Back in 2004 when Prince did the phenomenal guitar solo to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"...



[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/ecnirp2004/Prince/Whilemyguitar_zps6078ff3c.jpg[/img:$uid]


....back then, I heard he/ Prince was doing a whole album of cover versions of The Beatles.



[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/ecnirp2004/TheBeatles_zps95efa050.jpg[/img:$uid]

^ 1967-1970, now LOOK at this amazing tracklist:

Tracks:
01 Strawberry Fields Forever
02 Penny Lane
03 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
04 With a Little Help from My Friends
05 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
06 A Day in the Life
07 All You Need is Love
08 I Am the Walrus
09 Hello, Goodbye
10 The Fool on the Hill
11 Magical Mystery Tour
12 Lady Madonna
13 Hey Jude
14 Revolution
15 Back in the U.S.S.R.
16 While My Guitar Gently Weeps
17 Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da
18 Get Back
19 Don't Let Me Down
20 The Ballad of John and Yoko
21 Old Brown Shoe
22 Here Comes the Sun
23 Come Together
24 Something
25 Octopus's Garden
26 Let It Be
27 Across the Universe
28 The Long and Winding Road

- some of the greatest songs ever written..


Can U imagine Prince doing covers of these amazing songs, originally made by The Beatles...


The "?" is of course, will this ever be released....


What do U think, will we ever hear an album with Beatles' songs in Prince's versions....

[Edited 7/3/13 0:13am]

thedance said:

Back in 2004 when Prince did the phenomenal guitar solo to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"...



[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/ecnirp2004/Prince/Whilemyguitar_zps6078ff3c.jpg[/img:$uid]


....back then, I heard he/ Prince was doing a whole album of cover versions of The Beatles.

2004? No. I heard those rumours about him recording beatles songs in 2006/2007 while his vegas residence at the Rio hotel. He performed "Come together" there a few times.

For the life of me, I really can't see this ever happening and I certainly hope not.

Did it in 85 with ATWIAD.

Never occured to you that it might not have been true?

Thanks to Ludwig for the correction. It might have been in 2006/07 we heard this.

To Twilitekid: Prince also said once he would re-record all of his back catalogue.

Who knows if this is true -- or a lie, something said for fun --- or simply a rumour only.

I agree w. CallImNate, the Around The World In A Day album sounds very much like what the Beatles did in 1967. It's the same vibe and I loooove it. Therefor I would love to hear some studio recordings of Prince doing the classics from Beatles,

I hope this is not too much of speculation, after all it was a rumour from the Prince camp a few years back, wasn't it.

Milty said:

For the life of me, I really can't see this ever happening and I certainly hope not.

^ Yeah it could turn out bad, maybe even a disaster.. - Prince destroying the classics.

Maybe he shouldn't cover them after all, as great as the originals are....


To hear Strawberry Fields or I Am The Walrus.. or... any other classic destroyed,

That wouldn't be so amazing, I guess. --- I guess I am 2-sided in my expectations,

But, on Lotusflower the cover version of Crimson & Clover*, this is actually working, right?

(* the original is by.. hmm I can't exactly remember..).

.

[Edited 7/3/13 5:56am]

thedance said:

^ Yeah it could turn out bad, maybe even a disaster.. - Prince destroying the classics.

Maybe he shouldn't cover them after all, as great as the originals are....


To hear Strawberry Fields or I Am The Walrus.. or... any other classic destroyed,

That wouldn't be so amazing, I guess. --- I guess I am 2-sided in my expectations,

But, on Lotusflower the cover version of Crimson & Clover*, this is actually working, right?

(* the original is by.. hmm I can't exactly remember..).

.

[Edited 7/3/13 5:56am]

It's not that, it's just that for one thing I think these song don't really fit him even though Come Together was really cool, and honestly I don't really care for the Beatles' catalogue, it just ain't my thing, so it's not really something I'd be much excited about

^ ah databank, ok I see, you don't even like The Beatles..? ok.. haha..


I don't understand that since their song writing is so incredibly strong, but fine, haha I don't have to understand everything.... tastes are different... we don't have to agree that Revolver, Sgt Pepper and the White Album, is pure art.

Maybe you just think their music is dated and old..?

thedance said:

^ ah databank, ok I see, you don't even like The Beatles..? ok.. haha..


I don't understand that since their song writing is so incredibly strong, but fine, haha I don't have to understand everything.... tastes are different... we don't have to agree that Revolver, Sgt Pepper and the White Album, is pure art.

Maybe you just think their music is dated and old..?

It's not more dated than Prince's early works but it's true that I'm not so much into anything from before the mid-70's except jazz and a few other things here and there, I'm just not so excited by the esthetics of these years, and I'm not so much into pop-rock either anyway... I kinda like Sgt. Pepper's, it's the only album I have by The Beatles, there are a few other songs I dig here and there, but it's not a band I've been interested in so far. Who knows, maybe one day I will, my musical tastes tend to open more and more as years go by so it's always a possibility that in 10 years I'm totally into The Beatles. But at the moment it's not my thing.

