"Temptation" - A slight step up from the previous song, though still a weak ending to an otherwise excellent album. I do like the guitars and somewhat sinister vibe to the song, it has an edge that few other Prince songs shared in the 80's, but it never quite ascends into greatness. The last 3 minutes of god-talk lose me completely, much like when he tried it onstage. 2.7/5
I really like the song, though I think that "The Ladder" makes a better closer. The sort of rocking rhythm and blues is something I've been yearning to hear from Prince isnce the beginning of his career, the kind of thing he did live but not on record. But the dialogue...I'm not a huge fan of any of Prince's skits, they are the equivalent of Brian Wilson's attempts at "humour" on early Beach Boys albums. OK, I know that the tug of war between the carnal and the spiritual is a big and very genuine thing with Prince and that's very much a part of his art and it's a fairly unique one in pop music. This is probably the first explicit blossom of that inner tension....but the song would definitely work better without it -- as it is it's, well, not exactly boring, but it's definitely unintentionally comic. Teh first time I heard this, at the tender age of 16, I remember bursting out in laughter at "I DO! You Don't Now Die." And it still takes me out of the song: I just don't buy it on some level: not because of my own beliefs (or lack thereof) in a higher power, but because it's just so silly sounding. And, you know, it stretches the song out to nine minutes!!! Cut off that part, fade it out on audacity and switch places with "The Ladder" and I think we have an awesome album; but this is a good song with a bad ending that ends one of his otherwise greatest albums. A 5 minute version I'd give a 4/5. The one we got I give a 2.8/5
America the lyric is more ambiguous than I remember 4/5 Pop Life poppier than a laundry basket full of poppyseed muffins 4/5
"Temptation" ~ Oh, I get it. Prince was getting more nookie than any man should rightfully get, yet he writes this tune. I like it because this song (and "Condition of the Heart") looks forward to the more abstract writing that Prince would do in 1986-87. When I was a kid I didn't understand it, nor "Condition of the Heart," but now I'm thankful for it. At least musically Prince was breaking from the pop conventions. It was a statement piece - more for the people who dig less structured works: jazz/avant garde/Dada, whatever, yet he maintained the Princely touch, with just enough melody to latch on to before he'd spin off again. Even so, it's not as good as his 86-87 pieces of this sort. Still, I have much respect for what he did with this album as a whole. As a closer? Sure, why not? Maybe the stoners would understand. 3.5/5
The Ladder Prince plagiarizes himself; Warner Bros. lawyers holding on Line One. 1/5 Temptation absolute nonsense 0/5
Temptation What an intro to this one and what a fabulous song. My favourite track on the album with Pop Life. This should have been track three. 5/5
"Temptation" is, well, not one of Prince's better songs from this era. I do like the lyrics, but here it's the music that fails to take flight. The front section is sort of a sludgy heavy rock/blues without much in the way of a compelling tune and the saxophone has a cheesy 80s TV cop show feel to it. It's rather unfortunate that this is the longest cut on the album as it really doesn't have enough musical interest to sustain that sort of length. The back section is musically more interesting but goes off the rails with his spoken lyrics and the squonky sax. It's all a bit too over the top for me. 2.7/5
This! People talk about removing the ridiculous spoken word section at the end to improve the song, but that's like 5 minutes too late to help this self-indulgent mess. Would love to hear the faster version of this thing. Maybe it would be more enjoyable sped up with a less-muddy arrangement. As it stands, the melody - what there is of it - is buried. As with many of his lesser previously-unreleased cuts, there's lots of screaming here trying to blow this track up into something. It comes off as trying to valiantly inject energy into a sludgy mess. 1/5 - The lowest rating I've given a Prince album cut since, what, Prince? Plays more like a parody of Prince than an actual Prince song.
