Which do you like better Computer Blue on Original Purple Album vs Computer Blue Hallway Speech from Purple Rain Deluxe?

14 minute version

If anyone votes Computer blue it's because they have never heard Hallway speech version. I never go back to Computer blue after getting my hands on clear version of Hallway Speech version

[Edited 9/5/17 13:53pm]

purpleshadow said:

If anyone votes Computer blue it's because they have never heard Hallway speech version. I never go back to Computer blue after getting my hands on clear version of Hallway Speech version

[Edited 9/5/17 13:53pm]

The Hallway Speech Version by a mile. Supposedly Prince worked on this one track for three weeks, something he NEVER did again on any other song. He was obsessed with it.

I think the longer version goes into truly insane and incredible places. The vocal and guitar performances alone. OMG.

Astasheiks said:

Hallway Speech (no doubt).

I find the PR deluxe a bit disappointing overall. After all, the bootlegs of some of those songs were far better but it was worth buying just for that version of Computer Blue. My young children even like it and that says alot (they are 11 and 9). My daughter loves Lisa's creepy talking..LOL.

lakerlaker52 said:

Astasheiks said:

Which do you like better Computer Blue on Original Purple Album vs Computer Blue Hallway Speech from Purple Rain Deluxe?

I prefer the longer version, but the edit makes sense in the context of the Purple Rain album and is actually a brilliant edit. It makes the song unique in that there is no repeat verse or chorus and the song suddenly shifts into some remarkable new places for the instrumental sections. There really isn't another song quite like it. It's just truly a shame that it took all these years for the longer version to be released. It's just a crime this was never an extended version B side.

I like them both just the same. But even if I liked one better over the other, I would still listen to both frequently. They are two different beasts, may as well be two completely different songs for that matter.

lakerlaker52 said:

Astasheiks said:

Which do you like better Computer Blue on Original Purple Album vs Computer Blue Hallway Speech from Purple Rain Deluxe?

I prefer the longer version, but the edit makes sense in the context of the Purple Rain album and is actually a brilliant edit. It makes the song unique in that there is no repeat verse or chorus and the song suddenly shifts into some remarkable new places for the instrumental sections. There really isn't another song quite like it. It's just truly a shame that it took all these years for the longer version to be released. It's just a crime this was never an extended version B side.

I think it was a huge miss for Prince. Putting it on a 12'' would undoubtly have comforted his reputation as a genius: it was, at the time and by far, the most conceptual, complex and ambitious piece of music he'd ever recorded. Its very structure and ambitions are somewhat comparable to prog rock, it's highly energetic and very intellectual at the same time. It would have pleased rock fans, it would also have pleased funk jams fans if only because if its length, and I'm pretty sure critics would have raved about it.

This, alongside Crystal Ball and possibly All My Dreams, would have strengthened P's aura by a mile had those been released as b-sides. It's possible Prince didn't want to just let them slip as mere, quickly forgotten b-sides, and hoped to keep them for later album use like he did with Crystal Ball, but when you see the impact b-sides such as How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore or Erotic City had on his reputation (the first establishing him as a "serious" composer capable of doing jazz, the second comforting his reputation as a killer grooves producer), I'm rpetty sure Computer Blue Extended would have made a remarkable impact.

Out of those two, it would be Hallway Speech - but I much prefer the longer versions that don't have the speech in them.

Hallway Speech, by a mile. Always liked the original version on Purple Rain but never really loved it, but the Hallway Speech version is definitely one of my favourite Prince tracks now.

I prefer the shorter one.

The longer version, although Computer Blue was always one of my favorite tracks from the album, and the movie. So having this version made purchasing PR Deluxe worth it for me.

There are few songs where i'd take the shorter one, IWDFY and Dance Electric taking the top spots, but CB is also there. It never keeps my attention over the whole song, while the PR version is the ultimate edit of all songs.

[Edited 9/6/17 3:20am]

I really like the version that's about 7.5 minutes long. Apparently that was the first edit to make room for "When Doves Cry." Then it got cut down again, I learned from a Per Nilson book, for PR to accomodate "Take Me With U." But it's great to have the full version. I guess that was the best way to go.

TheEnglishGent said:

I prefer the shorter one.

Shame on you.

Personally I prefer the original album version by a mile - I really think Prince made the right call in squishing it down, and did an amazing job with that edit. Absolutely flawless.

The extended versions really just outstay their welcome for me - I find the howling feedback a bit hard on the ears, Wendy's cheesy "poor lonely computer" voice is pretty unbearable, and the actual hallway speech is just a bit of a muddled mess.

Most of the time I prefer extended cuts of Prince songs, the more the better... but tbh I pretty much always skip through the longer versions of Computer Blue. It's interesting for die-hard fans, but I'm glad it isn't taking up space on the original LP.

I definitely prefer the album version. I had the Hallway speech version back in the 80s and just never cared for it that much. The part with the actual speech is weak.

The really long version (14 min?) without the speech is the best version I've heard. It's better than the album version.

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[Edited 9/6/17 15:25pm]

Hallway.....is so f*cking fab.

Hallway Speech version is my current favorite song.

AnnaStesia10 said:

Hallway Speech all the way for me. Whenever I put it on I listen to it over and over and over again. I never do that with the edited down Computer Blue version.

YES!

I think the album version is better song wise, but as a Prince eccentrist I prefer the Hallway Speech version. I love hearing his creative meaderings no matter how demo like they may or may not sound.

have not listened to the original since.

Hallway version.

I heard it the first time back in the early 90s when my interest in his music was fading. Then I heard this on a boot someone taped for me and it totally kicked my ass. Soon after the same guy sent me a tape of Gold Experience way before it was released...I never left again.

of course the unedited version but the remaster is brickwalled

[Edited 9/8/17 17:57pm]

Poplife88 said: