Love Song

[Gilbert 501]

Madonna and Prince were at the top of their game in 89. why do you think they and the record company didnt push 'Love Song' to be a single? i would say its not single material but do you?

 

[Blue Jean 15,254]

I think it probably conflicted with the Batman soundtrack. Either that or one or both didn’t want to put it out as a single.

I don’t necessarily think the song is single worthy but a video would have been iconic and gotten a lot of hype. I’m sure the label would have been keen on the idea.

[Roland Barthes 5,850]

Mo Ostin, the CEO of warner objected to it because of the Batman soundtrack. The video was supposed to be directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino as he once said in an interview.

[Blue Jean 15,254]

27 minutes ago, Roland Barthes said:

Mo Ostin, the CEO of warner objected to it because of the Batman soundtrack. The video was supposed to be directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino as he once said in an interview.

Ah ok! Thanks for the info!

[wtg1987 10,169]

Not a commercial single and considering whom was involved it’s a disappointment artistically - it’s a bit like justify my love to me - all bass and not much of a  melody ?

[Steffmad 37,705]

All other Songs on LAP are better then Love Song. I like it but it's not good enough for a Single.

[Enrico 15,823]

I agree, it's the weakest track of the album. The only one I skip.

There is not much soul in it. And it's a little too repetitive..

[Blue Jean 15,254]

Apparently there were other songs they did together. I hope we get to hear them some day!

[Enrico 15,823]

2 hours ago, Blue Jean said:

Apparently there were other songs they did together. I hope we get to hear them some day!

When Prince died and his vaults were opened, I was quite optimistic... nothing surfaced though.

[Blue Jean 15,254]

20 minutes ago, Enrico said:

When Prince died and his vaults were opened, I was quite optimistic... nothing surfaced though.

They have such a huge volume of stuff to sort through and get around to releasing though. And they haven’t released any demos from that period. I’m sure they are there because he kept everything.

[Gilbert 501]

yes, i figured it may have had conflicts with the Batman soundtrack.  like everyone posted, i dont think it was a strong song to be a single too. i dont hate it but i dont love it. thanks for the responses so far.

[Roland Barthes 5,850]

I wish it could have been at least a b-side on Oh Father with remixes by Shep Pettibone (most likely). An acetate of the track was made by Warner. I don't know if it would havebeen the 3rd or 4th single from the album but by october 1989 the Batman soundtrack was done commercially even with the release of the movie overseas, people had already buy the soundtrack the previous summer. Scandalous (a very good track), the Arms of Orion and The Future (brilliant and the Orbit remixes are even better) were flops in the charts. And maybe Prince was not very happy when Madonna turned down the part he offered her in Graffiti Bridge. In french Rolling Stone around 1990, Mondino said he was approached to shoot the video and the idea was to show skin like in the movie "Hiroshima, my love" when a couple makes love and we only see their naked bodies very close up (no legs, tits etc...). I keep telling you guys to read "Siren Song" by Seymour Stein because i read it during quaratine and it was captivating, Mo Ostin is an asshole. and Madonna put up with a lot shit backstage at Warner even when she was at the top.

[Gilbert 501]

17 minutes ago, Roland Barthes said:

I wish it could have been at least a b-side on Oh Father with remixes by Shep Pettibone (most likely). An acetate of the track was made by Warner. I don't know if it would havebeen the 3rd or 4th single from the album but by october 1989 the Batman soundtrack was done commercially even with the release of the movie overseas, people had already buy the soundtrack the previous summer. Scandalous (a very good track), the Arms of Orion and The Future (brilliant and the Orbit remixes are even better) were flops in the charts. And maybe Prince was not very happy when Madonna turned down the part he offered her in Graffiti Bridge. In french Rolling Stone around 1990, Mondino said he was approached to shoot the video and the idea was to show skin like in the movie "Hiroshima, my love" when a couple makes love and we only see their naked bodies very close up (no legs, tits etc...). I keep telling you guys to read "Siren Song" by Seymour Stein because i read it during quaratine and it was captivating, Mo Ostin is an asshole. and Madonna put up with a lot shit backstage at Warner even when she was at the top.

this is what i like to read. little tidbits of things i had never known. i just assumed that her record company would want to only release the stronger tracks.  by the albums release and singles that followed, the two were all ready buried in other projects. thanks for the information.

