Whoever made this astounding collection deserves the highest praise first of all. But my question is, at the end of this collection's version of "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" there are some lyrics that I've never heard before on any of the versions of this song that I have.

"So there it is from the inside out. Baby, baby ur what I'm trying to talk about. U and that thang ur sittin on...what's keepin me in the game and I hit it long. Long and hard to make money so I can give it all to u honey. On a deep blue sea in August. The master's (up?), u wanna set sail or what? Who put the X in sex? U baby. Come here. Ur bad and u got mad attitude. Just like this (bass is walkin'?) I'm talkin about the 21st letter in the alphabet. U, u, u, u! It's all U baby."

WHERE IN THE HELL ARE THESE LYRICS FROM? They sound like a take off on the Mustang Mix lyrics but I dont ever recall hearing them before on any of the versions I have. Anyone have an idea? TIA!

Everything you ever wanted to know about The Dawn but were afraid to ask...

The Dawn (what version/mixes were used and where they came from)

disc 1:
01. WELCOME 2 THE DAWN (2:05) – edit of the track available on ‘The Truth’. Used as a kind of ‘Intro’ to the album.
02. npg operator (0:11) – edit of a couple of Operator segues, so it says “Hello, welcome 2 the dawn, playground 4 the new power generation. There are over 500 experiences 2 choose from. Press ‘come’ 2 begin”.
03. COME (PART 1) (4:21) – mix created using the Beautiful Experience remix (Deposition) and the original version (FAAB). Segues into…
04. ENDORPHIN MACHINE (3:50) – taken from the Come original test pressing. Segues into…
05. SPACE (5:10) – mix created using the album version, with snall bits from the Universal Love Mix and the Funky Stuff remix. Segues into the crowd intro of…
06. DAYS OF WILD (7:15) – mix created using the released live version on ‘Crystal Ball’ and the guitar solo from one of the AHDIO Shows from NPGMC year 1.
07. npg operator (0:17) – taken from ‘The Gold Experience’
08. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD (4:55) – mix of ‘The Gold Experience’ album version and the unreleased ‘Mustang 96 Remix’ (The Work).
09. THE POPE (4:32) – mix created using the album version from ‘The Hits 2’, the promo only 12” remix, a drum loop from ‘Acknowledge Me’ (barely noticable) and a burst of ‘D.M.S.R.’ from the ‘1999’ album.
10. RIPOPGODAZIPPA (4:37) – taken from ‘Crystal Ball’.
11. npg operator (0:05) – taken from the NPG Operator segue originally used before the studio version of ‘Days Of Wild’ (“If u would like 2 access another experience, here’s how”)
12. RACE (8:20) – mix created using the video version (from the Beautiful Experience TV special) and the ‘Outta Space’ part of the unreleased NPG version of ‘Super Hero’ from the ‘Exodus’ sessions (Fantasia).
13. EMPTY ROOM (3:16) – unreleased track (The Work)
14. npg operator (0:06) – created using the “Please access another experience” part of one of the segues from ‘The Gold Experience’.
15. MAD (4:32) – edit of the unreleased track (Deposition). Segues into…
16. ROCK & ROLL IS ALIVE (4:31) – b-side to ‘Gold’, pitch shifted up a semitone to get it in the right key.
17. SHHH (6:57) – taken from ‘The Gold Experience’. Outro segues into…
18. STRAYS OF THE WORLD (4:41) – edit of the track released on ‘Crystal Ball’ (Drum/fanfare intro ommitted and opening keyboard section extended.)

disc 2:
01. PUSSY CONTROL (5:38) – the VH1 Fashion Awards version (The Work), intro uses a snippet of the released version from ‘The Gold Experience’.
02. npg operator (0:09) – edit of the NPG Operator from ‘Interactive’ and one from ‘The Gold Experience’ (“That was just an example of the many experiences the dawn has 2 offer. There are over 500 experiences 2 choose from, here’s a sample”)
03. PEACH (3:05) – edit of the version from ‘The Hits 2’ mixed with parts of ‘The Purple Medley’. Segues into…
04. CHAOS & DISORDER (4:12) – unreleased original version (FAAB), pitch shifted up to the same key as ‘Peach’ (intro also extended by 1 bar).
05. SHY (4:55) – mix created simply by running the released version from ‘The Gold Experience’ and the unreleased original mix (FAAB) simultaneously.
06. npg operator (0:15) – taken from ‘The Gold Experience’.
07. PHEROMONE (4:27) – taken from ‘Come’, with the addition of a few seconds from the unreleased instrumental version (Cosmos) as an intro.
08. 319 (3:19) – taken from ‘The Gold Experience’, including the ‘hotel lobby’ intro (which is how it was originally intended to appear on the released album, as the intro was specifically created to make the song last exactly 3:19).
09. HIDE THE BONE (5:05) – taken from ‘Crystal Ball’
10. 18 & OVER (6:21) – original unreleased longer version (Fantasia), edited slightly at the end to create an ‘ending’ rather than a fade out.
11. npg operator (0:13) – original unreleased “And now a word from our sponsors” intro.
12. LEMME SEE THAT BODY GET LOOSE (4:31) – remix created using ‘Loose!’ from ‘Come’ and the unreleased instrumental ‘(Lemme See Your Body) Get Loose!’ (Fantasia). (Loosely based on various live renditions from around the time).
13. PAPA (2:48) – taken from ‘Come’
14. npg operator (0:06)
15. BILLY JACK BITCH (7:05) – unreleased ‘full length’ version (The Work).
16. EYE HATE U (8:50) – mix created using ‘The Gold Experience’ version and the ‘Extended Remix’. Outro segues into…
17. LET IT GO (5:29) – taken from ‘Come’, street noises on outro taken from the outro to ‘Lady Cab Driver’ from ‘1999’. Outro used as a segue for…
18. DON’T TALK 2 STRANGERS (3:12) – taken from the ‘Girl 6’ sountrack.

