http://www.youtube.com/wa...nUnEpGPrMA

From their second album 'A Long Time Coming',this song is one of my favorites by RFTW.Like many of their songs,this one is very Prince-like.Listen to that Linn drum machine and the haunting synthesizer melody reminscent of "Little Red Corvette".You can tell that these guys were huge Prince fans

A question that's been nagging me for years: are they really saying "You've got a new walk"? The album didn't come with a lyric sheet,so I never knew the correct lyric.

Najee said:

"In the morning...I'll just let you know,let you know
You've got a new walk"




I love "Mary Goes Round",even if it does sound a little too Princely

Najee said:

I think "Do You Get Enough" should have been a single.It got alot of airplay on our local R&B stations.That's a hot groove right there.Also,the album's best ballad,"It's All A Game",would have been a perfect single too.

Overall,I enjoy 'A Long Time Coming' much more than the debut album,but that's probably because it wasn't as overplayed as the first one

THIS JAM "BABY (LET ME LOVE YOU)", AND RFTW GET LOVE FROM ME ON "PURPLE FRIDAYS" IN SEATTLE!!!! EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE NOT FROM PRINCE'S CAMP, TO THIS DAY PEOPLE STILL SWEAR THEY ARE/WERE!!! MY 2ND ALL-TIME FAVE RFTW JAM BEHIND "OH SHEILA"!!!!!

FINALLY


I HAVE A FRIEND!!!


I thought I was all olone with this song! It used 2 be one of my favorites of all time....
...
Or will u care?
And in the mo'nin
Will u kiss me
Or will u care?
And inthe mornin
WE'll just let u know let u know
U gotta new walk

my favorite RFTW songs...

"Digital Display"
"Ceramic Girl"
"I'm The One Who Loves You"
"Baby (Let Me Love You)"
"In My Room"
"Mary Goes Round"
"Some People Don't Care"
"It's All A Game"
"Do You Get Enough"

Never cared for the silly "Love You Down",with its dumb lyrics about dating an older woman.

One of my fav RFTW tracks.


Later

RFTW was a very underated group that nobody talks about. Long time coming was a classic album. The need to re-issue a greatest hits including all of their good songs. They have enough to make a box set.

paisleypark4 said:[quote]FINALLY


I HAVE A FRIEND!!!


I thought I was all olone with this song! It used 2 be one of my favorites of all time....
...
Hey,same here!!
Nobody of my friends knew the song,or appreciated funk/soul like I did.
(Everybody was very into Bon Jovi/Bryan Adams in Europe,in the 80's
...well,they still do )

Still one of my all time fav songs!
[Edited 11/28/07 9:06am]

Najee said:

I agree. In fact baby(let me love you)was my favorite track from the album.
I even liked the title track long time coming versus mary goes round which i
considered to be weak too.

Their last cd, which was unreleased was pretty good also. (Melvin had left the group)

phunkdaddy said:

Been a long time comin 4 u!

Love that part..the synth in tha back is tight

Graycap23 said:

Are you sure it was unreleased???? I have a copy of Freak the World on CD released in 1996 without Melvin. I also have She Says She wants Some on CD released in 2004 with Melvin's return.

I think they also released BYOB in between there somewhere (I don't have a copy of this one).

Sowhat said:

2004? Wow.....I must get that. Is that a whole cd or a single?

U may be correct about Freak. I thought it was cancelled. I have a copy also but it was not barcoded.

Graycap23 said:

Freak the World and She Says She Wants some are both full length CD's.

I believe BYOB is too, but I don't have a copy so I am not sure.

Sowhat said:

The search is on. Thanks.
What did u think of She says She Wants?

mannotamyth said:

I'd be happy if they remastered the first two albums and maybe include a few bonus tracks.The remaster of 'Long Time Coming' should include the 1987 song "36 Lovers" from the 'Beverly Hills Cop 2' soundtrack.

phunkdaddy said:

These are the singles that I would have chosen from 'Love Time Coming',in this order...

"Mary Goes Round"---I know you guys think this song is weak,but I like it alot.It's probably their most Prince-sounding jam.I think it would have worked well as the first single,instead of the lame "Love You Down".
"Do You Get Enough"---two uptempo singles in a row!
"In My Room"---time to slow things down
"It's All A Game"---the best ballad on the album,imo
"Baby,Let Me Love You"---the final single

If these songs had been released as singles in this order,I bet the album would have done much better.

ALRIGHT!!!!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!! IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD TO "LONG TIME COMING APPRECIATION THREAD"!!!!! AFTER PARTICIPATING IN THIS THREAD, I DECIDED TO RE-VISIT THE 1986 CLASSIC BY RFTW. FROM MY CAR TO MY WOMAN'S BEDROOM.....THE CD STILL WORKS!!!!! THANK U RFTW!!!!!

AND THANK U SOULALIVE 4 STARTING THIS THREAD!!!!!

[Edited 11/29/07 1:14am]

Yeah,I've been playing that album alot too The song "Some People Don't Care" is FUNKY!!

SoulAlive said:

I don't see how your song release order makes any sense. "Love You Down" was a No. 1 single on the Billboard R&B Singles charts and Ready For The World's second top 10 pop song after "Oh, Sheila" -- but yet you wouldn't have released it as a single. Conversely, "Mary Goes Round" ended RFTW's string of hits from its initial singles (it didn't even land in the top 20) and evidently was the song that ended the group's momentum (and started the group's commercial decline).

