We Can Funk, Tick Tick Bang, Endorphinmachine*, Come, Feel U Up, Irresistable Bitch, Old Friends 4 Sale* and on it goes...

All officially released and all worse than the original demos/versions stuck in the vault.

Why does P feel then need to balls perfectly good songs up? I don't get it!







* = The released versions of these two annoy me the most.

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[This message was edited Wed Nov 12 12:44:41 PST 2003 by Marrk]

He often gets it wrong. He's only human, I suppose.

Because Prince does not feel thbe world deserves some of th e good songs and some of th e good versions of them...honest. He stated in a 1990-92 interview in Vibe or Spin..I think its Spin ( D&P era) about hw he had a great song he kept off of D&P because it was too good for release..he would "put it on The Dawn" etc..so he seems to have this upper-crust attitude that his good ones are too good to be heard by the rest of humanity at large lol..really. I know it seems like a backwards azz thing to do such as not releasing great great material but thats what makes him our lil Princey lol.

stingey stingey stingey

the original version of "old friends" is one o the best songs ive ever heard.

I think I know what you mean "Marrk". But I also think that what you're saying is very subjective. I'd be willing to bet there are many, many famous Prince songs that became hits that are actually songs that Prince re-worked to his liking. But, because we never heard the "vault" version of those songs, we don't know the difference and therfore have no reason to complain about the release of what some would call "inferior" work.

Prince would probably argue that we (the fans) have no business listening to unreleased unauthorized vault material anyway. In our minds, we may think that one version is better than the other. But, we don't really know how Prince "hears" the song in releation to the vast catalog of his work.

Buying and listening to vault material from Prince has and probably always will be very tempting simply because he's so prolific. But, the drawback on taking a sneak peek is exactly what you're saying... meaning that one could always conclude that the earlier version is better because it doesn't have "this" or it does have "that" etc. But basically all we're doing is second guessing an artist's work at that point.

inferior?!?!

interpretations, yes, but NEVER inferior.

danielboon said:

What version? The strings version? Don't you like the version released in "The Vault... Old friends for sale".
What is the difference?

JavierAlcalde said:

For one, the lyrics to the original are much more personal.

It's all opinion ain't it, maybe he digs the released versions more?

Besides, we know what a freak Prince is for NOW, seems like he will always choose whatever he's doing NOW over what he's done before (except when picking songs for a tour set list )

JavierAlcalde said:

A night and day difference imho

JavierAlcalde said:

Lyrical differences:

1985 version:

Old Friends 4 Sale

The sun set in the west this mornin'
4 I know, I know L.A. is callin'
Bad news, Steve said, and people are talkin'
They say your kingdom is fallin', yeah
They say U lost your fire
When another musician U hired
Little do they know, U wouldn't have passed go
Unless they could take U higher, yeah

The sun set in my heart this afternoon
4 2 friends of mine got stuck in the snow
In Uptown when winter's alarmin', oh
Cocaine becomes charmin'
But U talk about things U don't know 'bout
I know, no matter how pleasant your past was
Green and white return 2 blue
U're happy as long as your last buzz
And then U think U want something new, yeah

The sun, the sun set in my mind this evening
4 someone who said they would die 4 me
Sold some, they sold some more pictures and all my little memories
Chump change is 2 unravel the mystery, ah ha
But life is no fun, life ain't no fun without fantasy
Some things are better left unsaid
And some people are better left untrusted
Maybe, maybe, maybe it'll all make sense when I'm dead
When I'm dead

Old friends 4 sale
Get'em while the gettin' is hot
Watch out, they'll kiss U until they get what U got
And they'll show U the friends that they're not
Old friends 4 sale

Courtesy of http://www.dtt-lyrics.com...5.html#old

Vault version

Old Friends 4 Sale


The sun set in my heart this evenin'
Cuz an old friend of mine got lost in the jive
Little did she know, when U're stuck in the snow
Nobody gets out alive

Tears fall gently in my garden
As I wait in vain 4 my sweet baby 2 call
I guess what my own brother told me was true
He had been with my sweet baby and she never really loved me at all

Night fell so dark this evenin'
The moon wasn't shinin' nowhere
Sometimes that old light in the alley would light up this old heart of mine
But now I'm wonderin' if there's someone up there who really cares

The night fell darkest in Persia
What used 2 flow blue is now flowin' black
Many a doctor can try, but only heaven knows why
When it comes 2 love, why do some men, why do some men turn their backs?
Can't somebody please tell me?