disc 3:
01. INTERACTIVE (3:01) – taken from ‘Crystal Ball’
02. ACKNOWLEDGE ME (6:33) – mix created using the version on ‘Crystal Ball’ and the ‘Big City Remix’ of the NPG’s ‘The Good Life’ (used to make an extended ending which replaces the released version’s fade out using a vocal lifted from ‘All My Dreams’).
03. npg operator (0:09)
04. SOMEBODY’S SOMEBODY (3:41) – the released ‘Livestudio Mix’ (promo / b-side to ‘The Holy River CD single). Segues into street sounds created as an intro to…
05. LOVE SIGN (4:36) – the ‘1-800-NEW-FUNK’ version, edited slightly to create an actual ‘ending’ to the song. (Intro segue features snippet of the unreleased ‘Mack Attack Message Mix’ over street sounds and gunshots taken from various sound effects discs)
06. WHAT’S MY NAME (3:01) – taken from ‘Crystal Ball’, with the addition of the unreleased spoken “welcome 2 the dawn” intro (Deposition).
07. THE RIDE (8:31) – mix created using the version on ‘Crystal Ball’ and the unreleased version from ‘The Undertaker’ album.
08. npg operator (0:19) – taken from ‘The Gold Experience’.
09. NOW (3:59) – taken from ‘The Gold Experience’. Mixes straight into…
10. FACE DOWN (2:10) – remix made using the promo only ‘Acapella Mix’ and loops from ‘Now’. (Musically just a continuation of ‘Now’ with ‘Face Down’s lyrics over the top.)
11. npg operator (0:12) – created using parts of the NPG Operator segue from ‘The Most Beautiful Girl In The World’ layered over itself at various different speeds, to lead into…
12. 2MORROW (4:07) – edit of the ‘Crystal Ball’ track. Uses the acapella intro to ‘Beautiful’ as an intro (with the addition of some echo on the word ‘world’).
13. THE SAME DECEMBER (3:26) – taken from ‘Chaos And Disorder’. Birdsong outro extended slightly using a track from a sound effects disc).
14. EXTRAORDINARY (2:26) – taken from ‘The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale’. Segues into the opening chords of ‘Dolphin’ which are extended slightly and fade up under the outro.
15. DOLPHIN (6:17) – mix of the released version from ‘The Gold Experience’ and the unreleased version’s outro from ‘The Undertaker’ album. Segues into…
16. COME (PART 2) (9:12) – mix created using an edit of the released version from ‘Come’ and the unreleased (as a whole track) ‘Poem’ from the Come Original test pressing. Segues into…
17. npg operator (0:38) – taken from ‘The Gold Experience’.
18. GOLD (7:22) – taken from ‘The Gold Experience’.

awesome Boris! thanx!

Here's a question regarding welcome to the dawn...Is there another version that exists other than the accoustic version? I was listening to this last night and realiuzed the song could be a very rocking guitar oriented song in the same vein as the Cross. Basically replace the accoustic with electric and there you go.

I've heard there is a fully fleshed out version of this but it's not circulating. No idea if it is or was intended for an album. If you believe the whole "The Dawn" myth, that Prince is saving all his very best work for an album entitled "The Dawn", it would make sense that this song may be intended for it.

superspaceboy said:

superspaceboy said:

There's no known or circulating other version of Welcome To The Dawn. Though you would have to think draw the conclusion there is one in Prince's vaults from the title.

piepie1976 said:

Is that what he meant? I know it was a double entendre...but is the Dawn meant to be an album..even though Welcome to the Dawn has been released?

My friend and I have had an ongoing discussion regaring "may U live till you the Dawn" I always thought of it as only a biblical referece. Like the Dawn of Christ" or something.

superspaceboy said:

I think that quote was just a nice sign off, like 'may the road rise up to meet you' sort of thing, but yes, there was one of those aborted projects that Prince is so fond of about '96 purpotedly called 'The Dawn'.

There were several projects called 'The Dawn', it's been a bit of recurring, but never fulfilled theme.

piepie1976 said:

Yes there is a "non-acoustic" version of 'Welcome 2 The Dawn'
and No, it's not circulating. It's a lot longer, and more like 'Gold', but
with a slightly funkier beat (kinda like 'Gold' meets 'The Word'). Some people
have probably heard it without realising, as it was used has the 'hold' music
on 1-800-NEW-FUNK's order line back in '95/'96. I couldn't say for certain,
but I think 'full version' and the 'acoustic version' were two completely
different recordings (rather than being alternate mixes using the same basic
tracks). Both versios were intended to appear on the '96 incarnation of
'The Dawn' (which was going to be the follow up album to Emancipation).

BorisFishpaw said:

Is that why it ended up on the Truth...which came out as a complete surprise in the CB package. As CB was advertised in Emancipation Booklet.

BorisFishpaw said:

Now I'm confused... Isn't "Emancipation" the album that was released instead of"The Dawn"?

MartyMcFly said:

There's 'The Dawn' from the Come/Gold era (where the 'NPG Operator' segues come from) and there's 'The Dawn' that was advertised in the Emancipation booklet.

Not counting previous projects using the title.




[Edited 7/28/06 2:56am]