I didn't particularly rate this track that highly before he included it on HitNRun Phase 2. I found myself listening to this one a fair bit (that horn solo is awesome), so I thought I'd reaquaint myself with the original 80s version to see if I liked it better than I remembered.

To me, it's his vocals that I can't warm to on the original. The song sounds so much cooler sung in Prince's chest voice (ala HitNRun) and I would actually go so far as to say that his vocal performance on the original is one of Prince's worst in his entire career. I usually love Prince's falsetto, but Extraloveable original is one of the rare occasions where his head voice sounds grating and unrefined.

And then you have the unnecessary rape lines. Hell, I'm a fan of bad-ass rebellious Prince as much as the next self-respecting Prince fan, but these lyrics are just lame.

I think I'll stick to the Hit N Run version with the cool horns and smooth vocals. I just can't abide the horrid vocals on the original.

I disagree.

I hate the new version, but........ love the old deeply.

Oh, dear. A contentious opinion on the Org. I admire your bravery, MattyJam - and I agree.

Also, I'd love to hear the Zwisky remix of the original.

andykeen said:

This thread needs to be locked. So silly.

That new version is abysmal.

The cover version by Yes! Yes! is even better then the new version.

bonnie184 said:

That new version is abysmal.

The cover version by Yes! Yes! is even better then the new version.

TOTALLY! The video is HOT. I wonder if he heard the Yes!Yes! version and that's what made him decide to re-record and release it.

[Edited 3/18/16 6:06am]

I love the original. To have that in pristine quality - my holy grail.

I never have liked the original. Hitnrun is better for me but still not great although it's better than the Andy Allo rap version!

I always thought the original was a bore and it actually made me wish Prince would drop the Linn drum sound back on 1990 or so when I first heard it. I absolutely love the new version and think it is so much more fun.

But that cover by a band who made a video is pretty good too!

sulls said:

bonnie184 said:

That new version is abysmal.

The cover version by Yes! Yes! is even better then the new version.

TOTALLY! The video is HOT. I wonder if he heard the Yes!Yes! version and that's what made him decide to re-record and release it.

[Edited 3/18/16 6:06am]

I wondered the same. It's a great cover and even better video. I could have easily seen that being a club hit.

Blasphemous? Hell no (pun intended).

The groove on the new version is simply deadly. An all-out assault on the eardrums.

There is no life in the new version. The original is awesome.

Xtraloveabe HNR2 = Lounge/Elevator Music

I like both versions, slighty prefer the original. But if this is the way he reloads tracks from the vault, keep em coming.

Some people's reaction to the new version on this board were laughable.

It was if Prince had commited a crime revisiting this song. I prefer the original but still really enjoy the new version. I just don't get why some people seemed so offended by it. We have both versions, Prince took nothing away from us.

I'd love him to revist some more familar outtakes, top of my list wouild be Purple Music, Go and Witness 4 The Prosecution.

Romeoblu said:

Some people's reaction to the new version on this board were laughable.

It was if Prince had commited a crime revisiting this song. I prefer the original but still really enjoy the new version. I just don't get why some people seemed so offended by it. We have both versions, Prince took nothing away from us.

I'd love him to revist some more familar outtakes, top of my list wouild be Purple Music, Go and Witness 4 The Prosecution.

I think the only reason he 'reloaded' songs like Extraloveable and In A Large Room was because of the energy of the song. Maybe he felt it was too aggressive or angry and contained lines that he would say today.
Purple Music, Go, Witness 4 the Prosecution he should just release as is

ludwig said:

There is no life in the new version. The original is awesome.

I feel it's exactly the opposite. Was very bored with the old version. Maybe if I had it in pristine quality with more roundness to the sound of it, it might have more energy. It is just not very funky or pop hooked to my ears.

I think the new one sounds improved in the same way people sometimes think the live arrangement of his SOTT songs improved over the studio version. Of course this is a much more dramatic reworking.

Now, I feel exactly the opposite with In A Large Room With No Light. The original is better for me.

Current version of Xtraloveable is Xtraloveable.

OldFriends4Sale said:

ewww, the new version has horns? No thanks. I'll stick to the original. It's obvious he re-recorded it because he felt guilty about the rape lyrics.

TrevorAyer said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I think the only reason he 'reloaded' songs like Extraloveable and In A Large Room was because of the energy of the song. Maybe he felt it was too aggressive or angry and contained lines that he would say today.
Purple Music, Go, Witness 4 the Prosecution he should just release as is

Personally eye believe that prince finds much of his past embarrassing .. U may not hear it but eye am sure there are aspects of his past and unreleased outtakes that make p cringe and he wishes did not exist in public ... Eye don't believe p is in any hurry to have his speado wearing videos up on u tube ... And he sure as hell don't want that rape lyric version of extraloveable popping up on google searches ... That said, eye think the entire point of rerecording extraloveable was to bury any reference to the original on google .. Smart move ... Eye enjoy the horns version ... Its certainly better than like a mac or millidollAshow .. And way better than the andy allo version ... Eye dont mind the old version but it never gripped me like say we can funk or old friends 4 sale originals .. Eye am happy prince is redoing old outtakes ... 1000 hugz was good .. Eye don't mind old friends, large room, or if eye could get your attention ... Eye would love a new moonbeam levels or electric intercourse to show up ... Much better than his freshly penned tunes these days

Yes. He's too self-aware now to make anything worth a damn. He's fixed and improved every aspect of his artistry to the point that it's no longer art at all. This is the problem.

MattyJam said:

I didn't particularly rate this track that highly before he included it on HitNRun Phase 2. I found myself listening to this one a fair bit (that horn solo is awesome), so I thought I'd reaquaint myself with the original 80s version to see if I liked it better than I remembered.

To me, it's his vocals that I can't warm to on the original. The song sounds so much cooler sung in Prince's chest voice (ala HitNRun) and I would actually go so far as to say that his vocal performance on the original is one of Prince's worst in his entire career. I usually love Prince's falsetto, but Extraloveable original is one of the rare occasions where his head voice sounds grating and unrefined.

And then you have the unnecessary rape lines. Hell, I'm a fan of bad-ass rebellious Prince as much as the next self-respecting Prince fan, but these lyrics are just lame.

I think I'll stick to the Hit N Run version with the cool horns and smooth vocals. I just can't abide the horrid vocals on the original.

I prefer it, too, by FAR.

Actually my fave is the 2011 cut without the horns. Back 2 back with the instru remix it makes a wonderful extended version, and I find synths sexier than horns. But horns or not this cut is waaaay funkier and sexier than the original.

I can't possibly understand why anyone would prefer the original but go figger...

Regarding the rape line one should keep in mind that it was apparently supposed to be sang by Vanity, and suddenly a horrible sexist line becomes a provocative feminist line.

TrevorAyer said:

Personally eye believe that prince finds much of his past embarrassing ..

You're right he does....and that's a shame. He shouldn't, he has a great legacy of groundbreaking and edgy music that challenged the status quo. He should be proud of that, not ashamed of it.

funksterr said:

Yes. He's too self-aware now to make anything worth a damn. He's fixed and improved every aspect of his artistry to the point that it's no longer art at all. This is the problem.

Totally agree.

controversy99 said:

Is there any truth to the idea that the bootleg is actually sped up a little bit. Toe Jam of peach and black mentioned it in their review of HNRp2, but I hadn't heard that before.

Depends on which bootleg you're listening to?