Maybe the morning air will make me feel better
Oh, I hope better than I feel right now
Last night a stranger took my picture and then he, uh..
He asked if I'd buy it, huh
I said, "I guess I don't know how"

Old, old friends 4 sale
Get'em while the gettin' is hot
But U better watch out, they'll kiss U until they get what U got
And they'll show U the friends that they're not
Old friends 4 sale
(Yeah, hey, yeah, ooh)


© 1999 Controversy Music - ASCAP

courtesy: http://www.dtt-lyrics.com...ml#friends

JavierAlcalde said:

i love "two friends o mine got stuck in the snow" line its not bout cocaine its bout jimmy jam and terry lewis gettin literally stuck in the snow , missin rehearsals 4 the time and being sacked !ive got an interview j jam / t lewis talkin bout this they say missin rehearsal cos o the snow was just an excuse 2 sack em , the real reason was prince found out they were producing the s o s band and was pissed at them 4 not puttin the time 1st !.

the vault version i'm pretty sure is about cocaine !!!

danielboon said:

I know there is a debate about this, but I'm sure P Susan Rogers confirmed the "two friends got stuck in the snow" was about Morris Day and Vanity, who both had drug problems at the time.

It would make sense, given the next lines.

SquirrelMeat said:

u may b rite !, both songs do infact refer 2 cocaine.but that 1 line (no pun intended) "2 friends o mine got stuck in the snow" ! jimmy and terry did speak about this i've got the interview !

I think I read first that it was Jimmy/Terry, but the line makes a much better image and in keeping the melancholy feel of the song if it refers to Morris and Vanity.

Romance1600 said:

u never kno, mayb its about morris and vanity ! and he got the idea from jimmy and terry being literally stuck in the snow !

it's some coincidence , jimmy and terry did get stuck in the snow !

The released version of Irresistable Bitch is damn classic - no way inferior.

danielboon said:

I always liked the idea that the song was about Terry and Jimmy. DON'T SPLIT THE TIME!

Prince, where he released inferior versions ?

1. Come
2. Joy In Repetition
3. Computer Blue
4. The Beautiful Ones
5. Endorphin Machine

BUT, where he made the right choice re-recording?

1. Kiss
2. Can't Stop this feeling I got
3. Tick Tick Bang
4. Would U love 2 Love me?
5. Crystal Ball




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[This message was edited Wed Nov 12 17:35:31 PST 2003 by SquirrelMeat]

SquirrelMeat said:

Add Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic to that list.

I gotta believe that there is a much better version sitting in the vault than the one that ended up on the album.

The live version from Small Club just pokes the eyes into the back of the skull of the released studio song.

Last night a stranger took my picture and then he, uh..
He asked if I'd buy it, huh
I said, "I guess I don't know how"

has got to be the lamest, stupidest lyrics p ever wrote.

smokeverbs said:

yteah i never got that either!

Add Daddy Pop, Live For Love, and Joy In Repetition if they haven't been mentioned above. Joy In Repetition has to be the all-time best example of this...He totally screwed up the start of it.....

I sometimes wonder if he felt he was too overshadowed by Rosie Gaines on the original version of Daddy Pop and he changed it around because of this...probably not, but it's a thought because she totally GOES OFF on the outtake version...damn that's a funky one.
[This message was edited Thu Nov 13 4:23:44 PST 2003 by TonyC]

OMG, after reading that I'm desperate to hear the original Old Friends. Could some kind soul possible send it to me over MSN? I'm on broadband and my addy is littleredcorvette@davidbowie.com

My on a positive note: I personally like the version of "She spoke to me" that apperaed on the Girl 6 Soundtrack. - I thought Spike Lee was genius for choosing Prince for the score - I don't think any other artist would have done it any justice!

littleredcorvette1 said:

Never liked the song.

I was listening to some stuff last night. One of the tracks was the unreleased version of Feel U Up that blends into Irresistible Bitch. I prefer the released version of Feel U Up (Short Stroke or Long Stroke I ain't fussy). It just sounds better to my ears.

But Irresistible Bitch sounds better on the unreleased version IMHO with Prince's "Jamie Starr/Cloreen Baconskin" voice. He fairly screams it and the released version sounds a bit subdued and cold in comparison.

Personally, I find "Tick Tick Bang" and "Come" to be far more interesting in their released versions, simply because there is so much more going on in the mix. The guitar on Tick Tick Bang makes it better than the original to me, and the horns and strings in Come make it better than the original.