scales it back and gives you Prince + one instrument. They should all be cherished. Then that mellifluous chorus stepping it up a notch higher. I like the juxtaposition from crunchy to dreamy, nice and mellow, takes it where you do not expect it.


It seems the more ardent Gold Experience fanboys are the one who dislike this, maybe that's where we differ. Generally, TGE is pretty mediocre record that ages like sour milk, but this track is an absolute stand-out. My only hypotheses' are maybe the "hot virgin white" upsets some sensibilities, a lot of fans are slaves to the lyrics, look at "Free" stans,

And TGE stans generally exist because they get a rush from his cheeseball take on the rock genre, which got cornier and cornier with each successive decade he moved further and further from the 70s/early 80s, which was the only time his rock sound was remotely pop-culturally progressive,



Somehow over an hour of cornball 90s "rock'n'roll" Prince just isn't quite enough steaming hot limburger for TGE stans, so they take it out on the one track that has the everloving decency to do something *gasp* different with dynamics / expectations on the album. If he built the blues riff to a overwrought chorus cluttered with digital synths, NPG operator sound FX and a Hi-NRG cheeseball guitar wash it would probably be held up to the same rarified air as "Endorphinemachine", "Gold" and all the other blah experience that is absolutely laughable when compared to literally any other 90s rock artist you can throw a dart at.



"We March" is okay.

[Edited 11/12/22 2:48am]




LOL
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Reply #11 posted 11/12/22 7:14am

SPYZFAN1

I've always liked this song, but I felt it was a bit too over-produced. The cool opening rhythm guitar riff is straight out of the Sly Stone book. Wasn't crazy about the lyrics either.

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Reply #12 posted 11/12/22 10:55am

purplethunder3
121

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I don't get the hate for it either; I've always liked it. The Gold Experience is one of my favorite Prince albums.

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato

https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0
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Reply #13 posted 11/12/22 11:45am

TrivialPursuit

avatar

LoveGalore said:

It's trash, for starters.


I'm going with this, most wholeheartedly.

The Gold Experience is one of my favorite prince era albums. I could write a book on the brilliance of this record. Every song is a gem.

Except "Shy."

It's lethargic, sparce, uninventive, and ads nothing to the album. In fact, it throttles the momentum of the record, becoming its proverbial wet blanket. I will admit the keyboard sounds and such in the song are nice, but the song itself is just horrible.

I've long taken the song out of my playlist, and I actually re-blended the segues around it so it just naturally flows. It goes from the NPG Operator right into "Billy Jack Bitch."

I never miss the song, because it's simply not in my head or reflex to expect it. If I happen to stream it, and the song comes on, I skip it.

It feels out of place at this point, and for that I'm glad. It should've been a b-side. Or perhaps thrown in the trash can.

"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 #14 posted 11/12/22 12:51pm

dodger07

I’ve always liked it even though it does seem out of place on the album. It’s sparseness is a nice little change in a way though.
.
The main problem I had in my mind with it and We March is their inclusion at the expense of arguably stronger tracks like Days Of Wild and Acknowledge Me. I watched those 2 on repeat on TBE movie and was gutted when they didn’t make the album
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Reply #15 posted 11/12/22 1:03pm

TrivialPursuit

avatar

dodger07 said:

I’ve always liked it even though it does seem out of place on the album. It’s sparseness is a nice little change in a way though.

The main problem I had in my mind with it and We March is their inclusion at the expense of arguably stronger tracks like Days Of Wild and Acknowledge Me. I watched those 2 on repeat on TBE movie and was gutted when they didn’t make the album


I wonder about that. It's almost as though he put it there to simply take a breather on side 2 of the album. Had he put "Acknowledge Me" in that slot, the whole second side would've mostly been a funk workout. Starts with a rocker, "Dolphin," and just stomps right through until "I Hate U."

To put "Now," "319," "Acknowledge Me," and "Billy Jack Bitch" in a row is almost unprecedented for a Prince album. That's a lot in one space.

I don't even think Exodus had that sort of flow. Songs like "Cherry Cherry" and "Count The Days" broke up the momentum of "New Power Soul," "Get Wild," "Return of the Bump Squad," and "Big Fun." (Those stupid ass segues aside, which I sorta delete so I can stick to the music.)

Maybe I'll put "Acknowledge Me" in there and see how it works.

