Don't me y'all, but I am probably the only Prince fan who doesn't care for "Moonbeam Levels." I'd wanted to hear it for years since all the orgers had been calling it his best unreleased track.

I downloaded it a while back and was vastly underwhelmed. It's not that it's a bad track, but to my ears it sounded inferior to even the b-sides, not nearly on par with the likes of 17 Days, She's Always In My Hair or Another Lonely Christmas. I could not (and still can't) understand all the fuss over it. It certainly didn't blow me away and I'm so glad he chose to replace it with LRC on the 1999 album. To me, it would've killed the momentum coming out of 1999 (the song).

What's so special about it? Why do the majority of fans consider it his "best outtake ever?" I just don't see it...oh, well. Let the backlash begin!
[Edited 6/19/08 18:10pm]

i'm right there with ya.

i think it's fine as outtakes go, but i don't understand what the big hubbub is about, bub.

Anxiety said:

Thanks for your support, Anx! I think we may be in the vast minority, though, which is why right this second I'm mentally preparing myself for the ensuing brutal onslaught!

Absolutely horrid

Never heard it Don't any of you fans try to send it to me either

If I'm not mistaken, "Little Red Corvette" didn't serve as replacement for "Moonbeam Levels" on 1999; "Free" did. If that's true, I don't think the energy of the sequencing would be much different. The songs have a similar uplifting quality.

As it were, I'm not sure why so many people feel Moonbeam Levels is among Prince's best unreleased tracks, but I will say I like it very much. Its lyrics are evocative, it is uplifting and it's got a quintessential Revolution-era orchestration and harmonies. I believe Free, with a more gospel feel, was perhaps the more appropriate choice for 1999's heavy R&B vibe. (Moonbeam Level's quirkier lyrics seem more akin to Prince's later forays into psychedelica.) But I do personally prefer Moonbeam Levels.
[Edited 6/19/08 18:44pm]

Lammastide said:

if i had to choose, i'd put moonbeam levels on 1999 in place of free. but i absolutely loathe free and i think it compromises the flow of the album (yeah, i know, i'm not in the majority, leave me alone ) - but that's not to say i'd feel much better about moonbeam levels being in its place. it's just a more tolerable song than free, to my ears anyway.

I'd also offer that perhaps Moonbeam Levels has a special place in many fans' hearts because it's a fairly easy outtake to come by. Remember that energy you felt when you came across your first Prince bootlegs?! Well, for many Moonbeam Levels was that first encounter, I'd reckon.

Lammastide said:

Moonbeam Levels is a better song than free. I don't think it's his best unreleased track. That would be 'Open Book'.
Moonbeam Levels would work on 1999, in fact I'll just list it as an album track.

Anxiety said:

I understand. Free is probably the only song on 1999 I don't know by heart... and if I've heard it in its entirety more than, say, 5 times in my life, I'd be surprised. But then I'm not a fan of gospel-sounding stuff.

Lammastide said:

the first bootleg i heard (black album doesn't count) was a live boot of prince, ron wood and (if i'm not mistaken) sting doing a cover of "miss you".

i guess i was lucky!

Lammastide said:

I don't remember. I used to get all kinds of unofficial mixes and stuff from DJ's and guys who worked in record stores with me.

SUPRMAN said:

Just a theory. But it might make an interesting thread to find out what was everyone's first bootleg encounter.

Anxiety said:

Providence, I think. I'm reeeeally unmoved by most live recordings (I know that makes me a Commie ). I didn't know the Prince/Ron Wood performance even existed until only maybe 2 or 3 years ago! Oddball studio outtakes have been my bread and butter since high school, though.
[Edited 6/19/08 19:08pm]

nurseV said:

you and your reverse psychology . also, i'm with you guys in not being about it. it's okay, but not as awesome as it's often made out to be. especially versus free, which it often is

I highly anticipated the hearing of Moonbeam Levels also. I just knew it was gonna kick ass. But when I finally heard it, I just thought it was alright, ok.. Great song, I love it, but it's not all that. I surely don't think it's his best unreleased song.

Rinluv said:

I feel the same way. It was really built up for me, and then I heard it and well, it was ok. I don't think it's a bad song by any means, but there are far better outtakes, especially ones from that era. Extra Loveable, etc!

P.S. I'm with you guys on not digging Free. When I first got 1999 I listened to the album straight through. I believe that's the last time I listened to Free in its entirety

I feel the absolute same way about 'Wonderful Ass'! I'm just not feeling it the way other people do. I do love Moonbeam Levels though.

KidaDynamite said:

Wonderful Ass isn't that much to me either. He's just playing around.

SUPRMAN said:

i wonderful ass! the song is good too...

purplepolitician said:

KidaDynamite said:

i had that one comin'

I'm with you. This song never grabbed me at all.

The best unreleased tune? "In A Large Room With No Light". I'd pay full CD price for a crystal clear version of this song. I love love LOVE it. The coda at the end gives me goosebumps.

GiggityGoo said:

@ your avatar and screenname. family guy ! i'm with you on in a large room with no light too. it!

purplepolitician said:

KidaDynamite said:

nothing wrong with a wonderful ass

purplepolitician said:

I agree but still

I like Moonbeam Levels, but for the life of me I cannot figure what the hell he's talking about. Specifically "please bring all your moonbeam levels to me" ???? What? No comprende!

Someone, help me out here.

Isn't it about getting your heart broken and getting all sappy about it? Wring poems or even trying to write a book. And to him to the boy the world might was well have ended in "nuclear World War III." His world has ended all he has is the hurt and death seems like the only way to stop the hurt.

Now moonbeam levels? Maybe it is like looking up at the moon on some lonely night and wondering if 'she' is looking at the moon too? (similar theme as in "Arms of Orion."

WellInever said:

Here's the way I interpret it:

You know how on a sort of partly cloudy night with a big, bright moon, the moonbeams filter through the clouds in a way that makes them look like they reach all the way to Earth? Depending on the clouds, it can sort of look like they're on different levels, too.

When I was a kid, I always imagined that it might be possible to actually walk to the moon on the moonbeams. So, to me, Prince is saying (in the song) the same sort of thing - he wants the moonbeams so he can walk to heaven.