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Thread started 05/09/25 3:29pm

getwild180

Temptation

There's not enough discussion about this song. This is a song about Prince struggling between religion and sex through artistic expression. It's a heavy song. What are your thoughts of this song. And also, what do you think was happening at the end. Was it God striking down on him then forgave him when Prince realized the difference between lust and love? Or was it the fact he had an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other? Let's talk about this song. What are your thoughts about it?
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Reply #1 posted 05/09/25 3:44pm

JoeyCococo

This is one of those songs that set him so far apart. I'm not saying this b/c of the weird God convo...i'm talking about the performance! The guy is screaming his azz off, playing a blistering guitar solo....it's pure fury! He had so much output that you forget some of these moments. I say this often, who else could do this? Who else could scream like he did while playing like he was on this song? It's just insane that one guy was able to do it all like he did.

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Reply #2 posted 05/09/25 6:43pm

Gooddoctor23

1 of my top 10 joints.

Graycap23 was ME!
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Reply #3 posted 05/09/25 7:08pm

love2thenines2
003

Gooddoctor23 said:

1 of my top 10 joints.



For me in my top 5...the most iconoclast song with WDC ever written by Prince!
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Reply #4 posted 05/09/25 7:27pm

purplethunder3
121

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love2thenines2003 said:

Gooddoctor23 said:

1 of my top 10 joints.

For me in my top 5...the most iconoclast song with WDC ever written by Prince!

nod yeahthat

"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 #5 posted 05/09/25 8:33pm

nayroo2002

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JoeyCococo said:

This is one of those songs that set him so far apart. I'm not saying this b/c of the weird God convo...i'm talking about the performance! The guy is screaming his azz off, playing a blistering guitar solo....it's pure fury! He had so much output that you forget some of these moments. I say this often, who else could do this? Who else could scream like he did while playing like he was on this song? It's just insane that one guy was able to do it all like he did.

I'm sure the vocals were recorded separate from the guitar overdubs.
I am wiith you about a total "Prince Experience", though biggrin

Autopen Signature
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Reply #6 posted 05/09/25 8:53pm

luv2tha99s

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LOVE this song. My only gripe is that it doesn't go on for a month! This will be right at home for some backing music at a burlesque club, got to fade it out before his conversation with God though. Then again maybe not.
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Reply #7 posted 05/09/25 9:54pm

TrivialPursuit

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Unpopular opinion #1:

"Temptation" is good, then ridiculous. Not sorry, but that tag ending with his bargaining-with-God talk is just not my bag, baby. I had cut it off before and added a big clap of thunder at the end so it had a natural ending after the "normal" part of the song.

#1.5: God bless him, he's talented, but Eddie's meandering saxophone improv in the tag ending is another reason it just blows. For me.

Unpopular opinion #2:


It's too slow. I get it's a slow, bluesy, rhythm, but my God. It's like molasses in winter getting through it. I took my above edited track and sped it up in Adobe Audition by just a few percentages (and kept the pitch the same of course; I ain't trying to Camille this shit LOL). Just enough that it feels more like a dirty mid-tempo, dick-drive bop than some sleazy back-alley hookup.

It's the version in my ATWIAD playlist. I can't abide with the other at this point.

I KNOW, I know, "who are you to edit Prince's music?" Well, let's all remember that when we created our fun little prince playlists at home for shits and giggles, we are doing "edits" in our own ways (ie: the original tracklists). lol lol

It's fun to tinker with stuff. The song is well constructed, but those are my two big minuses with it. (I don't have too many with Prince's music.) This one just feels right. Oh, the time on it went from 8:21 to 4:31.


Every day when I awake, the greatest of joys is mine: that of being ME.
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Reply #8 posted 05/09/25 11:20pm

Gooddoctor23

purplethunder3121 said:

love2thenines2003 said:

Gooddoctor23 said: For me in my top 5...the most iconoclast song with WDC ever written by Prince!

nod yeahthat

I'm going remix this thing into a coma.

I can finally break down the stems.............it's ON!