As far as "Days of Wild," it's sorta like "17 Days" in that it's a single that never found a proper album. I can only imagine it the place of "Now" on The Gold Experience. Because they're siblings as songs.

"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 #16 posted 11/12/22 1:20pm

LoveGalore

TrivialPursuit said:



LoveGalore said:


It's trash, for starters.


I'm going with this, most wholeheartedly.

The Gold Experience is one of my favorite prince era albums. I could write a book on the brilliance of this record. Every song is a gem.

Except "Shy."

It's lethargic, sparce, uninventive, and ads nothing to the album. In fact, it throttles the momentum of the record, becoming its proverbial wet blanket. I will admit the keyboard sounds and such in the song are nice, but the song itself is just horrible.

I've long taken the song out of my playlist, and I actually re-blended the segues around it so it just naturally flows. It goes from the NPG Operator right into "Billy Jack Bitch."

I never miss the song, because it's simply not in my head or reflex to expect it. If I happen to stream it, and the song comes on, I skip it.

It feels out of place at this point, and for that I'm glad. It should've been a b-side. Or perhaps thrown in the trash can.



You said it. Could not agree MORE.
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Reply #17 posted 11/12/22 2:05pm

dodger07

TrivialPursuit said:



dodger07 said:


I’ve always liked it even though it does seem out of place on the album. It’s sparseness is a nice little change in a way though.

The main problem I had in my mind with it and We March is their inclusion at the expense of arguably stronger tracks like Days Of Wild and Acknowledge Me. I watched those 2 on repeat on TBE movie and was gutted when they didn’t make the album


I wonder about that. It's almost as though he put it there to simply take a breather on side 2 of the album. Had he put "Acknowledge Me" in that slot, the whole second side would've mostly been a funk workout. Starts with a rocker, "Dolphin," and just stomps right through until "I Hate U."

To put "Now," "319," "Acknowledge Me," and "Billy Jack Bitch" in a row is almost unprecedented for a Prince album. That's a lot in one space.

I don't even think Exodus had that sort of flow. Songs like "Cherry Cherry" and "Count The Days" broke up the momentum of "New Power Soul," "Get Wild," "Return of the Bump Squad," and "Big Fun." (Those stupid ass segues aside, which I sorta delete so I can stick to the music.)

Maybe I'll put "Acknowledge Me" in there and see how it works.

As far as "Days of Wild," it's sorta like "17 Days" in that it's a single that never found a proper album. I can only imagine it the place of "Now" on The Gold Experience. Because they're siblings as songs.



Exactly, it was all about the sequencing with him
.
If I had to choose between Now and DOW I’d pick the latter every day of the week. They were great live back to back
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Reply #18 posted 11/12/22 2:41pm

SpookyPurple

LoveGalore said:

TrivialPursuit said:


I'm going with this, most wholeheartedly.

The Gold Experience is one of my favorite prince era albums. I could write a book on the brilliance of this record. Every song is a gem.

Except "Shy."

It's lethargic, sparce, uninventive, and ads nothing to the album. In fact, it throttles the momentum of the record, becoming its proverbial wet blanket. I will admit the keyboard sounds and such in the song are nice, but the song itself is just horrible.

I've long taken the song out of my playlist, and I actually re-blended the segues around it so it just naturally flows. It goes from the NPG Operator right into "Billy Jack Bitch."

I never miss the song, because it's simply not in my head or reflex to expect it. If I happen to stream it, and the song comes on, I skip it.

It feels out of place at this point, and for that I'm glad. It should've been a b-side. Or perhaps thrown in the trash can.

You said it. Could not agree MORE.

I find this so interesting. All subjective of course, but I'd rate SHY as one of the strongest tracks and one that I'll listen to on its own outside of the context of the album. Love the guitar. Love the steps as percussion. Love the story he tells with the song and the simplicity in an album with lots of production bloat. SHY's place in the tracklist is no different to me than SHHH coming on the heels of P CONTROL and ENDORPHINE. It's like the brakes get slammed with SHHH but it doesn't bother me. WE MARCH is the one song I always skip and I always remove the NPG Operator. I'll humor NOW but it was corny then and it's corny now and certainly not inventive is that what one is looking for. GOLD is also almost cringe-worthingly cheesy but I still enjoy. I actually find ACKNOWLEDGE ME boring and glad it wasn't included whereas INTERACTIVE I still think could've fit in there nicely. Agree with others that DOW would've been better than NOW.