What is interesting is your remark: "We don't have to agree that Revolver, Sgt Pepper and the White Album, is pure art." I don't have to LIKE these albums to agree that they are pure art. You seem to take it for granted that just because I dislike a piece of art I'm going to think it's a bad piece of art. Well, I don't.

Unfortunately, you will hear more negative press if this were to come to light. No one can cover the Beatles, like no one can really cover Prince. No matter what race, genre or musical style.

The Beatles were shit, and Prince doing an album of Beatles covers would be even shitter.

The Beatles weren't shit--but an album of Prince doing Beatles songs probably would be.

Look, Prince has only covered a handful of songs in worthwhile ways. He rarely brings anything useful to them, either blanding them out somehow into just a dull nothing ("Come Together" or "Whole Lotta Love") or giving them a bouncing pointless beat into a dull nothing ("Every Day Is A Winding Road") or taking a perfectly serviceable pretty tune and doing a perfectly serviceable pretty version of it that has absolutely no reason to exist ("La La La Means I Love You" or "Betcha By Golly Wow"). I like some of them, but seriously he doesn't do other people's tunes well, for the most part. And with a group like the Beatles, you set yourself up for the comparison to a classic version of a song--one reason "Crimson and Clover" works is because there have been multiple successful versions already, as there have of "Wild Thing" (which he inserts into his version). No one's thinking "oh, well, it's not Tommy James and the Shondells (actually, they're songs seem to be made for people to cover--see Mony Mony and I Think We're Alone Now). They are, really, almost folk tunes (not literally) in that every garage band for decades bashed through them. A major Beatles song (like a Prince song) is never out of the shadow of the original performer.

I get what people say when they say "Prince already did a Beatles album--Around the World in a Day." It's not really true--he did an album with a few "psychedelic/hippie" references in the songs and a trippy utopian cover, but there's little Beatles influence there that I can hear. I don't think he probably listened to 'em much, and he never talks about them. But even if they did influence him, that doesn't mean he could cover them well. He's talked about Led Zeppelin, and he obviously loves Mitchell and Hendrix--can you really say his studio versions of "A Case of You" or "Red House (Purple House)" were worth the time it took for him to lay down the tracks? I would have rather had even a half-baked tune of his own that used what he learned from listening to Joni or Jimi.

Two covers I do like--"One of Us" and "I Can't Make You Love Me" (though it's hard for me to defend that second one, maybe).

[Edited 7/3/13 12:24pm]

I love the Beatles, but I wouldn't reallly want to hear Prince do a full cover album of their work or anyone elses. Speaking of which, wasn't there also rumors about him doing an Arthur Lee/Love album? That may be a bit more interesting, but I'd still prefer to hear original music.

kenkamken said:

The Beatles Reloaded

yeah, I admit: that does not sound too good.


Still Prince's guitar solo in While My Guitar Gently Weeps, -- it kicks ass!

Even the Prince "haters" have to say, that solo by Prince was completely genius, as good as the original done by Eric Clapton (on the White Album). ps. and no it wasn't George Harrison*.

* http://en.wikipedia.org/w...ntly_Weeps


.

[Edited 7/3/13 14:39pm]

I love the Beatles but I'm tired of people covering their songs.Not even Prince could improve on what's already been done.Also...covers albums don't reallly impress me.

I'd prefer it if he focused on songwriting again the way they did, rather than actually cover their songs. There are already enough Beatle covers

kenkamken said:

The Beatles Reloaded

Revolver Reloaded?

TheDigitalGardener said:

The Beatles were shit, and Prince doing an album of Beatles covers would be even shitter.

TheDigitalGardener said:

The Beatles were shit, and Prince doing an album of Beatles covers would be even shitter.

I don't know that shit is the right word but I never liked their stuff.

I listened the other day to Prince covering an absolute great version of an Elvis song...

but can't get the title right now. Help me out please, it was funky.

...

It's interesting that someone stated that he indeed was about to cover all his own music somewhere in the mid nineties. (correct me if I'm wrong)

What happened to it actually ? I mean, did he really rerecorded more then just '1999 the new master' ?

...

I mean, the Purple Medley was kind of a speedy covering of his own back catalogue, as a medley.

And it sounded 'weird'. Honestly. I don't like it - listened to it the other day by accident.

And, well, that absolute disaster of the '1999 the new master' ???

...

Imagine. I wouldn't be surprised that somewhere in his vault he still keeps these rerecorded versions while being really pissed at WB, and then suddenly realised by a message of his former lawyer that he was not about to win the game and therefor quit the whole thing.
What an idea, and what a loss of energy that is. Makes you feel like a total idiot i think.

I mean, imagine you take your name 'Prince' back after some time when yo considder yourself 'free', and then there you are, left with loads of double versions of your own songs ? I know, many artists rerecord own songs, but that's from another perspective.

...

