Well deserved for its own thread. Like I said before, this demo totally shattered my initial indifference toward the song, which used to be my least fave song from 1999. It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful & expressive his voice was when he sang R&B ballads, and in this recording not only does he sound great, but he sounded happy and having a helluva time. I never get tired of his piano playing either, like the guitar, he developed a style of his own and even though he's not a Herbie Hancock in the technical sense, I feel like he really enjoyed expressing his ideas via the piano moreso than the guitar, dare I say, even though he's more equipped in the latter, I feel he was happier with the piano. I'm surprised at how years of indifference toward a song I never cared for, sometimes an incomplete idea is more organic & superior than a completed one, this song is a perfect example. either, like the guitar, he developed a style of his own and even though he's not a Herbie Hancock in the technical sense, I feel like he really enjoyed expressing his ideas via the piano moreso than the guitar, dare I say, even though he's more equipped in the latter, I feel he was happier with the piano. I'm surprised at how years of indifference toward a song I never cared for, completely change for the better instantly. Sometimes an incomplete idea is more organic & superior than a completed one, this song is a perfect example.

[Edited 10/12/19 15:45pm]

I really wish Morris Day would get more props to his drums and boy he can get it.

I think this song is one of my favorites on this track I can relate to this because Prince was letting people know love is not restricted.

And also I still feel that Prince was a better guitarist than playing piano imo BUT I do appreciate the piano chords with this one among other songs tho.

Great to see this thread restored

.

This is such a fascinating listen. I can't say it's better than the album version, but for historical value, this is just so damn fascinating. No falsetto, live in the studio with MD, joking with Peggy, Prince struggling to keep a straight face while delivering some of the lyrics. This is so good. And the sound quality is well beyond expectation!

Absolute genius! This track is the ONE, I remember International Lover being my go to track waaaay back in the day. For those of us that were teens back when this came out ...whew...what memories! I was an "International Lover" that had to ask to borrow my parents car keys !!

EmmaMcG said:

rdhull said:

who told you to put the balm on?

The Maestro told me to put the balm on.

That's right cousin!

thisisreece said:

manages to be at once utterly ridiculous and entirely beautiful

.

Ha! Great description! Couldn't agree more!

What an awesome sound quality.

And great to know that Prince took these lyrics with a pinch of salt - here you can really tell he was messing around

Can imagine MD making funny faces while Prince tried to keep a straight face and sing the lyrics... Young guys having a blast in the studio...

Krid said:

What an awesome sound quality.

And great to know that Prince took these lyrics with a pinch of salt - here you can really tell he was messing around

Can imagine MD making funny faces while Prince tried to keep a straight face and sing the lyrics... Young guys having a blast in the studio...

Yes, I was about to say similar. I've never been a big fan of the album version but I'm loving this. Effortlessly brilliant and funny.

.

It goes great back to back with his version of Gigolos Get Lonely Too.

dodger said:

toejam said:

Great to see this thread restored

.

This is such a fascinating listen. I can't say it's better than the album version, but for historical value, this is just so damn fascinating. No falsetto, live in the studio with MD, joking with Peggy, Prince struggling to keep a straight face while delivering some of the lyrics. This is so good. And the sound quality is well beyond expectation!

Are you not super exceited about how good the 1999 remaster is going to sound? Wow....to be able to hear his guitar licks throughout LadyCab Driver...wow.

JoeyCococo said:

I wonder how many takes there are in the vault.

BalladofPeterParker said:

Absolute genius! This track is the ONE, I remember International Lover being my go to track waaaay back in the day. For those of us that were teens back when this came out ...whew...what memories! I was an "International Lover" that had to ask to borrow my parents car keys !!

Simply amazing version.......the sound quality is so crisp. I can't wait for my Box set to arrive.

love2thenines2003 said:

JoeyCococo said:

Are you not super exceited about how good the 1999 remaster is going to sound? Wow....to be able to hear his guitar licks throughout LadyCab Driver...wow.

Why did u say that? Did u listen the remaster already?

No, but if International Take 1 is any indication (and Baby You're A Trip from Originals), the remaster is going to KICK AZZ.

rdhull said:

robertgeorge said:

Listened to this track. Both this and the album release are real and they are spectacular.

who told you to put the balm on?

