IstenSzek said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Possessed - AHHHH! So glad it's this version. I love how it's almost lightweight and spare, with the falsetto vocal, and the beat hinting at something funky about to bubble over, constrasted with the live version that seems to be more of a straightforward funk jam. The synth horn arpeggiation breakdown is everything!! And when the kick joins in at the end?? Dead! Love the bridge! "Have U ever had the feeling that someone was tearing U up into little bitty pieces, and contemplating selling U for a jigsaw puzzle?" Okay, surely it can't get any better than this.

i was sliding out of my seat by this point

"Someone's in my body, someone's in my body, someone's in my box!!" Found my 2017 song of the summer I guess. Which was recorded in 1983.

udo said:

Silvertongue7 said:

The remaster is just terrible. You can hardly hear the bass in When Doves Cry!

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They included the bass version!?

OMG Jesus help your children.

Possessed '84 with vocals is superb! Yes there are issues with this release but the handful of tracks we do get are worth the purchase IMHO.

TrivialPursuit said:

udo said:

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They included the bass version!?

OMG Jesus help your children.

I thought it was obvious that it was a joke - I'll try harder next time. Don't worry about my children though, the five year old is singing out loud We Can Fuck in the garden, and the girl is creating a routine to Wonderful Ass...

(Also a joke...)

[Edited 6/21/17 10:05am]

A note about "We Can Fuck". It's sooooo much better than the GB "everybody funkin' over here, and over there ain't shit" chant after the climax in the middle, with all the screams and adlibs. It sorta breaks down, and goes into a trippy little vamp. I know there is that earlier grittier version, but this one is nothing to sneeze at, by any means.

I suppose the "I'm testing positive for the funk" is squarely in the George Clinton realm of things, and worked for duet purposes, but as far as history is concerned, with 80s stuff, and being put in a relatively fair timeframe, this is the version that works best for PR deluxe.

It's clear that the bootlegger-denominated 'Wet Dream Cousin' is an earlier, instrumental version of 'Katrina's Paper Dolls'.

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It's also clear that 'Roadhouse Garden', 'The Dance Electric', and 'We Can Fuck' have been re-engineered with a similar sound design, perhaps during the late 1990s for use on RHG, CB2, unrealized NPGMC offerings, or another aborted official outtake compilation even more recently (>=2014).

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I frankly would prefer a pristine version of the mix that circulates on bootleg and Andre uses for TDE.

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Questlove has a version of 'Love & Sex' that has saxophone (Eddie M or Eric Leeds, indeterminate) overdubs on top of some of those cute Oberheim horns, which raises questions as to what era or projects this song survived to.

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'Possessed' seems to have an adlibbed, at times delightfully indulgent after-thought vocal track; it seems to me he recorded the instrumental with utmost precision, and 'slapped' this falsetto on top of that without nearly as much care. Overall, with the vocals it's not his highest moment; I can see why this version has for so long been withheld. I believe it would work brilliantly with something more along the lines of his normal-speaking voice in the manner of the opening to 'All Day, All Night'/ending to the 12" 'Hello' interspersed throughout.

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Thankfully, they'd the good sense to utilize the 1986/DF-era album (single?) mix/edit of 1985-overdubbed 'Wonderful Ass', which is its best presentation. Including the lengthier 1983 unfinished/demo version would have been a good counterpart to the early 'We Can F*ck', however. I'm glad that the less-polished 1985 'maxi' length mix has been passed over.

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[Edited 6/21/17 11:25am]

imprimis said:

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It's also clear that 'Roadhouse Garden', 'The Dance Electric', and 'We Can Fuck' have been re-engineered with a similar sound design, perhaps during the late 1990s for RHG, CB2, unrealized offerings NPGMC, or another aborted official outtake compilation.

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[Edited 6/21/17 10:11am]

I'm not convinced about this.

Silvertongue7 said:

TrivialPursuit said:

OMG Jesus help your children.

I thought it was obvious that it was a joke

Thought mine was too.

TrivialPursuit said:

Silvertongue7 said:

I thought it was obvious that it was a joke

Thought mine was too.

It's too hot and I've been overdosing on Love and Sex. I'm a bit slower than usual...

wow seem some of these songs have some sexual undertones to them! SHOCKED!

imprimis said:

I frankly would prefer a pristine version of the mix that circulates on bootleg and Andre uses for TDE.

