He really picked up the energy of his vocal on the final version. This one has an almost lax lazy vocal that contrasts with the high energy beat and horn lines.

i love it... very different vocal (but i do like the released one better)

Fantastic version, sound quality is amazing. This gives me high hopes for the rest of the tracks.

I much prefer this version, it is funky as hell.

[Edited 7/15/17 7:52am]

leadline said:

Fantastic version, sound quality is amazing. This gives me high hopes for the rest of the tracks.

hey? is your username from this song? (I know it is a music term but I just wondered)

OnlyNDaUsa said:

leadline said:

Fantastic version, sound quality is amazing. This gives me high hopes for the rest of the tracks.

hey? is your username from this song? (I know it is a music term but I just wondered)

Nope, my username came from his live shows, he would yell out "leadline" very often, which yes, is a queue for the band to play the.....leadline.

[Edited 7/15/17 7:55am]

leadline said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

hey? is your username from this song? (I know it is a music term but I just wondered)

Nope, my username came from his live shows, he would yell out "leadline" very often.

cool... i like when he has musical terms in his songs. I always thought it was cool in La la la he he hee

Wow.. Awesome!

BTW The image in post 1 does not show for me on my pc or tablet

Totally dig the different vibe, and the deeper vocal!

[Edited 7/15/17 8:46am]

Just saying I heard it, and I'm enjoying it.

Looks like the link is gone now...or its just me

[Edited 7/15/17 8:54am]

This is nice, quite funky. I like the released version more, but thanks for sharing this.

This version is highly superior compared to the released version, which seems fluffy and too light weight in comparison.

TrivialPursuit said:

This version is highly superior compared to the released version, which seems fluffy and too light weight in comparison.

I can't agree with this. The original 12" is one of my all-time favorite Prince trax, just perfct. That said, it's awesome to hear the demo version, just not "superior" to the finished.

In my not-so-humble opinion, of course...

This is missing the awesome bass solo of the finished version but it's still a cool alternative to it, and the added horn bits kind of make up for that anyway. Definitely a nice addition to one's collection.

Leaps and bounds better than what was released. He must of thought we were just not ready for this version.

He should have released this version as a "midnight mix" or something back then. Id say double B side if there were such a thing.

leadline said:

This is funky as fuck. I prefer this to the released version.

Prefer the released version but this is cool. It's mad how often the more straightforward versions are the ones he didn't release; he could have been a hell of a lot more obvious if he had wanted to be.

rdhull said:

He should have released this version as a "midnight mix" or something back then. Id say double B side if there were such a thing.

along with Around in the World in a day and When Doves Cry with bass, the "for squares who don't get it" mix

[Edited 7/15/17 15:51pm]

i prefer this more organic sounding version. Its like band just jamming and having fun.

I don't get how anyone could prefer this to the released version, it's too empty and missing too much, and the extended part doesn't go anywhere. To each their own though.

For some reason this version really accentuates how impressive the horn parts are, and how funky the track is. The final version obviously has a much more exciting vocal delivery, but maybe the dog barking distracts from other superior elements of the track. This is so great to hear!

I got to say, I love this version (even if I love the official more) and all these leaks make my heart ache thinking of what we've lost. I was not impressed with most of the last 10 or so albums... but I had faith he would slow down someday and write some amazing stuff... and now...there will never be anything new... I had this idea that I would be on my death bed hoping to hold off until the new Prince album came out so i could hear it... so say whatever... you like it more or less... we should all just think about the fact that all we have is what is in the past...

SchlomoThaHomo said:

For some reason this version really accentuates how impressive the horn parts are, and how funky the track is. The final version obviously has a much more exciting vocal delivery, but maybe the dog barking distracts from other superior elements of the track. This is so great to hear!

I agree about the horns. Overall, I like the released version better (one of my all-time favs), the bass solo is just too funky. But, without it (and the dog barks LOL) my focus goes to the horns and they are FANTASTIC!

smokeverbs said:

I don't get how anyone could prefer this to the released version, it's too empty and missing too much, and the extended part doesn't go anywhere. To each their own though.

Its the sparseness that makes this great.

"Funk.....is space" -Prince 2017 Piano & Microphone Tour

[Edited 7/16/17 6:25am]