Nobody can tell what a balm's going to do! This is the greatest of my many humiliations.

I still feel like I have yet to hear these remasters sound "better," but they're all definitely louder, which is what I think the sound quality commentators mean.... sometimes I think it's a production thing, because the major difference in Take 1 and final release besides vocals is those high-frequency synths he preferred lacing his final productions with.

TheEnglishGent said:

I wonder how many takes there are in the vault.

That's what always gets me going. With Beatles vault material, many takes have leaked, and the estate even went as far as mixing alternative versions based on the best bits from each take (with Paul, George and Ringo's blessing) to create fantastic alternative versions.

Are we likely to see them all released? Unlikely. Would we prefer a Beatles approach? Debatable. Would we like to hear niether? I doubt it.

SquirrelMeat said:

TheEnglishGent said:

I wonder how many takes there are in the vault.

That's what always gets me going. With Beatles vault material, many takes have leaked, and the estate even went as far as mixing alternative versions based on the best bits from each take (with Paul, George and Ringo's blessing) to create fantastic alternative versions.

Are we likely to see them all released? Unlikely. Would we prefer a Beatles approach? Debatable. Would we like to hear niether? I doubt it.

I want things from the vault....untouched.....except for a better sound possible with what we have in his basic form......if NOT.......this is not PRINCE anymore & i'm not interrested in !!!!!!!

love2thenines2003 said:

SquirrelMeat said:

That's what always gets me going. With Beatles vault material, many takes have leaked, and the estate even went as far as mixing alternative versions based on the best bits from each take (with Paul, George and Ringo's blessing) to create fantastic alternative versions.

Are we likely to see them all released? Unlikely. Would we prefer a Beatles approach? Debatable. Would we like to hear niether? I doubt it.

I want things from the vault....untouched.....except for a better sound possible with what we have in his basic form......if NOT.......this is not PRINCE anymore & i'm not interrested in !!!!!!!

Yeah I dunno, the Beatles stuff is interesting, we already have what Prince wanted released so anything else is already going against his wishes.

I agree full takes are ideal but what if they have 27 alternate takes, including errors and half-finished versions, of a song? I'd be happy if they threw them all up as a download/streaming but as a physical release some kind of mixing and matching would be fine by me.

jaawwnn said:

jaawwnn said:

love2thenines2003 said:

I want things from the vault....untouched.....except for a better sound possible with what we have in his basic form......if NOT.......this is not PRINCE anymore & i'm not interrested in !!!!!!!

Yeah I dunno, the Beatles stuff is interesting, we already have what Prince wanted released so anything else is already going against his wishes.

I agree full takes are ideal but what if they have 27 alternate takes, including errors and half-finished versions, of a song? I'd be happy if they threw them all up as a download/streaming but as a physical release some kind of mixing and matching would be fine by me.

Did you ever hear the Beatle Love album? (A remix album made for Cirque du Soleil).

It had fantatic production and gave a really refreshing take on old songs. I wouldn't mind them doing that with Prince as long as, a) we get the orginals, and b) they are clear about what they are doing.

But I'm with you, I would love to hear all the versions. That's where a hardcore subsciption model could work for the estate if they were bold enough.

fishwillbite said:

Was never a huge fan of the original recording on 1999, a bit thin-sounding and overwrought vocal. This is more laid-back and sounds much warmer. Prince's piano playing is stunning and Morris on the drums is always going to be awesome. It's still a pretty weak song IMO, but an enjoyable release neverthless.

Same for me. Always been a bit of a skipper on the album – just a bit too processed and thin. This version is so much more interesting and more human.

Funny how often he tried to bury the warmth and humour in his work, in certain periods of his career. I guess at this point the Time were the funny guys, so his take had to be different.

I find much of the album pretty thin and metalic sounding, which sometimes seems appropriate and other times not. Interesting to hear if the overal tone will change with the remaster. Don't hate, but I think I'd prefer it beefed up.

Was on 4 planes this past weekend and felt like I should have International Lover queued up when the flight attendants did their safety spiel.

I JUST LOVE this version....

Please bring us all the first takes....