It’s Been So Lonely Without You Here

“Nothing Compares 2 U,” Prince feat. Rosie Gaines

Although Prince wrote this track, it is most closely associated with Sinéad O’Connor because of her famous release of the single, “Nothing Compares 2 U.”  Three years after that cover version topped the charts, Prince’s 1993 compilation, The Hits 1, included this live performance of his song.  The O’Connor recording of this lament is well known, and it should be; the flight of her lilting vocals is chilly elegance.  However, it is a delight to discover how well the song translates as a duet, with Prince and Rosie Gaines trading verses and bringing the heat.

The beginning of this performance features soothing keyboards and an understated guitar riffing on the familiar “Nothing Compares 2 U” hook.  This quiet scene betrays none of the chaotic despair to come when the singers take their turn.  Prince displays his impressive vocal range, with extensive improvisational ornamentation that sustains interest with its delicacy, side-stepping the trap of becoming tiresome.  However, it is Gaines’ soulful blasts that are the real reason to come to this show; she is a woman on the verge of collapse, and one is left rattled by the sound of her heart breaking.

This tune is absolute catharsis.  Presented as an ambling, blues-y lament, every word becomes poignant; each syllable breaks with the emotional destruction of love lost.  This particular rendition is so powerful because conceiving of it as a duet transforms its character.  The two voices are in the same song, but they are somehow not speaking to each other, they are speaking about each other.  The lack of communication is frustrating, but it deepens the emotional release necessary when confronting a profound loss.  Each line reveals a new dimension of sorrow, effecting devastation.

Question: Performing this song as a duet adds impact to its already weighty subject matter.  What are some songs that you think are better for being duets rather than solos?