um

I think Michael B indicated that the track was recorded in 2005. He said he and Sonny T. had gone to Paisley Park and worked on the track in October, and that was October 2005 unless I'm mistaken. Of course, Prince could have just been updating a track written and recorded at an earlier time, but unless you have specific info...

i'm not surprised. he was singing 'black sweat' on the musicology tour during the acoustic sets.

I've seen theories that date it back further than that... like mid-90s...

didnt a set of different lyrics for the song turn up somewhere?

BSK3601 said:

Yeah, me too. When I first heard it, it sounded like something that he could have cut during 88,89. He could have easily updated the sound by adding shit, changing the snare, etc. It's the only song that I dig on the whole 3121 album. To me, it's vintage P, even the way he talk/sings on the chorus. The way he drags the "31,..21..". That's old school P all the way. It's no telling when P actually wrote the song.

Michael B. himself confirmed it on this thread:

http://www.prince.org/msg/5/192408

October 2004

one review i read said it was a leftover from the Undertaker sessions...or at least it sounded that way

pkidwell said:

It may sound that way (same people playing - Prince, Sonny, Michael), but I guess it's safe to assume that M. B. knows when it was recorded.

blackguitaristz said:

It is a bit like saying Satisfied has an Adore vibe to it so it must have been written at the same time.

I think if the song had been recorded way back there would have been no need to re-record the sound with an old school vibe because it would already have an old school vibe. The main thing that gives this song an old school vibe is the bass and drums, but that has been clearly stated by Michael B as being created in 2005. Lyrically, the song is about going to one of Prince's private parties, that would have had no meaning back any other time, so it is easier to conclude the lyrics were written in more recent times. Put those 2 together, all the evidence suggests a new song written and recorded in 2005 or thereabouts, whatever it sounds like.

Yes, the song does have an old school vibe but I think Prince has simply created a new track that sounds old school.

the drums are identical to Days of Wild, if Michael B did help it wasnt very creative.
I saw the credits and figurted he nicked his own beat and credited the original guys on it with him

CapedCrusader said:

I can't hear that myself, certainly it's an exaggeration to say the drums are identical. From his posts on this site, Michael B had this to say on the 3121 recording session:





and on 3121 drums sounding like Days Of Wild:

Anx said:

Really...How far into the tour did he start? I was at the MPLS show and I saw the Philly concert and I don't remember hearing it. How did it sound acoustic?

blackguitaristz said:

It reminded me of Crystal ball, Good Love and some others on the Crystal ball disc.

prime said:

he played it at least once in chicago...it was nice. maybe even a little more fun than the studio version, cuz it didn't involve that squealing wave machine.

blackguitaristz said:

What about The Word? Don't like that one?

well if someone has the original lyrics maybe itll give clues to an era

Really the whole sounds like its from 1995 -96 anyway

All can be right in this case. Michael B can have worked in 2005 on the track. Doesn't mean that Prince didn't write it earlier.

It sounds to me like it's the 2004-5 reunion of the power trio that did the Undertaker, but now with the modern in your face overdubs characteristic of his last few albums. sounds like the musician confirmed it!

dualboot said:

All the evidence points to it being a new track, as I've said before. If Prince wrote the music earlier, how come Michael B has said it emanated from a jam? Since the lyrics are essentially about private parties at his house which he only started in 2005, how can he have written the lyrics earlier?

Well, word started circulating in early 2005 that he was working on a album titled 3121, so the concept at least developed during the Musicology tour days.

Michael B said in his thread that 3121 was recorded in October 2004, and he and Sonny then recorded with Prince again in October 2005 - in the 2005 session they recorded a whole album of tracks in one night, none of which have been released.

JediMaster said:

Musicology tour was 2004, ending before 2005, wasn't it? 3121 first appeared on the back of his jacket at the NAACP awards early 2005. I don't think there's anyway of knowing whether it developed over the Musicology tour or right after it finished.

booyah said:

Michael B's posts about 3121 are from 2006 - he said he recorded the drums in a jam session the previous October, so that must have been 2005. I don't think there's anywhere in the 3 threads where Michael says he recorded with Prince in 2004, certainly not the 3121 track, unless you can quote me the bit I think you are mistaken.

http://www.prince.org/msg...408?&pg=10 towards the bottom:

ebonyrhythmbuddha said:

http://www.prince.org/msg...408?&pg=11 also towards the bottom:

ebonyrhythmbuddha said:

booyah said:

Fair enough. That seems to conflict with his earlier statements which seemed to imply 3121 was recorded last year (2005) but I guess you could read it he was referring to 2 different sessions without making it clear:

metalorange said:[quote]

booyah said:

Yeah, I saw that too - I would imagine Michael B. records so much music as a session musician that he may not always remember which tracks were from which session, so I'm not saying that one answer is right or wrong, but it would make sense if it was recorded in the 2004 session, since that would predate the "3121" jacket and the first public discussions of 3121.

booyah said:

Good point. Hadn't thought of that.