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Thread started 01/04/16 8:29am

madhouseman

"Joy" is actually "Paisley Park (instrumental)" - session info

The track that is floating around being called 'Joy' is actually called 'Paisley Park (instrumental). I've written about this for my upcoming book and wanted to post this just in case you are curious (sure you are! lol). Hope this helps clear up some of the mysteries about this track.

- Friday, March 9, 1984*
1) PAISLEY PARK (instrumental) (basic tracks)
Sunset Sound Studio 3
1:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (Lock-out)
Producer: Prince
Artist: Prince
Engineer: Prince
Assistant Engineer: Peggy McCreary

“You have to be really fast. He doesn’t want to mess around. If you can’t get it right he wants to drop it; he says it’s an omen and it’s not happening. You lose the groove. Five minutes to get a drum sound is pretty unique.”
Peggy McCreary

This was the first time that the phrase “Paisley Park” had appeared in any Prince related document. Although it shares the same name as the song eventually released on his Around The World In A Day album, the similarities stop there. This track is an unrelated instrumental that focuses on a groove created by live drums and bass, accented by some heavily reverbed keyboards sounding like it was influenced by Gary Numan and Tom Tom Club’s 1981 hit ‘Genius Of Love.’ Unfortunately, the production gives it a retro feeling that makes it feel dated. Prince would later revisit and update the beat of this song two years later on ‘Bob George.’ ‘Paisley Park (instrumental)’ also contains multiple reverbed sound effects including children playing in a park, laughter and whistles. Prince would repeat this theme of children playing in a park when he recorded the version of ‘Paisley Park’ that was released on Around The World In A Day as well as in the video.

After taking the previous day off from recording, he requested that his engineer, Peggy set up for a session to start at 1:30 p.m. “Sometimes he'd come in and there would be a mix up on the board and you'd think, ‘OK I'm ready for this’ and he'd tell you to put up some fresh tape because he wanted to record,’ she recalls. ‘So you had to re-patch the board from ‘mix’ to ‘live’ and EQ everything and you had about 20 minutes to tear it all down and set everything back up, and mic it all. And he would be playing the drums and he would say ‘come on Peggy, you’re blowing the groove, you're losing me here.' The pressure was incredible but he got some great stuff.”

The song is basically a synth workout with no solo and sounds as if Prince just wanted to lay down a track to see if it went anywhere. He recorded the drums, bass and keyboards over the next five hours and sound effects (from the Sunset Sound library) were used to help create the mood. Instead of strategically placing them (as they did on ‘Pop Life’ three weeks earlier), they were used as a background bed for the entire ‘Paisley Park’ track. After a quick mix, two C-60 cassettes were made and the brief session was over by 8:30 p.m. No additional information is known about anyone else participating in this session.

Prince would not record again at Sunset Sound until March 17th, so it is assumed that he traveled back to Minneapolis. Any recording that he did while there has not been documented.

STATUS: ‘Paisley Park (instrumental)’ (4:16 with sound effects, 3:44 without sound effects) was briefly considered for placement on The Family album in 1985, but it remains unreleased to this day.

(this information is from an early draft of PRINCE: The Studio Sessions by Duane Tudahl)

The expanded version of my book PRINCE and The Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions 1983-1984 was released in November 2018. (www.amazon.com/gp/product/1538114623/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0) or www.facebook.com/groups/1...104195943/
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Reply #1 posted 01/04/16 8:30am

langebleu

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Thanks for the clarification.

Very much looking forward to the book.

ALT+PLS+RTN: Pure as a pane of ice. It's a gift.
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Reply #2 posted 01/04/16 8:36am

SchlomoThaHomo

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Thanks for the info. I'm hearing a bit of a precursor to the Good Love sound as well.

"That's when stars collide. When there's space for what u want, and ur heart is open wide."
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Reply #3 posted 01/04/16 9:45am

luv4u

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Please post here discussing Joy http://prince.org/msg/7/421074 - thanks.

lock

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Ohh purple joy oh purple bliss oh purple rapture!
REAL MUSIC by REAL MUSICIANS - Prince
"I kind of wish there was a reason for Prince to make the site crash more" ~~ Ben
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