I Would Die 4 U ~ Prince & the Revolution 11.28.1984

I Would Die 4 U is the seventh track on Prince's sixth album Purple Rain, (Prince.org correction the second album to be credited to Prince and the Revolution. Five months after the album's release, I Would Die 4 U was released as the album's fourth single. The track is also featured in the movie Purple Rain.

Prince and the Revolution recorded the song live on 3 August, 1983 at First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA (at the same concert where Baby I'm A Star and Purple Rain were also recorded). The song dated back to at least 18 months earlier when it was tried out in soundcheck during a Controversy Tour show.

It was included as the seventh track on the 7 November, 1983 configuration of the album, and the sixth track on the 23 March, 1984 configuration, but became the seventh track on the final 14 April, 1984 configuration after some tracklist changes to the album.

A tour rehearsal version of the song was recorded in late 1984 for release on the single's 12". The single version of the track was included as the eleventh track on the first disc of an early configuration of the compilation album Ultimate before the album was reworked for release.

-PrinceVault

PURPLE RAIN
PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION
Warner Bros.

The spirit of Jimi Hendrix must surely smile down on Prince Rogers Nelson. Like Hendrix, Prince seems to have tapped into some extraterrestrial musical dimension where black and white styles are merely different aspects of the same funky thing. Prince's rock & roll is as authentic and compelling as his soul and his extremism is endearing in a era of play-it-safe record production and formulaic hit mongering. "Purple Rain" may not yield another smash like last year's "Little Red Corvette," but it's so loaded with life and invention and pure rock & roll thunder that such commercial considerations become moot. When Prince sings "Baby I'm a Star," it's a simple statement of fact.

The Hendrix connection is made overt here with the screaming guitar coda that ends "Let's Go Crazy," with the manic burst that opens "When Doves Cry" and in the title song, a space ballad that recalls "Angel" with its soaring guitar leads and a very Hendrixian lyrical tinge ("It's time we all reach out for something new -- that means you, too"). There are also constant reminders of Sly Stone in the ferocious bass lines and the hot, dance-conscious mix. But like Jimi and Sly, Prince writes his own rules. Some of his effects are singularly striking - note that eerie, atonal synthesizer touches that creep in at the end of "The Beautiful Ones" and the otherworldly backward-vocal montage in the frankly salacious "Darling Nikki" -- and his vocals continue to be among the most adventurous and accomplished on the current scene. Prince also does wonderful things with string-section sounds, and his band -- if it's not actually him playing all the parts -- burns throughout.

Anyone partial to great creators should own this record. Like Jimi and Sly, Prince is an original; but apart from that, he's like no one else.

-- KURT LODER

"I Would Die 4 U"

Once again, this is all Prince. At first he wanted me to play the bassline on "I Would Die 4 U" manually. So we tried it during rehearsal first, which I could pull it off, but it was not easy. And sometimes I would get off rhythm a little bit because you had to be so spot on, and you had to play it with two hands! So Prince says, "Well, Matt, why can't you play it with one hand and play the chords with the other hand?" And I said, "You try it." But neither one of us could do it. So I told Prince, "I got an idea. Let's try to sequence this one." Unfortunately, nothing in our arsenal could sequence it properly, so we created a way to put that bassline part in the sequencer and then have it lock up to the Linn drum machine with MIDI. But the Linn drum didn't have MIDI so Prince's tech guy created a MIDI interface for it. So I would have the sequencer ready to go during the live show and then all Bobby Z would have to do is hit the play button. We did some groundbreaking technological things that day.

-Dr Fink

8. I WOULD DIE 4 U (2:56)
Produced, Arranged, Composed and Performed by Prince and The Revolution
Recorded live at 1st Avenue in the summer of ‘83 by David Rivkin and by David Leonard at the Record Plant, New York
Published by Controversy Music, administered by WB Music Corp. ASCAP
From PURPLE RAIN

Without an experienced road crew on hand, I inherited the job of production manager by default. It was unusually hot and humid and the club was downright stifling by the time the curtain went up. Prince took to the stage like a boxer to a ring, jabbing, feinting and finally stunning the sweat-drenched audience with the most powerful of the new songs, the brazen I WOULD DIE 4 U and the spine-tingling PURPLE RAIN.

