MattyJam said:

MattyJam said:

I like it, but in terms of sincerity, Friend Lover Mother Sister/Wife sounds a lot more heartfelt to me.

A lot of Emancipation is definitely more earnest.

"Adore" is for sure great but there are elements of "International Lover"-style come-ons Prince. Those Emancipation ballads are his most pure sincerity love tracks no caveats, for sure.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

MattyJam said:

I like it, but in terms of sincerity, Friend Lover Mother Sister/Wife sounds a lot more heartfelt to me.

Yep. Or in sentiment, forever in my life. On adore hes doing that preening thing.

"Forever in My Life" is weird/disjointed/creepy more so than "It", only the lyrics themselves have the sentiment of devotion. But juxtaposed over that stark, cold backing track it has it's always been odd mix to me. Unique, for sure. The original demo version on SOTT SDE matches the lyrics, otherwise I've never considered the LP version to quite be all the way in the "sincere love ballad" category.

I like it, but it's one of the tracks I listen to the least on the album.

I didn't love it upon first hearing it as a teen but I've come to love it. It has a certain wit and charm to it - "Maybe not the ride, but I got to have your face all up in the place." I like that it doesn't take itself too seriously, unlike most of Prince's later output. It's a young man's love song. That said, if it did indeed replace Crucial, I would've preferred Crucial.

SpookyPurple said:

I didn't love it upon first hearing it as a teen but I've come to love it. It has a certain wit and charm to it - "Maybe not the ride, but I got to have your face all up in the place." I like that it doesn't take itself too seriously, unlike most of Prince's later output. It's a young man's love song.

Agreed. As a teenage boy, a song like Adore wasn't going to immediately win me over. I was into the bangers like U Got the Look and ICNTTPOYM, and the funk of Housequake and Hot Thing. Ballads generally didn't appeal to me and my testosterone filled adolescence.

But after a few listens, Adore won me over. I normally don't listen to lyrics, but in Adore's case, it was the lyrics that sank their hooks into me.The one you cite is gold. There are a million more.

I also love how the whole song builds and builds until it's climactic end.

I don't love it. I know it's basically at the top of everyones list for best Prince ballad.

It's just not for me. I'm not saying it's NOT his best ballad, it's just not, for me.

FunkyStrange said:

I don't love it. I know it's basically at the top of everyones list for best Prince ballad.

It's just not for me. I'm not saying it's NOT his best ballad, it's just not, for me.

Nothing can top "The Morning After", anyway.

lurker316 said:

Agreed. As a teenage boy, a song like Adore wasn't going to immediately win me over. I was into the bangers like U Got the Look and ICNTTPOYM, and the funk of Housequake and Hot Thing. Ballads generally didn't appeal to me and my testosterone filled adolescence.

This is why I reject the very premise of OP's opening salvo:

SanDiegoFunkDaddy said:

I played it once when I bought the album March 1987 and never played it again.

Like bro, errr, uhh, that's uhhhh, kind of a while ago dude, you pretty 100% that your tastes haven't changed or altered since then?

There's so much Prince I hated as a teen but love as an adult or vica versa. It seems a tad wacky to be so steadfastly affixed on an opinion you haven't confirmed since March 1987. Like what?

"No, no, black olives are a terrible pizza topping because I tried them once at a Pizza Hut red roof buffet in April 1991 and threw out the slice."

In a world by these parameters we'd still all be drinking Capri-Sun and subsisting off Lunchables and Fruit Roll-Ups. What in the name of atavism?..

[Edited 10/5/23 5:37am]

paisleyparkgirl said:

I prefer Crucial.

as do I but Adore is a absolute gem too

I love the song but have listened to it so much that I only revisit it often.

It's not just the "overall sound" of the song I admire; it's the musicality, vocals, all of it, It is in fact a great song.

Yes! Yes you are. Well, you should be.

WhisperingDandelions said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

MattyJam said: Yep. Or in sentiment, forever in my life. On adore hes doing that preening thing.

"Forever in My Life" is weird/disjointed/creepy more so than "It", only the lyrics themselves have the sentiment of devotion. But juxtaposed over that stark, cold backing track it has it's always been odd mix to me. Unique, for sure. The original demo version on SOTT SDE matches the lyrics, otherwise I've never considered the LP version to quite be all the way in the "sincere love ballad" category.

There's a pretty simple artistic explanation for that - and it applies to Big Tall Wall too.

After the break-up with Susannah, he went back and 'decolourised' both songs. Made them sepia negatives - same lyrics, but with an entirely different sentiment due to their new bleak, minimalist musical accompaniment and re-recorded vocals. Hollow drums, all psychadelic whimsy erased from Big Tall Wall and all FIML's warmth utterly frozen and cast in shadow.

And the fact is, the only people who knew what he had done to these songs were Prince and Susannah. I imagine noone else had heard the original FIML. With the SOTT version, he wanted her to be shocked, to know where he was emotionally, how she'd made him feel by leaving him. Cold. Empty. Dead.

[Edited 10/5/23 16:40pm]

TheNumber23 said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

"Forever in My Life" is weird/disjointed/creepy more so than "It", only the lyrics themselves have the sentiment of devotion. But juxtaposed over that stark, cold backing track it has it's always been odd mix to me. Unique, for sure. The original demo version on SOTT SDE matches the lyrics, otherwise I've never considered the LP version to quite be all the way in the "sincere love ballad" category.

