Eye No
Song by Prince
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Eye No" (stylised as "👁️ No") is a song by American musician Prince, and is the opening track to his 1988 album, Lovesexy.
- Washington Avenue Warehouse, Edina, MN (The Ball)
- Paisley Park, Chanhassen, MN (Eye No)
- 5:46 (Eye No)
- 4:34 (The Ball)
| "Eye No" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Prince | |
| from the album Lovesexy | |
| Recorded | |
| Studio |
|
| Genre | Minneapolis sound |
| Length |
|
| Producer | Prince |
| Audio sample | |
Background
During the recording sessions that would eventually lead to his 1987 album Sign o' the Times, Prince started recording "The Ball" at the end of July after rehearsals for the Parade Tour, with horns being overdubbed a couple days later.[1] The song was in some configurations of Crystal Ball and would have segued into "Joy in Repetition", however was ultimately dropped.[3]
During the recording sessions for Lovesexy, Prince revisited, rewrote, and rerecorded the track, becoming the studio version of "Eye No".[2]
Composition
"Eye No" opens with chords on the synthesizer and a poem written and spoken by Ingrid Chavez.[4] Rolling Stone writer David Browne described the song as "a jumbled barrage of Sly Stone wails, fatback bass lines, a grinding sax, wah-wah guitar and swarming backup vocals that continually collide with each other".[5]
While "Eye No" is viewed as sterile, "The Ball" is viewed as a stankier, Fairlight-driven groove.[6][1] This may be due to the production of the former being collaborative featuring the members of Prince's band at the time, whereas the latter is primarily Prince.[2] Eric Leeds did state he preferred "The Ball", saying "it was just a little fresher to me."[1]
The song's lyrics also make reference to "Crystal Ball", "Train", and Sheila E.'s "Romance 1600".[1]
Personnel
Adapted from Benoît Clerc and Duane Tudahl.[2][1]
Eye No
Musicians
- Prince – lead vocals, backing vocals, electric guitar, synthesizers, claps
- Atlanta Bliss – spoken vocals, trumpet
- Boni Boyer – vocals, Hammond organ
- Greg Brooks, Ingrid Chavez, Wally Safford – spoken vocals
- Sheila E. – backing vocals, drums
- Doctor Fink – synthesizers
- Eric Leeds – saxophone
- Levi Seacer Jr. – bass
- Miko Weaver – electric guitar
Production
- Prince – producer
- Eddie Miller – recording engineer
The Ball
Musicians
- Prince – lead vocals, spoken vocals, backing vocals, electric guitar, bass, synthesizers, Fairlight CMI, clavinet, drums, claps
- Jerome Benton, Greg Brooks, Susannah Melvoin, Wally Safford – backing vocals
- Atlanta Bliss – trumpet
- Eric Leeds – saxophone
Production
- Prince – producer
- Susan Rogers – recording engineer
- Todd Herreman – assistant recording engineer