lurker316 said:

A lot of people are listing Delirious. The funny thing is, for most of my life I disliked it and skipped it myself. Had this question come up a few years ago, it would have made my list too. But over the last few years I've warmed to it. I still don't love it, but I can enjoy it for what it is and not skip it.

Thankfully he used the edited version on the album. I've not warmed to it enough to appreciate the extended version that appeared on the SDE. I realize it's only slightly longer, but as it is, the album version almost outlives its welcome.

If you compile all the edits from that album that exist, it's a much shorter listen. You get all the vibes, without all the time. Even "Delirious" has an edit. I think "International Lover" and "Something In The Water" are maybe the only ones without an edit.

liverpool86 said:

nothing really missed the mark from 80 to 88

you can say you dont like certain songs but i cant think of much that outright missed the mark

theres certain songs on lovesexy that i think arent quite as good as they could be (why do glam slam and IWUH repeat the same verses? and then, dance on is an incredible riff but the song isnt what it could have been) but even then i dont think it misses the mark entirely.

[Edited 12/29/23 7:01am]

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Glam slam is incredible. I love that video too.

Did you learn the "Glam Slam" dance?

I would also add that the remix was the first not-so-good 12" version of a single.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

RJOrion said:

Glam Slam is definitely in my top 20 all time Prince songs...The keyboard/synth work on that joint is magical

I love it, too. The video version is 90 seconds shorter than the album version, which sorta sucks. I also wish he'd played it live because the arrangement on the tour was great.

TrivialPursuit said:

The first song that came to mind was "All the Critics Love You in New York." I don't think that track is anywhere close to the quality of the other songs on 1999. If he'd replaced that with a more fleshed-out Purple Music, it might top all the other albums.

paraded said:

paraded said:

The first song that came to mind was "All the Critics Love You in New York." I don't think that track is anywhere close to the quality of the other songs on 1999. If he'd replaced that with a more fleshed-out Purple Music, it might top all the other albums.

that song is a prince classic.

also just a good song about early fame from someone about to blow the fuck up.

it also has some of his best lines (i dont need to quote them, but its got to be one of his most quotable songs).

plus, moodymann did some great edits and reworks of it, which show what an incredible groove he achieved on that track (ATCLYINY was also a pretty influential track in dance music circles).

lastly, give me one of princes spoken/semi rapped/sung deliveries like this over his actual rapping later on any day.

[Edited 12/30/23 6:30am]

paraded said:

Look out all you hippies, you ain't as sharp as me
It ain't about the trippin', but the sexuality

You don't have to keep the beat, they'll still think it's neat, in New York

You can wear what you want to, it doesn't matter in New York
You could cut off all your hair, I don't think they'd care in New York

funnily enough if he wrote this after 2001, itd sound like an old dude talking about hating modern technology and wanting things to go back to the old days when 'real music was played by real musicians' etc

but there was something about the tone that i think made most of us think of prince as kinda sly, sardonic, clever, and funny too

[Edited 12/30/23 13:32pm]

moodymann's reworks for anyone interested in detroit dance music -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlHdJ8Put3I

RJOrion said:

"...Body dont wanna quit...gotta get another hit.." Double entendre (?) maybe even triple (?)

almost tragic if you want to read it as a summary of what he had to do to keep it together on stage (show must go on etc)

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

lustmealways said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Fuck all y'all. "Free" is a virtual prelude to stuff like "Purple Rain," and "Gold." It's fantastic.

it's completely over the top sappy with a melody and production that does not save it

i don't completely hate it or anything, but being the sole song on the album in that style (international lover maybe veers close in terms of not being a mechanical synth funk feel, BUT obviously it's a totally different vibe to free) as well as the fact that i think he was being earnest with the messaging, it's hard to not feel like it's lacking compared to the rest of the album. i just don't think it's that strong of a song, and when we know moonbeam levels was floating around, which may very well be one of the greatest songs he ever wrote ever, free feels silly and fluffy.

the weird part is that of course i hear little stems of what makes his ballad piano stuff so perfect, but something just feels off about free.

[Edited 12/28/23 16:50pm]

TrivialPursuit said:

Fuck all y'all. "Free" is a virtual prelude to stuff like "Purple Rain," and "Gold." It's fantastic.

All three of those tracks are about the same level of lame, so you're probably right.

You left out "Arms of Orion" btw, but I actually consider that one a cut above those other maudlin meanderings.

paraded said:

The first song that came to mind was "All the Critics Love You in New York." I don't think that track is anywhere close to the quality of the other songs on 1999. If he'd replaced that with a more fleshed-out Purple Music, it might top all the other albums.

That one meanders, too, "Free" just happens to be more overtly cringe.

I'll always maintain '1999' is easily his most overrated album. He knew what he was doing front-loading that thing with the radio hits on Side A. You people have let your enthusiasm for a handful of albeit great jams warp your appraisal of something that needs an editor as much as any other Double LP.

lurker316 said:
A lot of people are listing Delirious. The funny thing is, for most of my life I disliked it and skipped it myself. Had this question come up a few years ago, it would have made my list too. But over the last few years I've warmed to it. I still don't love it, but I can enjoy it for what it is and not skip it.

Thankfully he used the edited version on the album. I've not warmed to it enough to appreciate the extended version that appeared on the SDE. I realize it's only slightly longer, but as it is, the album version almost outlives its welcome.

Too squeaky.

Squaksquaksquaksqquasquasuqak. His worst beat ever. Definitely his worst rockabilly.

All those '1999' LP versions overstay their welcome, every track is like 25 minutes. There's a reason the other rockabilly tracks are like 2:12 max.