Sunday, November 29, 2020

"I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" by Prince

Top 10 Alert!
Song#:  3333
Date:  11/14/1987
Debut:  81
Peak:  10
Weeks:  17
Genre:  Pop, Rock



Pop Bits:  After a misstep with "If I Was Your Girlfriend" (#67 Pop), the second single from Sign o' the Times, Prince rebounded in a big way with the #2 Sheena Easton duet "U Got the Look." For a follow-up, this next track was released. It would be the fourth and final single issued out from the album. The song would catch on and get to #14 R&B and #4 Dance while just scratching the Top 10. It was the first time Prince had back-to-back Pop Top 10s from an album since 1985. The hit helped to keep the album on the chart, but it wouldn't do enough to get the album to double-platinum status. At this time the LP is still only listed as a platinum seller.

ReduxReview:  This is one of Prince's hits that I didn't hear a lot when it first came out and I hooked into later on. I don't think the song got a lot of airplay on my local radio and I don't even remember seeing the video on MTV. Still, it was a solid pop/rock track that reminded me of something Prince would have done pre-Purple Rain or even 1999, which in fact he did (see below). The bouncy tune was nice ear candy from Prince. At the time it came out I didn't pay much attention to the song. In fact, I kind of forgot about it. It wasn't until years later when it appeared on a Prince hits compilation that I truly began to dig it. I like both the snappy single version and the album version with its extended breaks. The track has kind of disappeared over the years in favor of his bigger hits, but it was a worthy Top 10 and shouldn't be forgotten.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  This song was first written and recorded in 1979 during sessions for Prince's 1979 self-titled second album. It ended up not being used and set aside. Prince ended up dusting off the tune and fully re-recording it in the summer of '86. It was to be included on Dream Factory, an album that was to be the next one by Prince & the Revolution, but ended up getting shelved when Prince dissolved the Revolution. The song survived though all the various iterations of what was to be Prince's follow-up to Parade and made it to the Sign 'o the Times album. Over eight years after it was first recorded, the song became a hit.

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