The Tracklist for the Deluxe Reissue of Prince's Purple Rain Is Glorious

By Rich Juzwiak  |  April 20, 2017 | 7:40pm
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Via the Facebook page A Violet Reality, Variety got its hands on what it says is the tracklist of the long-delayed multi-disc reissue of Prince’s classic Purple Rain album (supposedly due out June 9, just two days after what would have been Prince’s 59th birthday). And if it’s real, please pinch me because I feel like I’m dreaming as I write this. Forgive me if it goes astray?

Disc 1 is assumed to include the original nine-track Purple Rain album, while Disc 2 while include some edits, extended versions, and b-sides associated with the album and its singles. All of that stuff, while not entirely easy to obtain in 2017, has been officially released in some form. And not to be greedy (even though when it comes to new old Prince music I totally am greedy), but the most disappointing thing is the absence of the rumored (but as yet unreleased/bootlegged) extended version of the “When Doves Cry” b-side “17 Days,” a perfect song that could only be made more perfect by lengthening its runtime.

Disc 3, though, is the set’s true gold—it contains 11 tracks from Prince’s vault that have never been officially released. It includes the studio version of the lovely “Electric Intercourse” (something I’ve spent months pining for) and presumably pristine versions of songs that have previously circulated on bootlegs—being a diehard Prince fan has long involved going behind Prince’s back to hear that which he never intended you to hear easily in the comfort of your own home. This set is an idealized version of that process, with the added poignancy (if not ambivalence) that if Prince hadn’t died, we probably wouldn’t have ever gotten this release (and almost certainly not in this form).

Anyway, here are the Disc 2 and Disc 3 track lists, per Variety:

Disc 2: Edits & extended mixes

  1. When Doves Cry (7” single edit)
  2. 17 Days (single edit)
  3. Let’s Go Crazy (single edit)
  4. Erotic City (single edit)
  5. Purple Rain (single edit)
  6. God (single edit)
  7. God (Love Theme From Purple Rain) (instrumental)
  8. Another Lonely Christmas (single edit)
  9. I Would Die 4 U (single edit)
  10. Baby I’m a Star (single edit)
  11. Take Me With U (single edit)
  12. Erotic City (extended version)
  13. Another Lonely Christmas (extended version)
  14. I Would Die 4 U (extended version)

Disc 3: From the Vault

  1. The Dance Electric (11:29) (with bandmate Andre Cymone)
  2. Love and Sex (5:00)
  3. Computer Blue (“Hallway Speech” version) (12:18)
  4. Velvet Kitty Cat (2:32)
  5. Katrina’s Paper Dolls (3:30)
  6. We Can Fuck (10:17)
  7. Electric Intercourse (studio version) (4:57)
  8. Our Destiny / Roadhouse Garden (6:25)
  9. Possessed (7:56)
  10. Wonderful Ass (6:24)
  11. Father’s Song (5:30)

While Warner Bros, the record label releasing the set, has yet to confirm this tracklist, Variety says it was leaked by an eagle-eyed fan who noticed its songs had been registered, and that furthermore, “a source close to the situation confirmed the tracklist’s general accuracy.” Two live shows of the Purple Rain era are also expected to be packaged in the set.

This news comes at the same time that a judge has (perhaps temporarily) blocked the release of Deliverance, a six-track EP of Prince collaborations with sound engineer George Ian Boxill that Boxill attempted to release without the permission of Prince’s estate. Unlike the Purple Rain release, though, which promises to be surreal in its offering the public generally unheard music from the artist’s creative prime (like the past and the future swirling together on a decadent ice cream cone of sound), the tracks on Deliverance date back to 2006, which was…decidedly after Prince’s creative prime. True to form, though, Deliverance leaked in its entirety, regardless of the judge’s restraining order.

 
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