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[Edited 6/21/17 10:14am]

I agree with this. The PRDeluxe version is weaker in term of rythm guitar for example, really blurred in the mix. The bootleg version has a better mix !

The majority of the Vault tracks sound like Prince (more or less) solo (which is a good thing imo). He was pretty out there in his approach to writing and recording.

Dangelus said:

imprimis said:

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It's also clear that 'Roadhouse Garden', 'The Dance Electric', and 'We Can Fuck' have been re-engineered with a similar sound design, perhaps during the late 1990s for RHG, CB2, unrealized offerings NPGMC, or another aborted official outtake compilation.

.

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[Edited 6/21/17 10:11am]

I'm not convinced about this.

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That processing on the drums/Linn, and the vocal effects or channel separation are all oddly similar to each other, and alien to anything we've heard from this era, including earlier circulating bootleg forms of the same tracks. It's very clean, but it is distinctive.

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[Edited 6/21/17 11:27am]

SchlomoThaHomo said:

IstenSzek said:

i was sliding out of my seat by this point

"Someone's in my body, someone's in my body, someone's in my box!!" Found my 2017 song of the summer I guess. Which was recorded in 1983.

same here. i cannot get it out of my head anymore. i'm obsessed with possessed

and to think this was one of the few prince songs i never cared about before

once more i'm completely hit over the head with a big surprise on a prince release

imprimis said:

Dangelus said:

I'm not convinced about this.

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That processing on the drums/Linn, and the vocal effects or channel separation are all oddly similar to each other, and alien to anything we've heard from this era, including earlier circulating bootleg forms of the same tracks. It's very clean, but it is distinctive.

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[Edited 6/21/17 11:27am]

If this is the case it is interesting that WB have access to them considering as far as we suspect, they are getting these tracks from their own vault and not THE Vault.

The clearer 'Hallway Speech' 'Computer Blue' (even though it has been in the hands of the better connected for at least twenty years), 'Katrina's Paper Dolls', a pristine DF-era mix of 'Wonderful Ass', and 'Father's Song' are for me the true victories of this release.

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Dangelus said:

imprimis said:

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That processing on the drums/Linn, and the vocal effects or channel separation are all oddly similar to each other, and alien to anything we've heard from this era, including earlier circulating bootleg forms of the same tracks. It's very clean, but it is distinctive.

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[Edited 6/21/17 11:27am]

If this is the case it is interesting that WB have access to them considering as far as we suspect, they are getting these tracks from their own vault and not THE Vault.

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Notwithstanding speculation on the legal particularities then or now in effect, I'd say some of these came from P (2013-2015) or associates (posthumously), but not from 'The Vault' (by which I mean, the baked [if necessary] and digitized or original tape master or multitrack sources). And the rest, as you allude to, may be from WB in-house A&R cassettes, etc., and a certain portion (but not all) of these may have been specifically designated and provided for an expanded PR reissue ('Father's Song' and 'Electric Intercourse', at a minimum).

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[Edited 6/21/17 11:45am]

imprimis said:

Dangelus said:

If this is the case it is interesting that WB have access to them considering as far as we suspect, they are getting these tracks from their own vault and not THE Vault.

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I'd say some of these came from P (2013-2015) or associates (posthumously), but not from 'The Vault' (by which I mean, digitized and baked [if necessary] or the actual original master or multitrack sources).

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[Edited 6/21/17 11:41am]

I very much doubt Prince would be handing over "We Can Fuck" to WB in 2013-15. If it came from another source then surely the WB are bootlegging here. I can understand the legitimacy of using WB Vault tracks that Prince submitted over the years. They paid for the studio time etc but accepting submissions from unauthorised people?

Dangelus said:

imprimis said:

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Notwithstanding speculation on the legal particularities then or now in effect, I'd say some of these came from P (2013-2015) or associates (posthumously), but not from 'The Vault' (by which I mean, the baked [if necessary] and digitized or original tape master or multitrack sources). And the rest, as you allude to, may be from WB in-house A&R cassettes, etc., and a certain portion (but not all) of these may have been specifically designated and provided for an expanded PR reissue ('Father's Song' and 'Electric Intercourse', at a minimum).

