I recently heard the demo to Something in the Water and I was dumb stuck on why Prince COMPLETELY changed to feel of the song. It was a lot more mellow (minus his slammin' drums) and the piano solo was great... so what do you think made him change it? Personally I like the demo version better than the original.

i'm just glad he added that whole speech at the end. "bitch, you think you're special, so do i!"

Definately.. I agree with you. I love both versions but I love the Alternate version better. The base and piano playing is out of this world amazing. The pounding beat in the intro. Don't know why he changed it but whatever.

Rinluv said:

Just wish the part "Some people think I'm kinda cute..." was in the alternate version.

Hmmm... I dunno. I prefer the album version. The demo is cool and all, but it's a bit more like a 'normal' song, so to speak. The album version is just so much weirder, that it makes it more compelling and emotional IMO. That scream is still one of the greatest screams - so much pain.

Knuptfad said:

Actually , it is not a demo version because it was recorded AFTER the album version. As far as I know, the version you mean was recorded in June 1983, maybe 84.
I like it but I prefer the album version. I like ALL versions of that song, and I have said it here before and will say it again, I love how this song went through so many changes over the years. There are, as far as I know ,


- the 1999 album version, which fits perfectly into the overall cold feel of that album, which deals a lot with loneliness, sexual frustrations, rejected love etc.

- then there is that version you mentioned above, with the bass and piano and shorter lyrics

- then there is the fantastic, almost neverending 14+ minutes version he would often play during rehearsals in the years 1983-1984. I LOVE THAT VERSION !

- then he ingored the song for almost two decades, only to come up with that light, relaxed version from the ONA tour

- acoustic version (guitar) during the Musicology tour ( have yet to hear that one )

- and the very brief piano version during the 21 Nights in London show


Definitely one of my all time favorite songs by any artist, ever.

Knuptfad said:

It´s another great version of a great song but I think the album version has a certain coldness and conveys the feelings of loneliness and despair much better than the warmer sounding alternate version, so therefore, the album version fits better into the overall feel and atmosphere and concept of the 1999 album.
I wonder how many versions of this song actually exist.

toejam said:

yes..people just like it cuz its not the regular version but believe me if the released one was the demo it would be a different story.

Just for the record, it's NOT a "demo" version, it's a rehearsal recorded
after the album had already been released.

^Really? Wow, didn't know that. Thanks Boris.

paisleypark4 said:

Yeah, I agree. People would be like "OMG Prince should have released that freaky shit!"