I listened to the two versions back to back last night, and the Purple Rain era version blows compared to the 82 version on 1999 bonus disc. What's the deal with that? So many of his later reworkings were inferior in every way to the original versions, another case in point being the version of Irresistible Bitch that ended up being released as opposed to the far funkier original on 1999 deluxe.

MattyJam said:

IB is an extreme example, it are almost two different songs next to each other. But both are great imo.

I also most of the time say that same thing 'first version is better', but IB was maybe an exemption to me.

thebanishedone said:

MattyJam said:

I listened to the two versions back to back last night, and the Purple Rain era version blows compared to the 82 version on 1999 bonus disc. What's the deal with that? So many of his later reworkings were inferior in every way to the original versions, another case in point being the version of Irresistible Bitch that ended up being released as opposed to the far funkier original on 1999 deluxe.

irresistible Bitch latter version is much better than the early demo that have that annoying vocal.

I love his vocal on that one!

Don't be ridiculous, the 1984 version is amazing. Neither are better, they're doing different things. Expand your taste and your mind will follow.

jaawwnn said:

I personally like the 82 version more...but the 84 version isn't bad, just different.

MattyJam said:

jaawwnn said:

Don't be ridiculous, the 1984 version is amazing. Neither are better, they're doing different things. Expand your taste and your mind will follow.

So because I have a preference between two different versions of the same song, it means I need to expand my taste? Lol. Moronic.

Agree with jaawwnn. Rating everything is a fun game but is too reductive to actually be a valid type of music criticism. It follows that you would call someone with a different take moronic. Lol, look in the mirror.

poppys said:

MattyJam said:

jaawwnn said:

So because I have a preference between two different versions of the same song, it means I need to expand my taste? Lol. Moronic.

Agree with jaawwnn. Rating everything is a fun game but is too reductive to actually be a valid type of music criticism. It follows that you would call someone with a different take moronic. Lol, look in the mirror.

on the original question tho, i prefer the 84 version. although the song is cool in all versions.

MattyJam said:

jaawwnn said:

Don't be ridiculous, the 1984 version is amazing. Neither are better, they're doing different things. Expand your taste and your mind will follow.

So because I have a preference between two different versions of the same song, it means I need to expand my taste? Lol. Moronic.

I probably prefer the 1982 version myself. You however said the 1984 version "blows".

So yeah, you need to expand your taste.

The 84 version isn't finished and shouldn't have been released. I'll fight to the death with anyone who claims otherwise. If you need any further proof, the call and response section where Prince sing, "If you relate to the feeling, let me hear you say yeah" and there's no response in the backing vocals with a reply of yeah. The next part he asks to let me hear you say ooh, and there's an ooh response.

Has there been any other released song by Prince where he's sung for an answer and we haven't heard the answer? It just sounds so empty.

Apart from the lack of response to his call, it just sounds like a work in progress version to me.

TheEnglishGent said:

The 84 version isn't finished and shouldn't have been released. I'll fight to the death with anyone who claims otherwise. If you need any further proof, the call and response section where Prince sing, "If you relate to the feeling, let me hear you say yeah" and there's no response in the backing vocals with a reply of yeah. The next part he asks to let me hear you say ooh, and there's an ooh response.

Has there been any other released song by Prince where he's sung for an answer and we haven't heard the answer? It just sounds so empty.

Apart from the lack of response to his call, it just sounds like a work in progress version to me.

Yeah i'll buy this. It's an unreleased track so there's no reason for it to be finished, aside from how they market they vault. It's in at a relatively advanced state compared to, say, Coco Boys though.

I mean, the Dance Electric isn't finished either, we literally already have a more finished version on bootlegs.

[Edited 5/19/20 7:29am]

TheEnglishGent said:

The 84 version isn't finished and shouldn't have been released. I'll fight to the death with anyone who claims otherwise. If you need any further proof, the call and response section where Prince sing, "If you relate to the feeling, let me hear you say yeah" and there's no response in the backing vocals with a reply of yeah. The next part he asks to let me hear you say ooh, and there's an ooh response.

Has there been any other released song by Prince where he's sung for an answer and we haven't heard the answer? It just sounds so empty.

Apart from the lack of response to his call, it just sounds like a work in progress version to me.

Good point, and one I hadn't considered. I feel the same way about the studio version of Electric Intercourse. This was before WB had access to the official vault, so these could very well be early draft versions he gave to them, or someone else (Al Magnoli?).

I personally prefer the older version, one because the playing is so damn epic (that rhythm guitar outro ), and because of the slower tempo, it has more of a laid back, gutbucket funk approach, with more opportunites for effective stabs, and fills, and pocket grooving.

