For those who don't know, this is the leaked early 80's version of "We Can Funk". There's a low quality release of it that's around 3 minutes long.

Interesting how the Graffiti Bridge released version resembles this original version a bit more than the more commonly-heard 1986 demo.

I like it.

Theres different theories on that track. Some believe It to be the original "We Can Fuck" and "Moral Majority" was a fake title used while recording it to cover up the controversial title. Hence the "Graffiti Bridge" version was based on this version and the reworked Revolution version was scraped. But who knows but I do subscribe to this theory.
Big Chick
"Thats Security Ensuring Thee"

I always felt the Graffiti Bridge version of 'We Can Funk' was more of a combination of the two originals 'Moral Majority' & 'We Can Funk'.
I also recall reading on here somewhere that 'Moral Majority' was supposed to be given to Vanity 6. Anyone feel free to confirm of dispute that.

As far as the story goes, Prince used the title "Moral Majority" which was actually a Vanity 6 song he'd recorded at his home studio a few weeks earlier, because he was to send the studio bill to WB and he'd already recorded a few explicitely titled songs the days before and WB might go crazy paying for such a series of "porn" (therefore not commercial) song-titles.

The title was indeed "We Can Fuck" and the 1990 version was reworked from the original 1883 recordings while the 1986 was rerecorded from scrach.

It's kinda funny because when GB was released, hardcore fans already had the 1986 bootleg and they flamed Prince for "spoiling" his original recording while the released version was actually the "original" one.

databank said:

True Indeed! Little did we know. But you know that 86' version is killer. "Box of Chocolates" makes it even better.
Big Chick

BigChick said:

I love it too

I was just thinking how "Was It My Face" live from the New Morning Club envokes the spirit of this 86 recording. God...I just love that performance.
Big Chick

Yeah, 'Moral Majority' and 'We Can Funk' r 2 diffent songs. 'Moral Majority' was also later considered 4 the Apollonia 6 album also. I think it may have been re-worked 4 that album, if I can recall. Thanx databank 4 clearing that up.

Ok so I read in the Vault IIRC that Roy Bennett and members of Vanity 6 recorded background vocals 4 this song in Prince's bathroom with Roy standing on the toilet, screaming out "MORAL MAJORITY!" Then Roy accidentally flushes the toilet and they all fall out laughing. Did that make it in2 the circulating version? I still haven't heard it.

This song is a Vanity 6 outtake,right? I've seen it mentioned as one of the outtakes from their first album,or their planned second album.

Mindbells9 said:

Yep, this is the song. The song has not been leaked/bootleg. It remains in the vault. So, well have 2 wait and find out did that made it on there.

The leaked version of "Moral Majority" has Prince on vocals, not Vanity. So most likely it's Prince original demo recording.
[Edited 4/12/10 8:58am]

Mindbells9 said:

The ending of "Tricky" is like this, too

This is so confusing...

So is Moral Majority a different song and the old outtake is actually "We Can Funk" the same one we've had for years that dated back to the early 80's? The one with the finale descending chords and lines like "We funk one another" and "blow the candle out" and only Prince's voice?

ufoclub said:

Yes. No one has heard the original version entirely so we can't know how similar it is to the GB version but from the excerpt it's very similar.

databank said:

I thought the entire version before the late 80's addition of George Clinton collaboration was available, is that not what I've heard (the one with only Prince vocals?)

ufoclub said:

That's the 1986 rehearsal version.

Militant said:

Not what I'm thinking of. What I'm thinking of was obviously just put back on the reel to reel and traded back for the with George Clinton for what ended up on the Graffiti Bridge album. There is a complete version of that song without any Clinton on it. There are at least 2-3 subsequent versions floating around with more and then less of Clinton thrown in.

The 1986 version is a complete rearrangement/re-recording of "We Can Funk" done for the "musical" sequence (Girl O' My Dreams-Can't Stop this Feeling-We Can Funk) for the planned musical type thing Prince had going (which slowly devolved into the film Graffiti Bridge).
[Edited 4/12/10 11:28am]

I would 2 hear the full original 1983 version, that's what the offical version is based around. It kept most of the parts on the 1990/offical version. Even the background vocals by Lisa, Wendy, and Susannah made it 2 the offical version of the song. They just didn't appear on the credits.

ufoclub said:

I have 4 unreleased versions of WCF (excluding the 1986 version and the "Hey Man Smell My Finger" version) and all of them have the horns on them, including the ones without Clinton. The 1983 version cannot possibly have Eric Leeds playing on it. Find me a version without the horns and without the "i'm testing positive..." chorus and then we might have the original one
[Edited 4/12/10 12:18pm]

databank said:

I'll look and see... in my memory it's only keyboards and drums.

The 1983 original is not entirely leaked. Only 3 minutes did and that one does not have horns in it. I'm will not be surprised if Prince took samples or had Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss those horn parts. Eric and Atlanta Bliss were in the Graffiti Bridge movie as part of George Clinton's band, so that could be. I think those were samples of them playing those parts, maybe from the 1986 version.
[Edited 4/12/10 14:32pm]