IIRC, one of Prince's former manager's said in an interveiw that the 1999 album was finished and turned in to them by Prince to be handed over to WB, but they told him "something was missing" and said he needed "one more song with an over-reaching theme to pull the album together" or something like that. He went on to say Prince cussed them out, left the office and "the next day" came back with the title track.

If i'm correct in my recollection, does anyone knows what the opening track was prior to the creation of 1999 (the song)?

[Edited 8/1/14 6:24am]

BlackSweat86 said:

IIRC, one of Prince's former manager's said in an interveiw that the 1999 album was finished and turned in to them by Prince to be handed over to WB, but they told him "something was missing" and said he needed "one more song with an over-reaching theme to pull the album together" or something like that. He went on to say Prince cussed them out, left the office and "the next day" came back with the title track.

If i'm correct in my recollection, does anyone knows what the opening track was prior to the creation of 1999 (the song)?

No, neither that nor anything else about this configuration

BlackSweat86 said:

IIRC, one of Prince's former manager's said in an interveiw that the 1999 album was finished and turned in to them by Prince to be handed over to WB, but they told him "something was missing" and said he needed "one more song with an over-reaching theme to pull the album together" or something like that. He went on to say Prince cussed them out, left the office and "the next day" came back with the title track.

If i'm correct in my recollection, does anyone knows what the opening track was prior to the creation of 1999 (the song)?

It'd have been better if u'd put a question mark on ur title thread, it's misleading: I first thought the tracklist in question had, at long last, been revealed!

The way the song 1999 ends and Moonbeam Levels begins is easy to hear how they segue together. Maybe Prince at the last moment pulled the song because that would have been two apocalyptic songs back to back. I put them together to see how the two song flow into each other and it's a perfect transition.

[Edited 7/31/14 11:31am]

I'll take a wild guess: "Turn It Up".

That sounds like the type of song that Prince would open an album with.

joyinrepetition said:

The way the song 1999 ends and Moonbeam Levels begins is easy to hear how they segue together. Maybe Prince at the last moment pulled the song because that would have been two apocalyptic songs back to back. I put them together to see how the two song flow into each other and it's a perfect transition.

"Moonbeam Levels" is a good song,but I think it was a wise decision to remove it from the tracklist.

hopefully a remastered 1999 will include the full length Delirious which elevates it to another level of rockabilly fonk!

1999

Moonbeam Levels

LRC

Delirious

DMSR

Automatic

Something In The Water

Free

Lady Cab Driver

All The Critics

International Lover

would have been an even better album.

I don't like the flow between 1999 and Moonbeam Levels.

It's like a huge party anthem that just dissolves into an inferior ballad. LRC is a masterpiece and just upbeat and kick ass enough to be the follow-up imo.

I love playing the album like 1. 1999, 2. Little Red Corvette [extended dance mix], 3. Delirious, 4. Let's Pretend We're Married, 5. Automatic, 6. Something in the Water [first mix; the album version is too "muddy", vocally...], 7. Free, 8. Lady Cab Driver, 9. Purple Music, 10. International Lover

.

Just the first three tracks alone.... dance music heaven.

CharismaDove said:

I don't like the flow between 1999 and Moonbeam Levels.

It's like a huge party anthem that just dissolves into an inferior ballad. LRC is a masterpiece and just upbeat and kick ass enough to be the follow-up imo.

I love playing the album like 1. 1999, 2. Little Red Corvette [extended dance mix], 3. Delirious, 4. Let's Pretend We're Married, 5. Automatic, 6. Something in the Water [first mix; the album version is too "muddy", vocally...], 7. Free, 8. Lady Cab Driver, 9. Purple Music, 10. International Lover

.

Just the first three tracks alone.... dance music heaven.

Ummm...All the critics love u in ny is waay better than Purple music which is droning and way too long...

1999 is perfect the way it was released.

Until Purple Rain, do we now more of previous tracklists of all the previous albums ?

I wonder...

I know, gotta check the Princevault first.

AlexNevermind28 said:

CharismaDove said:

I don't like the flow between 1999 and Moonbeam Levels.

It's like a huge party anthem that just dissolves into an inferior ballad. LRC is a masterpiece and just upbeat and kick ass enough to be the follow-up imo.

I love playing the album like 1. 1999, 2. Little Red Corvette [extended dance mix], 3. Delirious, 4. Let's Pretend We're Married, 5. Automatic, 6. Something in the Water [first mix; the album version is too "muddy", vocally...], 7. Free, 8. Lady Cab Driver, 9. Purple Music, 10. International Lover

.

Just the first three tracks alone.... dance music heaven.

Ummm...All the critics love u in ny is waay better than Purple music which is droning and way too long...

1999 is perfect the way it was released.

You also summed up all the critics for me there.

Askani said:

1999

Moonbeam Levels

LRC

Delirious

DMSR

Automatic

Something In The Water

Free

Lady Cab Driver

All The Critics

International Lover

would have been an even better album.

Agreed Free needs to go. Mix in Extralovable (that was from those sessions, right?) and it's as close to a perfect 10 as it gets.

Another vote for replacing "Free" with "Extraloveable"

Militant said:

Another vote for replacing "Free" with "Extraloveable"

Agreed. Freeisthe only weak link on an otherwise fantastic album.

AlexNevermind28 said:

CharismaDove said:

I don't like the flow between 1999 and Moonbeam Levels.

