Note: a similiar thread may have been posted b4. Appologies b4hand if this is the case.

Sinead O'Connor was on British television last night (C4 'hundread greatest singles). She briefly spoke of the track 'Nothing Compares To U' (this was charted at number 11 in the poll). She talked of how when she hears the line - 'its been 7 hours and 13 days'- she just imagines Prince 'the man' and not Prince 'the Star' sat at his piano really hurting as he wrote the track. She says that he must have really felt and/or experienced what he was composing as it was so beautifuly honest. Furthermore, she said that its not very often that u get to hear a man sing so openly about the subject matter in question.

Now, i'm aware of the stories of animosity between Sinead and prince. However, here she seemed genuinely gratefull for the song and spoke highly of its composer.

She also said that the line - 'all the flowers that you planted ...all died when u went away'. - Caused the real tear which we see her cry during the video as it reminded her of her deceased mother.


Such a beautiful song.

Indeed.My favourite version is on the 'Nudity' bootleg.He sings it with so much passion, and no Rosie trying to overpower him for once.

Without Sinead, that song would have been dead and buried.I found it strange that reportedly Prince was jealous of Sinead and ended up bitch-slapping her in the paisley car park.

True or not, Who can tell? they're both prone to craziness.

Marrk said:

Did Sinead ever say that? lol

DavidEye said:

Apparently, Allegedly, supposedly it's true.

I personally don't believe it.

Marrk said:

I know that she once *accused* him of threatening her,but never going through with it...lol...I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during that meeting

Marrk said:

her accusation was false

no one believed prince threatened her

why would prince be jealous of her?

he wrote the song

he also benefitted with her success

when she re-recorded his song

he wrote for the family

sinead is the looney one

she made a joke of herself

when she appeared on snl and disrespected

the pope

sumtymes said:

Only if you're catholic.Alot of people thought it was a hoot.

Sinead has since stated on television that her and Prince's infamous 'fight' was nothing more than a pillow fight. Besides, the initial thread wasnt about that old and tired story. It concerned itself with the fact that sinead was being highly appreciative and respectfull to its composer.

Marrk said:[quote]Indeed.My favourite version is on the 'Nudity' bootleg.He sings it with so much passion, and no Rosie trying to overpower him for once.

Agreed. The Nudity version was so stripped down. I find his band rendition of this track to be 'over produced'. Prince at the piano, alone with just those haunting chords and melody singing his heart out over possibly the most sinscre and honset lyrics he ever wrote. Truly beautiful, i share sineads sentiments about this track.

Sinead O'Connor was on British television last night (C4 'hundread greatest singles). She briefly spoke of the track 'Nothing Compares To U' (this was charted at number 11 in the poll). She talked of how when she hears the line - 'its been 7 hours and 13 days'- she just imagines Prince 'the man' and not Prince 'the Star' sat at his piano really hurting as he wrote the track. She says that he must have really felt and/or experienced what he was composing as it was so beautifuly honest. Furthermore, she said that its not very often that u get to hear a man sing so openly about the subject matter in question.

Now, i'm aware of the stories of animosity between Sinead and prince. However, here she seemed genuinely gratefull for the song and spoke highly of its composer.

She also said that the line - 'all the flowers that you planted ...all died when u went away'. - Caused the real tear which we see her cry during the video as it reminded her of her deceased mother.


Such a beautiful song.

does anyone have the single of it??

i just got mine for £2.99

prince version that is

makes me wanna cry

That song leaves no doubt how he felt about Susannah that's for sure.

EverlastingNow said:

Its heartbreaking to hear

Marrk said:

Indeed this is the closest version to sineads version. He probably felt obliged to perform it that way as that was how people knew it at the time. I must admit that since this version, most of his versions have sucked. The one on The Hits with Rosie is bad, but some of the subsequent live versions were appauling. I dont mind the ONA CD version so much as Candy's Sax break is phenomenal, but it does border on the Kenny G a bit.

This song sounds best stripped down. Id love to hear his demo of it for the family. It would be one of the first tracks id choose on an ultimate outtakes collection.

CrozzaUK said:

You're the second person on this thread to say that, so I'm obliged to say I absolutely adore this version. It's my favorite version, hands-down. I'll take it any day over Sinead's, The Family's and the numerous live solo versions I've heard. I think he and Rosie completely nail the emotion of the song and, together with the band, bring it to a breathtaking climax.

I still say that the original released version on The Family is the best and definitive version of this song.

Sinead's always bothered me, and it was annoying that that version got all the press when a perfectly good version was just lying around doin' nothin'.

St. Paul's voice is amazing on that...(and before y'all say it, yes I know he was following Prince's instructions but it's still his voice and vocal chords that are making those beautiful sounds!)

craigle said:

which one is that?

1p1p1i3 said:

dunno which 1 craigle is talkin bout, but there r 2 i know of. i got em at time of release.

