Tthis song is golden. Innocent and light with relatable lyrics and Jesse's bluesy, velvet singing. Don't believe i've ever heard Pepe Willie's original. If I did, it would have just been once or twice in the 80's. Back then I had a tape with Prince's reworked version of the track. It's a solid song and as good a choice as any to give a contemporary treatment for 2016 release--similar to what he did with "If I Could Get Your Attention" last fall. It would get my vote.

[Edited 1/4/16 19:42pm]

Pepe Willie's version with young Skipper on guitar, is the best version, by far...then Skipper's ...then Jessies's...Pepe Willie's voice is just perfect for this song...

what a fabulous song - prince should definitely release. but please not a reloaded version. You cant improve on perfection!

Totally forgot Pepe's version was recorded by 94 East (man, I'm rusty!). Got me now listening to tracks from Symbolic Beginnings. Really enjoying these chill tunes. 94E had such a great sound.

Before someone comes along to correct me, Pepe's original was titled "If You See Me."

• This song and version is a classic
• The catchy as plague synth lines
• The relentless tom patterns on the drums
• The chicken scratch guitar ("Call up the Colonel there's gonna be sum chicken scratchin's tonight'
• It reminds me of driving around one summer with a cd compilation with this in the car
• That being said all versions are good. Everybody likes a different version of the truth.

Jesse has said that Prince wanted this song to appear on one of the Time albums.I think it would have fit perfectly on Ice Cream Castles,an abum that needed one more really great song,imo.

Just for the record because it's not a well-known fact, Jesse released an extended version of his own cut on a 1988 maxi and it rocks!

However I agree P's version is the best of the bunch, I'd love to have it released one day. The irony would be that since it's registered as a Jesse Johnson/Pepe Wille co-composition P would have to pay royalties to Jesse who ripped off his arrangement But that would make it up for The Belle Of St. Mark, Jungle Love and The Bird Or he could release it as "If You See Me" and pay only Pepe Willie, since under that title it's a PW song.

SoulAlive said:

Jesse has said that Prince wanted this song to appear on one of the Time albums.I think it would have fit perfectly on Ice Cream Castles,an abum that needed one more really great song,imo.

We don't know the exact recording date save it's from 1982 (unless Madhouseman's research has revealed it since Nielsen's research) so it could have been intended for either WTII? or ICC. Unfortunately, as long as WB holds the masters for both those albums, we won't see any remaster with bonus material.

databank said:

SoulAlive said:

Jesse has said that Prince wanted this song to appear on one of the Time albums.I think it would have fit perfectly on Ice Cream Castles,an abum that needed one more really great song,imo.

We don't know the exact recording date save it's from 1982 (unless Madhouseman's research has revealed it since Nielsen's research) so it could have been intended for either WTII? or ICC. Unfortunately, as long as WB holds the masters for both those albums, we won't see any remaster with bonus material.

What Time Is It is perfect the way it is but I think Ice Cream Castles could have used it.....maybe remove the filler track "Chili Sauce" to make room for it.

SoulAlive said:

databank said:

We don't know the exact recording date save it's from 1982 (unless Madhouseman's research has revealed it since Nielsen's research) so it could have been intended for either WTII? or ICC. Unfortunately, as long as WB holds the masters for both those albums, we won't see any remaster with bonus material.

What Time Is It is perfect the way it is but I think Ice Cream Castles could have used it.....maybe remove the filler track "Chili Sauce" to make room for it.

Chili Sauce, far from being a filler track, was a piece of greatness: a sheer example of Prince's genius and willingness to experiment. I mean we're talking about an electrofunk band, known for its infectious grooves, 10 minutes long jams and so on, and what do we get in the middle of it, like totally out of the blue: a complete chamber music-like strings piece over a linn drum machine, a very nostalgic track in fact, but its melodramatic aspects are "spoiled" by this gross, totally hilarious monologue by Morris. U never knew what to expect with Prince at that time, everything was possible! CS is the greatest thing on the album if u ask me

It's much different. One of his altime great songs. That keyboard line! Pure gold. When he mattered.

2freaky4church1 said:

It's much different. One of his altime great songs. That keyboard line! Pure gold. When he mattered.

And what about the telecasters on the left and right? They're simply awesome.
Yeah, the synth hook is OK, but the real genius is in the background.
That quite synth pad sustained chord on the last verses, and, as always, the background vocals.

I prefer to omit the Morris Day part at the end, after the ad lib, it's completely pointless and takes away the feeling of pure pop that went before it. It's funny, I love Prince doing it, but it has nothing to do with the concept of the song, it turns it into a comedy.

Maybe Skipper was afraid that it would sound too much like a serious revenge song, but hey, that's exactly what it is. There was no need to insist, especially not with the Clorren Bacon Skin character. The point is already made.