I went to a record fair in Portsmouth (UK) yesterday and not only did i manage
to get hold of a copy of the Old Friends 4 Sale cd, but i also noticed that
they had a cardboard cutout of Prince and underneath it said "Sony Records." I
asked the guy who was selling them, but he knew nothing about it.



The Old Friends 4 Sale cd meanwhile is very jazzy/bluesy. The cd artwork is
similar to Chaos and Disorder, with the 3 lines going through the middle
(like a master tape). The inlay itself is only one piece of paper with very
little inside. It looks like the inside cover (and the bit under the cd) looks
like a picture of a vault. Again the inside says the "Originally intended 4
personal use only....."



The musicians on the set were Prince, Michael B, Sonny T, Tommy Barbarella, Mr
Hayes, Kirk Johnson, Levi Seacer Jr and Sheila E as well as the NPG hornz.



Update: Andrew adds:



The Prince cutout had the picture that was heavily used for the Jam of the
Year world tour and i think was on sale at new funk. It was also given away
as a free poster with the Uk purchase of "Betcha By Golly Wow."



The album I have is definately a legit promotional copy and not a bootleg. It
has the catalog number (9362-47522-2 WE 833) all over the cover and the orange
cd.



The version of "Old Friends 4 Sale" is definately the newer version with the
alternate lyrics. The older version is definately better and more personal,
while the newer versions lyrics seem to be made up on the spot. I must say
that this album definately seems unfinished. some of the tracks don't gel
together and "When the lights go down" ends with Prince saying to the band mem
bers "Vegas on C. Remember that ending?", almost as if it is a rehearsal warm
up jam. This isn't the case as it is too clean of a recording but it does
certainly seem that way on a few tracks.



"5 Women" is also a different version, although the vocal seem to be the same,
but have horns interlaced through the whole track. at first i didn't like it,
but now it is growing on me. i still prefer the original version though.



One thing i did notice however is that the cd is quite short. The disc length
is 39:17. Also there not one of the last 5 tracks last over 2:30 mins. It
does almost seem to be a collection of songs that Prince wanted to finish at a
later date, with no clear single on the album. However, it isn't a bad album
and i didn't get that bad taste that Newpower Soul gave me after the first
listen.