I know this is probably a dumb question, but could this song pass for a funk song? Im putting together a funk mix and it just blends so well for some reason.

Prospect said:

I like it a lot. I would say "yes" but not with enthusiasm.

Vanity was one of my favorite Prince girls, but I didn't like the album

I was shocked when I first heard this song.Her previous album 'Wild Animal' was a mess,containing songs that are unfocused and poorly written with atrocious vocals."Under The Influence" is a strong,catchy track with brilliant production (love the haunting synthesizer riff!).It's arguably her finest solo single.The vocals are pretty good this time.No more squealing and moaning,this time she's making a real effort to sing.I heard that,after the first album flopped,Motown was very careful with the second album.They chose the songs,producers,etc.I think it paid off,at least with the first single ("Under The Influence").



As for your original question...yes,this song could be considered funk.

SoulAlive said:

I bought "Wild Animal" and yeah, it's pretty lame. I was shocked. Certainly didn't have nearly any of the appeal of Vanity 6 and "Under The Influence" is an amazing single, so they did follow up the flop with some quality control. I just wish they would release her stuff on MP3....makes no sense why they didn't!

I love how there are others out there who love this single as well. I'm not a die hard Vanity fan, but I did enjoy this song very much from her. It's different, catchy, and not as "in your face" with her sexuality. In fact, I sort of looked at it like she was "under the influence" when she recorded the song which made it so great I know, thats a terrible thing to say, but during this time, she was in fact under the influeunce But in a good way on this song

SoulAlive said:

I'd put "Mechanical Emotion" right up there as one of her better tracks, and imo even funkier that "UTI".
[Edited 7/13/09 11:09am]

Shango said:

"Mechanical Emotion" boasts a HOT,infectious groove (very Minneapolis-sounding) but vocally and lyrically,it's a mess.Vanity's "singing" is embarrassing.On "Under The Influence",she sounds much,much better...partly because her vocals are mixed just right.Also,the song is structured properly,with stronger lyrics.

SoulAlive said:

Yeah, good points. I'll recheck both tracks again lol.

This song is to upbeat tempo for a fuck song. When I watch the video it makes me think sinful things...

If you chop and screw the song then yeah it's workable!

Vanity "Under The Influence" (1986)

SoulAlive said:

Thanks man ... i saw the clip this week on youtube but not in this high quality

Shango said:

Man,she's so sexy in that video!

SoulAlive said:

Word ! I archived the clip on my pc

was there a vid for Mechanical Emotion? my fave all time song by Vanity

wrong forum

I thought the topic was when Vanity was wasted! Who remembers whens he was at the 1985 American Music Awards giving Prince best album for Purple Rain. She was sooooo coked up there! She was wasted with Night Ranger all high off their asses.

datdude said:

No,there was no video for "Mechanical Emotion".

wrong forum

SoulAlive said:

Well ... i once spotted this :

Shango said:

Wow,maybe there was a video that we never saw? I remember seeing the "Pretty Mess" video all the time,but never the "Mechanical Emotion" clip (if it exists).

SoulAlive said:

Do you remember when Joan Rivers had her talk show in the mid eighties, and Vanity was a guest? She admitted then she couldn't sing.

Shango said:

"took a powder"????

I loved this song. Skin on Skin was a much better album than Wild Animal.

totaldiva said:

I agree.'Wild Animal' is a self-indulgent mess,with bad lyrics and atrocious vocals.'Skin On Skin' was an attempt to make a "real" album,with strong tunes that are actually structured and focused.

SoulAlive said:

No! Wild Animal is amazing!

missfee said:

She took a lot of powder!

I just saw "Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon" on TV and while Vanity was really good throughout it, there was this one scene where you could kind of tell she was just sleepily going through it and thinking in her head, "I need some cocaine!".

Shango said:

Looks exciting.

Calluout said:

Yeah,it's amazingly bad

When Vanity left the Prince camp,I was really rooting for her.Magazines like Black Beat had regular updates on her upcoming album and I was sooooo looking forward to it.I thought "She's gonna kick Apollonia 6's ass!" But when I bought her album,I couldn't believe what I was hearing: bad lyrics,alot of squealing but very little singing,and songs that were outrageously silly and non-sensical (the over-long "Crazy Maybe" is particularly horrible).

the Apollonia 6 album is a masterpiece compared to 'Wild Animal'

Wrong forum. Associated Artists is where this needs to be