The 333 Best Pop Songs of the 2000s: #111

#111: "A Case of You" (2007) - Prince
Kiss. Elton John. Journey. Billy Joel. Bruce Springsteen. Motley Crue. Guns N' Roses. Michael Jackson. Those were my favorite recording artists when I was in late elementary and later high school. I can't say I admire all of their records anymore (except for Springsteen), but for years I did. One topped 'em all, though, and that was Prince. Prince could play rock, funk, soul, and pop with the best of 'em, and his best always topped everyone else's from his heyday. I believed that then, and I still believe it now. Considering how much I loved his music, it's funny--and sad--that of all the records he's released this past decade, he's not only going to have only one make the charts, but that one isn't one he wrote himself.

This one's a cover of a Joni Mitchell song. Theoretically, this mishmash seems odd, but it works oh so well for quite a few reasons. For one, Prince is a self-avowed Joni Mitchell fan (he regurly lists Mitchell's "Help Me" as his all-time favorite song). Second, Prince is highly-capable of writing and performing subtle, piano-driven love/soul songs (and, no, "Purple Rain" doesn't count--that's a metal ballad if there was one). Finally, Joni Mitchell's written many a fine soul song herself, though Mitchell didn't always have the best accompaniment, nor did she usually arrange her songs as typical love/soul songs; nevertheless, that soul-song structure--as well as Mitchell's voice quality and timbre--are present in many of her songs, and maybe only another musical genius could not only see the soul within the songs, but also record one of them as a love/soul song as well, as if to say, "See"?

Prince's version tops Mitchell's for two reasons: 1). he sings in falsetto, so he obscures the bad poetry that lies in some of the verses, and 2). his drummer adds the backbeat/rim-shot combination that---mixed with the exquisite piano work here--makes explicit not only the soul vibe (which was just implied in the original), but also adds the sway, the roll, to the pretty piano, making the record romantic, danceable, and a bit sad and lonely--all of which are ingredients in the best soul ballads, of which this is one.

All hail. The Prince is gone, but he's not forgotten.



no video 'cause prince wouldn't want it that way...