Its one hook is really good. But not good enough for a 7-minute runtime. 3/5, barely. A 3 minute edit would probably be a solid hunk of mid-'80s Prince goodness.
Today, I'm going to start holding up songs from Graffiti Bridge. Graffiti Bridge was the soundtrack to a film that Prince directed in which he and other actors from Purple Rain reprised their roles from that movie -- the plot apparently involved some rivalry over the ownership of the fictional Glam Slam club. Prince worked on the movie and music for it for some years -- initially he seems to have intended a stage musical called either Dream Factory or The Dawn...And it seems that that morphed into the film Grafitti Bridge by late 1987. It was originally meant to co-star Madonna, but she backed out of the project in late 1987. As the years passed, the script was written and re-written (by Prince himself) while various songs were recorded for it and later discarded: many of them are as yet unreleased. The film script went through a lot of changes and development, but it eventually got made --and the film was written and directed by Prince himself. It was an infamous flop at the box office and was critically panned. Prince would largely abandon his film ambitions after that. The album Graffiti Bridge though, which was released as a double vinyl album (Prince's third in eight years), on cassette and the ascendant CD, on August 20th-21st, 1990, was not nearly the flop the film had been. Critics gave it nearly universally favorable reviews and it was a hit in several countries, peaking at number 1 in the UK; meanwhile it hit number 6 in the USA and spawned a number of charting hits there. It was certified gold in the USA two and a half months after released; it went gold in a number of other European countries and Canada as well.. Graffiti Bridge contains several older songs, some of them dating as far back as the Controversy era of spring 1981 -- albeit re-worked and in most cases re-recorded or at least heavily sweetened. It also, unusually, contains several songs from other artists: Mavis Staples, The Time, and Tevin Campbell , among them -- however all of these songs were written and produced by Prince. It seems that they were included in the album under pressure by Warner Brothers who felt that sales for the Purple Rain soundtrack would have been strengthened had Purple Rain included the songs by The Time and Vanity 6 that were showcased in the film. The track listing of the album was: Can't Stop This Feeling I Got (Prince) New Power Generation (Prince) Release it (Prince, Levi Seacer Jr) -performed by The Time The Question of U (Prince) Elephants & Flowers (Prince) Round And Round(Prince) - Tevin Campbell WE Can Funk (Prince) - George Clinton and Prince Joy In Repetition (Prince) Love Machine (Prince, Levi Seacer, Jr., Morris Day) - The Time feat. Elisa Fiorillo Tick, Tick, Bang (Prince) Shake! (Prince, Morris Day)-The Time Thieves in the Temple (Prince) The Latest Fashion (Prince) The Time with Prince Melody Cool (Prince) Mavis Staples Still Would Stand All Time (Prince) Graffiti Bridge (Prince) new Power Generation (Part II) (Prince) In addition I plan to hold the following songs up for discussion: Brother with a Purpose (Prince) {released on maxi single of New Power Generation} Get Off (Prince) released on maxi single of New Power Generation} The Lubricated Lady (Prince) {released on maxi single of New Power Generation} Loveleft, Loveright (Prince) {released on maxi single of New Power Generation} The above four are all based on the song "New Power Generation" but will be held up separately at a rate of two per day. The Sex of It (Prince) {from Private Waters In the Great Divide by Kid Creole & the Coconuts} I Am (Prince, David "Z" Rivkin, Levi Seacer, Jr) {from I Am, by Elisa Fiorello} On the Way Up (Elisa Fiorello, Prince, David "Z" Rivkin, Levi Seacer, Jr) {from I Am, by Elisa Fiorello} Playgirl (Prince) {from I Am, by Elisa Fiorello} Love's No Fun (Prince) {from I Am, by Elisa Fiorello} Ooh This I Need (Prince) {from I Am, by Elisa Fiorello} So, if my counting is correct, we will start on the next album Times Squared, by Eric Leeds on August 22nd.
Today's song is "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got", written and produced by Prince. Lyric. "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" was one of the older songs on the projects, having been originally recorded by Prince during the 1999 era, in Spring, 1992. It was released in 2019 on 1999 Super Deluxe and our discussion of that earlier version can be found here. Prince re-recorded the song with Wendy and Lisa in 1986 for use in the aborted stage musical The Dawn. Afterwards it was offered to The Three O'Clock, but they chose "Neon Telephone" instead. Prince then re-recorded the song again at Paisley Park in 1989 for Graffiti Bridge. Prince: All vocals and instruments "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" was released on a promo single in the Phillipines. Prince only performed the song once, as part of a medley that included "When You Were Mine" and "Bambi."
Oh I remember this one. One of a series of Rockabilly-inflected tracks he cut during the early '80s. I gave the original a 3/5. It feels a little underbaked, but this one feels a little over-cooked. I'd also give this rendition a 3/5. The best version is the Revolution version from '86: It's got the energy and focus the other two lack. It's a blissfully short, fun 4/5 that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got lp version 4/5 1986 version 3/5 a rare instance where the remake is better, because of the beautiful bridge
Purple Rain sold millions of copies and Warner still weren't completely happy!! Can't Fight is an excellent upbeat opener - 4/5.
I'm a big fan of this version of "Can't Stop The Feeling I Got", mainly because of the bridge and I love a 12 string guitar, which I've rarely heard on a Prince album. 4.2/5
This one grabs me from the spoken intro. It then unexpectedly morphs into an upbeat rockabilly track (one of his best in this genre to my mind). Some great falsetto, some great guitar. It never stops shifting and morphing, while also never losing the energy or propulsion (quite an achievement). Then a fantastic last couple of minutes that slows everything down, before crescendoing up again. The arrangement and time signature shifts are very impressive, while also still being a song that you can just let wash over you. 5/5
Can't Stop This Feeling I Got This was the first time I brought the new Prince album home and was disappointed. Already at first listen. Prince album openers were usually amazing but this one isn't. Something's missing, the song lacks energy. Tastes like zero when you want sugar. Noodling around in the middle and going nowhere ... oh boy 3/5
Yeah, this is my feeling. It's trying painfully hard to do what Prince used to do effortlessly. I want to like it, because I think the initial hook is strong, but I've always felt it wanders off a couple of minutes in and never really has a strong idea after that. I described buying this movie for 50 cents on video earlier in the thread immediately after its release. What I found odd was how underused the album songs were: for example, this is only an instrumental in the movie. For a musical, i don't think the musical sequences really succeed.
It strikes me as over AND underproduced and over AND underwritten. An odd track all around. 2.6 maybe?
Graffiti Bridge the film... Oh lord. It's really bad. Cheap looking, paper thin plot and really unconvincing acting all around. I can only recommend watching it if you are a true Prince die-hard. Under The Cherry Moon was a case of 'nice songs, shame about the film'. Graffiti Bridge is more a case of 'shame about the film, shame about the songs'.
Can't Stop This Feeling I Got A good, bouncy album opener and I think this is my favourite version of the song. As I said back November, it sounds like something that could be in a musical like Grease. It also reminds me of the sort of thing that Billy Joel or Joe Jackson would dash-off. 4/5
Can’t Stop: The first time I’d heard a Prince song remade, having been familiar with the Revolution version for about 2 years already. Compared to the ‘86 version, which is effervescent , the ‘90 version seems, somehow, insincere… almost like he’s trying too hard. I can’t really articulate it any better, but I felt that way from the first listen. And I should adore this one: it’s Prince Power Pop (one of my favorite things circa 84/85). And there are some really good things about it. The melody is still strong. The guitar work is a welcome return (we’ve only heard it recently on Electric Chair) and the way the final chorus kicks in is pretty visceral. But I don’t know; it’s like his heart isn’t in it. Damn it, though: he gives a pretty solid performance. So I’ll take it. 3.5/5
I Can't Stop This feeling g I got. I love all versions. My favourite is the Graffiti Bridge Version. 5/5.
I Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got This one grew on me. At first I didn’t like it that much… and it was the album opener too. How could Prince remake this classic 1986 version and fail to improve it (pretty much like Data Bank)? A missed change. After the original 1981 version I began to appreciate it more and more. It’s still not a classic version, but it’s pretty strong. The 1986 version is still the best one (5/5). This is a 4 out of 5.
I’m on vacation now (with very limited African wifi) so I can’t check the Corporate World version. I meant the Graffiti Bridge version.
The Graffiti Bridge album starts at high speed with the fast-paced Can't Stop This Feeling I Got. It's certainly a good start of the album. The sound is more mature than the 1982 rockabilly version. It all sounds well until the breakdown, at that moment I feel that the song starts to overstay its welcome. But it was great up til then. 3.5/5
Can’t stop ... I’m gonna have to listen to this album again..as most of it is unmemorable ..which is pretty damning ... Anyhow , 1st track is one I do recall...a slight little opener ..but ok 3/5
I quite like this one. Not much to say about it. Great energy. I'll rate "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" 3.75/5