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Reply #19 posted 11/12/22 3:57pm

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

The real hate should be reserved for p control, and now. Both blights on that album. Tmbgitw is a nice song but not meant to be on there. We march should have been on 1800 new funk.

Shy is a good little piece, like tangerine on rave, that fully deserves to be on tge.
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Reply #20 posted 11/12/22 3:58pm

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

Shy is the sister song to count the days. Another overlooked gem.
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Reply #21 posted 11/12/22 4:05pm

SpookyPurple

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Shy is the sister song to count the days. Another overlooked gem.

Agreed. Love COUNT THE DAYS.
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Reply #22 posted 11/12/22 4:11pm

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

Also shy is the only prince song with some cool slide guitar

Its not perfect
It feels a bit of a sketch but i think its meant to be, kinda folky but funky
Def the only song on tge that he he takes some risks on.
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Reply #23 posted 11/12/22 4:46pm

TrivialPursuit

avatar

dodger07 said:

Exactly, it was all about the sequencing with him . If I had to choose between Now and DOW I’d pick the latter every day of the week. They were great live back to back


Out of those two songs, I'd fully agree "Days of Wild" is a superior track. But I can get with "Now" any ol' time.

"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 #24 posted 11/12/22 10:04pm

LoveGalore

TrivialPursuit said:



dodger07 said:


Exactly, it was all about the sequencing with him . If I had to choose between Now and DOW I’d pick the latter every day of the week. They were great live back to back


Out of those two songs, I'd fully agree "Days of Wild" is a superior track. But I can get with "Now" any ol' time.



I don't understand the hate for Now. It's corny but hello? Prince did corny music often.
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Reply #25 posted 11/13/22 12:57am

dodger07

LoveGalore said:

TrivialPursuit said:



dodger07 said:


Exactly, it was all about the sequencing with him . If I had to choose between Now and DOW I’d pick the latter every day of the week. They were great live back to back


Out of those two songs, I'd fully agree "Days of Wild" is a superior track. But I can get with "Now" any ol' time.



I don't understand the hate for Now. It's corny but hello? Prince did corny music often.


Don’t get me wrong I love Now, especially TBE version, but I just think DOW is one of his best.
.
I used to watch DOW on repeat on my TBE VHS and be in awe. I still don't think I’ve forgiven him for leaving it off the album
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Reply #26 posted 11/13/22 1:43am

McD

avatar

As I remember it, SHY and WE MARCH were the only two ‘new’ songs on the album when it appeared. We’d heard the rest live.

One was great and the other was awful, easily the worst moment on a classic album.

SHY is fab.
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Reply #27 posted 11/13/22 4:38am

LoveGalore

McD said:

As I remember it, SHY and WE MARCH were the only two ‘new’ songs on the album when it appeared. We’d heard the rest live.

One was great and the other was awful, easily the worst moment on a classic album.

SHY is fab.



I'll suffer thru Shy any day vs Jughead.
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Reply #28 posted 11/13/22 6:33am

RJOrion

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Shy is the sister song to count the days. Another overlooked gem.



"Count The Days" is one of my very favorite songs ever made by anyone...its fairly easy to play on guitar too
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Reply #29 posted 11/13/22 7:29am

MIRvmn1

avatar

TrivialPursuit said:



LoveGalore said:


It's trash, for starters.


I'm going with this, most wholeheartedly.

The Gold Experience is one of my favorite prince era albums. I could write a book on the brilliance of this record. Every song is a gem.

Except "Shy."

It's lethargic, sparce, uninventive, and ads nothing to the album. In fact, it throttles the momentum of the record, becoming its proverbial wet blanket. I will admit the keyboard sounds and such in the song are nice, but the song itself is just horrible.

I've long taken the song out of my playlist, and I actually re-blended the segues around it so it just naturally flows. It goes from the NPG Operator right into "Billy Jack Bitch."

I never miss the song, because it's simply not in my head or reflex to expect it. If I happen to stream it, and the song comes on, I skip it.

It feels out of place at this point, and for that I'm glad. It should've been a b-side. Or perhaps thrown in the trash can.


I agree that it should've been a b-side instead. I think Shy would have been a perfect b-side to a Dolphin single (a shame Dolphin was only available as a promotional cassette single)
U are now an official member of the New Power Generation
Welcome 2 The Dawn
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