I haven't heard the Prince version but I sure do love Sheena's! It's quite a moody piece for her to have sung compared to her other hits.

Never heard the Sheena version but really like Prince's one.

I'm with you; she ran away with Prince's song. But I think he intended it for her and he did not do his bestest with the vocals, just giving her a guide vocal, nothing like it would be if he had intended the song for himself, but that's a gut feeling I have.

There was this interview where she said she didn't follow the guide vocal exactly, but they both liked it as it came out, so they kept it.

And there are quite a few songs where I like the version of another artist better than Prince's version; Chaka stole Eternity from Sheena AND Prince, for instance AND Sticky Wicked. But that, again, is just me.

The released Sheena Easton version (both the single and the b-side intrumental) were one of my favorite things Prince did for a side project. I even like the music video. The production is a lot more cohesive, layered, and rich then the Prince demo. But I loved hearing that leaked demo too.

Such a haunting underrated songs from the 80's... I really wish he continued with this type of sound and made an album out of it. Had such a cool vibe.

Can we have the Uptown Version with Prince's vocal?

BlueShakooo said:

SantanaMaitreya said:

Most of Prince's "originals" are clearly guide demo vocals and the released protege tracks are clearly finished productions in line with his completed work and artisticvision of the time.

[Edited 8/29/20 16:31pm]

BlueShakooo said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

Most of Prince's "originals" are clearly guide demo vocals and the released protege tracks are clearly finished productions in line with his completed work and artisticvision of the time.

[Edited 8/29/20 16:31pm]

Agreed!

I really like Sheena's version, but I LOVE Prince's version. It's rapturous!

I've never met a Prince song where I did not prefer Prince's vocals to whatever ended up being released. I hope we will get all associate albums with Prince originals as extra tracks and the one-offs in a series of Originals albums.

Sheena's vocals are stunning. Love the remixes too. Prince's version sounds rough, it was obviosly intended for someone else to sing. One of my favourite songs that he gave away.

The production sounds a bit dated now but i'd still recommend seeking out 'The Remix' version from Sheena. Not sure if it was on the original 12" but it was track 2 on the 3-track Mini CD single. Still keeps the moody elements of the song despite the late eighties dance vibe.

TheEnglishGent said:

Never heard the Sheena version but really like Prince's one.

That's hard to believe.

I bought The Lover In Me just for the two Prince contributions. I've always loved Sheena's versions, simply because I had listened to them for almost 30 years before I heard the Prince demos.

The Prince versions are great, but Sheena's are just burned into my subconscious.

RighteousOne said:

TheEnglishGent said:

Never heard the Sheena version but really like Prince's one.

That's hard to believe.

Tbh as just some bozo who didn't really check out many of the associated artists more rare tracks but tended to hunt down bootlegs, I'd only heard the Prince version up until now (although tbf I reckon I'm probably a lot younger than most here, so that might also be a factor behind why I hadn't heard Sheena's version). Anyway having listened to the released version now I'd say that Sheena's is indeed probably the superior, and definitely makes the Prince vocal version sound like a rough prototype guide vocal in comparison. Still very glad to have Prince's, but Sheena's feels much more like a complete, finished product imo.

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

RighteousOne said:

TheEnglishGent said:

Never heard the Sheena version but really like Prince's one.

That's hard to believe.

.

It depends on where you lived at the time, I suppose. Sugar Walls was played sometimes on the radio, Eternity was even less of an event and 101 was a complete non-event. I never bothered to listen to Sheena's albums (they didn't appeal to me at all, and still don't), so, even though I'd heard 101 when I bought the 12 inch, I had never listened to it after that. It just wasn't a thing... I rediscovered the song through the Prince version when I heard it (much) later on.

.

Not having heard the Sheena version at all is not that hard to imagine for everyone that wasn't a complete die hard (and even in the die hard circles I was in, it wasn't mentioned much if at all)

mediumdry said:

To me, Prince's version is just beyond compare. His version is loaded with frustration, despair, and heartache. The way it builds and builds until he sounds just psychotic about missing his lover is SOOOO good. Even Sheena - when she told the story of Prince playing her the song for the first time-said Prince had to convince her that she could sing it with the same emotion and desparation. She stated he had to guide her on the vocal. His version is SO good. Same with Come Home. His version is the best by far.

*

I think the reason why Prince's versions are better - at least for me - is because all or most of his original takes were his own stories/life situations, and he recorded them as such and fully related to them. They were personal to him, and the lyrics had specific meaning to him. The lyric "nothing on TV, my girlfriends bore me, they try to please me, but I need you baby..." - such a Prince lyric, and resonates better with a man singing those words about a woman. It makes sense that his versions sound better.

[Edited 8/31/20 16:01pm]

I just don't get being passionate enough to own every record, seek out every bootleg, but willfully ignore/omit seeking out songs he wrote and released in his prime because.... he doesn't sing on them? That's the make-or-break for a large subsection of the Org? This is why N.E.W.S./Xpectation probably rank last or ignored on so many album rankings?

RighteousOne said:

TheEnglishGent said:

Never heard the Sheena version but really like Prince's one.

That's hard to believe.

I like Prince singing, never bothered much at all with side projects and associated artists.

TheBigBang said:

TheEnglishGent said:

RighteousOne said: