All tracks previously unreleased
1. Emotional Pump
2. Rebirth Of The Flesh (with original outro)
3. Cosmic Day
4. Walkin' In Glory
5. Wally
6. I Need A Man
7. Promise To Be True
8. Jealous Girl (version 2)
9. There's Something I Like About Being Your Fool
10. Big Tall Wall (version 2)
11. A Place In Heaven (Lisa vocal)
12. Wonderful Day (12" mix)
13. Strange Relationship (1987 Shep Pettibone Club Mix)

First impressions!

Emotional Pump
Brilliant song for Prince, not for Joni Mitchell. What was he honestly thinking?

I think the bootleg version is a bit faster than this, so it's nice to have it as it should be. I think there are a couple of minor mix differences as well, but I'll compare those later.

Rebirth Of The Flesh (with original outro)
I knew when I heard it feature in the podcast that something was wrong. It sounds pretty flat, like it's a few generations removed from its master. It's not bad, but it's not as dynamic as other material on here. Surely theres a stereo mast of Dream Factory and Camille they could have sourced it from?

Do I hear a crossfade happening at the muthafucker part?

Something just sounds off about the ending... The reverbs on the drums change.

Cosmic Day
I don't understand the appeal of this song. Never saw it with the snippent and don't see it with this full version. Maybe it'll grow on me?

Walkin' In Glory
This has always been high on my want-list, due to it supposedly being his redemption for Bob George. Ultimately, it's a fun song with a lot going on and I love the Bob George/ Like A Prayer guitar on it.

Wally
I wasn't that taken aback by the song when it initially leaked in its weird key/ mono form, but this shows what a lovely track it is.

I think I'm hearing noise reduction on here at some points?

I Need A Man
Great groove that doesn't really go anywhere. I've always liked it though.

Promise To Be True
Not amazing, but has definitly piqued my interest to hear the '83 version.

Jealous Girl (version 2)
I really dig this! You can certainly hear it being initially concieved in the early 80s and I'd love to hear that version!

There's Something I Like About Being Your Fool
This brought a smile to my face instantly. Obviously, its shared genre brings to mind If It'll Make U Happy. I don't think the track really goes anywhere though, which is a shame.

You can hear Prince talking in the background in some parts, almost like he's instructing?

Big Tall Wall (version 2)
I've always loved this - even from when the bootleg version was missing the first 30 seconds (or something like that...). Much better than the original featured on the first disc.

A Place In Heaven (Lisa vocal)
It is what it is.

Wonderful Day (12" mix)
I'm curious as to what Prince saw in this song that he thought it was single-worthy? It's by no means bad, but considering the other stuff he was recording at the time, it just seems like an odd choice for me.

There seems to be a hint of Emotional Pump in the middle.

Strange Relationship (1987 Shep Pettibone Club Mix)
I've been looking forward to this one, unlike everyone else it seems. Of course, Pettibones productions is distinctive and has seldom worked with Prince's songs, but I think it works best here. The breakdowns of instruments and extra vocals here and there really make this worth it.

It's a shame the Man Mix of I Could Never take the Place of Your Man wasn't featured on here as well.

Keys at the begining are reminicent of George Michael's Too Funky.

VaultCurator said:

Well, it turns out the ending of Rebirth is fucked! On the other hand, the missing segments during the body of the track sounds great.

I wish someone could provide some details about this version.

bluegangsta said:

Strange Relationship (1987 Shep Pettibone Club Mix)
I've been looking forward to this one, unlike everyone else it seems. Of course, Pettibones productions is distinctive and has seldom worked with Prince's songs, but I think it works best here. The breakdowns of instruments and extra vocals here and there really make this worth it.

It's a shame the Man Mix of I Could Never take the Place of Your Man wasn't featured on here as well.

Keys at the begining are reminicent of George Michael's Too Funky.

Never heard anything interesting from Shep Pettibone and this is also something I'll never listen to again.

JorisE73 said:

OperatingThetan said:

JorisE73 said:

Never heard anything interesting from Shep Pettibone and this is also something I'll never listen to again.

A very odd inclusion considering the number of songs still unreleased from the assigned time period.

the full guitar version and the Eric Leeds sax version of Crucial would be a dream to have in perfect quality, but then we get this thing.

VaultCurator said:

ElectricThighs said:

VaultCurator said:

Well, it turns out the ending of Rebirth is fucked! On the other hand, the missing segments during the body of the track sounds great.

Oh god it's fucked in two places isn't it! The jump at 2.54 sounds like a straight-up mistake. The end sounds deliberate but equally awful.

I'd have to compare but isn't it similar to the CB86 version?

Oh fuck!! 2 Nigs United 4 West Campton was built on Walkin' In Glory This is so crazy

OnlyNDaUsa said:

JorisE73 said:

bluegangsta said:

Strange Relationship (1987 Shep Pettibone Club Mix)
I've been looking forward to this one, unlike everyone else it seems. Of course, Pettibones productions is distinctive and has seldom worked with Prince's songs, but I think it works best here. The breakdowns of instruments and extra vocals here and there really make this worth it.

It's a shame the Man Mix of I Could Never take the Place of Your Man wasn't featured on here as well.

