that story is probably made up. there is no way Prince would erase anything he had already recorded. You mean he's gonna erase Wally and then keep stuff like Tricky laying around?

This man thinks if he farts on wax it's a masterpiece.

that story is probably made up. there is no way Prince would erase anything he had already recorded. You mean he's gonna erase Wally and then keep stuff like Tricky laying around?

This man thinks if he farts on wax it's a masterpiece.

alwayslate said:

Prince never told this story, it was told by his longtime engineer. Why would she lie, you cute little bitter fan, you?

Keep in mind Prince himself said he destroyed the Ill Do Anything tracks..
and not only did he release them ...but there's even more unreleased.

Most importantly, what do you reckon the song was about

What Turn It Up 2.0 says about it:
"I thought it was the greatest thing he had done", is Susan Rogers' assessment of "Wally", a heartfelt song which ostensibly dealt with Prince's breakup with Susannah Melvoin. It was recorded in Prince's home studio on December 28th 1986, after he had returned from an almost three-month stay in LA. The song features a monologue by Prince, who is talking to Wally Safford. He asks to try on Wally's new glasses as he is planning to go out for the evening and he wants to look good for someone special. However, he changes his mind and decides to stay home instead. He returns the $50 Wally has leant him, saying that, sicne he is alone now, he no longer has anyone to spent it on. Sounding empty and lost, Prince speaks the words with a soft, vulnerable voice. He is accompanied only by a piano, but guitar, bass, and drums enter as the song explodes into the chorus. Prince sings a simple phrase of "o-mala-di-da" evoking a feeling of wistful resignation. The songs ends with him thanking Wally for being his friend.

Although the lyric of "Wally" do not refer directly to the breakup, the emotional statement of the music leaves no doubt as to the sincerity of Prince's pain. "There was so much pain that came out in that song", says Rogers woh is one of the few people who has heard the original recording. "It was heartrending. He was getting all this poison out of his system, all this pain. I has waited years to hear a Prince song like this. I ached to hear him be this honest. He said 'Do you know that maladi means sickness, illness in French? It's almost like the word melody, isn't it?' It was just the two of us and I felt so privileged. I just couldn't wait for people to hear this. The he began to change it! All of a sudden, he put on this weird percussion stuff and began to make it funky. I said 'Don't you think it was better before, Prince? Maybe we should stop?' I knew he was destroying it deliberately. It was just too honest. At some point, he said 'Now put all 24 channels on record and erase it.' I said 'No, you can't do this!' He said 'If you don't, I will.' And he did erase it. That recording will never get heard. He was feeling deep pain and allowed it to show, but he didn't want anybody to hear that."

Eric Leeds believes "Wally" was "the only time that he [Prince] completely erased a song that he had just done. The only time. That was a very, very personal song to Prince, and I don't think he had any intention in the world of ever releasing it." Prince did in fact re-record "Wally" from scratch the next day, making it a less personal song by changing some of the lyrics and recording a new vocal. Eric and Matt Blistan added horns to the altered version. "I was called back from my Christmas vacation a day early tom come in the studio to put horns on the second version of "Wally"," Eric recalls. "The first version was even to honest for him. He wiped it immediately, re-recorded it in a different form, and then had me and Blistan come in and do horns on it".


No, you don't have to thank me for typing all that out.

that story is probably made up. there is no way Prince would erase anything he had already recorded. You mean he's gonna erase Wally and then keep stuff like Tricky laying around?

This man thinks if he farts on wax it's a masterpiece.

that story is probably made up.

What Turn It Up 2.0 says about it:
"I thought it was the greatest thing he had done", is Susan Rogers' assessment of "Wally", a heartfelt song which ostensibly dealt with Prince's breakup with Susannah Melvoin. It was recorded in Prince's home studio on December 28th 1986, after he had returned from an almost three-month stay in LA. The song features a monologue by Prince, who is talking to Wally Safford. He asks to try on Wally's new glasses as he is planning to go out for the evening and he wants to look good for someone special. However, he changes his mind and decides to stay home instead. He returns the $50 Wally has leant him, saying that, sicne he is alone now, he no longer has anyone to spent it on. Sounding empty and lost, Prince speaks the words with a soft, vulnerable voice. He is accompanied only by a piano, but guitar, bass, and drums enter as the song explodes into the chorus. Prince sings a simple phrase of "o-mala-di-da" evoking a feeling of wistful resignation. The songs ends with him thanking Wally for being his friend.

Although the lyric of "Wally" do not refer directly to the breakup, the emotional statement of the music leaves no doubt as to the sincerity of Prince's pain. "There was so much pain that came out in that song", says Rogers woh is one of the few people who has heard the original recording. "It was heartrending. He was getting all this poison out of his system, all this pain. I has waited years to hear a Prince song like this. I ached to hear him be this honest. He said 'Do you know that maladi means sickness, illness in French? It's almost like the word melody, isn't it?' It was just the two of us and I felt so privileged. I just couldn't wait for people to hear this. The he began to change it! All of a sudden, he put on this weird percussion stuff and began to make it funky. I said 'Don't you think it was better before, Prince? Maybe we should stop?' I knew he was destroying it deliberately. It was just too honest. At some point, he said 'Now put all 24 channels on record and erase it.' I said 'No, you can't do this!' He said 'If you don't, I will.' And he did erase it. That recording will never get heard. He was feeling deep pain and allowed it to show, but he didn't want anybody to hear that."

Eric Leeds believes "Wally" was "the only time that he [Prince] completely erased a song that he had just done. The only time. That was a very, very personal song to Prince, and I don't think he had any intention in the world of ever releasing it." Prince did in fact re-record "Wally" from scratch the next day, making it a less personal song by changing some of the lyrics and recording a new vocal. Eric and Matt Blistan added horns to the altered version. "I was called back from my Christmas vacation a day early tom come in the studio to put horns on the second version of "Wally"," Eric recalls. "The first version was even to honest for him. He wiped it immediately, re-recorded it in a different form, and then had me and Blistan come in and do horns on it".


No, you don't have to thank me for typing all that out.
[Edited 1/5/06 12:36pm]

In the Alex Hahn book he mentions a song named "Wally" that was said to be incredible. Prince destroyed it. Do you think he could record it again or is that memory lost forever, maybe buried in his subconscious. Can Prince remember or recreate a lost track if he wanted to?

alwayslate said:

Prince never told this story, it was told by his longtime engineer. Why would she lie, you cute little bitter fan, you?

However, he changes his mind and decides to stay home instead. He returns the $50 Wally has leant him, saying that, sicne he is alone now, he no longer has anyone to spent it on.