– Alan Leeds, 1993

Baby I'm A Star

Prince first recorded a studio version of the song in late 1981-1982 at Prince's Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA. Prince and the Revolution later recorded the song live on 3 August 1983 at First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA (at the same concert where I Would Die 4 U and Purple Rain were also recorded).

This live version was released with slight overdubs. It was included as the eighth track on the 7 November 1983 configuration of the album, and the seventh track on the 23 March 1984 configuration, but became the eighth track on the final 14 April 1984 configuration after some tracklist changes to the album.

-PrinceVault

Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted Bobby Z. - drums and percussion Brown Mark - bass guitar and vocals Wendy Melvoin - guitars and vocals Lisa Coleman - keyboards and vocals Matt Fink - keyboards and vocals David Coleman - cello Novi Novog - violin and viola Suzie Katayama - cello

God ~ Prince & the Revolution

Label: Warner Bros

ASIN: B003NZBYQI

God:the Dance Electric 3:59min

In the beginning,

there was God

He made the earth,

and the heaven

He gave us light to rule the day

And another light to rule the night
The Lord, thy God Made,

He made the seas

He made the fruit upon the trees
When He saw

When He saw that it was good

He made a man,

made a man

Only He could, o

nly He could

God made you

God made me too

He made us all

Made us all equally
Now you say

God made you

God made me

He made us all equally

Wake up children

Dance the Dance Electric

There isn't much time Who screamed? Was it you?

God was released as the b-side of Purple Rain, the third single from Prince's seventh album Purple Rain...other worldwide releases contained a completely re-recorded vocal version, simply titled God.

The vocal version, God, was recorded on 20 August, 1984, at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, MN, USA.

The B-side, God, is a much more overtly religious number (Prince's most religious to date), recalling the book of Genesis. The song also features extensive vocal experimentation. Towards the end, Prince mentions "The Dance Electric", which was a song given to former band member André Cymone.

Purple Rain’ Turns 30: Prince’s Engineer Shares Majestic (And Maddening) Studio Stories

Susan Rogers

What was it about Prince that made you want to work with him, and what was your role on the Purple Rain project?
I was riding a city bus in Hollywood and there was a kid who was sitting in the back of the bus with a boombox. I heard the song “Soft & Wet,” and I remember thinking, “I got to find out who this is…this is great!” I became a Prince fan immediately. By the time [1980’s] Dirty Mind came out, my mind was completely blown. It was everything I wanted music to be: It was R&B, rock, soul, and funk. And it was art music. Prince was bold, creative and he was making a statement and he had original thought.

I knew I would do anything to work with Prince. So then in 1983 I heard through the grapevine that Prince was looking for a technician. And then I went right to Glen Phoenix, who is the President of Westlake Audio, the studio where Prince recorded, and told him I would be perfect for him. I’m female and Prince likes working with females. I am completely well-trained as a technician so I knew I could do the work and I was a huge fan. Glenn asked me a lot of questions and then he sent me over to Prince’s management.

That had to be very surreal for you, right?
It was. They made me an offer right then and there. At the time I was just joining Prince I didn’t know what he was like and what he was thinking going into Purple Rain. But I can say that it was clear that he had momentum. When I first met Prince he was just coming off the 1999 tour. He had already done some of the recording for Purple Rain and there was more to be done. At this time, I wasn’t hired as his engineer. I was his maintenance tech. But you got the sense from being around him that he felt empowered. Prince was aware that with this new power he could do even more than what he had achieved with 1999. It was a big deal for such a young artist to go to his record label and say, “I want to make a movie.” This is an artist who created his own competition with the Time, Vanity 6, Sheila E, and others. Prince was going to try to see how far he could go with all of his artistry.

Were you around when they initially recorded parts of Purple Rain at August ’83 First Avenue gig?
No. But I was hired in August of 1983, around the time the First Avenue songs were [premiered]. I was planning the transition from moving from Los Angeles to Minnesota. There was a mobile truck at First Avenue and David Rivkin, Bobby Z’s brother, did the recording during the live gig. But I did arrive in time to do a lot of the overdubs for the Purple Rain album. The first thing Prince had me do was work on his home studio. I had to tear out an old console and install a new one. He had just brought a new API console. I repaired his tape machine, which was an Ampex MM 1200. I got a lot of stuff done. One of the first songs we worked on was “Darling Nikki.” We did a lot of work for the Purple Rain album in his home studio.

