And I recall, Soul Alive, that when this 1983 album was brought up over 2 years ago, on this site, u posted, after seeing my comment that I had read about Black Beat listing some titles for this album, u yourself had said that u remember reading that as well in "either Black Beat or Right On! magazines.

vainandy said:

I think Warners were purposely trying to release the more "pop" sounding songs as singles,in order to cross over to the pop audiences."Delirous" and "Let's Pretend We're Married" are basically New Wave songs...not really R&B/funk at all.That's probably why "Lady Cab Driver" didn't get released...it was too funky.

blackguitaristz said:

I do recall reading this,in one of those magazines.

vainandy said:[quote]


In my area,we had two R&B stations that regularly played these songs:

"1999"
"Little Red Corvette" (single and 12" versions)
"Delirious"
"DMSR"
"Automatic"
"Lady Cab Driver"
"International Lover"


interestingly,they never really played "Let's Pretend We're Married",even when it was released as a single.But they flipped it over and played the funky B-side "Irresistible Bitch".In fact,I don't think I have ever heard "Let's Pretend We're Married" on the pop stations,either.It didn't do as well as the previous three singles.

playme3121 said:

Let's have some fun here.We all know about Prince's unreleased songs from this period.Compile a tracklist of songs that he could have released on a 1983 album.

Moonbeam said:

To be honest with you,I feel sad too.'1999' is my favorite Prince album and I would have killed to have another album with that sound.When I listen to outtakes like "ExtraLoveable","Turn It Up","Moonbeam Levels","No Call U",etc,I feel like he really could have released the true follow-up to '1999'.

the best thing he could now is...remaster '1999' and include an entire second disc of the outtakes.Give us the long-rumored "follow up" album,lol.

oh,and let's not forget "Purple Music"


damn Prince,release these songs NOW!!!!

SoulAlive said:

You asked for it! I've made this album several times:

Purple Music: The Missing Link

Turn It Up
Do Yourself a Favour
No Call U
Feel U Up
Irresistible Bitch
Wet Dream's Cousin
Possessed (vocal)
Purple Music
Extraloveable
Chocolate
Baby You're a Trip
Moonbeam Levels

Moonbeam said:

SoulAlive said:

You said it!

I would add the song "G-Spot" to that tracklist.I'm pretty sure it was recorded in 1983?

blackguitaristz said:

Well, I'm not going to go into why I'm so certain this project never existed.
As, that conversation would quickly degenerate into bouts of "Who" and "How
can you prove it" which of course cannot be proved unless you asked Prince or
someone close to him yourself. So all I will say is that my information DOES
come from someone who was involved with Prince at that time, and knows what
they're talking about.

As far as I know nothings been mentioned in any of the books written about
Prince regarding this, so that's not my source for this. With regard for
recording dates, well we DO know when tracks were commited to tape from this
time, as the recording logs confirm this. The only things we don't know is
when songs were written or sometimes demoed by Prince on 4-track or cassette
at home. Of course most songs are indeed written before they are committed
to tape (sometimes well before), so it's not at all unusual for a song idea
to be around for several years before it's recorded.

I'd certainly be very interested to read this article you refer to, so if
anyone has a copy of it, please post it. As in my experience doing research,
people's memories are not exactly reliable, and the way people remember
things often differs from the actual facts. Besides, as far as I was aware
Prince didn't give any interviews at this time anyway. The last one was in
November '82 (which he didn't particularly want to do anyway), and he didn't
grant another interview until 1985!

As for the so called 'missing album', the information I've heard is that Prince
certainly had more than enough material at that time to release a follow up
to 1999 with the same sound and overall musical direction, but he never did.
Right from the offset he intended to try something different and never ever
seriously considered presenting a "1999 part 2". All the material I've read
from around this time confirms this, with Prince stating how easy it would've
been for him to capitalise on 1999's success and release more of the same. I
even remember him mentioning track titles like "Possessed" and "Purple Music".
But he always said that he would never do this. He always planned to make
1999's follow-up sound different (just as he'd done for each album up to that
point). It's also worth remembering that Prince was touring the 1999 album
up until April 1983, and as soon as the tour finished (in fact even before
then) he was putting together Purple Rain. And a lot of the songs had already
been written by this point and are mentioned in the May script (while the
project was still called "Dreams"). So as you can see, I'd need to see some
pretty convincing evidence for this 'missing album' as everything I've heard
and read, plus the known timescale all say different.

