TIA.

But do they have different names though? There was one version that was kinda fast and 'whimsical' for lack of a better word. I'm pretty sure I have heard at least 3 versions of this song.

Gustavm said:

But do they have different names though? There was one version that was kinda fast and 'whimsical' for lack of a better word. I'm pretty sure I have heard at least 3 versions of this song.

Vesion 2 is the same as version one but has added instrumentation. He let Wendy and Lisa Pee on it.

Version 3 is more Electronic. I always thought this verion would have been a perfect fit for The Black Album

I love all 3 versions but Prince's original solo version is my favorite, followed by the 1986 version 3.

[Edited 10/8/19 9:55am]

Romeoblu said:

Gustavm said:

But do they have different names though? There was one version that was kinda fast and 'whimsical' for lack of a better word. I'm pretty sure I have heard at least 3 versions of this song.

Vesion 2 is the same as version one but has added instrumentation. He let Wendy and Lisa Pee on it.

Version 3 is more Electronic. I always thought this verion would have been a perfect fit for The Black Album

I love all 3 versions but Prince's original solo version is my favorite, followed by the 1986 version 3.

[Edited 10/8/19 9:55am]

I like all three but that electronic sounding version is by far my favorite, I like the lyrics and vocal delivery.

For some reason I don´t like the one with Wendy and Lisa. The horns are cool in that version but I think the female voices are a bit too much. This is a song that sounds much better solo.

Hi Gustavm. They are not named as such. The mixes of the song that have leaked have been numbered by the community to distinguish them.
.
Version 1 : The original recording of the song with only Prince's input (as such it could be considered an unfinished mix??)
Version 2 : The original recording again, now with Revolution overdubs making it a band effort (as intended for the Dream Factory album)
Version 3 : An entirely new recording. A solo track made after the Revolution broke up.
.
The second recording (version 3), may have been Prince's attempt to salvage the song from The Dream Factory project after the revolution split. With songs like 'Strange Relationship' and 'Crystal Ball' Prince remixed / re-edited the songs to remove the Revolution's input. With 'Witness 4 the Prosecution' Prince may have felt that in order to make the song his own again he had to start from scratch. This being the case, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that he intended on using the newer version of 'Witness' on his next album (i.e. Crystal Ball).


[Edit - Typo]

[Edited 10/9/19 2:28am]

Always preferred v1 - that bluesy, growly guitar is so good. Can't stand version 2 - the female vocals are screeching and the horns are just not adding anything good to it.

Thanks for the input guys. Which version has the 'Caribbean' sounding drums in it? Is there more than one of these?

Gustavm said:

Thanks for the input guys. Which version has the 'Caribbean' sounding drums in it? Is there more than one of these?

The steel drums are on v3. Only one version of v3.

My favorite was the last solo Camille version. The 2nd one is nice too with the Wendy and Lisa chorus yells...but something mysterious and Joker like driven track makes it so funky and daceable for me.

Give me death row

Give me solitare!

But dont you leave me baby, leave me baby

I swear!!