I hadn't heard the WATW version in many, many years - decades, probably. Now I know why. Ugh. Not my cup of tea. I prefer the "acoustic" version so much more.

Ah Skywalker, you've taken me back. I first heard this version in the summer of '88 (having heard the Live Aid version only once before). Although I was totally on board with Prince's trajectory post-Revolution, hearing this track made me realize just how much I'd also missed Wendy, Lisa, Matt, Mark, and Bobby...

TwiliteKid said:

JorisE73 said:

I didn't mean every single Prince fan bought the album back then but that every single Prince fan who bought it only bought it for Prince's "new" track because the rest of the album is garbage and especially that realy corny We are the World song.
As an MJ fan I thought it was a quite embarassing song

There are a few other good tracks on the album - especially Bruce's cover of "Trapped".

Trapped was played on the radio in my area a lot. I forgot how much I loved that song.

mushmackalenta said:

Idiot.

I was gonna snitch on this post, but then I remembered the thread title, cute . Put me down 4 the B-Sides version, btw .

Mintchip said:

I don’t think he’s the only one. I learned just a few years ago, when I downloaded a dj “remaster” of Around the World in a Day, and it included the original album version. Otherwise, how would anyone know, unless they got the We Are the World album in 1985? That version of the song has pretty much disappeared.

I knew as soon as they aired the video on Live Aid that it was different! Yes, I bought the We Are The World album back in '85, but not just for the Prince track, as there's also a killer version of Trapped by Bruce Springsteen, a live version of Trouble In Paradise by Huey Lewis & The News (whom I liked quite a bit in '85), and I also loved the title song, and the LP was a good way to get the long version (though the 12" single was a few seconds longer still).