U Got The Look (Single):Prince

"U Got the Look" is a song by Prince. It opens the second disc of Prince's 1987 double album Sign “☮” the Times, and became the album's highest charting single. Musically, the song is standard 12-bar blues number with emphasis on live drumming by Sheila E., and a crunchy guitar sound. Although not credited on the single release, the song also featuresSheena Easton, who sings co-lead with Prince. Prince sings in his sped-up "Camille" voice, although the song was not intended for the Camille album. The lyrics recite the familiar "boy versus girl in the World Series of love."

The music video for the song now featuring Sheena Easton was filmed in Paris, France, and was directed by American music video director David Hogan. It was included in the Sign “☮” the Times film, and features the intro from the extended version of the song. The entire video is portrayed to be as a dream sequence by Prince, dozing off in his dressing room. In the U.S., the single went to the #2 position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles tally, the week of October 17, 1987. The single stayed in the Top 10 of the charts for six weeks.

The extended version of the song (called the "Long Look") is similar to the video but has an additional musical section in the middle of the song with Sheena Easton's vocal, and continues for a few more seconds instead of fading out at the end. The "Long Look" was included on the Ultimate compilation album in 2006.

The B-side of the single was the P-Funk-influenced album track, "Housequake". The song was considered for release as the first single from the unreleased "Camille" album, and therefore, arguably holds a place of importance in Prince's album history, considering the events that followed the creation of the track. The 12" also included an extension of the song called "7 Minutes Mo'Quake", which was a mostly instrumental version with the end of the album version tacked on. Theremix is noteworthy for some of Atlanta Bliss's trumpet solos, which often were included in live versions of the song. Leaked versions of an unedited "original version" (often called "Camille's Mix") are attainable on the internet. Upon listening to them it is clear that the track required significant changes in the composition before arriving at the album version, which is now a fan favorite, and was often considered one of the standout tracks on the album.

Both songs are occasionally still performed in concert by Prince.

Contents

  [hide] *1 Track listing

• • 1.1 7": Paisley Park / 7-28289 (US)
  • 1.2 12": Paisley Park / 0-20727 (US)
  • 1.3 12": Warner Bros. / W8289T (UK)
• 2 Cover versions
• 3 References in other media
• 4 External links

Track listing

7": Paisley Park / 7-28289 (US)

1. "U Got the Look" – 3:46
2. "Housequake" (edit) – 3:24

12": Paisley Park / 0-20727 (US)

1. "U Got the Look" (Long Look) – 6:45
2. "U Got the Look" (Single Cut) – 3:46
3. "Housequake" (Album Cut) – 4:38
4. "Housequake" (7 Minutes MoQuake) – 7:15

12": Warner Bros. / W8289T (UK)

1. "U Got the Look" (Long Look) – 6:45
2. "Housequake" (7 Minutes MoQuake) – 7:15
3. "U Got the Look" (Single Cut) – 3:46

*Also available as a picture disc (W8289TP)

Cover versions

• Electronic music artist Gary Numan covered "U Got the Look" for his 1992 album, Machine + Soul, which also featured a cover version of Prince's "1999".
• Electroclash artists Dirty Sanchez covered the song for their self-titled album.
• Ween have covered "Housequake" live.

References in other media

• The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is known for naming each episode after a 1980s hit song, named an episode after this song.
• The Fla Flas released a 2003 album titled Boy vs. Girl In the World Series of Love, named after the "U Got the Look" lyric.