The setting where Prience (Prince) Moore opens his I Need A Girl is so understated that it borders on the feeling of having lost a memory in the back of your mind: a simple conversation between a man (Prience (Prince) Moore) and a boy (his nephew) about playground infatuations and the initial feelings of attraction. What might have been an insignificant, light-hearted scene is the germ of something unexpectedly poignant, when Moore takes that childhood sincerity and transforms it into some consideration of what true bondage asks of us as grown-ups.
His lyrics have the same open-minded simplicity. The manner in which he sings is warm, a kind of gentle, soulful comfort that never overreaches itself, and keeps your attention with total attention. It sounds like an imitator of such artists as Babyface and George Michael, without copying them, but on the principle that it is simply easy to be sincere. The production by Michael Miller is providing these vocals with a soft and warm backdrop: the lush enough to be dreamy, yet restrained to an extent that allows the voice of Moore be the silent anchor of the song.
The song lies somewhere in between vintage mid-tempo R & B and the contemporary pop smoothness. It is nostalgic without a nostalgic appeal, and new. The idea of waking up next to a person who manages to transform everyday mornings into something rather hopeful is touching since it is not dramatic or overbearing on the part of Moore. It is plain, not malicious aspiration--the sort which slides down into your personal reveries.
The fact that it does not play emotional games is what makes the I Need A Girl. Moore is forthright, almost fond, about his desires, without the habitual veils of subtle suggestions and demeanor. The final sound is seemingly woven with the noisy discussions in the studio regarding the ideal partner, and gives the impression of the mutual search.
To reflect on before going to sleep, to take a stroll back home, or when you are finally ready to confess what you have been having in your heart, this song is like a soft yet sincere confession--hopeful, emotional, and all too human.
