Romeoblu said:

I prefer Moonbeam Levels. EI still feels like a guide track and not a fully realised studio track even though it listed as a studio version.

Studio recording-wise, I have to go with Moonbeam Levels.

The 8/3/83 performance of Electric Intercourse is essential, irreplaceable and...well...electric. But the studio version is less so, IMO. Don't get me wrong - I'm delighted and grateful to have it. But it is not the equal of Moonbeam Levels.

Also, I think Electric Intercourse sounds a lot more 1999 than it does Purple Rain. And I understand why it was shelved in favor of The Beautiful Ones.

EI has better sound quality than Moonbeam thats for sure.

the rest will have to be worked out later after listening for months/years lol

rdhull said:

EI has better sound quality than Moonbeam thats for sure.

the rest will have to be worked out later after listening for months/years lol

This is absolutely true.

Genesia said:

rdhull said:

EI has better sound quality than Moonbeam thats for sure.

the rest will have to be worked out later after listening for months/years lol

This is absolutely true.

Where have you all heard this studio version of Electric Intercourse?

To me, the 1983 Live version at the Aug.3 show is INCREDIBLE. He put it all into that performance...the scream at the end is one of the greatest Prince screams ever.

I recently also got the rehearsal for that show and Electric Intercourse is great but not with the intensity of the show's performance...of course:)

I am very curious as to whether the studio version that's apparentlyh coming on the deluxe set is as good as the live performance..

joyinrepetition said:

I prefer Moonbeam Levels. EI still feels like a guide track and not a fully realised studio track even though it listed as a studio version.

.
Perhaps you mean to you it feels like a demo. (The meaning of 'guide track' is quite different.)

Anyhow, it IS a "fully realised" studio track. Not every pop recording needs 96 tracks of bells and whistles and cowbells and the LA Philharmonic. In fact, one of Prince's strong points was exactly his brilliant ability (especially in his early years) to create the kind of stark, no-nonsense arrangements you hear here and on albums like Dirty Mind and 1999. That's the beauty of it.

Often, less is more.

JoeyCococo said:

Genesia said:

This is absolutely true.

Where have you all heard this studio version of Electric Intercourse?

To me, the 1983 Live version at the Aug.3 show is INCREDIBLE. He put it all into that performance...the scream at the end is one of the greatest Prince screams ever.

I recently also got the rehearsal for that show and Electric Intercourse is great but not with the intensity of the show's performance...of course:)

I am very curious as to whether the studio version that's apparentlyh coming on the deluxe set is as good as the live performance..

The song has been downloadable sinc eyesterday on Itunes. The whole song. In the USA at least. That is whewre we have heard and listened to it.

I listend to it probably 45 times now. Its been on loop all last night and this morning on the commute and getting ready for work.

Its crisp n clean with no caffeine. Moonbeam Levels, still one of the greatest, seems kind of muddied/garbled as official release.

And yes. The live version of EI is the best, we all agree. But to now have it in pristine studio form?..sheeeeeeeeiiiit.

rdhull said:

McD said:

Moonbeam is a finished Prince piece. EI is a demo.

It is?

McD said:

Moonbeam is a finished Prince piece. EI is a demo. No way that 'studio version' was being considered for Purple Rain. Im convinced he recorded it again after 3-Aug-83, with or without using that live recording as a basis for it. So definitely Moonbeam Levels.

I don't think it sounds like a demo, it is a sparse song by design, not sounding like the rest of Purple Rain is probably why it was not on there.

But he certaintly could have rerecorded portions of it, perhaps what we are hearing are revisions he put in place for a release of this song on Crystal Ball 2, it was a fan favorite to be on there.

McD said:

leadline said:

McD said:

Moonbeam is a finished Prince piece. EI is a demo. No way that 'studio version' was being considered for Purple Rain. Im convinced he recorded it again after 3-Aug-83, with or without using that live recording as a basis for it. So definitely Moonbeam Levels.

I don't think it sounds like a demo, it is a sparse song by design, not sounding like the rest of Purple Rain is probably why it was not on there.

But he certaintly could have rerecorded portions of it, perhaps what we are hearing are revisions he put in place for a release of this song on Crystal Ball 2, it was a fan favorite to be on there.

Exactly. I don't think some of you people know what a "demo" is. Feel U UP/Irresistible Bitch is a demo. This song has way too many production elements to be considered a demo. It's sparse by design. With that said, that doesn't mean Prince, if deciding to actually use if for a project, wouldn't have gone back and maybe changed the drums, or added something, or taken something away. Still doesn't make this a demo though.

[Edited 4/28/17 10:50am]

paulludvig said:

rdhull said:

The song has been downloadable sinc eyesterday on Itunes. The whole song. In the USA at least. That is whewre we have heard and listened to it.

I listend to it probably 45 times now. Its been on loop all last night and this morning on the commute and getting ready for work.

Its crisp n clean with no caffeine. Moonbeam Levels, still one of the greatest, seems kind of muddied/garbled as official release.

And yes. The live version of EI is the best, we all agree. But to now have it in pristine studio form?..sheeeeeeeeiiiit.

Actually I think the studio version of IE is better than the live one, so we don't ALL agree

Yeah, yeah. Wendy and Lisa are on the live version; ergo, you hate it. Next!

rdhull said:

Genesia said:

paulludvig said:

rdhull said: Actually I think the studio version of IE is better than the live one, so we don't ALL agree

Yeah, yeah. Wendy and Lisa are on the live version; ergo, you hate it. Next!

Oh thats right. I forgot Paul is the W&L hate monger Oldfriends said lol.

Paul we go way back, dont be that way lol.

I mean, that live version is the essence of Purple music. The live has those thick synth stabs and as already described, impassioned vocals that are more than the impassioned studio versions if that is possible..and it is!

Can't Stop This Feeling I Got.... We Can Funk.... Strange Relationship.... all studio recorded well before they were actually released, all sound different (to varying degrees) than their eventually released versions. So does that mean they weren't considered for their respective albums?

rdhull said:

KlyphIsBackAgain said:

KlyphIsBackAgain said:

McD said:

McD said:

KlyphIsBackAgain said:

Exactly. I don't think some of you people know what a "demo" is. Feel U UP/Irresistible Bitch is a demo. This song has way too many production elements to be considered a demo. It's sparse by design. With that said, that doesn't mean Prince, if deciding to actually use if for a project, wouldn't have gone back and maybe changed the drums, or added something, or taken something away. Still doesn't make this a demo though.

[Edited 4/28/17 10:50am]

I wouldn't say that at all, re too many elements to be a demo. See above post re: Open Book. It has the same amount as that, layered vocals and all. All My Dreams, the version we know already, has too many elements. Let me just say two things I'm sure of, but feel free to disagree. 1/ this track, unlike what we've heard about 'a' recording of the song, doesn't sound like it could ever reasonably considered for Purple Rain. And 2/ these posthumous releases so far have given indications that they are not from the vault, but from circulating tapes with an eye on bootlegs. Hence the new title of Computer Blue. There's every chance they've read up on unheard Prince, what songs from this era, etc, and raided the archive. What's more likely? That this sparse 1999-sounding track was being considered for Purple Rain? Or that the version we know he recorded on 03-Aug-83 was overdubbed soon afterwards before being dropped?

Open Book is not a demo in the traditional sense. It's more of a guide track, as J. Steele simply recorded her vocals over Prince's music. This is a different situation. First, as I was trying to imply in my other post, being considered for an album does not mean that the song can't be previously recorded, nor does it mean it can't be changed for said album. I don't think anyone is under the impression that THIS particular version of Electric Intercourse was gonna end up on the album anymore than that early version of Baby, I'm A Star was/did. And I'm sorry, there are no indicatins these releases come from bootlegs. Calling Computer Blue the Hallway Speech version is simply a way to let collectors/fans know what version this is. How else would we know which version of the many that have circulated?