Possessed '84 feels a bit more frantic, high energy, more synth-pop than funk, but still funky in more of a minimalist way. The arpeggiation things he does throughout are so damn cool, and towards the end when the double kick gets involved, it's just so damn sick.

They're just so different and difficult to compare. Both essential in my opinion.

poppys said:

MattyJam said:

poppys said:

Agree with jaawwnn. Rating everything is a fun game but is too reductive to actually be a valid type of music criticism. It follows that you would call someone with a different take moronic. Lol, look in the mirror.

I wasn't aware I was doing music reviews for Rolling Stone? Jeez, moronic part 2.

Calling song version taste moronic is the ORIGINAL moronic, sorry.

Well how do you feel about the live "James Brown" version on the Syracuse concert?

MattyJam said:

poppys said:

Agree with jaawwnn. Rating everything is a fun game but is too reductive to actually be a valid type of music criticism. It follows that you would call someone with a different take moronic. Lol, look in the mirror.

I wasn't aware I was doing music reviews for Rolling Stone? Jeez, moronic part 2.

Apology accepted, we all make mistakes.

Fiona01 said:

Some of the replies on this thread are ridiculous. What - you can't have a favourite version of a song without it being a problem? Bit pathetic. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we all make these judgments about music all the time. I'm sure even Prince rated or ranked certain tracks of his above/below others. It's called "personal taste." Seems to be there's a few snobs on here who think themselves above others.

If it's called "personal taste", then none of it is as horrible as so many "fams" here would have us believe. You can have a rating opinion w/o calling people moronic who don't agree w/you.

[Edited 5/20/20 6:43am]

82 suits the song better, i'd probably have to go with that one. but the 84 one is so delightfully deranged and insane to listen to that i also love it, for different reasons than the 82 one.

ufoclub said:

Well how do you feel about the live "James Brown" version on the Syracuse concert?

The 1984 version is hollow and mind-numbing. I'd have to disagree about it not being complete, since it was in Purple Rain as we know it. When Prince just lets the Linn roll with little production over it, it's boring. It's rare that it's happened, but this is one of those moments. (I also think about, years later, some of the stuff on Emancipation disk 3 that just goes on and on and on and on and on and on).

There is an unreleased version from August 1983 with the Revolution recorded at The Warehouse. (Oddly, the same month those PR songs were recorded at First Avenue.) Princevault notes, "It was a hot day and they kept running into power outage problems while attempting to record. In the end the session was stopped. But it is likely the song was committed to tape in the same setting at a later date. This version however also remains unreleased."

I wonder if that's more the James Brown-esque version that we're used to on the Syracuse video. Possible, since it was a band effort.

But in general, I do like the 1982. It feels more situated in the 1999 era, when he was still pulling from that new wave punk funk aesthetic. I believe the song falls under the radar a lot when people talk about different ways he interpreted his own music. There's that version of "Little Red Corvette" from North Sea Jazz or something, slowed down, with the "SLOW DOWN" chant throughout. It's a mood and brilliant. There's probably piano or guitar only versions, too. We've seen him slow down "Let's Go Crazy," and even change it into a call & response chant since 1987/8 (which seems to be a version he stuck with for a very long time as he was doing it as late as the Brit awards before doing the slowed down grindy version). (We could all name dozens, probably.)

But "Possessed" has really seen at least three significantly different versions, all those being noted in this whole thread. But that 1983 version - I'm really curious about that, and what exists of it.

thebanishedone said:

MattyJam said:

I listened to the two versions back to back last night, and the Purple Rain era version blows compared to the 82 version on 1999 bonus disc. What's the deal with that? So many of his later reworkings were inferior in every way to the original versions, another case in point being the version of Irresistible Bitch that ended up being released as opposed to the far funkier original on 1999 deluxe.

irresistible Bitch latter version is much better than the early demo that have that annoying vocal.

I was going to say this much more superior thatn the 1999 weaker version.

The 1983 version is very much a prototype for the song 1999: they are extremely similar structurally. Prince came-up with something better with 1999, thus necessarily excluding Possessed from being included on the album. Prince later moved on to reinvent Possessed entirely in 1984. The 1984 cut is a much more unconventional, challenging piece than the 1983 version. IDK what "better" means, but I have more fun with the 84 version.

84 version

I don't like this song at all, so neither version I like.

motherfunka said:

84 version

jaawwnn said:

Don't be ridiculous, the 1984 version is amazing. Neither are better, they're doing different things. Expand your taste and your mind will follow.

.