Looking at the contemporary Top 40 singles actually prompted me to look at what Prince was doing this period, in particular the possible motivation behind much of this material. Which helped me to make sense of some of it, even if I don't particularly appreciate it.
Much better than most of his other retro-soul ballads from this period, mostly because it has a better melody and stronger hooks. Accessible yet sophisticated. And a really pleasant listen with all that vocal layering and whatnot. 4/5 Yeah, there is more than a touch of sophistipop here as well. And curiously the surviving sophistipop acts like Prefab Sprout and Swing Out Sister began to incorporate a lot more R&B into their mix as well during this period, in a sort of convergence. Lennox's Diva also melded sophistipop with R&B.
"And God Created Woman": I'd completely forgotten this song existed until today, and it was a pleasant rediscovery. Very well done, if a touch yachty (I can almost hear Michael McDonald dueting with Prince). Anyway, the melody is undeniable. 4/5
Today's song is "3 Chains o' Gold"written and produced by Prince, both credits attributed to Prince & the New Power Generation. String arrangements and direction by Clare Fisher. Prince and the New Power Generation – 3 Chains O' Gold Lyrics | Genius Lyrics "3 Chains o' Gold" was recorded at Paisley Park in January 1991; Clare Fischer's orchestral arrangements were recorded at Ocean Way in Hollywood in February 1992. Prince: all vocals and instruments Levi Seacer, Jr: rhythm guitar Tommy Barbarella: keyboards Sonny T: bass guitar Michael B: drums Dave Jensen and Steve Strand: trumpets Mike Nelson: trombone Kathy J and Brian Gallagher: saxophones
(I'm kinda surprised "And God Created Woman" wasn't released as a single...it's better than several of his singles from this period. If nothing else, A/C radio might have been open to playing it.)
Clare's arrangements are always welcome. Like a lot of Prince's material from this period though I find "3 Chains" a bit rambling and incoherent. I get that it's going for that "epic suite" thing. I just don't find the components very solid. There's some tasty guitar work at the climax. I can't help but wonder how this would have turned out with The Revolution, which always seemed to handle epic and ominous much better than this, although the tail end of his work with them was running low on gas - and coherence - as well. So maybe the band isn't the party to blame for the shortcomings... 3/5
3 Chains O' Gold...A little too Rock Operaish for my tastes. But I still enjoy some parts of the song. There is some Beatles in there too, through the different sections. "This is the best day of my life!" Like that line and the delivery. I never saw the Video, and I guess Prince had an artistic vision and story involving Mayte, but who knows, at the end of the day...a for effort. 3/5
And God Created Woman: Basically I agree with all of this. Perfect in every way. A perfect Prince pop jazzy 70s soul song. It really should have been released as a single. 5/5
A track that seems to try very hard to be epic (in a Bohemian Rhapsody or Jim Steinman kind of way), but there's something that holds it back from succeeding. All the elements are decent, but they don't go together that well. 3.5/5
3 Chains O Gold: This is Prince again channeling elements of Queen, which he did occasionally going all the way back to his first released cut, the acapella For You. Here he does the different movements a la Bohemian Rhapsody, but too closely following it and too compressed. The culmination of the shifting tones heard on a couple of other songs on the album, Love 2 the Nines and The Continental. Here he does several. A for effort though, and could’ve made for an offbeat single. 4.5/5
A masterpiece in my opinion. Another stellar song; I love how the gorgeous orchestra is integrated into the rocky elements and I love the dramatic massed vocals and guitars. A real piece of art rock/soul/gospel/opera that seems totally unexpected on this album. Gorgeous stuff. 5/5 Boy, I can't remember the last time I gave out to 5's in a row to Prince.
Our votes for "And God Created Woman" (24 votes): 1 - 0x 2 - 0x 3 - 3x 4 - 11x 5 - 10x Average: 4,2917
Yeah, good observation. I was thinking more Beatles Abbey Road than Queen or Jim Steinman, but that sorta works as well (and Prince seemed to maybe have some affinity for Queen). The individual elements are sorta there, but how they're assembled doesn't really work for me.
3 Chains O’ Gold What was Prince thinking?! Why did he feel the need to make a symphonic rock suite? Why? Maybe it was an homage to Freddy Mercury (who died a couple weeks before the recording), inspired by Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody? To me, it seems like Prince was trying to sound as broad as possible again with as much types of music he could think of. Symphonic rock made a return around this time (The Netherlands: Robby Valentine), so that might have been on his mind. Whatever the reason, this song sounds nothing like Prince, nothing like the stuff he would/should do on record and nothing anybody expected him to do… That being said, maybe he shouldn’t do it, but when he does it’s an absolute tour de force! It is amazing! It’s bombastic, totally over the top and totally a masterpiece, it’s epic! A real love it or hate it song… It starts with a piano and vocal intro for 14 seconds before the symphonic rock guitars, synths and drums kick in with one of many great guitar solos. After that, some vocal harmony and more symphonic guitar. A flute plays, the guitar swells and Prince starts singing this sweet ballad with Clare’s orchestra, guitar and some lovely piano in the back: “You say you'll call me and then and then you don't. I'll want to kiss you and then I won't. We both do nothing and call it love. Is this love?“ After that it’s the most symphonic part with angelic chants with some dark lyrics about his disappointment in a relationship. Another amazing guitar solo follows, before Prince sings the main theme about the three chains. Mayte has some, kinda lame, spoken story lines about the chains, but that’s easy to ignore. Then there’s some more heavy guitar and big vocals. It ends with Prince screaming and building towards a great ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ type guitar solo and the song explodes with harmonies and some heavy (wait for it) breathing… and the crowd goes nuts! 3 Chains O’ Gold is a great album closer…. but it wasn’t, because Prince really wanted this album to end with a message (“who don’t you tell me the truth?”) This is a 5 out of 5!
3 Chains O' Gold I really forgot about that song because it's one of the view Prince albums I seldom listen to. (Basically this one, D&P and The Gold Experience. But give me Come or Chaos&Disorder any day of the week ) This is one of the best tracks from that era. Rock Opera? Nah, I call it a suite. Very creative and masterly performed and built. I agree that this should have closed the album and I don't need Mayte on a Prince song. There is a good single album in that songs but the soap-opera double album didn't work out. But 3 Chains O' Gold does! 4.5/5
3 chains o’Gold Excellent, some mad Prince , this is far better than the generic attempts at modern radio r & b with rap that hampers this era A 4/5 for the attempt
3 Chains O' Gold Prince in rock opera mode again with many shifts of tone and tempo. It's brilliantly done and I especially like the last half with the gospel chanting and doomy operatic choir, the fantastic guitar solos. It sounds like the album closer but there is a treat to follow. 5/5
3 Chains O' Gold - there's a strong case for this being Prince's most musically diverse album isn't there? I used to skip this one as I came more from the funk background. Nowadays I can appreciate and admire it, even if I don't really like it. Definitely a stroke of genius to add Clare Fischer in to this one as it really lifts it. But also a shout out for Michael B on the drums - I can't imagine any of Prince's other drummers playing this one. 3/5
3 Chains O' Gold It seems that sometimes artists forget that listeners have to enjoy the music instead of experiencing their utter brilliance. This one is an over the top epic operatic wannabe. It has that Lukather guitar sound in the first part and even sing-along with fast drum beats. Sure some nice guitar solo work in the second part too, but inevitably the artist then decides to take the whole vocal and guitar sonic experience into the stratosphere and beyond and back and once more, leaving us desperately in need of oxygen. It's a 2.25/5 for trying too hard.