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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Jordan Knight

  • Shoulda Been a Hit: “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”

    jordanCovering a Prince song is a dicey proposition. Not only with the man himself, as he’s not terribly fond of others recording his music, but…how can you outdo Prince? A couple of artists have gotten it right. Chaka Khan’s “I Feel for You” is better than the original, as was Sinead O’ Connor’s take on “Nothing Compares 2 U”, which he wrote for The Family back in ’85. That said, for every “When You Were Mine” by Cyndi Lauper, there’s a “When Doves Cry” by Ginuwine (ugh) or “Purple Rain” by LeAnn Rimes (double ugh…and yes, LeAnn Rimes re-recorded “Purple Rain”. Go listen if you think you have the stomach for it).

    So, the last thing you’d imagine would be a credible Prince cover by a former New Kid on the Block, right?

    “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” was one of my favorite songs from Prince’s magnum opus, “Sign ‘O the Times”. It’s a near-perfect slice of pop-rock with an interesting narrative and some fantastic guitar playing (although it’s kind of buried in the mix). It’s deceptively peppy, considering the subject matter (Prince meets unhappy girl at a bar, girl falls in love, Prince says hey, I’m good for a quickie but I’m not the type that’ll stick around forever). Knight’s version (which you can find on his 1999 solo debut-I believe it’s out of print but you can find copies cheap online) completely recasts the song as a sorrowful ballad, bringing out the heartbreak of the lyrics. It’s a pretty ballsy move, but it works. It’s also helpful that Jordan doesn’t try to oversell the song, instead letting the story unfold without adding any extra drama to an already dramatic scenario.

    Somehow, despite the fact that it was the follow-up to a Top 10, Platinum single (“Give it to You”), “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” didn’t chart. Perhaps the stigma of being an ex-NKOTB prevented the song from doing so (it certainly prevented a lot of people from taking the album seriously, which is a bad move, because the album is a satisfying slice of blue-eyed soul that beats the pants off of both Justin Timberlake albums and stands head to head with all three Robin Thicke albums…probably because Thicke co-wrote and co-produced almost this entire album), but this is one that definitely should have been a bigger hit than it was.

    I’d love to post Prince’s original, but I might get drawn and quartered by the man himself if I do. Besides, if a copy of “Sign O’ the Times” isn’t in your record collection, you should be ashamed of yourself. However, here’s the video of Jordan’s version. Turn your volume up.


    I could never take the place of your man • Jordan Knight – Jordan Knight

  • The Sunday Seven: I Love Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls

    Money Mike has been looking for some volunteers to do their own Sunday Seven column and I raised my hand this week. I’m actually anticipating what’s going to come up because I bet there are going to be songs that pop up that I haven’t heard in forever or songs that are a part of full albums that I may not even like. Since I only buy music from the iTunes store now, my iPod is full of entire albums and thus, stuff that I don’t even really listen to since I’m a big play list guy.

    For those who don’t know, the idea of this column is to take your iPod (or whatever else you use to listen to your music electronically) and put it on shuffle. The next step is to list the first seven songs that come on and list them here.

    Here goes:

    Track 1: The Water Bottle by Bill Cosby

    Aha! The first track isn’t even music. It’s a quick skit by Bill Cosby from his album I Started Out As A Child about children drinking from the water bottle when their parents aren’t home and then leaving just enough in the bottle so they don’t have to refill it. The track is less than a minute long and let’s just say that it’s not his best skit. I have a ton of Cos on my iPod.

    (By the way, I love the fact that on my iPod they actually have “Shuffle” as one of the selections from the main menu. I used to hate having to click a few times to get the shuffle going.)

    Track 2: Let’s Be Friends (Skin To Skin) by Bruce Springsteen

    I love his post 9/11 album The Rising so much that before every semi-pro baseball game after it came out, I listened to it on the way to the ball park. I’m not sure if Bruce only wants to just be friends or not with the skin to skin reference, but hey, he’s Bruce.

