I know theres no available studio version of this song, but Prince has rehearsed and performed it a few times.

But hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to put this song on a personal mix CD with other slow jams (that have been rippped straight from the CDs they were on), which version of "Electric Intercourse" would have the BEST quality?

I know its gonna be the dullest-sounding song on there, but f*ck it...

I think u're better off with the rehearsal version unless there's a better sounding live version out there I don't know about.

How many versions r there out there anyway?

Original, rehearsal and a few audience recordings from 2014?

So I'd say either the original or the rehearsal.

There's an unauthorized cover version by Japanese artist Tokyo Romance doing the rounds as well, that I find pretty wonderful, very faithful to the spirit of the original with a modern touch.

Just remembered there's another unauthorized cover by a guy called D. Grant that's pretty OK, too. I like Tokyo Romance's version much more but Grant's one has a more typical Mpls sound texture and doesn't betray the spirit of the track either.

I find it pretty amazing that TWO artists have managed to give (IMHO) clever renditions of that unreleased song when I am usually disappointing by 99% of the Prince covers I hear. Maybe the fact that they knew about it indicates that they're hardcore fans and that means they somehow got the spirit of P's music more than other artists who cover him but are more casual Prince listeners, IDK

With respect to circulating "vintage" recordings, I believe there are two live rehearsal recordings from the morning or afternoon of the August 1983 First Avenue performance. These versions did not necessarily appear on all of the b-legs that included the actual show and its rehearsal, and I believe all of the b-leg releases thus far have omitted 'I Would Die 4 U', 'Baby I'm a Star', and 'Purple Rain' from their rehearsal portion (although these recordings circulate separately, apparently unidentified as to their origin).

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And, of course, the live performance from later the same evening sourced from a Betamax or VHS "pro-shot" cassette.

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Another live rehearsal (on the basis of the acoustics and the other selection of tracks) appears to have been recorded at the Warehouse at some other point in 1983 (I believe this rehearsal included 'G-Spot' and the instrumental jam of what appears to be an early 'Can't Stop This Feelin' I Got', and an instrumental jam of 'White Girls'/'The Bird'). Again here, my recollection fails me, but I'm not certain that the b-leggers included all of these tracks as part of a single release.

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[Edited 1/6/16 12:14pm]

imprimis said:

With respect to circulating "vintage" recordings, I believe there are two rehearsal recordings, at least one (but most likely both) of which I believe to be (along with 'Purple Rain' and other tracks that have appeared separately on other boots) part of the August 1983 First Avenue rehearsal that, for whatever reason, were not included by b-leggers on their compilation for that performance, and of course the live performance from later the same evening sourced from either a Betamax video recording.

Indeed, I've just checked and I have two different rehearsal takes. In fact I have no less than FOURTEEN fucking mp3's of that song on various 1983 boots that I need to sort out, but my take is that they're all duplicates of the 2 rehearsal takes and the original, live one. We don't have the overdubbed version that was reworked for PR, do we?

imprimis said:

With respect to circulating "vintage" recordings, I believe there are two live rehearsal recordings recorded the morning or afternoon of the August 1983 First Avenue performance. These versions did not necessarily appear on all of the b-legs that included the actual show and its rehearsal, and I believe all of the b-leg releases thus far have omitted 'I Would Die 4 U', 'Baby I'm a Star', and 'Purple Rain' from their rehearsal portion (although these recordings circulate separately, apparently unidentified as to their origin).

.

And, of course, the live performance from later the same evening sourced from a Betamax or VHS "pro-shot" cassette.

.

Another live rehearsal (on the basis of the acoustics and the other selection of tracks) appears to have been recorded at the Warehouse at some other point in 1983 (I believe this rehearsal included 'G-Spot' and the instrumental jam of what appears to be an early 'Can't Stop This Feelin' I Got', and an instrumental jam of 'White Girls'/'The Bird').

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[Edited 1/6/16 12:09pm]

Gowd, so that may make 4. Lots of sorting out to do in those files of mine !

databank said:

imprimis said:

With respect to circulating "vintage" recordings, I believe there are two live rehearsal recordings recorded the morning or afternoon of the August 1983 First Avenue performance. These versions did not necessarily appear on all of the b-legs that included the actual show and its rehearsal, and I believe all of the b-leg releases thus far have omitted 'I Would Die 4 U', 'Baby I'm a Star', and 'Purple Rain' from their rehearsal portion (although these recordings circulate separately, apparently unidentified as to their origin).

.

And, of course, the live performance from later the same evening sourced from a Betamax or VHS "pro-shot" cassette.

.

Another live rehearsal (on the basis of the acoustics and the other selection of tracks) appears to have been recorded at the Warehouse at some other point in 1983 (I believe this rehearsal included 'G-Spot' and the instrumental jam of what appears to be an early 'Can't Stop This Feelin' I Got', and an instrumental jam of 'White Girls'/'The Bird').

.

[Edited 1/6/16 12:09pm]

Gowd, so that may make 4. Lots of sorting out to do in those files of mine !

.

There is also T's pretend "studio outtake" version (not suggesting impropriety when I use the word "pretend" here) from ~1998/1999 that edits the best-known rehearsal recording.

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This would probably be the most listenable version that we have, unless and until the day comes that an unexpurgated, unmodified Sunset Sound-overdubbed version is formally released.

.

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[Edited 1/6/16 12:19pm]

Their has to be a studio version.

I'm afraid that we don't quite yet have a studio overdubbed 'Electric Intercourse', at least one circulating among mere mortals.

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And I'm not optimistic that the track survived long enough, after undergoing some overdubbing, to render it a fully perfected track. A completely untouched studio 1983 version of the track is probably right now, at best, a bit gritty and underpolished like the rough 11+ minute studio-overdubbed 'Purple Rain' that is circulating.

