Letitgo

"Letitgo" is a song by American musician Prince from his 1994 album Come.[1] Despite statements that the album consisted entirely of "old" material, "Letitgo" was actually newly composed for the album. The mid-tempo song relies heavily on a drum machine pattern and bass guitar with synthesizers in the refrain. A keyboard and percussion solo appear toward the end. The song is sung in falsetto in unison with another track layered in his regular, lower register. Kathleen Bradford provides backing vocals, while Eric Leeds provides flute accompaniment.

For other songs, see Let It Go.
"Letitgo"
Standard artwork (UK 12-inch single pictured)
Single by Prince
from the album Come
B-side
  • "Solo" (7")
  • "Alexa De Paris" (UK 12")
  • "Pope" (UK 12")
  • Various remixes of "Letitgo" (maxi-single)
ReleasedAugust 9, 1994
RecordedPaisley Park Studios, March 1994
GenreR&B
Length4:15 (7" Edit)
5:33 (Album Version)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Prince
Producer(s)Prince (original versions), (Remixes) Quincy "QD3" Jones III, Gerald "G Bomb" Baillergeau & J. Swift
Prince singles chronology
"Love Sign"
(1994)		 "Letitgo"
(1994)		 "Space"
(1994)
Prince (UK) singles chronology
"The Beautiful Experience"
(1994)		 "Letitgo"
(1994)		 "Purple Medley"
(1995)

The track was produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince, with the additions of Kathleen Bradford on background vocals, Eric Leeds on flute and additional keyboards by Ricky Peterson. The lyrics speak of Prince's disappointment with Warner Bros. Records' decision not to release music as quickly as Prince created it. He chides them that they will be sorry when he leaves the company.

The B-side was the album track "Solo", a downbeat number with Prince's voice only accompanied by harp, which was composed by David Henry Hwang. The title refers not to a musical solo, but actually that Prince's mood is "so low". It ties in with the slightly more upbeat "Letitgo". In addition, a CD single was released in the UK containing an edit of "Letitgo", "Solo", the extended version of "Alexa de Paris" (originally the B-side to "Mountains" in 1986) and "Pope", which was originally on The Hits 2 from 1993. A maxi single on CD and vinyl included several remixes of the track provided by Quincy "QD3" Jones III, Chronic Freeze., J-Sw!ft and Gerald "G Bomb" Baillergeau.

A 7" vinyl picture disc was issued in the UK.

Critical reception

Alexis Petridis from The Guardian commented, "By 1994, Prince was more interested in fighting with his record company than the quality of his releases. Come was evidently thrown together to fulfill his contract. But even when he didn't really care, he couldn't turn his talent off completely. Letitgo isn't a classic, but nor is it a disaster. Perhaps he made more of an effort because it's about his desire to leave the Warners label."[2]

Chart performance

"Letitgo" was moderately successful on the charts, peaking at number 31 on the Hot 100, 10 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, 13 on the Rhythmic chart, 17 on the Mainstream/Pop chart and number 30 in the UK.

Track listing

7" single
  1. "Letitgo" (edit) – 4:15
  2. "Solo" – 3:48

UK 12" single and CD
  1. "Letitgo" (edit) – 4:15
  2. "Solo" – 3:48
  3. "Alexa de Paris" (extended version) – 4:54
  4. "Pope" – 3:28

US 12" and CD
  1. "Letitgo" (Caviar radio edit) – 4:59
  2. "Letitgo" (Cavi' street edit) – 5:02
  3. "Letitgo" (Instrumental) – 5:02
  4. "Letitgo" (On the Cool-Out Tip radio edit) – 4:34
  5. "Letitgo" (Sherm Stick edit) – 5:42
  6. "Letitgo" ((-) Sherm Stick edit) – 5:42
  7. "Letitgo" (original radio edit) – 4:15
  8. "Letitgo" (original album version) – 5:33

Charts

References
  1. http://www.discogs.com/Prince-Letitgo/master/55682
  2. Petridis, Alexis (September 12, 2019). "Prince's 50 greatest singles – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  3. "Australian-charts.com – Prince – Letitgo". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  4. "Austriancharts.at – Prince – Letitgo" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  5. "Ultratop.be – Prince – Letitgo" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  6. "Lescharts.com – Prince – Letitgo" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Prince – Letitgo". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  8. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 36, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – Letitgo" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  10. "Charts.nz – Prince – Letitgo". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  11. "Norwegiancharts.com – Prince – Letitgo". VG-lista. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  12. "Swisscharts.com – Prince – Letitgo". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  13. "Prince: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  14. "Prince Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  15. "Prince Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  16. "Prince Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  17. "Prince Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  18. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
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