Thread by @arrthurr

Whenever I talk about @prince — especially his classic 80's period — context is where I like to start. And with an album like Purple Rain which (frankly) overshadows EVERY other album released in his career, context is the best device we can use to appreciate its finer points.

But before I get into context, today's my day to dive into "Take Me With U": 2nd track on PR; recorded over a roughly 9 day period in late January 1984 (thx @PrinceVault & @Duane_Tudahl); PR"s 5th & final single release (reached No. 25 on the US pop chart).

"Take Me With U" is a stone-cold singalong. It's catchy; after a few listens, you know the whole song and can't get it out of your head. That's the signature of a great pop song. And by early 1984, Prince was getting really good at writing pop music.

Plus, "Take Me With U" is funky.

I'll get to that later, but stay with me … I'm almost to the context part.

A few days after recording TMWU – like DAYS later – @prince records *another* great pop song: "Manic Monday". Now, we all know that P gave it to the Bangles and it was a big hit, but what's it got to do w/ TMWU?

Glad you asked …

Both TMWU & MM — 2 great pop songs — were intended for the Apollonia 6 project. In other words, A6 was going to make a run for the pop chart. (BTW, both songs were intended as duets.)

Now it's Context Time: "Purple Rain" — The Album — came out a few days BEFORE "PR" — The Film — hit theaters on 27 July 1984. Until that point, "When Doves Cry", which had been on the radio & MTY for 2 months, was the only indicator of what Prince's new album would sound like.

I need you to do something: imagine a world before "Purple Rain" The Film. You haven't seen/heard any of these songs performed in a movie, but you have The Album. And there's a good chance you'll have a WTF moment when you get to "Take Me With U" and here's why…

Before PR (Album & Film), whatever you knew about @prince you knew — at the very least — "Little Red Corvette": big Oberheim synth, LM-1 drums, and lead guitar. When you get to "When Doves Cry" (lead single) & "Let's Go Crazy" (album opener), you find those same building blocks.

Then you get to "Take Me With U" and something's different. This is NOT the pop that #Prince gave us in "Corvette": there's actual strings, finger cymbals, acoustic guitar … and a duet. Comparatively speaking, that qualifies for #WTF.

Let's start w/ the duet: if I'm wearing my @TotalMusicSnobs hat, it's really not a duet. At no time does Apollonia sing by herself (granted, she says "thank you" all on her own), but we'll go with it. Besides, she never claimed to be a singer, and she sounds good on it. #NoShade

Also (still being a Snob), TMWU is technically not P's first duet. I'd argue for "If A Girl Answers (Don't Hang Up)" from Vanity 6 (no, that's not Morris Day). Okay, Snob hat off — I dig TMWU; let's move on …

TMWU has a great opening: 8 bars of the Oberheim and a Simmons SDS-V electronic drum kit that sounds acoustic. According to @doctorfink P played @BobbyZ1999's hybrid setup (see @Duane_Tudahl's excellent book on the studio sessions) duanetudahl.com/welcome

There's some familiarity in TMWU, too. As if P wanted to leave an entry path into the song for his seasoned fans. Example: the opening motif on the Oberheim is a nod to the opening of "Do It All Night" from "Dirty Mind".

My @TotalMusicSnobs co-host @jehansdream pointed out the drama in the opening bars. It's like darkness just before dawn & we settle into a happy valley once we're into the body of the song. He said that they key was the bass note that sits under the drums & synth pattern. Also…

For you musicians out there, that bass note is a sustained keyboard synth held across the whole arpeggiated chord for 2 bars each time. It makes you feel like the chord changes when it really doesn’t. The bass gives it that drama and then the last bar unexpectedly resolves it.

Example 2: the return of acoustic guitar. P hadn't used one since the "For You" and "Prince" albums. But moving forward, he added it liberally: "Raspberry Beret", "Mountains", "Sometimes It Snows in April", "7", etc.

Okay, we're done w/ familiar.

On to the strings and finger cymbals. There was a trio: David Coleman & Suzie Katayama (cellos) and Novi Novog (violin & viola). David is Lisa's brother and was turning P onto Eastern music (hence cymbals). We hear that influence later on the "Around the World in A Day" album.

Novi Novog plays on several songs during this period: "Purple Rain", "Glamorous Life", "Next Time Wipe the Lipstick Off Your Collar", "ATWIAD", "Paisley Park" — so it's a clear that Prince is developing his sound.

But to what end? I'm coming to that.

Fun fact about Novi: she's featured on the Doobie Brothers' "Black Water" from 1974.

(That has nothing to do with TMWU. I just geek out over stuff like this.)

Now remember: Purple Rain — and TMWU — is released *days* before the film hits theaters. It's the movie that many of the PR songs greater meaning. TMWU isn't that strange when you see P and Apples riding on his motorcycle. That visual fits the music playing underneath it.

But *without* the movie – absent the visual – "Take Me With U" is a strange song for P heads in 1984. Especially when compared to "Beautiful Ones", "Darling Nikki" & "Doves".

Here's what I think was happening …

"Take Me With U" was Prince's first step *away* from the Minneapolis Sound that propelled his career. The irony is that he placed the song on the very album that turned Minneapolis into a hub for the type of mainstream Pop and R&B that defined the back half of the decade.

"Take Me With U" was that first shot across the bow as @prince completely abandoned the Minneapolis Sound after the release of ATWIAD in 1985. This is further evidenced by him finishing the 1st config of the "Parade" album NINE DAYS after ATWIAD hit record stores.

So that's it. A great pop song turns out to be a marker for What's Next — probably why it's endured for so long. He even played it during his last tour, and I was fortunate enough to attend one of the Oakland shows.

princevault.com/index.php?titl…

Oh — two quick things: 1st, I hated the single.

The PR singles represent the GOAT run of P b-sides: "17 Days", "Erotic City", "God", "Another Lonely Christmas" — then the bottom falls out completely with "Baby I'm A Star" as the b-side to TMWU. There wasn't an accompanying 12-inch, which usually included extended versions.

Now there *was* a promo 12-inch that made its way into some record stores. I even saw one in my go-to shop Leopold's in Berkeley.

What really irked me about it is that Prince actually had songs — finished, ready-to-go songs — that he could have used. My preferred choice would've been "Roadhouse Garden"

("Splash" woud have been fantastic, too, but it wasn't recorded yet.)

Last thing is something I said WAY at the beginning of this thread – *Take Me With U* is funky, but you don't immediately hear it in the album version. But if you hear it live …

So, check for that as you watch the Prince & The Revolution: Live fundraiser tonight.

And check for me on The Music Snobs Podcast.

fireside.fm/s/bYnjFWLC+1DO…

Also, I'll be a part of @polishedsolid Dirty Mind / Graffiti Bridge symposium in June #DM40GB30

THX for reading.