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If he's presented this track for a PR remaster or likewise, it has likely been mixed and touched up a bit much more recently than 1983.

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Although 'The Beautiful Ones' fills the same spot in the script/film, and on the album as a love ballad, I believe EI's fate was sealed as much by the similarlty of its production to 'Purple Rain' as the superiority, if that is fair to say, of TBO. Same chorused guitar/piano/Oberheim synth pockets/Simmons-Live drumming, even almost the same ending (disregarding PR's string section), obviously, since it is from the same live recording.

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[Edited 1/6/16 12:45pm]

imprimis said:

databank said:

Gowd, so that may make 4. Lots of sorting out to do in those files of mine !

.

There is also T's pretend "studio outtake" version (not suggesting impropriety when I use the word "pretend" here) from ~1998/1999 that edits the best-known rehearsal recording.

.

This would probably be the most listenable version that we have, unless and until the day comes that an unexpurgated, unmodified Sunset Sound-overdubbed version is formally released.

.

.

[Edited 1/6/16 12:19pm]

I'd rather delete that one if I have it. T did a lot for this community so no disrespect but I don't keep fanmade versions.

2freaky4church1 said:

Their has to be a studio version.

Not necessarily but if it exists maybe Madhouseman's more recent research will reveal it.

Sounds great to my ears.

A Case Of You is the shit too. Live version of Computer Blue! Good lord.

imprimis said:

I'm afraid that we don't quite yet have a studio overdubbed 'Electric Intercourse', at least one circulating among mere mortals.

.

And I'm not optimistic that the track survived long enough, after undergoing some overdubbing, to render it a fully perfected track. It is probably right now, at best, a bit gritty and underpolished like the rough 11+ minute studio-overdubbed 'Purple Rain' that is circulating.

.

If he's presented this track for a PR remaster or likewise, it has likely been mixed and touched up a bit much more recently than 1983.

.

Although 'The Beautiful Ones' fills the same spot in the script/film, and on the album as a love ballad, I believe EI's fate was sealed as much by the similarlty of its production to 'Purple Rain' as the superiority, if that is fair to say, of TBO. Same chorused guitar/piano/Oberheim synth pockets/Simmons-Live drumming, obviously, since it is from the same live recording.

.

[Edited 1/6/16 12:32pm]

Again Madhouseman probably knows more about this (the state of the "final" overdubbed version), the infos he's revealed so far has been extraordinarily precise.

I agree with ur theory and I'd add that EI's sound would have made it hard to place as the third track on the record, separated from the "live" segment at the end. Another thing is that besides being way more dramatic, TBO fits the movie script way more closely. EI is a fan favorite but I think there's no doubt TBO was the proper choice, for all those reasons.

databank said:

2freaky4church1 said:

Their has to be a studio version.

Not necessarily but if it exists maybe Madhouseman's more recent research will reveal it.

I thought that it had been rather well established that the August 1983 First Avenue track underwent overdubbing and mixing at Sunset Sound in late August/September 1983?

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That isn't to say that the end ('final') product realizes all the promise the unoverdubbed live and rehearsal recordings would seem to hold.

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If there is an earlier version of the song, or a song from which E.I. borrows/evolved, instrumental or otherwise, that was recorded entirely in the studio (and, if so, most likely Kiowa Trail), it wouldn't get me too excited. It would probably be a sleeper like the '81/82 'Baby, I'm a Star', etc.

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[Edited 1/6/16 12:53pm]

2freaky4church1 said:

A Case Of You is the shit too. Live version of Computer Blue! Good lord.

If there's ever any proper archive program, this show would be on top of the list of cult, unreleased but bootleged, shows to release.

Why has there been no discussion regarding the instrumental(?) studio version of 'Purple Rain' that appears briefly as W&L's fictional cassette offering in the film?

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I wonder whether this is derived or excerpted from the actual recording he presented to Stevie Nicks.

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Whether or not it's that, I believe its sound rather distinctly pre-dates most of the other tracks on the album, very strongly ~mid 1983, and not likely to have been recorded just as incidental music for use in the film.

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[Edited 1/6/16 14:01pm]

Previous discussion re Electric Intercourse versions:

http://prince.org/msg/7/332496

http://prince.org/msg/7/220734

databank said:

Just remembered there's another unauthorized cover by a guy called D. Grant that's pretty OK, too. I like Tokyo Romance's version much more but Grant's one has a more typical Mpls sound texture and doesn't betray the spirit of the track either.

I find it pretty amazing that TWO artists have managed to give (IMHO) clever renditions of that unreleased song when I am usually disappointing by 99% of the Prince covers I hear. Maybe the fact that they knew about it indicates that they're hardcore fans and that means they somehow got the spirit of P's music more than other artists who cover him but are more casual Prince listeners, IDK

Thanks for the info. I´ve just listened to D.Grant´s version and it sounds quite nice. I find this quote quite interesting;"Members of The Revolution were consulted in using the correct gear and getting the right sounds. "

Will listen to the Tokyo Romance version now.

databank said:

Just remembered there's another unauthorized cover by a guy called D. Grant that's pretty OK, too. I like Tokyo Romance's version much more but Grant's one has a more typical Mpls sound texture and doesn't betray the spirit of the track either.

I find it pretty amazing that TWO artists have managed to give (IMHO) clever renditions of that unreleased song when I am usually disappointing by 99% of the Prince covers I hear. Maybe the fact that they knew about it indicates that they're hardcore fans and that means they somehow got the spirit of P's music more than other artists who cover him but are more casual Prince listeners, IDK

Sorry, the autotune that Tokyo Romance uses ruins the song for me. It sucks big time.

The music is ok but I prefer D.Grant´s version.

Nice attempt though...felt a bit bad for T.R when I read some of the comments.