It's like a huge party anthem that just dissolves into an inferior ballad. LRC is a masterpiece and just upbeat and kick ass enough to be the follow-up imo.

I love playing the album like 1. 1999, 2. Little Red Corvette [extended dance mix], 3. Delirious, 4. Let's Pretend We're Married, 5. Automatic, 6. Something in the Water [first mix; the album version is too "muddy", vocally...], 7. Free, 8. Lady Cab Driver, 9. Purple Music, 10. International Lover

.

Just the first three tracks alone.... dance music heaven.

Ummm...All the critics love u in ny is waay better than Purple music which is droning and way too long...

1999 is perfect the way it was released.

.

All the Critics is a good song. But Free, Lady Cab, All the Critics in a row is kind of downbeat. Plus, whenever I listen to All the Critics, the way he's virtually rapping lowly and then chanting the chorus sounds extremely similar to Lady Cab to me... Purple Music with the telephone vocal effect is just so...DIFFERENT, and so daring and catchy, it belongs on an album of experiments rather than just a trite old tune like ATCLUINY

.

Just my opinion of course.

I like "Free" I can't see why so many fans don't care for it.

It has a better,more universal message than "Moonbeam Levels".It's easier to grasp the message.

but I'm kinda torn on the "All The Critics Love U In New York" vs." Purple Music" comparison

I like both songs.

Free is an excellent song. You all need your ears checked (and the rest too)!

According to most of the books, All the Critics was the first song written because it was being played in Controversy Tour shows in early 1982. I always thought that 1999 was the last song, as Warners liked the album and saw a potential single in Little Red Corvette (Well they got that right) but it was missing an anthem, and Prince had to come up with it.

.

I thought the Second Coming was the first plan and this was scrapped, to be followed by the album we have now. Xtralovable was going to go on it along with Moonbeam Levels and Lust u always. Both were scrapped because the lyrics went too far (I will rape u if I must, I'm gonna have to rape you now). Yet this logic defeats itself when Lets Pretend we're married made the cut.

My guess is the original configuration was

.

The Second Coming

Little Red Corvette

Xtralovable and/or Lust u always

DMSR

Delirious

Automatic

Something in the water

Moonbeam Levels

Ladycab Driver

All the Critics

International lover

.

Warners probably did not like most of it and saw it as more sexual than ever, they wanted Second coming off it as it was not really a song, and wanted a song to kick the set off that would catch the ears of potential buyers. Enter 1999. Too many of the songs were graphic and any that mentioned rape were gone. Prince would have felt angry but in return got the double record, as the jams would loop on and its would be impossible to squeeze it down to 45 minutes a single set allowed.

.

They probably thought Moonbeam Levels was too morose and gloomy amongst the filth and funk. I suppose to some ears it sounds like a third rate REO speedwagon castoff. They saw pop potential in LRC and Delirious and wanted them up front. But they needed one more killer song, in the vein of the morosity of Moonbeam levels but with some bounce and funk to it, enter the Bop against the bomb anthem that was 1999.

.

After this had been added they had the set you see now, minus Free, which was added in a hurry and probably was an afterthought as Prince possibly wanted another sexified funk jam. However with only 4 minutes, he could not get one in, and he was probably lucky to get Lady Cab Driver, International Lover and Lets Pretend were married on the set. In return we got his second greatest ever album and his first true defining masterpiece. But that is just my opinion.

How about we quit doing sci-fi wild guesses and rewriting history? The original tracklist is unknown, period. We don't know how many configurations there have been and what was on them, period. We don't know that any of the circulating outtakes from that era was even considered for the album, period. Save that WB asked for an additional commercially viable single we don't know anything about them voicing any other opinion about the album's content, period. People can guess that the original configuration contained a cover of "Mr. Sandman" for all I care, fact is we don't know and we don't even have clues to guess, so there's nothing to add, really. I understand that "what if' scenarios are fun to come-up with but unfortunately many people here read the posts with only one of their 2 eyes and too often I see sci-fi ideas by Roger from one thread turned into "facts" by Mathew on another thread a few months later, so I think we should leave it at that now. Just my opinion

CharismaDove said:

databank said:

Askani said:

databank said:

How about we quit doing sci-fi wild guesses and rewriting history?

How about you stop telling people what they can and can't talk about? This is a discussion forum.

Stop telling us to stop telling people to stop beating dead horses.

ThomasBjj said:

Askani said:

databank said: How about you stop telling people what they can and can't talk about? This is a discussion forum.

Stop telling us to stop telling people to stop beating dead horses.

Thx. + if this is a discussion forum where everyone's entitled to say whatever the hell they want then I'm entitled to tell them what they can and can't post about if this is what I want to say, it's sheer logic

I see "Xtralovable" mentioned a few times in this thread.Was that song really recorded during the 1999 sessions (1982)? I think I read somewhere that the song was actually recorded in the spring of 1983.

SoulAlive said:

I see "Xtralovable" mentioned a few times in this thread.Was that song really recorded during the 1999 sessions (1982)? I think I read somewhere that the song was actually recorded in the spring of 1983.

The song was considered for Vanity 6 and is from April 1982, but there is no element to say that it was ever considered for 1999.

Thanks for the info.That song is so amazing,it should have been released in some form or another....maybe as a B-side to one of the 1999 or Purple Rain singles.

if U don't stop the groove,Xtralovable beat will tell your body what 2 do