Particularly the amazing extended version!

You gotta love that bass in the middle!

"We're against hungry children..."

Hello is still probably my fave Prince b-side.

Isn't life a little better with a pair of good shoes?...
[This message was edited Wed Jan 28 8:54:26 PST 2004 by r1ghteousone]

Awesome B-side and great response to the We Are The World sessions.

Used a portion of Hello as my phone message for a while. Mainly used the "hello hello hello" vocal and the intro beat before Prince starts to sing ...

hello

a2grafix said:

I've been using that same 'hello hello' for my Windows startup for years! Great idea, I'll try using it for my voicemail.

It's a Great song, especially the extended version... so funky.

top ten of all prince songs

rdhull said:

Seriously?

I rank it very highly as well. Not sure if it would make my top ten, but definately top 20 or so.

MattyJam said:

It's in my top 20...for sure.

I just found it quite unusual that rd thought it was one of Prince's ten greatest songs.

r1ghteousone said:

hell yes..I love this song, groove, coda, background singing, chrous etc...I temember the day I purchased it etc

2001:
Ok the opening is psycafunkadelic. then
when they get onto the groove watch out. ya got the real kick drum or whatever
hittin in the pocket...Lisa and W and Sheila? singin hello like some weird
harpies...then p comes in with his story non chalantly then the chorus comes in
" u call em bodyguards but i call em my friends"..Sly style and groovin. Then
their against hungry children! They gonna do what they can etc...

Then the breakdown...simple drums and keyboards playin a simple rhyme...then
on the long version u have some chicken grease-chicken scratch educated geetar
playing turnin into keyboard jamm...mmkay, works for me..dont forget the
drums and bass is still jammin in this hodgepodge...

Then Prince comes back with a vocoder voice and Lsia or Wendy or Jill moanin
in the back ground with Prince complainin about playin by the rules and he
breaks it down "Im unique in the respect im not u" in a funny upper crust
voice

then he breaks it dowwn while the music runs into itself givin his speech of
whats right n wrong...raggin on the critics and metaphorically turning it
into life as a pair of shoes...whoo! that part is like the relief from the
jammin. And your left with the thought of havin new shoes-actin right. Per got
it wrong..this isnt a throwaway...never was.

2002
Hello" is the shit in the car stereo--everyone hates this song but its been
one of my favs the day it was released..and thats a long mufuckin time. The
chorus part where they break it down "where against hungry children, our
record stands tall".." and you call em bodyguards but I call em my
friends" makes u put the peddle to the metal. Then the soliloquy he gives
about people saying mean things and cruel words and high shoes ending with the
facotry pressor sounds. This was his answer to his critics for his supposed
bad behavior during 1985(duh) but I remember an article where the author
said " Jesse Johnson answerd his critics with his own song..and did first
and better than Prince with FreeWorld" ( paraphrased). Bunk. They both are
tremendous jams..Jesses' of course is a junglelove studios funk workout
and Princes' version is the Psychadelic Revolution sound thats inside out
funk.

rdhull said:

Nice thread, especially after the "Love or $" money one.

I gotta go check if I have the 12" version or not...after RdHull's description I think I only got the regular.

And dont' you know that I'm going to take my Vanity 6 "Nasty Girl" riff off my voice mail greeting now, and copy y'all with the "Hello" intro.

It won't be original but none of my friends are reading this so hey!

I'm sure many of you remember the controversy surrounding LIL MAN with him not showing up at the all-star recording for the USA FOR AFRICA's song "WE ARE THE WORLD" back in 1985 after the American Music Awards (after he got robbed of at least 6 awards). I thought "Hello" was one of the best examples of him speaking to the media and his critics through him music. He wasn't giving interviews much in the 80's, so what did he do? Made a great song telling his side of the story. I thought these lines were genius ..."we're against hungry children...our record stands tall...there's just as much hungry HERE AT HOME". I thought that was brillant. What he was basically saying was, "you guys are making such a big deal about me now showing up for this recording session, but hey there are people starving here on the home front as well and hey I am concern, I am willing to give a song to your project". He didn't give an interview to state his position, he just snuck this song on the B-side of his "Pop Life" single. I remember when I bought the single back in 85' and was SURPRISED to hear this B-side single(surprise to hear him address his critics). I thought it was brillant and I think it is one of his greatest B-side songs.

Then he turned around and gave the USA FOR AFRICA album an awesome song "4 The Tears In Your Eyes". That people, is how he came to be called YOUR ROYAL BADNESS.

I am so crazy about this song, but I am crazy about most of Prince's B-sides.

There is a difference between the 7" and the 12" versions (besides the obvious) there is a line they sing in the 7" version that is not in the 12" (I can't recall the exact phrase but it's towards the end of the 7" version.) Check it out.

Peace, Serveitupfrankie*