Electric Chair vs. Be My Wife - Live

Song:  Electric Chair
Album:  Batman
Year:  1989

I never gave Prince's Batman album much respect.  Using Prince to provide the soundtrack for a superhero film seemed like an odd move in 1989 and it didn't help that the movie itself was rather dull and drab looking.  The movie hasn't aged well as the franchise has taken a decidedly more artistically dark anti-hero path.  The soundtrack may have aged somewhat better . . . hard to say since I seem to have written this album off and never play it.  I may have to change that stance.  This silly rock/soul battle of mine has already exposed me to Arms of Orion, which I gave a 3/5 stars to BECAUSE it is a cheesy guilty pleasure.  This track is similar in it's mediocrity.  A decent enough Prince groove with not a lot to say and not a lot of staying power, but not subpar enough to switch away from either.  It has all the Prince-y elements - synthesized 80s drum grooves, blistering guitar solos and a very Prince-esque chord progression/outro.  It reminds me of Prince . . . which I guess is the whole point.

Verdict:  3/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  It's just not interesting enough for that honor.

Song:  Be My Wife - Live
Album:  Stage
Year:  1978

Allmusic claims that this tune, originally on the album Low, is well loved by his fan base.  Personally, I've never really thought much of it.  This live version is sped up a bit, lacks the intro ragtime-y piano riff and though it has some decent guitar work it is not quite up to par with the studio version.  Or maybe I'm just not a big fan of the song structure, which replaces a typical, verse-verse-chorus arrangement with more of a verse 1-verse 2-verse1-verse 2 repeat ad nauseum structure.  Also, Bowie chooses to pronounce lonely as "lahwn-lee" which just seems like an affectation.   Not into it.

Verdict:  2/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  Nope.

Winner:  Electric Chair

Running Score:  Bowie 32, Prince 22

Palate Cleanser . . .

For cheap sentimentality done right, it doesn't get much better than this video by the Plain White T's.  It also happens to be a number that I sang for the first time last night at karaoke.  Enjoy.

The Other Side of the Pillow vs. Love You Till Tuesday

Song:  The Other Side of the Pillow
Album:  The Truth
Year:  1998

A fantastic, stripped-down Prince tune featuring, mostly, just Prince and acoustic guitar.  Prince is credited with performing all instruments and vocals on this track, which means the background vocals, harmony and whistling was overdubbed later.  It's a pleasant mid-tempo song and refreshing to hear the restraint.  If Prince were ever to be found sitting around a campfire strumming a guitar this would be the go-to song.  The opening wind noise is unnecessary but doesn't really detract from enjoying this one.  Well done!

Verdict:  5/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  No.  But I'd provide the guitar for the campfire performance.

Song:  Love You Till Tuesday
Album:  David Bowie
Year:  1967

A career-starting single that evidently flopped upon release.  And for good reason.  This is not a David Bowie that I particularly enjoy.  His voice is unpolished and he seems to either have difficulty hitting some of the higher notes or is simply singing them poorly on purpose.  The melody is outdated and poppy, featuring very non-rock-n-roll xylophone and strings.  It ends with a dumb spoken throw-off line followed by an instrumental punch that gives the whole thing a novelty feel.  The whole thing is, in the words of it's own chorus "da da da dumb".

Verdict:  1/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  I'd be embarrassed to!

Winner:  The Other Side of the Pillow

Running Score:  Bowie 32, Prince 21

Incense and Candles vs. When I Live My Dream

Song:  Incense and Candles
Album:  3121
Year:  2006

Auto-tuned Prince is unnecessary but somehow works here.  Dirty sexy OG Prince has been updated for the 00's giving us a more mature seduction jam, though with the familiar material tropes (incense, candles, diamonds, etc.).  This shouldn't work, but it does.  Well done Prince.

Verdict:  4/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  Only if I could auto-tune myself.

Song:  When I Live My Dream
Album:  David Bowie
Year:  1967

This early Bowie stuff is always difficult for me to get into.  The musical arrangements are SO not rock & roll and the lyrics are sometimes difficult to unpack.  If only these lyrics had more depth to them.  I don't need to hear this again.

Verdict:  1/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  Good lord no.

Winner:  Incense and Candles

Running Score:  Bowie 32, Prince 20


Bonus . . . 

Was thrilled to find a new release by La Santa Cecilia amidst the pop dreck of a typical new music Friday.