“Darling Nikki” is a hell of a song to have as your first project. Did you press play and think to yourself, “What have I gotten myself into?”
[Laughs] You have to remember I was his new employee. So Prince had me put up the tape of “Darling Nikki.” I pushed up the faders and I remember thinking, “Holy shit!” “Darling Nikki” wasn’t even finished yet, but you could tell it was something special. I would hazard to guess he did it all by himself; he played everything. The song “Let’s Go Crazy” was recorded live at a rehearsal. That was one of the first things I did with Prince. He rehearsed the song and the arrangement of the song with his band The Revolution. At that time, St. Louis Park was the city where Prince rehearsed. Now typically, the recording studio is isolated from the musicians, but not in this case. We had the recording equipment right in the middle of the floor. We recorded the band live and then Prince and I stayed there late, late late to do the guitar solo and the additional instrumental parts. That was the first song I recorded with him from beginning to end. It was crazy.

You talk about recording with Prince so nonchalantly, but from all the stories about his recording exploits he was known for wearing out engineers. How were you able to keep up?
Let me tell you. At that time, four hours of sleep was a good night’s sleep for Prince. I would usually get a phone call at 9 a.m. and it’s from Prince. When he would call that meant come to the studio immediately. Prince would tell me what kind of set up he wanted. The most important thing was to never hand Prince an instrument that wasn’t in tune. His technicians taught me how to tune his piano, drums, bass, and guitar. And this included setting up a vocal mic as well. Prince would come downstairs and usually have a lyric sheet written in long hand. And he would tape it up on a stand in front of the drums. I’d hit record and he would play the entire drum track from beginning to end without a click with the song in his head. He was a musical genius, especially on the drum machine.

Show off…
That’s how talented he is. Prince wanted to be able to walk from the drum booth into the control room, pick up the bass and play the bass parts. Next he might do the keyboard or pick up the guitar. He’d get half of the instrumentation done and then by himself he would record his vocals. Once it was time for vocals, I would leave the room. He always had to do his vocals alone because he needed that concentration. We could finish an entire song and have it printed and mixed in one day and have copies made. And then a few hours later, the phone would ring again and it’s Prince [laughs]. And I would come back and do the whole thing again. But that’s just so extremely rare. Most people don’t or can’t work like that.

...

What was a typical recording session with Prince like during the Purple Rain era?
A typical session for Prince was when we started a song from scratch we typically didn't leave the studio until it was mixed and printed. No one else did that. But Prince did that for every song. So if we came in and we started a song from scratch we would either do the drum machine or live drums first. Then we might bring in members of his band. But usually he would finish an entire song without any help. We would not leave until everything was overdubbed. When I officially became Prince's engineer I would usually be mixing it as we went along. He changed his method of recording after Paisley Park was built because he could finally use automation. But most of the time I was with Prince it was very old school.

The only time we would remix something after the fact is when the original track was cut live like in the case of "Let's Go Crazy" and subsequent records like "Mountains." And of course we would remix tracks that were recorded live by the mobile truck. We would bring it back in the studio, fix it and mix it. That was the case with "Purple Rain" and a few other tracks on that album.

Did you have a hand at recording Purple Rain's film score as well?
Even though I came in late on the project, I was doing quite a bit of work on the album and the movie. In addition to sequencing Purple Rain and taking it to mastering, I helped with recording the incidental music for the film. I was hearing it all as it was coming together.

Was there a sense that you were working on a game-changing project?
There was definitely a sense that the Purple Rain soundtrack and entire project was noteworthy. We had no idea that this thing was going to sell how many millions of copies that it did. But there was a sense that if they hadn't noticed Prince before they would notice him now. And he had songs that didn't make it on the album like "Wonderful Ass," which was on a tape that was just sitting there in his room when I joined him as an employee. He had those great [Purple Rain b-sides] like "17 Days," a song I loved! He had so much material. That was probably his most fertile period. And really good stuff. I was disappointed that his funk songs like "17 Days" didn't make it onto Purple Rain.