There's a pretty simple artistic explanation for that - and it applies to Big Tall Wall too.

After the break-up with Susannah, he went back and 'decolourised' both songs. Made them sepia negatives - same lyrics, but with an entirely different sentiment due to their new bleak, minimalist musical accompaniment and re-recorded vocals. Hollow drums, all psychadelic whimsy erased from Big Tall Wall and all FIML's warmth utterly frozen and cast in shadow.

And the fact is, the only people who knew what he had done to these songs were Prince and Susannah. I imagine noone else had heard the original FIML. With the SOTT version, he wanted her to be shocked, to know where he was emotionally, how she'd made him feel by leaving him. Cold. Empty. Dead.

[Edited 10/5/23 16:40pm]

And the absolute genius move at the end of SOTT's FIML - reintroducing the warm acoustic guitar of the original cut only as the song fades away. It signifies hope, a rainbow after the storm ... whether it's getting Susannah back or optimism for better days ahead.

TheNumber23 said:

PacManPlus said:

I actually agree with the OP. To me, Crucial (the Sax version ONLY) is 100x better. I also listened to Adore once.

But then, I dislike Temptation and Insatiable, so what do I know...

[Edited 10/2/23 3:30am]

Not much apparently.

TrivialPursuit said:

RJOrion said:

Adore
It's Gonna Be Lonely
Conditions of The Heart
The Beautiful Ones
When 2 R In Love Shhh
Insatiable Scandalous

These 6 joints are Prince's greatest ballads ever.

Fixed it - for me.

I think someone on here mentioned it, but there are two categories of Prince ballads - the love ballad, and the seduction ballad. Things like "Damn U," "Adore," or "Condition of the Heart" is the former.

Seduction is more "Do Me, Baby," "Scandalous," "Insatiable," "International Lover," etc.

But I suppose you could just mix them for the sake of a short list.

I think of his ballads in those terms too. He had quite a few quality love ballads but the seduction ballads are few and far between. Scandalous, Insatiable. Do Me Baby, Girl, and Shh! are the standouts that come to my mind.

I don't need to read this thread to know this is an unfortunate take.

TheNumber23 said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

"Forever in My Life" is weird/disjointed/creepy more so than "It", only the lyrics themselves have the sentiment of devotion. But juxtaposed over that stark, cold backing track it has it's always been odd mix to me. Unique, for sure. The original demo version on SOTT SDE matches the lyrics, otherwise I've never considered the LP version to quite be all the way in the "sincere love ballad" category.

There's a pretty simple artistic explanation for that - and it applies to Big Tall Wall too.

After the break-up with Susannah, he went back and 'decolourised' both songs. Made them sepia negatives - same lyrics, but with an entirely different sentiment due to their new bleak, minimalist musical accompaniment and re-recorded vocals. Hollow drums, all psychadelic whimsy erased from Big Tall Wall and all FIML's warmth utterly frozen and cast in shadow.

And the fact is, the only people who knew what he had done to these songs were Prince and Susannah. I imagine noone else had heard the original FIML. With the SOTT version, he wanted her to be shocked, to know where he was emotionally, how she'd made him feel by leaving him. Cold. Empty. Dead.

[Edited 10/5/23 16:40pm]

Great post, I agree 100%

That's why the SOTT SDE version of "Forever in My Life" enhanced my appreciation of the album version. Before the demo the dichotomy of the album version made me feel uneasy, particularly because everyone usually acts like it's this big 100% earnest ode to devotion and committment. I didn't "get" it because it didn't give me that vibe. When his actually earnest first version came out it confirmed the song itself did have that sentiment, but he intentionally darkened/murked up the delivery mode for the reasons you state.

Now even if it's not one of my fav tracks to put on for my own enjoyment, I have to concede it's 100% a brilliant piece of art. And I like confirming my initial unease with the track since teenage me was somewhere in the right ballpark. He was going for that.

[Edited 10/8/23 3:25am]

[Edited 10/8/23 3:25am]

I'd actually like more in-depth analysis of his material as pertains to specific relationships but a certain % of the fandom gets pissy that it infringes too far into his personal life or whatever.

"101"'s gotta be some more manic-depressive Susannah pathos, though, right? The tracking date lines up...

homesquid said:

paisleyparkgirl said:

I prefer Crucial.

as do I but Adore is a absolute gem too

Yes, Adore is great as well.

Apparently, you're not the only one!^^^^

I loved the song from the first listen on wax in '87 and was in awe of how warm and real it sounded in comparison to the many electronic tracks on the album.

(and no guitar )

olb99 said:

FunkyStrange said:

I don't love it. I know it's basically at the top of everyones list for best Prince ballad.

It's just not for me. I'm not saying it's NOT his best ballad, it's just not, for me.

Nothing can top "The Morning After", anyway.

I will admit that I prefer the live version of the song (and Prince`s remake) to the original version on SOTT

andrewm7new said:

I will admit that I prefer the live version of the song (and Prince`s remake) to the original version on SOTT

Do you mean "All That" from the Carmen Elektra album???