Satisfied - Live vs. Bring Me the Disco King - Live

Song:  Satisfied - Live
Album:  Indigo Nights / Live Sessions
Year:  2008

A live track from an album of live after-show performances from 2007, this particular track from Prince's 2006 album 3121.  It's typical of live Prince tracks, which I am finding are somewhat rambling and self-indulgent.  I don't necessarily have a problem with rambling, self-indulgent live tracks but a steady diet of them tends to wear thin.  This one starts as a slow burn for 2 1/2 minutes with some banter to the audience before the main lyrics kick in.  Another couple minutes in the saxophone rages into a solo and everything stays at a crescendo until the song ends.  Vocals are strong and the keyboards provide a solid foundation (though I would have liked to have heard a keyboard solo too).  I'm of mixed opinion on this one.  I like it well enough but it tends to get lost in the overall volume of live tracks that have suddenly been made available to the casual Spotify listener.  That being said, if I were to make a playlist of the best live Prince tracks I would likely include this one.

Verdict:  3.5/5 stars

Would  I sing it at karaoke?  I simply don't have the vocal prowess for such an undertaking.

Song:  Bring Me the Disco King - Live
Album:  A Reality Tour
Year:  2004

This live recording from Bowie's 2003 release Reality, like the Prince track above, is a slow burn.  Unlike the Prince track, it maintains that slow burn and showcases an excellent jazz piano performance by Mike Garson who, unsurprisingly once you listen closely, was the pianist on Bowie's 1973 song Aladdin Sane.  I like this track quite a bit and appreciate how it fits into the larger scale and pace of a live performance.  Not every number needs to be a powerhouse on the part of the main performer, and this one allows Bowie to provide some vocals which I'd guess are less challenging and allow his voice to recover a bit while allowing the other talent in the band to shine through.  His restraint is an excellent counterpoint to the bravado that Prince brings to his live tracks.  I say counterpoint because both approaches are valid and have their merit; Bowie's approach to this track works perfectly for this track.  I could see including this number in a jazz playlist, also strategically  placed to slow the tempo after something  more frantic.

Verdict:  4/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  You know, I just might!

Winner:  Bring Me The Disco King

Running Score:  Bowie 32, Prince 19


And speaking of live performance, restraint and power . . . I offer this incredible throwback as my next karaoke undertaking.  (OK, so Lou Rawls is lip synching this one, but Soul Train from the 1970s is always worth watching).

Nagoya vs. Right

Song:  Nagoya
Album:  C-Note
Year:  2004

Princevault explains that "C-Note is the third live album released by Prince from the One Nite Alone... Tour. This album contains recordings from the soundchecks prior to the show (open to NPG Music Club members), and is the third compilation album of NPG Music Club downloads (covering tracks released in early 2003); the album was released on the same day as The Chocolate Invasion and The Slaughterhouse, two other compilation albums."

So this is a soundcheck track.  It sounds like a soundcheck track.  There's no thought to it and while it's fine background music (I suppose) there's really nothing that stands out as a major accomplishment.  The playing is competent for sure, but not all that interesting.  It's just kind of there.

Verdict:  2/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  Being an instrumental, nope.

Song:  Right
Album:  Young Americans
Year:  1975

This is a fantastic soul groove off of one of my favorite Bowie albums, with backing vocals by Luther Vandross no less!  Though essentially a two chord jam, the track demonstrates intricacies that reveal themselves on subsequent listenings and showcase the artistry needed to create such a piece.  It's a lovely song best explained by Bowie himself:

‘Right’ is putting a positive drone over. People forget what the sound of Man’s instinct is—it’s a drone, a mantra. And people, say: ‘Why are so many things popular that just drone on and on’. But that’s the point really.

According to the internet this song was never performed live.  That's a shame.

Verdict:  5/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  I'd love to!

Running score:  Bowie 31, Prince 19

ANOTHERLOVE vs. Nothing to Be Desired

Song:  ANOTHERLOVE
Album:  PLECTRUMELECTRUM
Year:  2014

A cover song!  Not even a cover of a song originally written by Prince but bequeathed to another artist.  A cover song actually written and performed by Alice Smith on her 2013 album She.  Prince's version pumps things up a bit with some blistering guitar and the classic Prince technique of arrangement style of every instrumentalist tightly playing quick staccato bursts (there's got to be a more technical term for this).  It's a pleasant enough song and had me nodding my head by the end.  I give Alice Smith mad props for her version as well:

And just for the hell of it, here's another Alice Smith song off her debut album.  Definitely worth trying out:

Verdict:  4/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  Doubtful, but not because I don't like it.

Song:  Nothing to Be Desired
Album:  1. Outside
Year:  1995

A short, hectic interlude most likely never meant to stand on it's own as a single.  It may work in the context of the album but it doesn't do much for me as a stand-alone.  Lyrics are just words repeated over and over.  The song both fades in and fades out with no real change or progression.  It's just kinda blah.

Verdict:  2/5 stars

Would I sing it at karaoke?  Never.

Winner:  ANOTHERLOVE

Running Score:  Bowie 30, Prince 19