You engineered on the Purple Rain tour as well. What's your fondest memory?
We had a mobile recording truck at the Superdome in Louisiana. Imagine being a single-named artist and selling out two nights at a place that holds 60,000 people. That's where we recorded "4 The Tears In Your Eyes." This was an astonishing moment for me. I was on the side as the band was taking the stage and was hit by the sound of 60,000 people. I have never heard anything like that before. Prince and the stage looked so small in a place of that size. It was great just to realize what this guy had accomplished. After that we played Los Angeles, which was a big deal because you would see all of these celebrities backstage. I'm looking at Prince like, "Wow, you are the guy I go to work for everyday."

That had to be a humbling experience for everyone involved, right?
It really was. Prince was an output for recording and performing. That's all he did. But he didn't want to be backstage, and yet something remarkable happened at the Forum. Prince was held captive by Elizabeth Taylor! He didn't want to be talking to Elizabeth Taylor... not there; not after a sold-out show. But there he was. My ex-boyfriend John was also backstage. So I'm running around because we have the mobile truck there, too. John looked at Prince being talked to by Elizabeth Taylor and he saw a brother in trouble [laughs]. And John thought to himself, "I'm going to fall on the sword." So John jumped in between Prince and Elizabeth Taylor and did his best Quincy, Massachusetts, nutcase kid. He's screaming, "Prince, the show was wicked awesome! I took two hits of acid and smoked a big joint!"

That should have been a Dave Chappelle sketch.
It was hilarious! That was enough of a distraction where Prince could look at Taylor and go, "Well, nutcase in the room...what are you gonna do?" and make his escape. I never heard this until Prince told me that story afterwards. He was laughing when he told what happened. He said, "Man, that dude saved my life...I love that guy!"

The crowd at First Avenue, their faces straining against one another, receive the brief benediction of a wavering spotlight: to them, Purple Rain doesn’t sound like any song that Prince has played before: the tight electronic funk, his harsh and weird sex songs, the soul ballads in which he asks for forgiveness – Purple Rain is something new, something different. They don’t know how to react. In fact the crowd is so muted that when this recording is prepared for the album, the engineer loops some crowd noise taken from a football game to give it some life.

I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted one time to see you laughing
I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain

Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain

I only want to see you bathing in the purple rain

I never wanted to be your weekend lover
I only wanted to be some kind of friend
Baby I could never steal you from another
It's such a shame our friendship had to end

Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain

I only want to see you underneath the purple rain

Honey I know, I know, I know times are changing
It's time we all reach out for something new
That means you too
You say you want a leader
But you can't seem to make up your mind
I think you better close it
And let me guide you to the purple rain

Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain

If you know what I'm singing about up here
C'mon raise your hand

Purple rain Purple rain

I only want to see you, only want to see you
In the purple rain

Prince and the Revolution recorded the song live on 3 August 1983 at First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA (at the same concert where Let's Go Crazy, Electric Intercourse, I Would Die 4 U and Baby I'm A Star were also recorded).

This live version was worked on further between late August and September 1983, at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA, where the track was edited to omit a verse and a solo, and a new string section was overdubbed over the finale of the track (during the same set of sessions as The Beautiful Ones, a studio version of Computer Blue, a re-recording of Irresistible Bitch and Sugar Walls).

It was included as the sixth track on the 7 November 1983 configuration of Purple Rain, before becoming the eighth and final track on the 23 March 1984 configuration. It became the ninth and final track on the final 14 April 1984 configuration after some tracklist changes to the album.

Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted Bobby Z. - drums and percussion Brown Mark - bass and vocals Wendy Melvoin - guitars and vocals Lisa Coleman - keyboards and vocals Matt Fink - keyboards and vocals David Coleman - cello Novi Novog - violin and viola Suzie Katayama - cello-PrinceVault

WENDY MELVOIN: Everybody was coming up with their own parts. By the end of the day, it was pretty much solid. I remembered this woman walked in with her bicycle. She was like a bag lady. She sat down on a chair in front of us while we were playing. Really quiet, very demure, really sweet. And she just started crying while we played “Purple Rain.” She was bawling.