I just realized I have never heard a Prince-only demo of this song..only the live duet with Rosie Gaines..and the wonderful version from The Family, of course..one must exist, right? Just curious...

joshmos said:

I just realized I have never heard a Prince-only demo of this song..only the live duet with Rosie Gaines..and the wonderful version from The Family, of course..one must exist, right? Just curious...

The best version i've heard was on a Nude tour rehearsal boot called 'Nudity'. Sparse and beautiful, There's a problem with the microphone on the first verse but after that...wow.

Thanks, but I was referring to a studio demo. Shold have specified that, I guess...don't think I've ever come across one...

joshmos said:

Thanks, but I was referring to a studio demo. Shold have specified that, I guess...don't think I've ever come across one...

Being able to read and comprehend, I fully know what you meant. There isn't one in circulation though as far as i'm aware.

I've always wished there was a version with just his vocals, too. I like the version with Rosie, too, though.

I know its not P singing it, but I really like the alternate version by the Family with drums and guitars.

.

Pretty much what P replicated later when playing it live.

Bambi82 said:

I wouldn't count on there existing demos with Prince's vocals of each and every track he did for others. He could have just as well taught the others how to sing them in person, just like he did during rehearsals with his own bands. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't even a proper demo of "Purple Rain".

There r Prince renditions (let's not use that ugly "demo" word, shall we?) of most if not all of the tracks he did with/for other singers, it's an established thing.

However, regarding his original version of NC2U (which would have been recorded on the first mix, not the one that made it to The Family), it's been reported numerous times that in this poarticular case Paul recorded his vocals OVER Prince's, i.e. on the same track, erasing P's, and that therefore P's rendition is lost forever. I don't know where that specific info comes from neither if it's verified or more of a urban legend. I find it really hard to believe (why in the world would Susan have erased P's vocals when recording Paul's???? Unless of course it's another accident à la IIWYG/FIYL).

Anyway whether a copy of it still exists somewhere in the world or not, P's original recording isn't circulating. On the other hand Paul streamed the original mix with him on vocals on his website in 2002, so that one version is now easy to find.

A "demo" version can be anything from something that sounds almost complete to what we have circulating as the demo version of "Kiss". It's true of course that Prince often recorded versions that were almost ready to be released as such (which is admirable on its own right), but I wouldn't count on all the tracks he did for other artists having more than, say, the first verse recorded with proper lyrics and so on. The unreleased demo versions with his vocals that seem "complete" to us are in many cases something he has originally considered releasing under his own name before giving them away.

novabrkr said:

A "demo" version can be anything from something that sounds almost complete to what we have circulating as the demo version of "Kiss". It's true of course that Prince often recorded versions that were almost ready to be released as such (which is admirable on its own right), but I wouldn't count on all the tracks he did for other artists having more than, say, the first verse recorded with proper lyrics and so on. The unreleased demo versions with his vocals that seem "complete" to us are in many cases something he has originally considered releasing under his own name before giving them away.

This is absolutely false. Check your facts. The Kiss demo is actually the exception here, and a very exceptional exception. And it's not a question of "opinions" or "theories". We know what we know.

databank said:

novabrkr said:

A "demo" version can be anything from something that sounds almost complete to what we have circulating as the demo version of "Kiss". It's true of course that Prince often recorded versions that were almost ready to be released as such (which is admirable on its own right), but I wouldn't count on all the tracks he did for other artists having more than, say, the first verse recorded with proper lyrics and so on. The unreleased demo versions with his vocals that seem "complete" to us are in many cases something he has originally considered releasing under his own name before giving them away.

This is absolutely false. Check your facts. The Kiss demo is actually the exception here, and a very exceptional exception. And it's not a question of "opinions" or "theories". We know what we know.

I might have used an expression there that gave you the impression I was claiming most of his demos must be in such a preliminary state. I'm just saying a certain number of them might be, we can't know for sure in each and every case. A "fact" is something that is backed up by evidence and the best form of evidence in these cases would be to just hear the tracks themselves.

The leaked stuff from the 80s is mostly stuff that's even gone through some sort of a preliminary mastering stage, very few of them are the "mid-session" mixes. Even if Prince might have been a bit careless with some of his unreleased material getting out, I don't think any of the 80s stuff really presents the recordings during their tracking phases. That does raise a few questions.

novabrkr said:

databank said:

This is absolutely false. Check your facts. The Kiss demo is actually the exception here, and a very exceptional exception. And it's not a question of "opinions" or "theories". We know what we know.

I might have used an expression there that gave you the impression I was claiming most of his demos must be in such a preliminary state. I'm just saying a certain number of them might be, we can't know for sure in each and every case. A "fact" is something that is backed up by evidence and the best form of evidence in these cases would be to just hear the tracks themselves.

The leaked stuff from the 80s is mostly stuff that's even gone through some sort of a preliminary mastering stage, very few of them are the "mid-session" mixes. Even if Prince might have been a bit careless with some of his unreleased material getting out, I don't think any of the 80s stuff really presents the recordings during their tracking phases. That does raise a few questions.