In other words, RFTW's "Long Time Coming" didn't slow down because of "Love You Down" (the band's biggest hit after "Oh, Sheila") -- it was because the two weakest songs ("Mary Goes Round" and "Long Time Coming") being released as the follow-ups to "Love You Down." It was during the run of "Love You Down" that pushed "Long Time Coming" to gold status.

Here is how I would have released the singles to "Long Time Coming:"

1. "Love You Down:" Evidently, the right choice as the lead single. Actually, I considered it the least-sounding Prince sounding song on the album.

2. "Baby (Let Me You You):" Now that I think of it, this was my favorite RFTW song. A nice mixture of the Minneapolis sound with some of the vibe from The Police's "Every Little Breath You Take."

3. "So in Love:" An uptempo song that had a more straightforward approach. Definitely more dance-oriented than the other uptempo songs on the album.

4. "In My Room:" IMO, a song that has the feel of another Minneapolis-influenced song, Dreamboy's "Don't Go."

5. "Do You Get Enough:" The song reminds me of something influenced from The Time's "What Time Is It?" album -- more particularly "777-9311."
[Edited 11/29/07 3:54am]

Najee said:

Yes,I know that "Love You Down" became a major hit single,but I hate it I think it mainly went to Number One because it was the first single.After the hugely successful first album,there was alot of anticipation and hype for a new RFTW single."Mary Goes Round" might have done equally well,if it had been the first single,imo.Imagine "Mary Goes Round" being released as the first single in the fall of 1986,with a sexy,kickass,well-choreographed video.

Your other single choices are cool,except for "So In Love".That song is uninteresting filler

Actually,come to think of it,I don't think there ever was a video for "Mary Goes Round",which might explain why it didn't become a massive hit.

SoulAlive said:

No, "Love You Down" became a hit song because it was well liked by soul and pop audiences. The song has even been covered and ad-libbed in rap songs years since its release. After "Oh, Sheila" it's arguably the one song people closely associate with Ready For The World. Conversely, when was the last time you heard "Mary Goes Round" on a radio station? The song rarely got airplay in my market when it was a single -- because the general reaction to the song was blah.

Do you know how hard it is NOT to have a top 20 single as the follow-up to a No. 1 single (particularly when it's the second release from a new album) -- from an act that was on a roll like Ready For The World was at that time? A record company almost deliberately would have to mess that up, and in this case MCA did by apparently banking on the logic that an act can be so hot that almost any song can be released as a single and it will be a hit.

The song killed the momentum of the "Long Time Coming" album and subsequently started RFTW's decline. Look at the peak positions of the first four singles from RFTW's self-titled debut:

"Tonight" - peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard R&B Singles charts
"Deep inside Your Love" - No. 6
"Oh, Sheila" - No. 1
"Digital Display" - No. 4

Then comes the "Long Time Coming" album:

"Love You Down" - No. 1
"Mary Goes Round" - No. 23
"Long Time Coming" - No. 54

"Baby (Let Me Love You)" was the album track that immediately received radio airplay and favorable response in my market when the "Long Time Coming" album was released, which is where I surmised it should have been the follow-up single to "Love You Down." But there was no doubt that MCA did get it right with the lead single.
[Edited 11/29/07 4:33am]

I still insist that "Mary Goes Round" was a good choice I think the problem for them was,the whole "Prince copycat thing" (bands and artists trying to duplicate the Minneapolis Sound) was getting old by 1986.There were no shortage of Prince-sounding acts and by late 1986,audiences were getting weary of it.That's why RFTW totally changed direction on their next album,'Rough N' Ready'.

btw,in my area,"Mary Goes Round" received massive radio airplay,as did "Do You Get Enough".

SoulAlive said:

You're entitled to your opinion, but the market didn't change so dramatically in THREE MONTHS that it was the reason "Mary Goes Round" wasn't a hit. It simply was the weakest song on "Long Time Coming" and MCA thought it could sneak in a hit song off RFTW's momentum. There simply were better songs that would have been more successful follow-ups to "Love You Down."

And the song likely received airplay in your market because it was the follow-up to "Love You Down." But only a hardcore RTFW fan would remember that song, much less fewer would actually call it a good song.
[Edited 11/29/07 17:38pm]

Najee said:

I have a theory why MCA chose "Mary Goes Round" as the follow-up single: the first album featured a Number One single which uses a girl's name: "Oh Sheila".Perhaps they felt that lightning could strike twice? "Another song that has a female's name in the title? A surefire Number One hit!" lol






Maybe not but I seem to remember that by late 1986,the synth-heavy Prince sound was becoming passe.The Minneapolis Sound was on its way out.Remember Jesse Johnson's 'Shockadelica' album? It came out around the same time as RFTW's album and it didn't do very well,either.I doubt that his follow-up singles (after "Crazay") did any better than RFTW's.You could tell that things were changing.Hip-hop and New Jack swing would soon take over.


To be honest,I don't think that the other songs on 'Long Time Coming' (the tracks that we both agree are excellent) would have become huge hits for them.In any event,their album still reached gold status so despite the lack of a string of hits,we can't call it a flop.

.
[Edited 11/29/07 6:09am]

SoulAlive said:

NOPE!!!!! THEY DID ONE FOR THE TITLE TRACK "LONG TIME COMING"