    Track 3: Not Gon’ Cry by Mary J. Blige

    From the soundtrack to the movie Waiting To Exhale, this song captures the feeling of the Angela Bassett character Bernadine Harris (thanks IMDB) perfectly. Yes, I think I’ve seen the movie at least once.

    Through sickness and health ’til death do us part
    Those were the words that we said from our hearts
    So now when you say that you’re leaving me
    I don’t get that part

    Word.

    Track 4: Don’t Cry by Jordan Knight

    A few years ago, Jordan Knight released The Fix which was an EP that I only saw on iTunes. It wasn’t bad. But this wasn’t necessarily one of the better tracks. It’s an uptempo song that features, “Don’t cry mama, shake that mama,” as a part of the hook. And that’s one of the better parts of the song. I won’t tell you about the part of the song where he starts talking about her thong.

    Track 5: Girls, Girls, Girls by Jay-Z

    I love girls, girls, girls, girls, girls I do adore. I love this song for all the one liners. From his most famous album, Blueprint, he raps about all kinds of different girls. It’s a fun track, even if he stereotypes them all.

    I got this ho that after twelve million sold
    Mami’s a narcoleptic, always sleepin’ on Hov’

    Track 6: Just To Be Close To You by the Commodores

    The iTunes program that grabs the album art thinks this is supposed to be on the Jackson 5 The Ultimate Collection album. You know it’s a good day when Lionel just starts talking in his songs. He just lays down a soliloquy at the top in a funny accent before saying that he was a lonely man without direction or purpose and no one to love. Of course, that was before he found the girl who made his jagged edges smooth. I have one word that describes this song. Outrageous!

    Track 7: Little Sister by Elvis Presley

    Remember that Elvis hits album that came out several years back and sold like hot cakes even though anyone and their mother who even liked Elvis just a little bit had almost all the songs? Well, they released a sequel called 2nd To None that didn’t sell as well. This song is on the second album. The song is catchy as hell. Elvis, as the mack daddy of all mack daddies, is singing to the little sister of someone he used to date. He used to pull on this girl’s pig tails. But instead of singing her a love song, he’s scolding her.

    Little sister, don’t you kiss me once or twice
    Then say its very nice and then you run
    Little sister, don’t you do what your big sister done

    Thankfully this isn’t the Sunday Eight or else I would’ve had to write about the WWF version of The Land Of 1,000 Dances where the Iron Sheik says that you have to learn to move like the Sheik. That might’ve been a bit embarrassing. Also, I’m going to lose some street cred by only having one hip hop song on here. Sorry guys, I swear I have a ton.

  • Worth a Second Spin: Jordan Knight

    It’s amazing how the critical knives that were used to attack the shit out of New Kids on the Block back in their heyday have softened-considerably. Whereas most pop publications at the time were busy metaphorically running over Joe, Jon, Danny, Donnie and Jordan with an 18-wheeler, their comeback this year has been greeted mostly by either silence or warm nostalgia. If you read this site, you’re well aware that I’m a fan, even though in retrospect, the albums (not counting 1994’s “Face the Music”, which will be featured in this column sooner or later) are merely average.

    Which is why the fact that Jordan Knight’s 1999 debut solo album is so good initially startled me. I mean, I always thought he could sing a little somethin’…actually, he was the only member of the group that had truly impressive pipes. However, if you can get over the stigma of Mr. “You Got The Right Stuff, bay-bay” singing, you may wind up liking Jordan Knight a helluva lot more than you think you should.

    Jordan linked up with two VIP-types who turned out to be great creative partners for his solo debut. First, he hooked up with a then-unknown Robin Thicke. While we know Thicke now as the musical equivalent of White Chocolate, he was then only barely known as a songwriter. Thicke and Jordan proved to be a solid combo, writing and producing much of Jordan Knight.

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