Full article here:

http://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2017/07/05/purple-rain-deluxe-track-by-track

During 1983 and 1984, no one ruled the charts like Prince. To give you an idea of how much music the man was creating, in the first seven months of 1984 he recorded entire albums for the Time, Apollonia 6, Sheila E., and the Family as well as multiple B-sides and even a few songs for the soundtrack to a little movie called Purple Rain. I'll let that settle in. Over four entire albums in seven months...as well as top ten tracks for Sheena Easton and the Bangles. For perspective, he was also finishing up a movie, scoring parts of the movie, and planning a tour. He was not the "resting on your laurels" type of guy.

With that kind of production volume, his reservoir must have been bone-dry, right? The answer is a resounding no. This is a man who'd sometimes record two songs in a day, which helped Prince maintain a surplus of material in his legendary Vault. Now understand, not every track is going to be another "When Doves Cry" or "Purple Rain." In fact, very often, there is a reason that any given track never came out, but that doesn't make the unreleased music in his vault any less interesting.

On June 23rd, Warner Bros./NPG Records released the deluxe version of the Purple Rainsoundtrack with an entire disc of outtakes from that era. Some of them had previously circulated among collectors, but there were also many pleasant surprises for even the most jaded completists. Here's some background information on each outtake, ordered from oldest to most recent as a way to chart Prince's artistic growth....

Great read. Worth pointing out this was written by our very own madhouseman, whose Purple Rain recording sessions book I am very much looking forward to.

Thanx for posting this. There is a typo in it that is being addressed. Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden were recorded in May of 1984 not 1983!

They are still in chronological order, but that was a typo that will be fixed.

Thank you for again for posting this.

Great work - looking forward to your book, too!

I'm absolutely interested in your book.

Sooooo looking forward to dive into it. )) Can't barely wait.

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And I will spread the word as much as possible, hoping you'll be able to keep up the good work.

As you already know0 -concerning Prince- we music lovers always want more. It's a mental thing.

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Thank yo so much.

I hope we will be able to enjoy all of your tremendous fieldwork.

It must be thrilling to be able to talk to all these Prince camp members. Waw.