| If I Was Your Girlfriend |
Article Index for If I |
Shopping Girlfriend |
Website Links For Your |
Information AboutIf I Was Your Girlfriend |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT IF I WAS YOUR GIRLFRIEND | |
| prince songs | |
| 1987 songs | |
| prince camille voice | |
"If I Was Your Girlfriend" was the second single off Prince 's widely acclaimed 1987 Double Album '' Sign “☮” The Times ''. While it is today considered one of his most notable songs, at the time of its release the song did not chart well in the U.S. , perhaps due to the record's androgynous vocal and gender-bending lyrics. The track was originally from the '' Camille '' project of 1986, which was to be released under the guise of a female named Camille, rather than by Prince. Regardless, the song is actually sung from a male perspective to a woman, wherein Prince explores the possibilities of a more intimate relationship if he were his lover's (platonic) girlfriend. Musically, the song is based on a Bass and Drum Machine pattern, punctuated by a Keyboard line that evokes sadness. Prince's sped-up vocals are intensely emotional and heartfelt. According to engineer Susan Rogers, a rare technical error on her part led to distortion-- albeit only on certain words. As recounted in Alex Hahn's book "Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince", Rogers thought Prince "was going to rip my head off" for the mistake. Yet, after hearing the playback, Prince loved the effect, which is featured on the released version. The B-side to the track was another ''Camille'' track, "Shockadelica". The track was actually written in response to an album of the same name by former Time member, Jesse Johnson . Prince heard Johnson's album before its release and commented that a great album should have a great title track. Johnson disagreed so Prince went out and recorded the track and had it played on a Minneapolis Radio Station before the release of Johnson's album. The public perception would be that Johnson was copying Prince's idea and this caused some bad blood between Johnson and Prince. "Shockadelica" was originally to be on the ''Camille'' album, and even references Camille in the Lyrics . When ''Camille'' was scrapped in favor of '' Crystal Ball '', "Shockadelica" again made the cut, but was deleted from the tracklist when the set was trimmed to ''Sign “☮” the Times''. Thankfully the track was released as a B-side and later on '' The Hits/The B-Sides ''. "Shockadelica" is a pop-funk number using a Drum Machine pattern similar to "Housequake". A funky guitar riff is present throughout the song, as well as a few rock guitar solos. The song is much more upbeat than "If I Was Your Girlfriend" and Prince's sped-up vocal even sounds humorous at times. The theme of the song is a woman with a hypnotic attraction. The 12" Single is the full version of the song, while the version on ''The Hits/The B-Sides'' is an edit. COVER VERSIONS
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|