siriusfunk said:

Militant said:

Doozer said:

The biggest surprise for me is hearing that most of the vocals from We Can Funk on Graffiti Bridge were sourced from the version included on this set. The whole "you can blow a candle off" part came directly from this version. As someone else said, I'm not sure how you can pull a song that was great 7 years later, add George Clinton to it and make it less interesting, but that's what happened. The rest of the Vault disc is simply the only reason to buy this set from a music standpoint, and it's worth every penny. The remaster disc is a coaster, and the b-sides/extended/edits disc offers nothing new.

It's not that surprising when you consider that "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got" for example was originally recorded in 1982, and then re-worked a lot in 1986.

"The Question Of U" is from 1985 and "Joy In Repetition" is from 1986. And "Tick, Tick, Bang" dates back to 1981.

Yes, the years and revisiting all makes sense…I'm saying that when I heard We Can Funk on GB the day it was released in '90, in my head it sounded like a vanilla version of the 1986 version that's part of the trifecta of Girl O' My Dreams/Can't Stop/We Can Funk. I thought…man, it's so inferior to the original version. But, it IS the original version, at least a good portion of it, anyway. I had just listened to that "trifecta" so much that it was the definitive "original" in my mind.

With Tick Tick Bang, it was so radically different than the 81 version that it's a different song to me. And, JIR is identical to the 86 version meant for Crystal Ball, and was just a clean version of what I had heard before (minus the intro).

We Can Fuck just came out of nowhere for me in regards to how much was used for the released version on GB. I had no idea.

[Edited 6/24/17 19:25pm]

In listening to these tracks, you can hear that some of them definitely came from a vinyl copy and were 'cleaned up' in an DAW / audio program. It's very faint to hear (as whomever did it, did a good job), but you can hear noise that comes directly from vinyl playback. It's not bad what WB did, but it was unfortunate that they couldn't source the master mixes. It somewhat makes me a little concerned moving forward as I wonder if this is going to be the norm for future Prince releases of unreleased material.

Some data:

Dance Electric

-9.7 LKFS (LUFS)

14,311 peaks over 0dBFS

Love and Sex

-9.0 LKFS

4,905 peaks over 0dBFS

Computer Blue

-10.7 LKFS

1,678 peaks over 0dBFS

Electric Intercourse

-12.4 LKFS

1,612 peaks over 0dBFS

Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden

-12.6 LKFS

3,531 peaks over 0dBFS

Posessed

-11.8 LKFS

3,131 peaks over 0dBFS

Wonderful Ass

-9.5 LKFS

28,306 peaks over 0dBFS

Velvet Kitty Cat

-12.3 LKFS

2,446 peaks over 0dBFS

Katrina's Paper Dolls

-11.6 LKFS

2,792 peaks over 0dBFS

We Can Fuck

-10.5 LKFS

9,697 peaks over 0dBFS

Father's Song

-15.1 LKFS

27 peaks over 0dBFS

i hear " shes always in my hair" in "wonder ass". i hear "scarlet pussy"

in" velvet kitty". then i hear "for the tears in your eyes" in" katrinas paperdolls". its interesting to hear free loose jams that eventually form new life in a different completed song

Thanks jdcxc and Sirius funk!

siriusfunk said:

siriusfunk said:

Just listening to disc 2 for the 4th time on my headphones. Love it. So bittersweet to hear these songs. All of us have spent so much time waiting for new albums from Prince each year. Each year we also say to ourselves man I wish I could hear some high quality vault material. Makes me happy and sad at same time. Question. The rapping on Wonderful Ass. I've heard this song a billion times before and I always think I've heard someone else rapping a similar tune. I know INXS Mediate sounds similar but was there something done earlier? I am curious if INXS got this from Prince. Just curious. Its really bugging me for some reason. Help...

Answered my own question. Nevermind my post. Someone pointed this out earlier. Bob Dylan is the answer.

Yes, according to one of the Bio's I've read (DMSR or Possessed?) there was a popular INXS song at the time, Mediate, that used these phrases but on further investigation it seems that song was not released until 1987 which somewhat disproves that theory. According to Princevault it was originally from a 1965 Bob Dylan song, Subbterranean Homesick Blues. Perhaps this was one of the reasons it wasn't released along with the content of the lyrics

[Edited 6/25/17 1:47am]

Apologies if it's already been discussed elsewhere. Velvet Kitty Cat seems obvious to me to be a demo for Vanity 6 (or Apollonia 6) as it is sung from a female point of view and has the characteristic double meaning. I think Katrina's Paper Dolls is probably the same (a demo for Vanity 6).

