First Released as a Napster download

Taste it, ain't it sweet sweet?
Gotta lotta work 2 do

Washington Post

Recordings
Prince Flies Somewhere Over the Rainbow

By David Segal
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 21, 2001; Page C01

"The source of this Resistance must be banished as it is in direct conflict with the initial action. It cannot be banished, 4 its very nature is resistance. In other words, ONE CANNOT SERVE 2 MASTERS. U r either 'this' or 'that' which is not 'this.' "

What's more annoying 2 u? The sentiment or the play-school spelling?

The only way to enjoy "Rainbow" is to ignore the babble and skip around the album...

Head straight to "The Work, Pt. 1," which is surely one of the year's great dance numbers, a James Brown knockoff with a stutter-step beat, yelps and plenty of horns.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company

The track features Prince performing in falsetto and backing vocals by Kip Blackshire and girl group Milenia.

"The Work, pt. 1" was originally released as a downloadable single via Napster, during the height of its legal troubles. This was one of many innovative distribution methods Prince has used for his music. The song was also released on CD as a single, and later on The Rainbow Children. The downloadable single contains a section with some different lyrics and instrumentation than the later CD single and album versions. There has been no "part 2" released to date, although the title track to the 2004 album Musicology bears a strong resemblance and some fans have dubbed it "The Work, pt 2". The B-side on the CD single was the previously released "U Make My Sun Shine".

Every time I watch the other people news
I c a false picture of myself, another one of u
They try 2 tell us what we want, what 2 believe
Didn't that happen in the Garden
When somebody spoke 2 Eve?
But I'm willing 2 do The Work
Willing 2 do what I gotta do
I'm willing 2 do The Work
Tell me now - what about u?
Look around and tell me ur Sun is Risen
When ur brothers and sisters r in the Fall
What is left 2 give when r work is done?
What do we own besides the right 2 crawl?
C we're living in a system that the devil designed
And suffering from this devil's most heinous crime
He's tried 2 keep us from the reason we were born
That is 2 b the living truth in human 4m
But I'm willing 2 do The Work
Willing 2 do what I gotta do
I'm willing 2 do The Work
Tell me now - what about u?
This work is not an easy task
But this is the work we must do 4 Revelation 2 come 2 pass
This work is the kind that turns ur back on the Ruling Class
By putting them in their place just like the past
Taste it, ain't it sweet sweet?
Gotta lotta work 2 do
Taste it, ain't it sweet sweet?
Gotta lotta work 2 do
Nothing can stop us
Whatever's in r way
We got 2 go thru it 2 get 2 it
I heard somebody say,
I'm willing 2 do The Work
Willing 2 do what I gotta do
I'm willing 2 do The Work
Tell me now - what about u?
Thank u

the Work pt 1First Released as a Napster download

Y-Life: What's your position on Napster?

Prince: I always ask people, "Are you pro- or anti-Napster?" Now, the record companies see Napster as troublesome. Napster is a mirror. How you see Napster says more about you than it does about Napster. The fans visiting Napster, they would want everything the artist puts out. They wouldn't want to pay for it. What's up with that?

But the same goes for the recording industry. How you see the recording industry says more about you and your priorities than it does about the recording industry. Napster was inevitable—a file-sharing program that allowed the user to be a part of the process—especially given the general arrogance of the music industry as a whole. I mean, $18 a CD. Where are they getting that? The production costs aren't going up, that's for sure. People are getting hip to that. This is a wonderful time, because everything is shifting. Everybody can be an artist—and there are good and bad consequences to that. But people who control their own work will succeed. Look at Bill Gates. The man is unstoppable. He never sold out. He never sold the rights to his software.

Y-Life: Have you ever used Napster?

Prince: No. Of course, I've had people go on to see if they've got our stuff, and they definitely did. Now, NPG Music Club is a subscription club. If the songs we put up on the club end up on Napster, is that copyright infringement?

Y-Life: You asked your fans that same question on the site. What do you think?

Prince: I'm asking you. The record industry said that Napster caused them to flat-line. Are you pro- or anti-Napster?

Y-Life: Personally, I'm pro.

Prince: Now, why is that? That's interesting.

Y-Life: I discovered more new music through Napster last year, and I bought the CDs. I've paid for more music last year than I've ever done, thanks to Napster. And I think people will still buy CDs; we like objects.

Prince: Do you think individuals who spend all day on the computer will care about CDs? I'm trying to see if I can sway your opinion. How many users does Napster have -- 60 million? Do you think all those people are buying their CDs?

Y-Life: Probably not.

Prince: See, there you go! Now we're coming to some kind of agreement. I'm not pro- or anti-anything. I just sit back and watch the whole thing. We've got an institution here at Paisley that cares for the artist. And that's the way it should be.

