VelvetJ said:

I believe very little if nothing at all. Listen to the demo. I also remember hearing Michael wasn't happy with sharing co-producer credits with Quincy on that song.

Once again, Quincy's role is overestimated.

WildStyle said:

Once Quincy wa outta the picture, MJ's music lost all its soul. I love Off The Wall and Thriller especially, Bad had its moments but I never listen to anything after that.

But back to topic. When Doves Cry.

purpleworld said:

listen to Who Is It (written/arranged/coproduced by MJ) and Stranger In Moscow (written/arranged/produced entirely by MJ), probably two of his most soulful songs.

as for the question, Billie Jean!

I used to like When Doves Cry alot but I don't like it much now.

Billie Jean after 22 years still rockin

vivid said:

Bollocks.

The album credits "produced,arranged,composed & performed by Prince & Revolution"

But it must be written and composed by Prince according to the credits in the sleeve. so I guess production, arrangment and performance is by Prince and the Revolution

jacktheimprovident said:

Which song is Dez talkign about? What's the name? Where can I hear it?

Dewrede said:

He's just telling a story. The song's not actually about him; it's about his brothers and the girls that followed them on tour.

Axchi696 said:

That's funny, cuz When Doves Cry is one of Prince's truly good videos. I don't think he's made a lot of great ones, but that's my fave of his. The video for Billie Jean, on the other hand, is one of many greats from MJ.

And, I can't pick between the two. I'm sure I've listened to Billie Jean more, but I love them both. Musically, I guess I'd say When Doves Cry has more of a creative edge; the fact that people are still talking about its lack of a bassline speaks to its status as an untouchable classic. Billie Jean simply grooves from beginning to end and has a distinct, memorable bass line that carries the song. Vocally, I love them both.

LightOfArt said:

Don't believe those credits. The Revolution had nothing to do with "When Doves Cry."

RipHer2Shreds said:

Odd. I heard that it was inspired by a woman who claimed that Michael was the father of one (yes, one) of her twins!!! She apparantly later ended up in a home for the mentally ill.

Billie Jean is such an overrated MJ song.

I much prefer, Dont stop till you get enough, rock with you, smooth criminal, nd others compared to it

jayaredee said:

You need medical help.

Doves

Cloudbuster said:

jayaredee said:

Cloudbuster said:

I'd seen an interview with him from the Thriller era where he was discussing his brothers and the women that had accused them of having their child. Now, after reading the entry on allmusic.com they claim "Actually, the song's title character was based on all the women who'd brought maternity suits against Jackson and his brothers when they were known as the Jackson 5." So, apparently it's about him and his brothers.

Either way, Billie Jean is kick ass because of its bass line - When Doves Cry is kick ass because of its lack thereof

Cloudbuster said:

"Why.."

I love When Doves Cry. The lyrics and guitar are great, but I love Billie Jean even more. Very funky song. You just can not sit down when that song somes on.

sextonseven said:

Actually, the credits on the Hits-B-sides list When Doves Cry as "Produced arranged composed and performed by Prince". I wonder why their would be a discrepancy there. But in any case, I think it's pretty obvious that this song is the work of a one man band

Ifsixwuz9 said:

I don't know the specific song, but I remember seeing that in an interview with Dez. This was a very recent interview too, and Dez wasn't vindictive at all in fact he said "I don't blame him, he probably didn't even realize it"

RipHer2Shreds said:

It is definatley about his brothers. MJ was all of 12 years old with the J5. I seriously doubt he was getting any action at that age. But jackie, Jermaine and Tito. Maybe. But in the interviews I've seen Billie Jean was about his Brothers.

VelvetJ said:

This pisses me off.

Listen to the demo of BJ on the Thriller special edition... way before Quincy had even touched it.

The bass lick, the strings... it was all done by MJ. Q's input is over-rated by haters on this forum, in an attempt to discredit Michael artistically.

Billie Jean is better than any Prince song by the way.

MattyJam said:

I don't know if Billie Jean is BETTER than ANY Prince song, but it equals nearly any prince song I've heard. And yes, people over-estimate Quincey Jones' input to Michael's music. Listen to Destiny some time. Michael and the boys produced that one (they might've played many of the instruments since no session men are credited) and the sound is less slick and overdone. Furthermore, listen to the demos for Don't Stop, Working Day and Night as well as Billie Jean.
[Edited 12/15/04 12:28pm]

jacktheimprovident said:

I remember a story about how the album had been wrapped and was ready for mastering and one night Prince went back to the studio and recoreded another song. The next day he took Fink for a ride in his car and played Fink the song and Fink said it was cool but there was no bassline. Prince replied isn't it cool or something like that. That's when it was decieded to cut Computer Blue even shorter to fit the track on the album.

I wish Purple Rain had been a double album

ehuffnsd said:

actually what fink said was "I didn't care for it at first I said 'there's no bass' and Prince said 'yeah I know, I tried it, it just didn't work, I didn't like it'. Needless to say it grew on me"

close enough

WHEN DOVES CRY! Very hypnotic music.

As a matter of fact Billie Jean used to be MJ's only song I could stand... I think it beats When Doves Cry.
WDC is my least favourite song in Purple Rain.
I love Darling Nikki.

... Come back Nikki,
come back....
your darling little prince wanna grind, grind,grind,grind,grind,grind.....

Wow that's intense