Agree that Dance Electric and Possessed go on for far too long. That said, I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Computer Blue (Hallway) - I still can't understand all of the "hallway" lyrics under all the other sounds.

I'm actually happy to finally have a Purple Rain edit. I don't need to hear the full version everytime.

First impression: although some songs I would have prefered in a different version (The Dance Electric, Wonderful Ass) this is still a fantastic collection of gems in my opinion!!!

I get 'International Lover' feels in 'We Can Fuck', is it a sequel?

I'm posting these thoughts here as they mostly address CD2, and could not find a sticky thread for the release as a whole...

Oh man, where to start? I have such conflicted feelings about this release.
The vault tracks are of course a joy… But the release as a whole feels like such a random patchwork. I see these deluxe releases as opportunities to consolidate the legacy of certain musical landmarks, but in this case the presence of a bunch of unreleased tracks, despite their brilliance, feels so forceful. They come out of nowhere in this context.

I feel most of disc 2 could have been curated by Wendy and Lisa and become the “Roadhouse Garden” CD on its own. But of course that would not sell half as much, so these gems become a bunch of thrown-in tracks that don’t really have a connection with the movie (or even its narrative or aesthetic). All these unreleased tracks could have been a great release on their own, properly sequenced and given its own form…

Then Computer Blue extended could be added to the “extended mixes and edits” CD… “WCF” would be added to a future box set… the 7” edits could just go IMHO… and Ice Cream Castle, Modernaire and the A6 album would be added to the PR package.

So my “dream version” of PR Deluxe would be
CD1 PR remaster + b-sides + Father’s Song
CD2 12” singles versions + Computer Blue extended + Modernaire
CD3 A6 + Ice Cream Castle
DVD Syracuse

Then a different release with Possessed, Electric Intercourse, Dance Electric, Wonderful Ass, Love and Sex etc etc called…
Roadhouse Garden

TheEnglishGent said:

Philly76 said:

Disc2: Seriously, the song collection is mostly about sex, sex and sex. So what? Also musically mediocre at best except Computer Blue and maybe Dance Electric.

Prince's entire catalogue is mostly about that.

Hahahaha. Exactly. Philly76 is clearly a troll.

Bighead said:

listening to the whole of cd2 I can clearly say that at that point in his career Prince had a good ear as far as what he released and what he kept unreleased. These tracks were clearly deemed inferior, and with good reason. I tend to side with Prince on these choices and I think they should have remained unreleased. Not even good enough for b-sides. The sound quality is great though. Better than what we had before. [Edited 6/24/17 12:35pm]

Couldn't disagree more.

Apart from When Doves Cry and (at a stretch) Purple Rain, I would take Wonderful Ass, Electric Intercourse and We Can Fuck over anything on Purple Rain.

Which isn't to say those tracks would have been a good fit for Purple Rain.

I love everything and its hard to really complain at all. The only complaint I might have is that I really wanted the version of We Can Funk that runs approx 5:30 with the incredible bass and the Miko weaver guitaar solo at the end. That's always been my favorite version and wished to hear it cleaaned up a bit and released officially. This version is more similar to the one that eventually was on GB.

I heard somebody stole the low end on We Can Fuck and ran away with it...

fen said:

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

Yeah I definitely agree, I was listening to the various versions of We Can Funk that are included on Work It 2.0 just now, and man it is a fascinating journey to see how that song developed over time. There's so many different versions, some with the synth drums and some with the live ones from this version, several with additional instruments like a Bernie Worrell-esque bass synth and a cuica, and a few where you have Garry Shider (I think) from P-Funk singing the second verse. There's even a 10 minute version which keeps the kind of melancholic sounding musical section from We Can Funk but doesn't have any of the really vulnerable Prince spoken word bits on it. I've always been partial to all the different versions of this track (unlike many here I like the 1986 and 1989 equally) and it's fascinating to be able to see where it all started here. There are many faults with this release but overall I'm super glad that it was put out, solely thanks to gems like this on disc 2.