BorisFishpaw said:

Dude, that's what we are talking about. Not saying he had an acetate already made. Geezus

I also made a disc entitled Purple Music

Turn It Up
Broken
Tick Tick Bang
Lisa
Feel Up U
Irressitible Bitch
Chocolate
No Call U
Extra Loveable
Moonbeam Levels
Possessed Vocal
Do U'reself A Favor
Purple Music

Its a highly enjoyable CD for me 1980 - 1984 was Prince's best period.

Boris, I can dig it. Being that I have actually done sessions as a guitarist with Andre and Morris, we have talked in depth about P related topics. This though, wasn't one of them. That said, I'm more than hip to all of what u said. As a kid in Jr. High during this period, 82-83, I was there, living the experience. I remember all to well of the albums, single choices from 1999, and the 1999 tour. And when I mention albums, I'm refering to the other albums P were behind. As in The Time and Vanity 6. I know all about, as u do, when P was cutting songs for Purple Haze. Ooops, I mean Rain. I know when the tour ended and the long version of Little Red busted out in 83. Even Let's Pretend was released, which I wasn't crazy about. Should have released Lady Cab since he was pulling from the album. But P and WB, especially mid to late 83, were targeting a serious crossover audience. So his choice selection of singles in 83 were definately for crossover. Setting up for PR. If P weren't even thinking of a movie, his singles during this time would have been different, I think. We would have saw Lady Cab and Automatic as singles in 83. But P wasn't concerned about that. He knew he already had "that" audience.

I have mentioned this several times on here in the past. When I went to see P in concert out here in L.A on the 1999 tour, it was a day after my birthday, March 28,1983. Anyways, I would say, easily, at that show, 80% of the crowd were white. This was BEFORE the film.

I was in L.A. last year during the marathon.
I saw alot of white people there too.

Illustrator said:

Musicology Tour...I went with my mom (who's white) and SHE was surprised by how many white people there were.

FruitToAttractBears said:

You mean at the tour or L.A. in general?
[Edited 11/17/06 14:02pm]

Let me break this down a little; The songs like Extra Loveable and No Call U are cool and all but as far as P releasing this under his name, I think they were more throw away-ish. I see both of those songs being done by Vanity 6. Monnbeam Levels is one that never would have seen the light of day. Strictly because it's too damn close to Free. Basically, I think a lot of the material P wrote in 81-82 wouldn't have been up to his level in 84. Or 83 for that matter. Cuts like Darling Nikki, Computer Blue, The Beautiful Ones, all by the way, are solo efforts by P and not the Revoulution. And all have the unedited versions. Which bare a similar arrangement style to his longer joints on the 1999 album. Here is where I see the follow up to 1999 more eveident than any where else. Those 3 songs, musically, are more progressive. U can see clearly, P had advanced. The cut "Dance Electric", fits along with these 3 songs. All of these songs have a darkness to them. Which again, ties in with the vibe of the 1999 album. If P never considered doing a film, I think these songs would have been part of the next album;

Darling Nikki
Let's Go Crazy
The Beautiful Ones
Computer Blue
The Dance Electric
She's Always In My Hair (it was cut in 84, so it's possible)
I Would Die 4 U
Strawberry Lover (P wrote the music to this. And this was around since 84. This I know as fact)

There would have been no Purple Rain, no Take Me With U.

iconsweat said:

It's not the same thing at all.

