Prince was always hyper prolific, especially during the early half of his career. Counting side-projects and side-bands, proteges, etc., during the periods of 1981/82 through 1988 he was writing and recording up to 80 songs a year....

But the year 1980...not a lot is known about aside from the 8 quickly recorded songs from DIRTY MIND, most of them virtual demos recorded in a day at most...

You have the b-side GOTTA STOP MESSIN' AROUND as well as some other tracks like...

EROS

I DON'T WANNA STOP (Given to Ren Woods)

PLASTIC LOVE AFFAIR

ROUGH

TOO TOUGH

AMERICAN JAM

BIG BRASS BED

BULGARIA, and

WHEN THE SHIT COMES DOWN (reportedly a favorite of David Z and evidentally a rehearsal rock jam)...

So that is ~17 songs for the year...

ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT PRICE ONLY RECORDED 17 SONGS DURING THE EARLY RUDE BOY ERA???

I say there has got to be another 40-50 songs we don't know about.

Well, if you keep making up your own song titles, there could be rumors of hundreds more!

this is true and those who say "uhhhhhhhhhhhh why don't they bundle dirty mind and controversy sde's since there's not much vault material from the era" have absolutely no clue what they're talking about and to them i say... careful what you wish for

Not gonna hold my breath, but I hope the material gets professionally released one day.

Around 1985 there were 700-800 songs in the vault and that figure went up to about 2000 in '89.

So that indicates he was way more prolific in the late 80s. The "80 songs a year" - OP, is probably more accurate guess of how much he was recording in the early 80s. Much less than that and I'd be surprised bc he was so young.

nayroo2002 said:

Well, if you keep making up your own song titles, there could be rumors of hundreds more!

lmfao

soladeo1 said:

ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT PRICE ONLY RECORDED 17 SONGS DURING THE EARLY RUDE BOY ERA???

Give one example of someone saying that. Just one will do.

PRICE ONLY RECORDED 17 SONGS DURING THE EARLY RUDE BOY ERA.

Folks there is more that we don't know about in the vault than do know about, so, I would think any album of his could be a stand alone SDE without having to look very far for content.

Guys, I think I know something, except that I really don't, so I'm really just thinking out loud, so what do you all think?

Seriously though - knowing Prince like we do, and how he liked to record all the time - it would seem odd if the known unreleased tracks are all there is from that period. There must be more. Although Dirtymind was a 'demo' album, so that might have some clue to the lack of other fully formed studio tracks (not that we care if they are studio or not!), I guess this was before he used to book out Sunset Sound, so maybe there is a lack of studio material? Probably loads of 'home studio' demos though.

A little harmony guitar!

Dandroppedadime said:

Seriously though - knowing Prince like we do, and how he liked to record all the time - it would seem odd if the known unreleased tracks are all there is from that period. There must be more. Although Dirtymind was a 'demo' album, so that might have some clue to the lack of other fully formed studio tracks (not that we care if they are studio or not!), I guess this was before he used to book out Sunset Sound, so maybe there is a lack of studio material? Probably loads of 'home studio' demos though.

A little harmony guitar!

I think the use of the word demo for Dirty Mind was used more for marketing than anything else.

I think it goes without actually saying that this is the case, but we in general don't know a good half of what is in the vault. Perhaps less than half do we know, even. For a variety of reasons. He simply didn't have a need or desire to hand out tapes much at various points. But he was pretty much always recording for the vast majority of his career.

someone told me plastic love affair was quote "really fucking good" and it's about him fucking a blowup sex doll and it tears me apart on a daily basis that i don't have it

lustmealways said:

someone told me plastic love affair was quote "really fucking good" and it's about him fucking a blowup sex doll and it tears me apart on a daily basis that i don't have it

LOL!!! Fo' real????

When The Revolution played in Austin a few years ago I had a few moments with David Z as he signed a copy of PARADE on vinyl... As I walked away I kicked myself for not asking him about WHEN THE SHIT COMES DOWN...

Have you guys ever heard the various "demos" of SISTER?

They are really interesting... Just Prince and his telecaster RAW.

soladeo1 said:

SoulAlive said:

soladeo1 said:

You have the b-side GOTTA STOP MESSIN' AROUND as well as some other tracks like...

EROS

I DON'T WANNA STOP (Given to Ren Woods)

PLASTIC LOVE AFFAIR

ROUGH

TOO TOUGH

AMERICAN JAM

BIG BRASS BED

BULGARIA, and

WHEN THE SHIT COMES DOWN (reportedly a favorite of David Z and evidentally a rehearsal rock jam)...

also,the song “Lisa”

And 'Kiss Me Quick' apparently. There's a note on Princevault stating that it is from that period and not later as originally thought. I alway assumed as much, as it just sounds so much like a track at the very end of his Disco Soul phase.

And if the different takes of 'Sister' are anything to go by, there's likely to be demos of all the released Dirty Mind tracks too. I'd love to hear those.

Actually, Id be happy for his version of the 'Rebels' tracks to be on a Dirty Mind SE. They feel to fit musically here more than they would on a Prince SE

[Edited 3/25/21 2:12am]

-

...and why do bootleggers or the so called elite don't release these so called numerous unreleased gems of this era ?

-

Vannormal said:

-

...and why do bootleggers or the so called elite don't release these so called numerous unreleased gems of this era ?

-

You're assuming they have them. If a bootlegger had them, they'd have released them. Thats how bootlegging works.

In all honesty, I'm happy to wait for an SE from the era with good quality sound. I spent FAR too much money in the 90s buying dodgy bootlegs with even dodgier sound quality.

IAdoreWeronika said:

fortuneandserendipity said:

Around 1985 there were 700-800 songs in the vault and that figure went up to about 2000 in '89.

So that indicates he was way more prolific in the late 80s. The "80 songs a year" - OP, is probably more accurate guess of how much he was recording in the early 80s. Much less than that and I'd be surprised bc he was so young.

Considering Prince moved to a house with a studio complex in it during the second half of the 80s, makes sense his output increased then!

fernandomachado said:

fortuneandserendipity said:

Around 1985 there were 700-800 songs in the vault and that figure went up to about 2000 in '89.

So that indicates he was way more prolific in the late 80s. The "80 songs a year" - OP, is probably more accurate guess of how much he was recording in the early 80s. Much less than that and I'd be surprised bc he was so young.

Considering Prince moved to a house with a studio complex in it during the second half of the 80s, makes sense his output increased then!

That's only half the reason at best. P began recording at Paisley Park 9 July 1987, 2.5 yrs of the decade left. He was prolific in 1985 but in '86 and '87 he didn't tour much at all, when you look at the dates. So that probably has more to do with it than anything.

soladeo1 said:

I say there has got to be another 40-50 songs we don't know about.

.

Yes!
But... Can the 'experts' locate these songs in well enough econdition to be assessed?

Can the 'experts' agree on not censoring these early (perhaps 'dirty') songs?

Can the 'experts' get their minds around a normal packaging for this set, please?

LoveGalore said:

in general don't know a good half of what is in the vault. Perhaps less than half do we know, even.

Bilbo Baggins?

SanMartin said:

LoveGalore said:

in general don't know a good half of what is in the vault. Perhaps less than half do we know, even.

Bilbo Baggins?

.

Are they in the 'experts' team?