I've spoken to Shawn Fanning. He's just a kid. It's a real shame what has happened to him. He's in a lot of tough water. He's scared. When Fanning got up onstage at the MTV awards, the audience started cheering and booing. First they were booing Metallica; now they were booing him. And he's thinking, "Why did this happen to me?" If I was worried about booing, I'd think I had to change. So you sign up with one side or the other. And Napster, BMG—these people aren't musicians. Shawn knows the deal. [A month after this interview was conducted, Prince reached an agreement with Napster to release a new track from an upcoming album on the file-sharing service. —Ed.]

Y-Life: Can the Napster-BMG deal eventually work?

Prince: Probably. Why not? The recording industry works. That doesn't mean it's just, or right, or fair. But it's not up to me to damn somebody or something. It's in the nature of their actions to damn themselves. When was the last time the recording industry gave anything back to the community? It's a pity that there actually has to be such a thing as the Rhythm & Blues Foundation [a not-for-profit group dedicated to fostering recognition of and support for R&B music]. This industry makes $40 billion a year—$40 billion! Can we have $1 billion? Just $1 billion, to put back into our communities and help rebuild them?

The Work Part 1 is the fourth track (as The Work Pt. 1) on Prince's 24th album The Rainbow Children, his first album after reverting to the name Prince, but six months earlier, a slightly different mix of the track had been made available (as The Work Part 1) as an official free download from the file-sharing service Napster, before being made available as part of NPG Music Club Edition # 3 two weeks later. The following month, a live performance video of the song was included as part of NPG Music Club Edition # 4. In 2003, a 2002 live version was included as the fourth track on the Live At The Aladdin Las Vegas concert DVD.

Specific recording dates are unknown, but it is likely that initial tracking took place at a live in-studio recording in February 2001 at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA (possibly during the 8 February, 2001 session where the Hornheadz added horns to the rest of the album's tracks). It was stated on the NPG Music Club at the time of the track's release that Prince played both the guitar solo and the piano solo at the same time in one take. The track was mixed slightly between its initial release in April and the final configuration of The Rainbow Children album in June, 2001.

The album version also includes a segue prior to the beginning of the following track, Everywhere.

The Part 1 in the title is likely an homage to songs by artists like James Brown, whose tracks were often split into segments for single releases, rather than an indication of other parts to the song. There was a report in early 2001, however, before any public mention of The Work Part 1, of Prince introducing a new song at Paisley Park Studios and calling it The Work Part 2 (this report may have been in error, however). -PrinceVault

1. Rainbow Children
2. Muse 2 The Pharoah
3. Digital Garden
4. The Work Part1
5. Everywhere
6. The Sensual Everafter
7. Mellow
8. 1+1+1 Is 3
9. Deconstruction
10. Wedding Feast
11. She Loves Me 4 Me
12. Family Name
13. The Everlasting Now
14. Last December

Jay Leno Show May 1, 2001

1.) the Work

• Prince: Guitar and Lead Vocals
• Mike Scott: Rhythm Guitar
• Rhonda Smith: Bass and Vocals
• Mr. Hayes: Keyboards
• Kip Blackshire: Keyboards and Vocals
• John Blackwell: Drums
• Najee: Saxophone, Flute
• Geneva: Backup Singer and Dancer

leaving the show

Boston Globe

LIFE IN THE POP LANE

Prince's 'Children' filled with spirit

By Rene E Graham, Globe Staff, 11/27/2001

The album doesn't really take off until track four with ''The Work Pt. 1,'' a big chunk of James Brown funk that gives the album a momentum it never again relinquishes.

This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 11/27/2001.

© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.

Musically, The Work was smokin', a high octane homage to JB delivered with poise and urgency.

Thematically, it was his first real single as a Jehovah Witness, and his spiritual fervor was a lot to take at the time.

This is the least mainstream first single of a proper album Prince has ever released but it gets top grades for the music.

BOSTON HERALD

PRINCE
"The Rainbow Children" (NPG)

(3 out of 4 stars)

Oh, happy day! Prince has returned. "The Rainbow Children" is his most solid effort in at least five years.

Musically that translates into the jubilant James Brown grooves of "The Work, Pt. 1," the gospel-jazz title track, the ethereally erotic "Mellow" and the vintage funk of "1+1+1=3."

Even the album's sometimes heavy-handed "concept" - which advocates love, faith and questioning revisionist history - reminds you of great records of yore such as "Lovesexy."

Whether you're down with the overall message or not, "The Rainbow Children" sounds colorful - and beautiful - to a longtime fan's ears.

SARAH RODMAN