1. peach/nothing c 2 u, double a side uk 1993
front sleeve as above ,rear sleeve nothing c 2 u/peach

2.nothing c 2 u, edit + album ver,promo pro cd 5994 1992

they were released 2 promote the hits/b sides 3 cd set.

a wee story 2 share bout nothing compares 2 u.

my cuzzin and i both had the family's album way back 85/86ish and we both thought nc2u was a great song written by p.

in 1990 i heard a snippet "and i do mean a snippet mayb 5 seconds !" of a woman singing on a uk tv (music type) show,i knew i'd heard the song b4 ,i didnt know who sinead o'connor was , my cuzzin was over at my house and we went through the albums then the assoc artists when neil said "the family danny" he was right! it had said on the tv show tune in next week 2 hear the new single by s o'connor.

then something weird happened.
during the week i was in glasgow browsing wrecka stows when low and behold in the window of a second hand shop was the following.

promotional only box sinead o'connor nothing compares 2 u promo video with picture sleeve and promo only cassette single pic sleeve in a nice pic promo box.

i went in2 the shop asked the guy how much the box cost "£10.00" i bought it right there and then !when i got home and played the single and watched the video i thought "wow"i'm on2 something here i went in2 work the next day and said 2 everyone i knew "theres a single coming out blah blah it will go straight 2 nr 1 "yes its that good" i loved s o'connors version right away i always thought st paul sounded like he was going through the motions and not the emotions !!!

i still think s o'connors version was the best sorry fellow orgers imho she kicks p,s ass with this track !

i was quite the celebrity when it did go srraight 2 nr 1 !!! rite enuf !!!

my fave p version is from ona live box candy's sax solo aint no kenny g shit !!!the sax nails it 4 me !!!

and yes ive still got my promo box !

I listened to this song about 30 times in a row today

Without Sinead, that song would have been dead and buried.
[/quote]


I disagree. I detest Sinead's version. However, I am amazed by the number of people who honestly think the song is originally hers.

I must say, the Prince version is good and if not for Sinead would've been quite a nice little song, but Sinead puts far more energy, soul, personality and pain into the thing. I think the Sinead version is the greatest cover song of all time - nobody has ever put so much energy into a song they didn't write.

MrSquiggle said:

so true

I'm not a fan of Sinead and I don't really like her version of the song. There seems to be a vast amount of people who think that she wrote this (I love to correct them!!)

I love Prince's version. The way he sings "Its been 7 hours and 13 days, since you took your love away" brings a lump to my throat (no jokes please).

wildblueangel said:

Indeed. Sinead took something out of the song Prince did not even see. Is why he gave his soulless demo to The Family. That version sounds obviously dated.

Sinead's version had a production that is awesome, but in combination with the energy, soul, personality and pain of Sinead personally it became a timeless classic.

Prince's live version sound feeble and just seem an attempt to tap into the commercial aspect of it rather than the emotional message.

I genuinely think a lot of Prince fans dismiss sineads version because it is a cover version of a prince song. There are far too many purists around in my opinion who dismiss it because they dont like her as an artist or because of her politics or whatever, or simply because they have this mantra of believing only prince can produce the best versions of his songs.

I cant see how people fail to be moved by her version, or by the video. However it is no mistake or accident that hers became a massive hit song, and the family's version was left languishing on a flop album. Sinead took the song, changed it and bettered it. Better production, better vocals, more emotion.

The song is prince's through and through. The lyrics, the majestic chord sequence and melody, its all prince's emotion, and is one of his truly brilliant songs, but people should give Sinead credit for what she brought to the song.

I dont believe prince would have dusted it off for his live shows if she'd never recorded it.

Also as for the Prince and Rosie version on the hits...that version is way to Vegas for my liking. The personal nature of the lyrics mean for me this song should never...repeat never, be performed as a duet. I think this song should ultimately be performed by Prince alone at the piano. No band, no backing vocalists, no orchestration.

howcomeudontcallme said:

(sigh) Sinead is one weird chick.In 1991,she told a completely different story.I now wonder if it was all just a silly publicity stunt that she and Prince came up with? Anyway,this is what she said back then...


According to o'Connor,Prince invited her to Paisley Park but then he started to cuss her out."You know,you really should start wearing dresses and stop swearing so much",he reportedly told her."He continually said that he was gonna beat the shit out of me",Sinead claims.Prince then sent his limo driver away,leaving Sinead with no way to get back to the airport."I was crying but he just laughed at me,saying that once again,my big mouth had gotten me in trouble",O'Connor claims.

Sinead thinks she knows the real reason for his funky attitude."His problem is that I did a song of his ("Nothing Compares 2 U") without him being involved",she says."He's jealous.And he did tell me that he wishes I had never done his song.I think that,frankly,that song saved his fucking ass.He was in serious financial trouble until that song happened".


Reality or a publicity stunt? LOL
[This message was edited Tue Nov 11 4:00:12 PST 2003 by DavidEye]

gooeythehamster said:

whoo ... we seem to agree on this part!
I even can't stand prince's version

gooeythehamster said:

all hail 2 the wisdom above !

ALthough one of the greatest songs he has ever written, he can't hold a candle 2 her version, sorry.

Sinead's is sung with so much regret and longing - almost pleading 4 a second chance in the last few choruses.

Perfect - even Prince started whacking it out in his sets as soon as it became a hit, (and 2 be fair, he hadnt bothered with it since 85/86 with the whole Family thing).

Sublime.
[This message was edited Wed Nov 12 4:08:03 PST 2003 by bananacologne]