So is this a cover of the Neil Young track? or a different song altogether? or maybe a new Prince song which samples the Neil Young original?

My guess is it's a cover - bearing in mind P's increasing propensity to include covers on albums.

Anyone got views, opinions, reasoned argument on the subject?

you know what's so funny about this....I have been rocking out to neil young's cinnamon girl lately....and now this...that's WEIRD...but then it could be a new song and not a cover....but we'll see soon wont we?

I'm having a hell of a time trying to imagine P doing Neil Young. Then again, Duran Duran pulled off "Needle & The Damage Done" in a spectacular way, so it can be done! That's the good thing about Neil, is that his songwriting is so solid his tunes can be adapted to other styles.

Cassandra Wilson did a really nice cover of Harvest Moon

I just hope it isn't a cover of Type O' Negative doing Neil Young.

I bet its a cover. CINNIMON GIRL it totally Prince's speed. Guitar oriented riff (al HONKY TONK GIRLS from UNDERTAKER), color or food oriented title/chorus (RASPBERRY BERRET, PEACH, PURPLE RAIN, LITTLE RED COVETTE, etc.) I can totally see it.

Too bad Bob Mould did such a scorching version of it first. After I heard him do it live (BLACK SHEETS OF RAIN tour I think) I just wrote perfomring that song off personally. That was the definitive take on it and there is no reason to do it again and fall short, IMO.

Yay! Glad to see so many Neil Young fans around here. A cover of Cinnamon Girl could be amazing.

I haven't even looked for the track listing, but I always dug this song. That chicken scratch geetar in between the riffs is right up Prince's alley.

Supernova said:

absolutely, that's exactly what I was thinking.

It is actually a new song which samples 'Liberian girl' from Micheal Jackson's 'Bad' album. This is a classic
example of again another song that he wrote for Mani --- the cinnamon referring to her skin tone.

The lyrics are somewhat identical to the samples' source:

Hey cinnamon girl
You came and you changed
my world
A love so brand new
Hey cinnamon girl
You came and you changed
me girl
A feeling so true

it's got to be a cover... i can't imagine a new song w/ the title Cinnamon Girl. That's just like writing a new song w/ the title Like a Virgin or When Doves Cry or A Hard Day's Night. It just can't be done.

I can't wait to hear it!!! Neil is a god in his own right, and it's a great song. Should be very cool.

It's about Mani, just look at that pic from Jet magazine; she's a cinnamon Girl. Prince wrote it for her.

FanofDaFascist said:

exactly what i was going to say. i cant see prince doing a neil young cover, plus first thing i thought of when seeing the tracklist was the color of her skin. cinnamon.

Love the Neil Young song. I hope this is not a cover. His covers tend to hit or miss for me.

Ifsixwuz9 said:

Yeah but don't tell me you wouldn't want to hear Prince rip up those power chords. And I'm sure Prince could blow Neil's guitar solo out of the water, as Neil's solo has only one note (played very passionately, but still, just one note).

A remake of this tune might even get Prince played on classic rock radio stations, and grab those rock fans he hasn't courted since "Purple Rain." Just wishful thinking, but wouldn't that be a trip?

But...sigh...it's probably not the same song. Oh please don't let it be a flaccid, wimpy little love tune...the world doesn't need another "She Loves Me 4 Me."

krebsne said:

I've seen Mould about a million times and I've never heard him play Cinnamon Girl. That would have been the shit!

I hope it's a cover, Prince could do a heck of a version methinks

TTD did it on his Vibrator Tour, at least when I saw him in Boston and it was fantastic...not far from what I would expect from a Prince take...