Mikado said:

Probably because of the three songs on side one of 1999 it's the one that loses the least from editing it down to keep the length to about 15 minutes.

The full length should have come out on 12" though imho, it's pretty cool. I love this song, sorry RODSERLING.

[Edited 4/10/19 6:41am]

Mikado said:

Since it was his 12" album with many tracks running for over 6 minutes, why wasn't the extended version of Delirious included?

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Perhaps because he didn't want to (or wasn't allowed to) make it a triple album (by not editing any of the other songs either)? Perhaps because he preferred the shorter version? (Contrary to rumours, editing a work of art requires the same skills as creating it – it's just as much of an artistic decision.)

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Besides, a lot of Prince's songs are actually longer on the original multitrack tape than what ended up on the releases. The title song '1999' was longer too. He liked to jam and to explore ideas without thinking about time constraints and where and how it would fit on an album.

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[Edited 4/10/19 6:45am]

RODSERLING said:

Mikado said:

Since it was his 12" album with many tracks running for over 6 minutes, why wasn't the extended version of Delirious included?

The version on the album is the longest version ever released. Don't you think it is already long enough? Even the edit single version is too long. His worst hit ever. [Edited 4/10/19 6:40am]

Yep. Like with 17 days, sometimes shorter is better. The unreleased maxi is waaay too long & boring.

jaawwnn said:

Probably because of the three songs on side one of 1999 it's the one that loses the least from editing it down to keep the length to about 15 minutes.

[Edited 4/10/19 6:41am]

That excuse doesn't really make sense when you consider that side four of 1999 clocks in at 20:48. Even with the long version of Delirious, side one is still only 17:14. Prince could've included the extended Delirious AND Horny Toad and it'd still be over a minute shorter than side four!

dave1dmarx said:

jaawwnn said:

Probably because of the three songs on side one of 1999 it's the one that loses the least from editing it down to keep the length to about 15 minutes.

[Edited 4/10/19 6:41am]

That excuse doesn't really make sense when you consider that side four of 1999 clocks in at 20:48. Even with the long version of Delirious, side one is still only 17:14. Prince could've included the extended Delirious AND Horny Toad and it'd still be over a minute shorter than side four!

Good point!

dave1dmarx said:

RODSERLING said:

dave1dmarx said:

That excuse doesn't really make sense when you consider that side four of 1999 clocks in at 20:48. Even with the long version of Delirious, side one is still only 17:14. Prince could've included the extended Delirious AND Horny Toad and it'd still be over a minute shorter than side four!

That s purely an artistic decision. He should have cut Automatic too, the song is way too long.

He surely and most definitely should have not!

Neither is Delirious his worst hit ever, far from actually.

RODSERLING said:

That s purely an artistic decision. He should have cut Automatic too, the song is way too long.

Clearly, you're not a Prince fan. But we knew that.

dave1dmarx said:

jaawwnn said:

Probably because of the three songs on side one of 1999 it's the one that loses the least from editing it down to keep the length to about 15 minutes.

That excuse doesn't really make sense when you consider that side four of 1999 clocks in at 20:48. Even with the long version of Delirious, side one is still only 17:14. Prince could've included the extended Delirious AND Horny Toad and it'd still be over a minute shorter than side four!

I believe including "Horny Toad" would have been like putting "Electric Intercourse" and "The Beautiful Ones" on Purple Rain. They would have battled each other, and someone had to come out the winner. "Delirious" and "Horny Toad" are his take on rockabilly, so only one could be there. "Delirious" is the stronger song, for the sake of an album. While it was a song from 1982, it feels like something from a couple of years earlier, Dirty Mind-Controversy era.

Mikado said:

Since it was his 12" album with many tracks running for over 6 minutes, why wasn't the extended version of Delirious included?

There is a longer version that is out there. It was shortened to fit on the record. Per Nilsen, in DMSR Prince: The First Decade talks about Prince having a catalog of sound effects at his fingertips, and that's why you hear them all over 1999; from the traffic sounds around "Lady Cab Driver", to the steam vent sounds in "Automatic" (although that could just be a keyboard), the rain and footsteps on "Free", etc. The baby coo at the end of "Delirious" is there to literally give it an abrupt ending, instead of a fade. It was an excuse to end the song.

The longer version should have been released, I agree. It had a longer intro, and other sections later edited out. It always felt a little unbalanced that "Delirious" was considerably shorter than other tracks on the record. I'd almost have settled for "Free" or "Something In The Water" (or whatever) as a b-side, just to have a longer "Delirious".