Yes, I was surprised by how much of it found its way onto the GB version. So much so that I'm still struggling to shake the image of George urinating into a cup whenever I listen to it. I had no idea that Gary Shider featured on one of the versions. I think that I've heard them all, but I'm not sure.

As a rule, the initial creative impulse nearly always yields the best work in my view (not something that Prince readily acknowledged). The thing is, if you're starting with something that's virtually perfect, you can only ever subtract from it. It's odd to think of the young Prince censoring himself, but I can only think that it was the explicit lyrics that led him to shelve it – musically and conceptually, it's clearly the definitive version. The lyrics sound remarkably blunt even by today's standards.

fen, I agree with you that the explicit content in WCF is the reason why it remained in the vault all of these years. The explicit content is the only reason that explains why it remained in the vault because in every way, the song is a masterpeice. My interpretation of the song is that it is 10 minutes of Prince either (a) having sex in the recording studio or (b) re-living a sexual encounter from start to finish in a song. It is musical pornography.

.

I have read parts of Alex Hahn and Laura Tiebert's book The Rise of Prince (book club here: http://prince.org/msg/7/441586), and it is clear from reading that book that Prince did experience some inner conflicts regarding the sexual nature of his music conflicting with his religious beliefs. I wonder if it was Prince who self-censored this song or if it was WB. The song is certainly very explicit by today's standards.

.

I wonder if he intended this song to be on 1999 or on PR. Stylistically, it fits with 1999 songs like Lady Cab Driver and International Lover. However, if the make-out scene between Apollonia and Prince in PR were extended to be a full-on sexual encounter, I could see WCF as being the song playing during that scene.

AlgeriaTouchshreek said:

I had no idea the original We Can Fuck was the Graffiti Bridge tempo version, like a proto Doves Cry keyboard solo.

The lower tempo version is a billion times better, but then you don't get the dry drumkit workout so much.

And enough with the Bulmers Prison Labour virtue signalling, Spotify!

[Edited 6/23/17 11:59am]

[Edited 6/23/17 12:01pm]

the END of WDC sounds a lot like the end of WCF. Making me wonder if Doves replaced Fuck and that ending was meant to lead into I would Die 4 U

rebelenterprise said:

Just a quick Note on "Electric Intercource"

The most common bootleg version is not the same or from the live performance on Aug 1983.

It is from the "wake up Wendy" rehearsal. Someone (maybe T) edited it and cleaned it up some.

[Edited 6/25/17 13:04pm]

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Just a quick Note on "Electric Intercource"

The most common bootleg version is not the same or from the live performance on Aug 1993.

It is from the "wake up Wendy" rehearsal. Someone (maybe T) edited it and cleaned it up some.

You mean August 1983, right?

Doozer said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Just a quick Note on "Electric Intercource"

The most common bootleg version is not the same or from the live performance on Aug 1993.

It is from the "wake up Wendy" rehearsal. Someone (maybe T) edited it and cleaned it up some.

You mean August 1983, right?

lol d'oh

Who sings backing vocals on We Can F**K?

paulludvig said:

paulludvig said:

Who sings backing vocals on We Can F**K?

according to Princevault

Purple Rain Deluxe version (as We Can F**k)

• Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted
• Wendy Melvoin - guitar and background vocals
• Lisa Coleman - keyboards and background vocals
• David Coleman - oud and finger cymbals

http://princevault.com/index.php?title=We_Can_Funk

Neversin said:

iwonderyou said:

In listening to these tracks, you can hear that some of them definitely came from a vinyl copy and were 'cleaned up' in an DAW / audio program. It's very faint to hear (as whomever did it, did a good job), but you can hear noise that comes directly from vinyl playback. It's not bad what WB did, but it was unfortunate that they couldn't source the master mixes. It somewhat makes me a little concerned moving forward as I wonder if this is going to be the norm for future Prince releases of unreleased material.

I know this is exactly how I feel. Does the Prince Estate have any relationship with WB or are the two completely independent from each other?

Assuming the estate has all the original tape recordings are they allowed to release albums IN TRUE REMASTERS even though WB owns them?

I would really like to see some statements from the Estate and what their intentions are....am I correct in saying so far they have not officially released anything? So far its just WB with 'Prince4Ever' and now this remaster of Purple Rain.