Music Weblog » Prince 10 of the Best

“If I was Your Girlfriend” Prince 1984

abdulmajid — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:28:33 +0000

Originally recorded for a “Camilla” album (eight tracks recorded by Prince using speed-ed up vocals and one of his female alter-egos Camilla). Aside from being musically adventurous (love the introductory rhythm) and very catchy it has the absolute killer opening line “If I was your girlfriend would you tell me all the things you forgot when I was your man.” It’s a great meditation on the obsessiveness of love where you want to be everything (lover, best friend, even if you hurt them you want to be the one they turn too) and you want your obsession reciprocated.

Prince “When Doves Cry” 1984

abdulmajid — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 14:52:35 +0000

The track that made me sit up and listen. I was not actually a fan of 1999 and Little Red Corvette (I was going through a very left wing hatred of anything American and they were so nuts over him after 1999 actually and Jonathan King was raving about him and I always thought he was appalling and very, very creepy) but then I heard this track and it stopped me dead.

The opening is a real calling card, PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT FOLLOWS it screams. Musically it is adventurous too, which is one of the things I love about Prince. He is never afraid to try something different. This track was originally recorded with much more instrumentation but he stripped so much out and then realised it was infinitely better, hence the almost skeletal structure. It became one of his favourite tricks and has worked on a number of tracks (“Kiss”, “Sign O’ the Times”, “Black Sweat” to name but three). The video was on constant play in my local bar in Rugby and we all knew how to sing the counter harmony parts, all the wailing and the yips. Oh to be 19 again!

Kate Bush “Why Should I Love You?” 1993 (Kate Bush album “The Red Shoes”

abdulmajid — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:31:35 +0000

The only track that is not a Prince track per se in the whole of my Top 10. However, when the song hits the chorus for the first time it is clear that this track was only possible with a sprinkling of Prince’s magic dust. This has one of the key features of a Prince song, it’s very sexy;

“The “L” of the lips are open
To the “O” of the host
The “V” of the velvet”

But that is actually Kate’s work! It turns out the 16 year old David Gilmour alumni became a very sensual woman and a love of intimacy and sex features heavily in her work. Often, however, when two unique artists combine the results are disappointingly less than the sum of the parts thankfully this is not the case here.

It is so typically a Kate Bush track from the opening bars and yet there is an unmistakable thread of Prince running through it like the metal strip in modern currency. The chorus is just so funky and indeed this is where Prince contributed the most, his signature guitar style is clearly heard underpinning the second occurrence of the chorus and his vocals are front and centre on the fadeout. Just such a joyous track. Go on, listen to it now, you know you want to . . .

Link:

Kate Bush

Prince “Kiss” 1986

abdulmajid — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:32:55 +0000

Perhaps the archetypal Prince track, it’s got the lot – sex, funkyness and a great sense of humour. Okay, so the last comment is not one you often hear about the Purple Imp but I think he has a wicked sense of humour, it’s just not easy to display in the music world. Watch him being interviewed, or in videos or on stage, in fact anywhere and you’ll often see a sly grin on his face. Whereas the press often take him very seriously I believe he knows his behaviour is out of the ordinary and he finds it funny that the press just accept that in order to get an interview. I remember during the “Slave” period he asked interviewers to write the word on their cheek or around the “Symbol” album time he conducted the few interviews he gave wearing a hat with a metal curtain that totally obscured his face or the time he answered questions in interviews by whispering to Mayte. Where am i going with this interpretation of him and how does it relate to “Kiss”? Simple. The most quoted Prince lyric also proves my thesis. “Act you age, not your shoe size”. We shall revisit his sense of humour again before we reach the end of the Top 10.

Prince “17 Days” 1984 (b-side of “When Doves Cry”)

abdulmajid — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:38:58 +0000

“Probably the greatest b-side in the world”.

This is often sited by Prince fans as one of his best tracks nevermind the fact that it only appears on the b-side of a single. In fact Prince, unlike many then and most now, had a great track record for putting good tracks on singles (I will be listing the best b-sides later on in this series). Like it’s sibling on the a-side this track is quite stripped down musically but has a consistent driving rhythm that propels it along. Another track about break-up and heartbreak but this time she has left him for someone else. It features the wonderful lines;

“U’re the one who’s always lonely,
But I’m the one who’s always alone”.

However, as a heavy smoker it was the real heartbreak in the lines;

“So here I sit in my lonely room lookin’ 4 my sunshine,
But all I’ve got is 2 cigarettes and this broken heart of mine.”

Presumably the shops are shut and he can not get any more cigarettes. Takes me right back to my bedsit life, spending many late nights listening to Prince, smoking furiously, drinking throughout the night and lamenting the fact X would not go out with me. Happy times!

Prince “Purple Rain” 1984 (10 of the Best)

abdulmajid — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 20:46:55 +0000

First, I must state I have no idea where he got the phrase “Purple Rain” from but it does not take a genius to gather the general meaning. He regrets the ending of a friendship, possibly after a one-night stand and he acknowledges that they will probably go their separate ways. It is entirely possible his influence, his help is the “Purple Rain”. Whatever it is the lyrics are vague enough to ensure that it speaks to all of us about one relationship or another. The real hook of course is the melody line, picked out by Prince repeatedly throughout on his guitar. I have a couple of live versions where he plays the song live for around 20 minutes and there he plays around with the motif even more, frankly it is very reminiscent of the way jazz musicians take a theme and mutate it in a new way whilst still keeping the essence of the piece. It is my favourite “guitar” track of his and as you saw on Friday it is a live favourite that has the power to send shivers down the spine.

Links:

Prince Fans United

Prince online community