RODSERLING said:

He should have cut Automatic too, the song is way too long.

SACRILEGE!!!

RODSERLING said:

He should have cut Automatic too, the song is way too long.

No,no,no one of the great things about this album is that Prince was free to take the songs wherever he wanted to,without time constraints."Automatic" is fine just the way it is.

TheFman said:

TheFman said:

RODSERLING said:

He should have cut Automatic too, the song is way too long.

SACRILEGE!!!

Rod is worse than a troll. A troll at least has intent to post stupid shit. Rod is so oblivious of what he writes that he is even more trolling than a troll.

feeluupp said:

Rod is worse than a troll. A troll at least has intent to post stupid shit. Rod is so oblivious of what he writes that he is even more trolling than a troll.

There's truth in this.

TrivialPursuit said:

feeluupp said:

TrivialPursuit said:

The song is already way too long on the album.

RODSERLING said:

feeluupp said:

Rod is worse than a troll. A troll at least has intent to post stupid shit. Rod is so oblivious of what he writes that he is even more trolling than a troll.

You are obviously the troll since all the BS you posted. You are still waiting for the 1999 deluxe? Lol Sorry to give my opinion about 2 tracks. Delirious is his worst hit ever, it hit #8 in the US and is garbage. No other Prince hit above the #8 position could be worst. Automatic clocks at ten minutes IIRC? This is way too long, and the song is not interesting at all. OMG How shocking and trolling is that, saying a top ten hit us garbage and a ten minutes song too long. Get a life. [Edited 4/10/19 21:58pm]

Delirious is a wonderful song.

Kares said:

Mikado said:

Since it was his 12" album with many tracks running for over 6 minutes, why wasn't the extended version of Delirious included?

.

Perhaps because he didn't want to (or wasn't allowed to) make it a triple album (by not editing any of the other songs either)? Perhaps because he preferred the shorter version? (Contrary to rumours, editing a work of art requires the same skills as creating it – it's just as much of an artistic decision.)

.

Besides, a lot of Prince's songs are actually longer on the original multitrack tape than what ended up on the releases. The title song '1999' was longer too. He liked to jam and to explore ideas without thinking about time constraints and where and how it would fit on an album.

.

[Edited 4/10/19 6:45am]

I too believe it was an artistic decision. One possible reason might be the rockabilly nature of the track: rockabilly songs were usually very short in the 50's and 60's, but whatever the reason I think it was purely artistic. And yeah, editing is sometimes hell.

^ Regarding all the "this should have been shorter or longer or a b-side or on the album" comments, the only thing I can say is that an author's perspective at a given moment is really, really, different from the perspective of someone who discovers the work once it's out. Not to say that critics are vain or that artists always make the right decisions, but to say that it's really important to try and understand the artist's intent and reasoning, try and figure out why certain decisions were made over others and what was the expected impact on the audience, before diving too promptly into shouldawouldacouldas.

RODSERLING said:

feeluupp said:

Rod is worse than a troll. A troll at least has intent to post stupid shit. Rod is so oblivious of what he writes that he is even more trolling than a troll.

You are obviously the troll since all the BS you posted. You are still waiting for the 1999 deluxe? Lol Sorry to give my opinion about 2 tracks. Delirious is his worst hit ever, it hit #8 in the US and is garbage. No other Prince hit above the #8 position could be worst. Automatic clocks at ten minutes IIRC? This is way too long, and the song is not interesting at all. OMG How shocking and trolling is that, saying a top ten hit us garbage and a ten minutes song too long. Get a life. [Edited 4/10/19 21:58pm]

[Edited 4/11/19 9:31am]

Either Prince didn't like the full version or it was removed for time considerations. Personally, I find every version I've heard to be too long.

databank said:

Mikado said:

databank said:

I too believe it was an artistic decision. One possible reason might be the rockabilly nature of the track: rockabilly songs were usually very short in the 50's and 60's, but whatever the reason I think it was purely artistic. And yeah, editing is sometimes hell.

I definitely think it was for the best - I'm not sure if Delirious could really sustain 6+ minutes, but I wouldn't have thought Automatic could have either if it was only 4 minutes, and the unreleased version was vaulted.

Well you can see for yourself with the circulating long version (2 minutes longer). I haven't listened to it in a long time but I don't recall any essential part being edited out, it's fun to have but I definitely don't remember anything particularly more impressive than what we got.