"Take Me with U" by Prince & the Revolution

Song#:  2213
Date:  02/09/1985
Debut:  61
Peak:  25
Weeks:  12
Genre:  R&B, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  The soundtrack to Purple Rain had already generated four Top 10 hits including two #1's and was still sitting atop the album chart finishing up its 24-week run at #1 when this fifth single was released. Although mainly credited to Prince & the Revolution, it was actually a duet between Prince and the film's co-star Apollonia. The song couldn't quite grab the same audience as the previous singles and it stalled short of the Pop Top 20. It could only get to a low #40 R&B as well. This would bring an end to the singles from Purple Rain, but before the summer of '85 would arrive, Prince would already be back on the chart with new material.

ReduxReview:  Thankfully, Prince had the foresight and brains to pull this for the movie (see below). Otherwise, this song probably would have been lost with the sinking Apollonia 6 ship. The song was a terrific add to the movie and it was a good single as well. I'm just guessing it didn't become another Top 10'er because radio was still saturated with Prince songs and the soundtrack was beginning to wane in popularity. Plus, it had to have been known that Prince already had an album in the can by this point and folks were anxious for new material. Regardless, this song is yet another winner from the album, despite Apollonia's anemic vocals.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  This song was written and recorded for inclusion on the debut album from Apollonia 6. However, at the last minute Prince pulled the song from that project and pushed it over to Purple Rain. Due to time restrictions, the version on the soundtrack is about a minute shorter than the one intended for the Apollonia 6 LP. It's been said that Apollonia's voice was a bit weak and she had difficulty doing the vocals for this song. Apparently Revolution member Lisa Coleman then sang beneath Apollonia's vocal track to help boost her vocal. Whether or not that is true is up for debate, but Prince pretty much left Apollonia behind when the film ended and the contracted Apollonia 6 album was completed.
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