I think ur reasoning is a bit far-fetched. We know the history of most of the songs that were given to other acts and we know that most of them were entirely recorded. Now some were overdubbed or changed, sometimes even rerecorded from scratch by the acts who got them, and it's likely that P would have reworked a certain number of them had he been to release them himself, but he would always record a basic version that stands on its own. It's reportedly very rare for him to record bits and pieces of a song on piano or guitar like he did with Kiss, he would usually record a full song and eventually either (often) decide to rework it at some point or leave it as such, whether it is planned for release or not BTW. I don't think P often said to himself "I'm gonna record a demo to have a memory of the song and I'll rerecord it properly later", it's more "I have an idea for a song, I'm gonna record it NOW and then we'll see if I want to spend a lot of time on it and/or do something with it or not" and sometimes "I'm gonna record a song for such project so I'm gonna do it that way so it fits in". Reportedly, most of the songs he composed for his side projects such as The Time, A6, V6, Sheila, Carmen, The Family, Madhouse, NPG, etc. were composed with those specific projects in mind and in that sense the vocals were "temporary" and u could call 'em demos, but nonetheless it seems the vocals were ususally recorded in full (though I can't help but laughing out loud imagining him rap Carmen Electra's parts ). As for the songs he randomly gave to other artists, they were more like tracks he recorded for the sake of recording them, then he would eventually think "oh, I could see XXX singing that" and offer the track to an artist. Some of course were also recorded with a specific artist in mind such as The Sex Of It or the Martika tracks but usually they were unused songs from the vault (he would also often offer a song that was rejected by an artist to another artist). U can go and check the history of each track that was given to another artist on Princevault. I did it and it's very interesting to see what each song's trajectory was.

WARNING: Unpopular opinion on the way:

Nothing compares to Sinead O'Connor's version. I like hers the best. Not to say the Family and Prince versions are bad, I just like how simple and heartfelt she sang it.

Well, yes, you're correct. Prince's unreleased songs have a sense of being completed to a degree that is admirable. That might be a key factor to his prolificity. He didn't leave things unfinished too often, so he didn't have to keep returning to them in order to "finish" them or "better" them. I've made the comment about some demos possibly being "just one verse" on the basis of that just being fairly basic practice with many bands (actually, that comment should have been more like "one verse and a chorus", as that's what you often see).

Regardless, what we have circulating as outtakes from the 80s is material that Prince, for the most part, seems to have been satisfied enough with in order to do test pressings of them and so on. A good contrast to that could be some of the early demos and the few D&P era "early" takes that have leaked, as they have a completely different vibe to them. That's what music that is in a sketchy state sounds like - they're not comparable to "The Dance Electric", "The Sex Of It" and so on. My hypothesis, which I should stress is just one possibility, is that some of the material he's intended for others to sing from the start could have a higher degree of sketchiness to them than what we're used to getting subjected from the circulating outtakes. It's not the "mid-session" stuff that's really circulating and that's what those tracks intended for the sideprojects with Prince's own vocals would have often been like.

Okay, I might be rambling a bit here (after several glasses of wine, I admit). The point really is just that people should not be disappointed if some of those "demos" of the early / mid-80s sideprojects, should they surface, is not up to the same standards as "The Dance Electric", "The Sex Of It" and so on. Prince seems to have been quite careful not to let any MJ-style "mumbling demos" out there even as "demos" for others to hear.

You really should have stopped reading by the point I admitted I was drunk, btw.

djdaffy1227 said:

WARNING: Unpopular opinion on the way:

Nothing compares to Sinead O'Connor's version. I like hers the best. Not to say the Family and Prince versions are bad, I just like how simple and heartfelt she sang it.

I feel the same way and always have. It's her own contribution to it that made it a massive hit (especially the way she sang the chorus). Prince probably wouldn't want to admit that, but she did take the song further herself.

novabrkr said:

Well, yes, you're correct. Prince's unreleased songs have a sense of being completed to a degree that is admirable. That might be a key factor to his prolificity. He didn't leave things unfinished too often, so he didn't have to keep returning to them in order to "finish" them or "better" them. I've made the comment about some demos possibly being "just one verse" on the basis of that just being fairly basic practice with many bands (actually, that comment should have been more like "one verse and a chorus", as that's what you often see).

Regardless, what we have circulating as outtakes from the 80s is material that Prince, for the most part, seems to have been satisfied enough with in order to do test pressings of them and so on. A good contrast to that could be some of the early demos and the few D&P era "early" takes that have leaked, as they have a completely different vibe to them. That's what music that is in a sketchy state sounds like - they're not comparable to "The Dance Electric", "The Sex Of It" and so on. My hypothesis, which I should stress is just one possibility, is that some of the material he's intended for others to sing from the start could have a higher degree of sketchiness to them than what we're used to getting subjected from the circulating outtakes. It's not the "mid-session" stuff that's really circulating and that's what those tracks intended for the sideprojects with Prince's own vocals would have often been like.

