Hi everyone.

I just want to take a second to acknowledge one of my favourite unreleased album sequences. Although this particular track list shares a small handful of songs with the finalised Sign ‘O’ The Times, it has enough exclusive material to feel like a very unique album in it’s own right.

Happy 40th Anniversary Dream Factory.

Side 1: Visions; Dream Factory; It's a Wonderful Day; The Ballad of Dorothy Parker; It
Side 2: Strange Relationship; Teacher, Teacher; Starfish & Coffee; Wendy; In a Large Room with No Light; Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A; Sexual Suicide
Side 3: Crystal Ball; Power Fantastic
Side 4: Last Heart; Witness 4 The Prosecution; Movie Star; A Place in Heaven; All My Dreams

Great classic configuration. More of a Revolution album than the configuration that followed on 18 July 1986.

[Edited 6/3/26 21:32pm]

It's so fascinating to look at what was left on the cutting room floor in the transition to SOTT. Some of those omissions were the absolute right call (Teacher Teacher; Movie Star; A Place In Heaven). But then you have incredible songs like Power Fantastic, Crystal Ball, In A Large Room With No Light, and Sexual Suicide, none of which made it to a proper album. Just compilations, and the one-off rerecording of Large Room a few decades later.

As it was, this configuration of Dream Factory would have been very uneven, but it would have arguably had some of the highest highs of anything he recorded.

Heeeeyyyyy... I *like* Movie Star!!!

I think you see the culling of Revolution-sounding tracks here for the sake of it. I'm sure Prince realised how transcendent something like 'Power Fantastic' was, but that song and other standouts like IALRWNL, Witness, Last Heart, Sexual Suicide and All My Dreams lean too close to the feel of the Revolution sound that would just muddy the waters on SOTT.

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Other exclusions like Teacher Teacher and It's A Wonderful Day were the right call being far too lightweight and erring on the side of placeholders or filler imo. None of which means I don't like this project or config, nothing could be further from the truth.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but is "Wendy" actually the "Wendy's Parade" demo?

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There's no "Wendy" listed on Prince Vault...

GiggityGoo said:

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but is "Wendy" actually the "Wendy's Parade" demo?

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There's no "Wendy" listed on Prince Vault...

It's "Colors", the 2 minute interlude of Wendy playing guitar

PacManPlus said:

trickyjoe7777 said:

GiggityGoo said:

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but is "Wendy" actually the "Wendy's Parade" demo?

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There's no "Wendy" listed on Prince Vault...

It's "Colors", the 2 minute interlude of Wendy playing guitar

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Thank you for the info! And thank you for not berating me for not knowing the answer to my question beforehand, like some people on this site are wont to do...

I would love it if the estate released this configuration. Maybe marketed as the unheard, final Prince & The Revolution album? I understand there was another config after this, but that one feels more like an early version of Sign o the Times. This definitely has its own vibe.

I like "Movie Star" too. Total "Christopher Tracy" vibes. "Witness" (the "guitar rock" version) slams too.