It was very interesting to see how Prince was branching out & experimenting more with ATWIAD than he ever had before. As each track progresses, the album morphs into some sort of psychedelic / electronic / pop / funk / rock / r&b hybrid. Despite ending on a whimper, ATWIAD is an above average Prince album... Around The World In A Day ~ 4/5 Around The World In A Day ~ 4.5/5 Paisley Park ~ 4/5 Condition Of The Heart ~ 3.5/5 Raspberry Beret ~ 5/5 Tamborine ~ 3.5/5 America ~ 4/5 Pop Life ~ 5/5 The Ladder ~ 3.5/5 Temptation ~ 3/5
Temptation I rate more as an intrinisic part of the album than a song in its own right, though it is a very good song. It comes in with a ferocious storm of guitars, then settles in to a great slow rocking groove with a great slightly bluesy rock tune, and spicy lyrics: "the running hot water on the daughter of morality" Then the great wig out, then it all comes slowly down to land, (like the aeroplane in "International Lover", another great album-closer) and becomes a beautiful avant garde piano-and-sax piece. The spoken word section (I can't call it a skit, it's too deathly earnest, and the music behind it is too beautiful) is mind-blowing. Yes it's hilarious- (unintentionally? who knows), then the "I have to go now" section rounds off this whole Sgt. Pepper/Satanic Majesties/Forever Changes glorious, ridiculous, beautiful and strange album. This has never felt long to me. I suppose because it's really two songs in one, and both call for a certain amount of length. Still shorter than the longest songs on 1999. A side note: In the old "Guinness Book of Rock Stars", mostly an objective timeline of events in bands' careers, this album was described as ending with a conversation with God. As it was rare for this reference volume to provide us with such information about the lyrics of an album track, I assumed that this song was famous and legendary, and I was waiting for it expectantly when I first listened to the album. It didn't disappoint. 5/5
Tomorrow, I'll hold up the following three songs and then: She's Always In My Hair (Recorded December 29th 1983--January 8th, 1984, B-side on various singles) Girl (recorded in Spring/Summer 1982, remixed in 1985, released as a B-side to America and Pop Life singles 4 the Tears In Your Eyes (Two versions: one Recorded February 2nd, 1985/second recordedApril 1985) released on We Are The World/The B-sides, respectively) Hello (recorded May 1985, released as a B-side to Pop Life and UK Raspberry Beret singles) Next Monday, the 18th of January, I will start on the songs from The Family, the one and only album by The Family.
Temptation. I like it. You can almost feel the steam rising off of his guitar, so hot are the last licks. And that closing dialogue with 'god' really makes you think. (Well, it made me think 'yup, Prince really was a lunatic'!) 4/5
I meant that tomorrow I would hold up the entire album for discussion tomorrow and then move on to the other songs; somehow I omitted that from my post.
Temptation A cool rock number with a great groove ... the spoken part is everything but not boring but I have to be in the mood for it. For the guitar alone : 4/5
Temptation, i like it, very bluesy and Prince digs into the guitar, lots of good sax here, i even like the last bit with Prince talking to God (himself) not in my higher echelon of songs from this album but its up there 3/5
Temptation is my least favorite song on the album. Like The Ladder, Prince tried to record the song during rehearsals. The initial version was a bit faster, but apparently that didn't work, so he tried a slower version. When that one also didn't work he flew the next day from Richmond (Ohio) to LA (with Eddie M) to record the slow version of the song at Capitol Studios. I do prefer the faster version, but neither version make it a classic song. Both rehearsal-versions have a nice sax line, that is missing from the studio version. It does make it a bit more playful. The released version is not bad, but compared to most of his previously released work this just doesn't work out great. It's just a good bluesy guitar song added with thing the song doesn't need. The added talk to God, for instance, doesn't do it any favors... that's just silly. The basic song is good. Great guitars, screams... This could have been a much better song. An easy example is a YouTube video by eko playing with the song. It's raw and dirty. I guess Prince wanted to record a blues guitar song, but lost himself in weird additions. Maybe if he just kept it raw and dirty, it might have been a better song (as a b-side or somewhere in the middle of an album). As it is on this album, this is a 3 out of 5 for me.
"Temptation" Overly long and a weird way to end an album. (I'm starting to agree with Lance that "The Ladder" would have made a better closing track...but that would have also increased the comparisons of that song to "Purple Rain.") When the horns kick in on "Temptation" I'm now reminded slightly of Lizard/Islands era King Crimson. But it just goes on and on... the ending part is unintentionally (or heck, intentionally, with Prince you never quite knew!) funny. "You don't, now die!" Reminds me ever so slightly of the 'hallway" dialogue in "Computer Blue"...but "Computer Blue" is an effing JAM, so it's forgiven there. Of course, anyone who doesn't like (or at least tolerate) these "sexual vs. spiritual" conflicts in Prince will really hate Lovesexy, which is practically a concept album on that subject. 3/5, and I feel I'm being generous.
Around The World In A Day ~ 4/5 Paisley Park ~ 4/5 Condition Of The Heart ~ 5/5 Raspberry Beret ~ 3/5 Tamborine ~ 5/5 America ~ 2/5 Pop Life ~ 5/5 The Ladder ~ 1/5 Temptation ~ 1/5 Probably the greatest variation of quality from one his albums.
Temptation Never heard anything like it then and still haven't to this day. Self indulgent twaddle, but still a ... 3.5/5
I like Temptation- it’s front half.. the guitar solo is a mess and it should have ended around 5 minutes. Would have given room for something else on the record. 3/5
Or it could have just been dropped. At 42:33 ATWIAD isn't exactly a short record - Controversy was only 37:15...