[Nahual 599]

8 hours ago, Enrico said:

I agree, it's the weakest track of the album. The only one I skip.

Promise To Try sweetie I'm so sorry.

Imo it's a good song, but its placement on the album is weird to me. I would've placed it somewhere in the middle after Cherish. Also from my perspective, Love Song wouldn't have made a good single, although I still would've accepted it as the fourth single instead of Oh Father just because I hated that single choice.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Nahual (see edit history)

[o_g_c_x 2,786]

There are no weak songs on that album. Like a prayer is still her masterpiece album.

[Voguerista 11,818]

This is one song I could never get into. It's sad as these two had the makings of really going over the top with a song that was single material. 

[deathproof 10,608]

It’s interesting to hear that it was considered to be a single. Didn’t Oh Father only become a single because David Fincher pushed her into doing a music video for it? Maybe Love Song was originally planned to be the official 4th single?

[Jackie 8,075]

19 hours ago, wtg1987 said:

Not a commercial single and considering whom was involved it’s a disappointment artistically - it’s a bit like justify my love to me - all bass and not much of a  melody ?

Still one of my favorite tracks :P

 

[Gilbert 501]

11 hours ago, deathproof said:

It’s interesting to hear that it was considered to be a single. Didn’t Oh Father only become a single because David Fincher pushed her into doing a music video for it? Maybe Love Song was originally planned to be the official 4th single?

i was disappointed that Oh Father didn't become a bigger hit. it was such a haunting song. but it was released during the 4th quarter of the year when people are looking for more festive tunes to play. Oh Father was a bit too depressing.

 

[deathproof 10,608]

1 hour ago, Gilbert said:

i was disappointed that Oh Father didn't become a bigger hit. it was such a haunting song. but it was released during the 4th quarter of the year when people are looking for more festive tunes to play. Oh Father was a bit too depressing.

 

It's one of my all time favorites! I'd do anything for her to do it live just 1 more time! <3 

[Ian 2,262]

I thought it was very cool, a little off and it really didn't go with the record but I liked it

[Gilbert 501]

8 hours ago, deathproof said:

It's one of my all time favorites! I'd do anything for her to do it live just 1 more time! <3 

i would love for it to be live too! 

[gonna dress u up 185]

Are you wasting my time, are you just being kind???

I like Love Song, i dont skip it when i listen to the album, but, i think that being M & Prince, the song could have been a lot better and a great HIT too.

There are some things why i liked this song:

- I love when M speaks in french

- My favourite part of the song is when Madonna sings:

Don't try to tell me what your enemies taught you
I'm gone but I just want you to know
That this is not a love song that I want to sing

Because in that final part she had a different voice that i wish she had used in other songs

- The voice of M & Prince sounds fantastic together!

Edited July 11, 2020 by gonna dress u up (see edit history)

[rlittler81 1,601]

I love 'Love Song' but it's not a single, certainly not from two of the biggest stars from the 80s. It's more musically adventurous and creative than pop so wouldn't have been a hit, also I don't think the reviews of the song were that good which probably had something to do with it staying an album track.

According to Anna Garcia, one of Prince's girlfriend/protege 1988-1989, Madonna called Prince to ask him to do a video with her, but Prince wasn't interested. She claims Madonna said it would help her "get over Sean" or something to that effect and Prince replied "That's not my problem..." ...take it with a grain of salt though, as she sounds like quite a bitter person.

Cat, Prince's dancer 1987-1989 has talked about the 1987 meeting between Prince and Madonna many times and said that they acted like children and started playfully insulting each other's shoes and when Madonna suggested she and Cat have a dance battle he said "You really don't want to do that..." Apparently Prince had rented an apartment and planned a party for Madonna at Paisley Park that night but she left straight away as she was complaining about the cold Minnesota weather. There's a picture on the web of M in Minnesota meeting Prince.

I think their relationship did turn sour in the 90's after Madonna made comments about Prince in The Face interview in 1994. Prince's song "Dinner With Delores" is rumoured to be a response to those comments. I'm glad they made up and got a chance to re-connect before he passed though.