What people are saying is that Prince actually put together an album at this
time, which was then shelved (in the same way as the Camille album or Crystal
Ball album etc). What I'm saying is that he never assembled such an album. Of
course he had the material to do so if he wanted to, but he never actually
compiled another album of material inbetween 1999 and Purple Rain.

iconsweat said:

"be nice to good people" -- it's my new motto

blackguitaristz said:

i didn't know this -- my fav song on that album

blackguitaristz said:

Now THAT I can totally relate to, and I think you're pretty much on point.
"The Dance Electric", as a phrase, is certainly something that was knocking
around at this time (even if the song itself hadn't been commited to tape
yet... at least not in the form we are all familliar with anyway). Just listen
to "God", it even mentions the phrase as well. I can see an album similar
to what you've described being in the works at this time, though I'd probably
put the tracklist a little more like this...

Let's Go Crazy
She's Always In My Hair
Electric Intercourse
Computer Blue
G-Spot
Wednesday
Mia Bocca
The Dance Electric
I Would Die 4 U
Baby I'm A Star
God

It all gels very well, and there's a surprisingly religious/spiritual theme
to the tracks from this time. Let's Go Crazy, The Dance Electric, I Would Die
4 U and God are all very spiritually driven (Let's Go Crazy, even more so
before the lyrics were altered). Lot's of extended jams too, like you say.
Let's Go Crazy and She's Always In My Hair were both originally around the
6-7 minute mark, and of course Computer Blue and The Dance Electric both
clock in at over 10 mins each. I also dropped Mia Bocca in there as this was
actually recorded pre-Purple Rain as well (it's even mentioned, along with
G-Spot, in the original 'Dreams' script too).
[Edited 11/25/06 5:01am]

BorisFishpaw said:

There's another happening right now. Actually before this one started. I mentioned on this thread "Did P say "I'm Going To Rape You Now" or some shit like that. On there, I mentioned the vocal version to God where P says "Dance the Dance Electric." I definately believe the vocal version would have been on there. Don't think he would have released Mia Bocca for some reason. That's a girl track. Definately "Electric Intercourse" if for no ther reason because of the word "Electric". Again, blending with "The Dance Electric". I'm telling u, the title of this album would have been The Dance Electric. That's an album title like a motherfucker. Like I said, I Would Die 4 U probably would have made the cut but I don't think P would have wanted to fuck with Baby, I'm A Star. That came out cuz of the movie. G Spot? Yeah, I see him doing that. But as a b-side. Not an album cut. I think P had recorded some spooky ass sounding shit and would have released this. But cuz of that movie, P toned down so much and he's never really regained this type of vibe again. Another song that I think P would have included is 100 M.P.H. That track is perfect and would have fit like a glove with all the other tracks. That intro to the song is sooo....right. And it sounds more like P thana lot of songs P has released for himself.

One good thing that came from the film was "When Doves Cry". P never would have wrote that other wise. The producers of the film told P that, after hearing all of these songs P had cut for the film, they STILL didn't hear a hit. So P was like "Oh, o.k." And boom! He writes perhaps, one of his best songs, ever, in his career.

man,just looking at the tracklists that you guys are coming up with....it drives me crazy! Prince had so many groudbreaking,amazing songs from this period!!

Snap said:

Yep. And he had input in the lyrics to 'I Guess It's All Over' too.



BTW, I really like the way this thread went.... It's best discussion I've seen on a post-1999 'what if' album. I'm totally with you on the toning down of certain stuff on PR, and had the movie not been a part of the next album, then this is how it likely would've shaped up.... an evolution from 1999, capitalising on it's popularity, but still a lot freakier than PR because there was no movie to catapult it into a totally different and much bigger audience.


[Edited 11/23/06 10:56am]

BorisFishpaw said:

pretty much everything Boris says on here is accurate. 1983 had a lot of sessions but not a lot of new PRINCE tracks until after the 8/3/83 show. I have gone back to the work orders from that year and verified it.

NouveauDance said:

Thanx. This is a realistic track list of songs that we know of;

The Dance Electric
The Beautiful Ones (unedited version)
Computer Blue (unedited version)
She's Always In My Hair
I Would Die 4 U
Strawberry Lover
Electric Intercourse (perhaps the First Ave version over the studio version. I can see P putting this on this album)
God (vocal version)
G-Spot (b side)
Wednesday
100 M.P.H.
Darling Nikki (unedited version)