Keys at the begining are reminicent of George Michael's Too Funky.

Never heard anything interesting from Shep Pettibone and this is also something I'll never listen to again.

Never? As in never ever?

Hell, I'm pretty sure I'll listen to even them awful Junior Vasquez mixes sooner or later

databank said:

LoveGalore said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Rebirth of the flesh has lyrics I do not think I've heard on any boots?

Screw Cosmic Day, Rebirth is my jam. I'm digging this!!

Walkin' in Glory is insane. And what to make of Wally... It's interesting, it's good, but you can see how he kind of put more and more stuff into it until it's just a little too much, maybe to counter the vulnerability of the first recording? Considering Susan Rodgers story about it, you can almost hear the original in there and wonder what might have been.

[Edited 9/24/20 9:41am]

I would be fine if I didn't like Shep's Strange Relationship remix, so, I guess I should be fine with the fact that I'm really digging it...

Phishanga said:

a fan for 30+ years..I'm floored by Walk in Glory....i'm amazed he could put a song this inspired (and amazing) in his vault for his entire life time, (although, I've said that so many damn times). AMAZING. He is so damn inspired...

Wally - wow...like many, i was let down when i heard the leak. I'm really liking this one now

Do I have a bad version of "Wally" or did they use a bad tape as a source? There's some pretty awful/obvious tape warble on that track...

.

From 1:39 to 2:00. Around 2:15. From 4:35 to the end.

[Edited 9/24/20 11:41am]

who's playing on Walk in Glory? Is that Prince on everything?

olb99 said:

Do I have a bad version of "Wally" or did they use a bad tape as a source? There's some pretty awful/obvious warbling on that track...

Schlomo mentioned warble. I cannot hear anything but clear sounds.

WALKIN' IN GLORY is sort of like this Deluxe's LOVE & SEX from PURPLE RAIN: DELUXE.

It's absolutely insane that he routinely recorded lush, amazing, full-realized masterpeices like these and just kept them in The Vault....

LoveGalore said:

olb99 said:

Do I have a bad version of "Wally" or did they use a bad tape as a source? There's some pretty awful/obvious warbling on that track...

Schlomo mentioned warble. I cannot hear anything but clear sounds.

.

I really, really hope the MP3 I have is bad, but I really don't see how that problem could be caused by a bad rip or bad MP3 encoding...

The scream (or whatever that is) at the very beginning of Lisa's version of "A Place is Heaven" is still there! I had always thought it was a problem on the versions we had on our bootlegs...

Rebirth Of The Flesh - Hearing it in this kind of quality is almost like hearing it again for the first time. Such a funky, bad-ass track. I like his use of space in this song. It does sound like an edit at the end for sure. When the groove kicks back in afterwards, it's not as loud or clear as the rest of the song. I suppose it could have been something Prince did and never corrected when he decided to change the ending for the Crystal Ball album.

Walkin' In Glory - What a song! I never imagined such a traditional sounding gospel track from him, especially during this era. I can see choir robes and tamborines and handkerchiefs dabbing sweat from Pastor Prince's brow when I listen to this. The feverish vocals are intoxicating, and the spirit is so contagious.

Wally - This is one of my favorites of his, so the sound issues are a big letdown, especially considering how good it sounds aside from them. How did this get past quality control? It's like Erotic City extended from the Purple Rain deluxe but worse. It starts at 1:37 and continues until about 2:00, and then comes back right at the end. I was going to reserve judgement until I heard the official digital version tonight at midnight but I fear it's not a file issue. Was the master damaged? Was it missing, and they decided to source it from a cassette? I hope Howe comments on it.

Promise To Be True - At first I thought it was cute but a little too pedestrian, but the more I listen to it, the more I love it. I can't wait to listen to this while I'm driving. Such a fun, upbeat, well-constructed little pop/soul ditty.

There's Something I Like About Being Your Fool - I'm really loving this one! I think the Bonnie Raitt tracks are easy to overlook as they are perhaps not as interesting as some of his more adventurous songs. But they're all very entertaining and major growers. I love his guitar soloing as well. There's nothing like that ethereal squeal he would hit during this era and Lovesexy.

Big Tall Wall (Version 2) - We've had this for years in varying quality, though the most recent leak was light years ahead of what we had been listening to for decades. But hearing it like this, with the incredible clarity of his background vocals, is a revelation. Such a sparse, airy track, but his vocals are absolutely luscious.

Wonderful Day (12" Mix) - I was never particularly fond of this track, as it didn't have enough Prince vocals for my taste, but I really love this long mix featuring both him and Wendy & Lisa. It's so much better to hear it fleshed out like this, rather than the uninspiring Dream Factory edit. The tightness of the playing is pretty ridiculous. It's not what I would call a funk track, but the rhythmic sensibility is like a funk masterclass.

Strange Relationship (1987 Shep Pettibone Club Mix) - Not at all what I was expecting. I think because of the word "club" I was expecting something faster and more dance oriented. I love the extra vocal parts and playing, but some of Shep's choices don't really benefit the song, especially all of the clumsy sampling. I think I'd love it without all of his extras.