Graycap23 was ME!
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Reply #9 posted 05/10/25 7:47am

Vannormal

TrivialPursuit said:

Unpopular opinion #1:

"Temptation" is good, then ridiculous. Not sorry, but that tag ending with his bargaining-with-God talk is just not my bag, baby. I had cut it off before and added a big clap of thunder at the end so it had a natural ending after the "normal" part of the song.

#1.5: God bless him, he's talented, but Eddie's meandering saxophone improv in the tag ending is another reason it just blows. For me.

Unpopular opinion #2:


It's too slow. I get it's a slow, bluesy, rhythm, but my God. It's like molasses in winter getting through it. I took my above edited track and sped it up in Adobe Audition by just a few percentages (and kept the pitch the same of course; I ain't trying to Camille this shit LOL). Just enough that it feels more like a dirty mid-tempo, dick-drive bop than some sleazy back-alley hookup.

It's the version in my ATWIAD playlist. I can't abide with the other at this point.

I KNOW, I know, "who are you to edit Prince's music?" Well, let's all remember that when we created our fun little prince playlists at home for shits and giggles, we are doing "edits" in our own ways (ie: the original tracklists). lol lol

It's fun to tinker with stuff. The song is well constructed, but those are my two big minuses with it. (I don't have too many with Prince's music.) This one just feels right. Oh, the time on it went from 8:21 to 4:31.


Some time ago, this was discussed here before.

I made a sped-up version for myself, left out the god-talk-end-part only (by using an AI voice remover), added some thunder...

The result it one hell of a boogie-woogie song.

I always loved it because of Prince giving his all, from a very deep voice to his lungs hanging out on the screams, greasy drums, and the amazing piano part at the end. You hear it so much better once that god-talk is removed.

The orignal mix always seemed a bit messy to me, loud and sloppy. But that's maybe just me.

I wish we had a serious remastered & dolby Atmos version of this macnificent often forgotten album.

"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 #10 posted 05/10/25 7:59am

Vannormal

Honestly, the so called struggle between lust and god is pure Princely bull-shit to tease us.

The (really silly) lyrics :

"Oh, silly man, that's not how it works. You have to want her for the right reasons. (I Do! ...You don't), now die!"

Prince doesn't die, instead he leaves with an excuse :

"I'm sorry. I'll be good. This time I promise, Love is more important than sex.
Now I understand. I have to go now. I don't know when I'll return. Goodbye."

He didn't understand anything, and didn't know when he will return? Sure, not.

His contiunous recordings, and for sure on his next albums it was again all sleazy-sex (and god).

So yeah, teasing and creating mysteries was much stronger, untill decades later he bumped into uncle Larry.

Even after the boring Larry-dip, Prince went back to his typical sex-talk, if not during it as well.

Wasn't it also that, by the time of the ATWIAD album, or short after, he announced that he was going to retire from recording? Sure, not!

It was always about teasing, playing games with all of us, while juggling with surprises, promisses, announcements, that only now and then were true.

IMHO of course.

[Edited 5/10/25 8:03am]

"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 #11 posted 05/10/25 3:21pm

Poplife88

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Its a WTF song for me...never dug it...i love that album up to that point. It's been replaced with She's Always in my Hair & Hello on my playlist for as long as I can remember. When I recorded the album off the radio back in the day this is the only one I skipped.

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Reply #12 posted 05/10/25 4:06pm

love2thenines2
003

Poplife88 said:

Its a WTF song for me...never dug it...i love that album up to that point. It's been replaced with She's Always in my Hair & Hello on my playlist for as long as I can remember. When I recorded the album off the radio back in the day this is the only one I skipped.

Temptation ...tamborine & Condition of the heart are the songs why i love so much this album ....inclassable....a real musical journey....so colored...his most iconoclastic album ever IMO !!!

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Reply #13 posted 05/12/25 9:38am

Vannormal

love2thenines2003 said:

Poplife88 said:

Its a WTF song for me...never dug it...i love that album up to that point. It's been replaced with She's Always in my Hair & Hello on my playlist for as long as I can remember. When I recorded the album off the radio back in the day this is the only one I skipped.

Temptation ...tamborine & Condition of the heart are the songs why i love so much this album ....inclassable....a real musical journey....so colored...his most iconoclastic album ever IMO !!!

Exactly the songs that do it for me also,

add "America" & "Pop Life" (that break).

Always wondered if Prince recorded a longer version of Tamborine, such great fun track.

Did he ever played it live?

"Condidtion of the Heart" has this beautiful timpani rhythm, which barely can be heard in the mix, and fades out at the end. A good remaster or Dolby Atmos is so much welcome.

It took me years to discover this sound. On the album it's far away in the mix, on CD it's more audible, at least to me. Wish it was far more to the front.

"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 #14 posted 05/12/25 10:02am

psyche2

Vannormal said:

love2thenines2003 said:

Temptation ...tamborine & Condition of the heart are the songs why i love so much this album ....inclassable....a real musical journey....so colored...his most iconoclastic album ever IMO !!!

Exactly the songs that do it for me also,

add "America" & "Pop Life" (that break).

Always wondered if Prince recorded a longer version of Tamborine, such great fun track.

Did he ever played it live?

"Condidtion of the Heart" has this beautiful timpani rhythm, which barely can be heard in the mix, and fades out at the end. A good remaster or Dolby Atmos is so much welcome.

It took me years to discover this sound. On the album it's far away in the mix, on CD it's more audible, at least to me. Wish it was far more to the front.

He more or less played Tamborine (more like a teaser than an actual performance in my opinion) in London at the ONA aftershow @ the Marquee.

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Reply #15 posted 05/12/25 12:12pm

paisleyparkgir
l

avatar

Vannormal said:

Honestly, the so called struggle between lust and god is pure Princely bull-shit to tease us.

The (really silly) lyrics :

"Oh, silly man, that's not how it works. You have to want her for the right reasons. (I Do! ...You don't), now die!"

Prince doesn't die, instead he leaves with an excuse :

"I'm sorry. I'll be good. This time I promise, Love is more important than sex.
Now I understand. I have to go now. I don't know when I'll return. Goodbye."

He didn't understand anything, and didn't know when he will return? Sure, not.

His contiunous recordings, and for sure on his next albums it was again all sleazy-sex (and god).

So yeah, teasing and creating mysteries was much stronger, untill decades later he bumped into uncle Larry.

Even after the boring Larry-dip, Prince went back to his typical sex-talk, if not during it as well.

Wasn't it also that, by the time of the ATWIAD album, or short after, he announced that he was going to retire from recording? Sure, not!

It was always about teasing, playing games with all of us, while juggling with surprises, promisses, announcements, that only now and then were true.

IMHO of course.

[Edited 5/10/25 8:03am]

For all of his inner turmoil he faced, he never seemed to achieve that self-discipline when it came to sex.

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Reply #16 posted 05/12/25 1:22pm

Vannormal

paisleyparkgirl said:

Vannormal said:

Honestly, the so called struggle between lust and god is pure Princely bull-shit to tease us.

The (really silly) lyrics :

"Oh, silly man, that's not how it works. You have to want her for the right reasons. (I Do! ...You don't), now die!"

Prince doesn't die, instead he leaves with an excuse :

"I'm sorry. I'll be good. This time I promise, Love is more important than sex.
Now I understand. I have to go now. I don't know when I'll return. Goodbye."

He didn't understand anything, and didn't know when he will return? Sure, not.

His contiunous recordings, and for sure on his next albums it was again all sleazy-sex (and god).

For all of his inner turmoil he faced, he never seemed to achieve that self-discipline when it came to sex.

Oh well, it is generally known anyway (among us Prine fans at least), that he was not a stallion in bed at all, but rather played charades with his girlfriends

"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 #17 posted 05/12/25 2:06pm

paisleyparkgir
l

avatar

Vannormal said:

paisleyparkgirl said:

For all of his inner turmoil he faced, he never seemed to achieve that self-discipline when it came to sex.

Oh well, it is generally known anyway (among us Prine fans at least), that he was not a stallion in bed at all, but rather played charades with his girlfriends

haha

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