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[Edited 6/21/17 11:41am]

I very much doubt Prince would be handing over "We Can Fuck" to WB in 2013-15. If it came from another source then surely the WB are bootlegging here. I can understand the legitimacy of using WB Vault tracks that Prince submitted over the years. They paid for the studio time etc but accepting submissions from unauthorised people?

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I'm quite certain they've reasonable legal stake in this song, regardless of how it was (awkwardly) sourced for use on this hastily assembled yet untimely release.

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I also don't see how any theory would preclude WB from having someone recently mix (enhance?) them this way for what became this PR Deluxe reissue or for any other purpose they may have been earlier intended, even if internally sourced.

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If such songs are internally sourced, I don't believe we should necessarily assume it's in all cases just a Memorex, for that matter, either.

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[Edited 6/21/17 11:58am]

rogifan said:

Anyone know who bArON3121 is?

bArON3121 (@Baron3121) 6/21/17, 10:58 AM keep in mind @prince only ever approved disc 1 #PurpleRainDeluxe @wbr @Rhino_Records #PRINCE4EVER • youtu.be/naLFWKwXE3g pic.twitter.com/mJp4hbnXiy

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Ultimately approved is one thing. Whether there were tentative or stalled (or half-hearted) talks or arrangements for future outtake material releases or an 'officially' sanctioned expanded PR, perhaps including some of the songs presented here, is another. And none of this, for better or for worse, necessarily impairs WB's legal rights.

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[Edited 6/21/17 12:11pm]

imprimis said:

Dangelus said:

I very much doubt Prince would be handing over "We Can Fuck" to WB in 2013-15. If it came from another source then surely the WB are bootlegging here. I can understand the legitimacy of using WB Vault tracks that Prince submitted over the years. They paid for the studio time etc but accepting submissions from unauthorised people?

.

I'm quite certain they've reasonable legal stake in this song, regardless of how it was (awkwardly) sourced for use on this hastily assembled yet untimely release.

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I also don't see how any theory would preclude WB from having someone recently mix (enhance?) them this way for what became this PR Deluxe reissue or for any other purpose they may have been earlier intended, even if internally sourced.

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If such songs are internally sourced, I don't believe we should necessarily assume it's in all cases just a Memorex, for that matter, either.

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[Edited 6/21/17 11:58am]

Well whatever is the case it would sure by interesting to know the details

imprimis said:

Where the fuck is the guitar in "The Dance Electric"?

No W&L anywhere on TDE.

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More vocals and instrumental parts left in the mix, with some familiar parts dropped or muddled (no searing guitar line, although an alternate, less extensive one is low in the mix in the last minute and half or so).

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Can't tell whether this is meant to be a cleaned-up demo or an early work-in-progress version, or a newly tinkered-with mix.

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Laughable but delightful birdsquawking by P 7:27 - 8:00.

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This could be his original August 1984 version, before further overdubs by W&L and some mixing in late 1984/early 1985.

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Or it could be a previously unheard 'dub' version dredged up from the tapes gone through for the A.C. expanded rerelease five or so years ago. Perhaps, even, all the necessary ingredients for the completed track are under lock and key in that deal (or there's a conflict of interest), relegating WB to use this possibly earlier incarnation. The sound is close to pristine, so they may have got a chance to peruse the original tapes, but were limited in what they could put out.

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Which, while not as spectacular, is worthy in its own right to be heard. It works nicely as an opportunity to transfer the focus squarely to P, rather than as a 'band' effort.

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[Edited 6/21/17 13:22pm]

"Computer Blue" just kicks so much ass. Too bad about that odd drop-out right before the Father's Song part.

Silvertongue7 said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Thought mine was too.

It's too hot and I've been overdosing on Love and Sex. I'm a bit slower than usual...

It's ok. I'm dizzy from dancing the dance electric. I gotta hurry, it's almost time to go.

Phishanga said:

Where the fuck is the guitar in "The Dance Electric"?

yeah this was a disappointment for me too. i was so looking forward to it since the track
sounds very good to my ears and then it just went on and on and there was no guitar

IstenSzek said:

Phishanga said:

Where the fuck is the guitar in "The Dance Electric"?

yeah this was a disappointment for me too. i was so looking forward to it since the track
sounds very good to my ears and then it just went on and on and there was no guitar

My thoughts exactly! The quality is great and of course this version is groovy and I am glad we have it, however I perfer the mix with Wendy and Lisa plus the added guitar personally