While I've learnt to appreciate it more over the years, I was never a huge fan of “Moonbeam Levels”. I tend to prefer his harder, edgier side (I'm much more excited to hear “We Can Fuck”).

My initial reaction to the studio version of EI was very positive. That may be the lustre of the new, coupled with the fact that I always loved the live version. I understand why some question whether or not it's finished though. As I said in another thread, there's something quite rudimentary about the drum programming to my ears. It's true that Prince often employed a minimalistic approach, it just sounds uncharacteristically “plodding” in this case. Toward the end of the track, there's a moment when Prince seems to emulate a snare trill with his voice, which may or may not suggest that he was still working things out. Of course, it could simply be a vocal improvisation, or a deliberate creative choice. In any case, this kind of debate will probably be commonplace as stuff emerges from the vault, without Prince here to verify its final status.

One thing that I really love about this version is his breathy, sinuous vocal work, so my feeling at the moment is that I prefer it over ML. I probably need to spend more time with it though.

[Edited 4/28/17 11:59am]

"Moonbeam Levels" - 10. Probably one of my top 5 bootlegs (along with "Old Friends 4 Sale", "All My Dreams")

"Electric Intercourse" - 9 for the studio version. I think I (we) are just used to hearing the two existing bootleg versions, so the studio version is a different vibe. But still - to know there's a studio version, and it's out? Pffft - sit my ass down, I love it.

Genesia said:

Studio recording-wise, I have to go with Moonbeam Levels.

The 8/3/83 performance of Electric Intercourse is essential, irreplaceable and...well...electric. But the studio version is less so, IMO. Don't get me wrong - I'm delighted and grateful to have it. But it is not the equal of Moonbeam Levels.

Also, I think Electric Intercourse sounds a lot more 1999 than it does Purple Rain. And I understand why it was shelved in favor of The Beautiful Ones.

Co-sign. I love the live version(s) but for some reason the studio version does not have the same magic, electric feel of the live rendition from the First Ave gig. I can´t really say what it is but something is missing, and as far as unreleased studio versions are concerned, I prefer Moonbeam Levels.

Then again, I listened to Electric Intercourse on crappy computer speakers and maybe I just need to get used to it a bit more but for now I think it is one of those songs that are great as a live version but sound tame as studio versions. I feel the same way about Shhh..., I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man and Days of Wild, or Fury. Great live songs but the studio versions, as much as I like them, pale a bit in comparison.

TrivialPursuit said:

"Moonbeam Levels" - 10. Probably one of my top 5 bootlegs (along with "Old Friends 4 Sale", "All My Dreams")

"Electric Intercourse" - 9 for the studio version. I think I (we) are just used to hearing the two existing bootleg versions, so the studio version is a different vibe. But still - to know there's a studio version, and it's out? Pffft - sit my ass down, I love it.

Yes.

KoolEaze said:

Genesia said:

Studio recording-wise, I have to go with Moonbeam Levels.

The 8/3/83 performance of Electric Intercourse is essential, irreplaceable and...well...electric. But the studio version is less so, IMO. Don't get me wrong - I'm delighted and grateful to have it. But it is not the equal of Moonbeam Levels.

Also, I think Electric Intercourse sounds a lot more 1999 than it does Purple Rain. And I understand why it was shelved in favor of The Beautiful Ones.

Co-sign. I love the live version(s) but for some reason the studio version does not have the same magic, electric feel of the live rendition from the First Ave gig. I can´t really say what it is but something is missing, and as far as unreleased studio versions are concerned, I prefer Moonbeam Levels.

Then again, I listened to Electric Intercourse on crappy computer speakers and maybe I just need to get used to it a bit more but for now I think it is one of those songs that are great as a live version but sound tame as studio versions. I feel the same way about Shhh..., I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man and Days of Wild, or Fury. Great live songs but the studio versions, as much as I like them, pale a bit in comparison.

As soon as I started reading your post, I thought of Fury. That SNL performance ruined the 3121 track for me.