'Come Together' wasn't all that great as a cover. So an entire Beatles cover album... naaaah.

And like someone else here said, he did/honored The Beatles somehow with 'Around The World In A Day'.

...

Prince should stop recording and write a book about his life.

In real Prince style, you know like his last interview for V-mag.

Like this absolutely unreadable big heavy piece of paperback full of princebonics, loads of Larry oneliners and inner purple high with no sense making private purple jokes, no cursing and not a word about The Revolution.

God I would love to dive like crazy into stupid stuff like this and get all high. Purple high that is.

(Did I got carried away there for a moment (again)?)

[Edited 7/4/13 8:45am]

Vannormal said:

I listened the other day to Prince covering an absolute great version of an Elvis song...

but can't get the title right now. Help me out please, it was funky.

...

It's interesting that someone stated that he indeed was about to cover all his own music somewhere in the mid nineties. (correct me if I'm wrong)

What happened to it actually ? I mean, did he really rerecorded more then just '1999 the new master' ?

...

I mean, the Purple Medley was kind of a speedy covering of his own back catalogue, as a medley.

And it sounded 'weird'. Honestly. I don't like it - listened to it the other day by accident.

And, well, that absolute disaster of the '1999 the new master' ???

...

Imagine. I wouldn't be surprised that somewhere in his vault he still keeps these rerecorded versions while being really pissed at WB, and then suddenly realised by a message of his former lawyer that he was not about to win the game and therefor quit the whole thing.
What an idea, and what a loss of energy that is. Makes you feel like a total idiot i think.

I mean, imagine you take your name 'Prince' back after some time when yo considder yourself 'free', and then there you are, left with loads of double versions of your own songs ? I know, many artists rerecord own songs, but that's from another perspective.

...

'Come Together' wasn't all that great as a cover. So an entire Beatles cover album... naaaah.

And like someone else here said, he did/honored The Beatles somehow with 'Around The World In A Day'.

...

Prince should stop recording and write a book about his life.

In real Prince style, you know like his last interview for V-mag.

Like this absolutely unreadable big heavy piece of paperback full of princebonics, loads of Larry oneliners and inner purple high with no sense making private purple jokes, no cursing and not a word about The Revolution.

God I would love to dive like crazy into stupid stuff like this and get all high. Purple high that is.

(Did I got carried away there for a moment (again)?)

[Edited 7/4/13 8:45am]

According to BorisFishpaw, who knows his shit, Prince indeed rerecorded his entire cWB atalogue over a period of maybe 3 or 4 years, somewhere between 96 and 2000 (I don't have the exact quote but it was a thread here a long while ago). Nothing came out of it save 1999, though it's possible (but unconfirmed) that the "do your own mix" tracks of Let's Work and Endorphinmachine that were on NPGMC in 2003 come from these "new masters"

Thank U Databank.

---

Gonna have a relisten to these WNPG sessions.

Another thing, those WNPG sessions sounded sometimes like remastered to me... or is it just an avarage radio sound ? Anyway, i remember love listening to these, cause the sound was so... clear.
Gonna dig it up again.

Lawd, just imagine he actually DID rerecorded them. Probably sounding all eind nineties and shit. Damn that must be weird.

So 'Endorphinmachine' has more than 2 versions (known to me) ?
This so called third version you're talking about must've slipped my ears.
---

(correction of above post: with WNPG I meant NPGMC)

TheDigitalGardener said:

The Beatles were shit

No,they weren't!

hopefully Paul said no!!

Vannormal said:

So 'Endorphinmachine' has more than 2 versions (known to me) ?
This so called third version you're talking about must've slipped my ears.
---

(correction of above post: with WNPG I meant NPGMC)

It's a horrid series of single isolated instrument sounds (of the main riff or a drum pattern or a vocal wooo) files, just about 8 seconds or so long, supposedly used for fan remixing of "Endorphinmachine" and "Let's Work." They were up in some re-mixing board section of the old NPGMC site. The files are included on the "Work It" outtakes collection. You're not really missing much, but if you get "Work It" (and there's certainly more than enough reason to want it), you'll get them too.

databank said:

According to BorisFishpaw, who knows his shit, Prince indeed rerecorded his entire cWB atalogue over a period of maybe 3 or 4 years, somewhere between 96 and 2000 (I don't have the exact quote but it was a thread here a long while ago)

Really? I don't remember that, but... interesting. I'd always assumed it was either hot air or that it would have been stopped pretty early. I mean, that sounds like a seriously uninteresting thing (as a creative person) for Prince to actually force himself to do. I know people sometimes bash through a new set of greatest hits re-recorded, or record a live set of Greatest hits to make up for having their original masters in the hands of someone else, but 20 tunes is a lot different than the mass of songs that "his entire WB catalogue" would require. I'd believe the hits, maybe... but not whole albums.

But, like you say, BorisFishpaw usually knows what he's talking about... he doesn't post anymore here, at least not that I've seen recently. That's too bad.