Unreleased (1983) / Purple Rain Deluxe (2017)
In 2017, folk began to reappraise Electric Intercourse’s history after the previously assumed to be non-existent studio version made a surprise appearance. For years a live bootleg had been kicking around and was thought to be the final version intended for the Purple Rain album, taken from the same concert as I Would Die 4 U, Baby I’m A Star and Purple Rain (and like that closing trio overdubbed shortly after). Was the newly-released studio mix recorded before or after that performance? Was it intended as a demo or a replacement? I would have thought it’s an early draft as it’s a nice curio but the live performance is where the spine tingles are. The question is moot anyway. Does it matter which version ultimately got replaced by The Beautiful Ones? The real question is how the hell did Prince write 180 better songs than this?
Was wondering the same thing. I’m not sure there are 180 songs better than this……..the live version is the marginally less appealing version of the Beautiful Ones.
Not having heard the live version, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this studio version since it came out. It’s a shame it’ll always be known as The Beautiful Ones’s lesser sibling because it’s a great song in its own right.
I had only heard the studio version and found it dull/bland. For me, there are easily 300+ songs better that it. But after reading this I looked for the live version, and now I think the problem is the sound of his voice (for this song). These are probably not the right terms, but the music sounds high/flat/weak – and his voice is as well, and that’s not a good combination. This music needs the deeper vocals of the live version.