Okay, I might be rambling a bit here (after several glasses of wine, I admit). The point really is just that people should not be disappointed if some of those "demos" of the early / mid-80s sideprojects, should they surface, is not up to the same standards as "The Dance Electric", "The Sex Of It" and so on. Prince seems to have been quite careful not to let any MJ-style "mumbling demos" out there even as "demos" for others to hear.

OK but I don't know about any test pressings ^^

novabrkr said:

Ppenguin said:

I've yet to hear a studio Days of Wild yet too; I'm sure there are loads in circulation I've just never heard it.

I have heard the studio version of DOW and the live versions

are much better.

djdaffy1227 said:

joshmos said:

Thanks, but I was referring to a studio demo. Shold have specified that, I guess...don't think I've ever come across one...

the best next 2 the Family release is the one Prince does with the Revolution (that sounds like Another Lonely Christmas) A lot of those Family demos prior to St Paul/Susannah/Eric being added had that strong Purple Rain feel

djdaffy1227 said:

WARNING: Unpopular opinion on the way:

Nothing compares to Sinead O'Connor's version. I like hers the best. Not to say the Family and Prince versions are bad, I just like how simple and heartfelt she sang it.

She killed it, (in the good way).

St. Paul's delivery was cheesy as hell. I know he was made to follow Prince's guide track exactly, so I'm sure Prince's vocal is as cheesy as Velveeta, too.

I heard Sinead's version first, not even knowing it was a Prince song until some months later.

Music on the internet wasn't really a thing at that point and I wasn't a bootleg-seeker, so it took me quite some time to finally hear the Family version.

I felt then and still feel today that the original is the 2nd lamest version of the song. The absolute lamest version is the live one with Rosie. That goofy gospel-reggae mess with the unnecessarily histrionic vocals absolutely blows.

Did I win the unpopluar opinion contest?

errant said:

djdaffy1227 said:

WARNING: Unpopular opinion on the way:

Nothing compares to Sinead O'Connor's version. I like hers the best. Not to say the Family and Prince versions are bad, I just like how simple and heartfelt she sang it.

The Family's version straight up sucks. Sinead's is definitive. And I love Prince's also.

I love the Sinead and Family versions and hate the Prince faux-jazz version, go figure.

steakfinger said:

djdaffy1227 said:

WARNING: Unpopular opinion on the way:

Nothing compares to Sinead O'Connor's version. I like hers the best. Not to say the Family and Prince versions are bad, I just like how simple and heartfelt she sang it.

She killed it, (in the good way).

St. Paul's delivery was cheesy as hell. I know he was made to follow Prince's guide track exactly, so I'm sure Prince's vocal is as cheesy as Velveeta, too.

I heard Sinead's version first, not even knowing it was a Prince song until some months later.

Music on the internet wasn't really a thing at that point and I wasn't a bootleg-seeker, so it took me quite some time to finally hear the Family version.

I felt then and still feel today that the original is the 2nd lamest version of the song. The absolute lamest version is the live one with Rosie. That goofy gospel-reggae mess with the unnecessarily histrionic vocals absolutely blows.

Did I win the unpopluar opinion contest?

I'm with you on this, although substitute "second lamest" with second best.

[Edited 5/13/14 7:07am]

OldFriends4Sale said:

joshmos said:

Thanks, but I was referring to a studio demo. Shold have specified that, I guess...don't think I've ever come across one...

the best next 2 the Family release is the one Prince does with the Revolution (that sounds like Another Lonely Christmas) A lot of those Family demos prior to St Paul/Susannah/Eric being added had that strong Purple Rain feel

Which version are you refering to? I wasn't aware that there was a Revolution version (not questioning your assertion, just suprised). Prince Vault lists a version with Eric Leeds, is that it?

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

the best next 2 the Family release is the one Prince does with the Revolution (that sounds like Another Lonely Christmas) A lot of those Family demos prior to St Paul/Susannah/Eric being added had that strong Purple Rain feel

Which version are you refering to? I wasn't aware that there was a Revolution version (not questioning your assertion, just suprised). Prince Vault lists a version with Eric Leeds, is that it?

yeah, It has guitar solo (no Eric Leeds on this yet) it sound like Another Lonely Christmas

I have it with Screams of Passion, Feline(no Eric leeds) Desire (guitar solo) and a few others

OldFriends4Sale said:

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

Which version are you refering to? I wasn't aware that there was a Revolution version (not questioning your assertion, just suprised). Prince Vault lists a version with Eric Leeds, is that it?

yeah, It has guitar solo (no Eric Leeds on this yet) it sound like Another Lonely Christmas

I have it with Screams of Passion, Feline(no Eric leeds) Desire (guitar solo) and a few others

Oh, ok, thanks for the info. I never knew something like that was circulating among the fans.

Wait, hang on, are you talking about the one that still has Susannah and St Paul on vocals?