Baby, You're A Trip - A Review of Prince's 'Originals'

Being a huge and obsessive fan of Prince and all things Minneapolis, I was very excited when I heard about the release of Originals, the latest set of tracks compiled by the Prince estate featuring his versions of songs written for other artists and protégés. Of all the releases to come out posthumously from Prince’s fabled vault, this album is the most pleasing collection yet, albeit flawed.

A more apt title would be ‘Demos,’ as all but one of the tunes offered here are unfinished versions with merely guide vocals by the maestro himself. While this certainly will intrigue the completist, I tend to wonder if some of these unfinished cuts are best served with proper re-issues of the finished versions, the way Prince wanted them to be heard. On the other hand, some tracks are unique and refreshing takes on officially released material, in some cases outshining those releases.

First track, 'Sex Shooter', falls into the first camp. While it’s mildly provocative hearing Prince’s falsetto chirp lines like, ‘Listen boys, little girl’s body can’t compete with mine’, ultimately I’m left wanting to revisit the hit version from his girl group Apollonia 6. Originally written for Vanity to sing, a bootleg exists with her manning the seductive vocals, which sells it a lot more than Prince does. And why the decision to cut off all the great synth work at the end?! Same can be said for the next track, 'Jungle Love.' Originally written for The Time Ice Cream Castles album, Prince’s vocals don’t take anything away from it, but don’t really add anything either. Again, this is a truncated version omitting a lot of the musicality and production values of the finished release.

Things pick up however with ‘Manic Monday.’ Many know this as the hit Prince penned for psychedelic pop group The Bangles, but not as many know this was originally written for Apollonia 6, before Prince lost interest in that project. It’s refreshing to hear Purple Rain-era production (think Take Me With U) paired with a charming vocal by Prince and Brenda Bennett. This great pop tune is followed by another gem, ‘Noon Rendezvous,’ from Sheila E.'s first album. The Prince estate should be commended for featuring deeper cuts like this one, introducing newer listeners to some of Prince’s less well-known, but no less essential, material. Highlights are the ethereal piano playing, omitted in the released version, plus a typically over the top vocal performance from Prince, underscoring all the longing and desire of the lyrics.

‘Make Up’ comes next. While this is also a deep cut I love, Prince’s lackluster guide vocal doesn’t do this minimal piece of electronic funk any favors. I never thought I would prefer the questionable vocal stylings of Vanity 6 over Prince, but here we are. Seek out the one and only Vanity 6 album to hear Susan’s deliriously deadpan delivery.

The following track ‘100 mph’ was written for Mazarati, a band mentored by Revolution bassist Brown Mark (after Prince took back the hit song ‘Kiss’ from them), and I forgot how funky this was. A nice rediscovery. ‘You’re My Love,’ written for Kenny Rogers, follows and this is remarkable for hearing Prince try and ape the style of a country crooner; a rare occasion indeed that is simultaneously fascinating and funny.

Unfortunately things go far south with the EPIC FAIL that is ‘Holy Rock.’ This ridiculous attempt at rap was dispatched to Sheila E. for her appearance in the Krush Groove movie. Apparently, many on the set of this film were wondering why Sheila was cast in a movie about hip-hop's origins in the first place, and surely this insipid throwaway didn’t help. The production is half baked, the music repetitive and the less said about the ‘funky’ rap lyrics the better. Why on earth the estate found it necessary to subject us to the full 6:38 of this is anyone’s guess. Why not give us more from The Family or Jill Jones projects? Skip it.

At last we get to the true piece of brilliance, ‘Baby You’re A Trip,’ which I was thrilled to finally hear in pristine quality after pouring over the bootleg for years. This gospel infused number was eventually sung by Jill Jones for her release on Paisley Park, and while she certainly holds her own with it, this tune belongs to Prince. All the elements of Prince’s best 80’s ballads are here; the heavy Linn drum machine, the minimalist instrumentation, the exaggerated and immensely soulful vocal delivery. It’s hard to pinpoint what about the song excites me most, but if I had to, it would be the screaming climax at 3:05. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Prince’s screaming speaks to me in a visceral way. The extreme emotional places he gets to with that scream...well, there really is nothing like it. This one is just pure heaven.

‘The Glamorous Life’ comes next. Added obviously to feature a big hit, it's still a great song here, but without Sheila E.s manic cowbells and timbales a lot of the fire is missing. Conversely, ‘Gigolos Get Lonely Too’ has the same arrangement as The Time’s version, but here Prince’s vocal adds something more sincere than Morris Day’s typically comic take. Terrific vocals continue on the wonderful ‘Love, Thy Will Be Done’ co-written with singer Martika. Hear what Prince can do as he showcases his trademark minimal production; just a one note bass line and some abstract chords. Sublime.

A nice surprise is the oldest demo offered here, ‘Wouldn’t You Love To Love Me.’ Stretching all the way back to 1981 (which also may explain the bizarre choice to have a Dirty Mind-era photo on the cover), this is a groovy tune that had a long shelf life in the vault. It was first offered to Michael Jackson, who foolishly passed on it, before being a mild hit for Taja Sevelle. I dig the post-70’s FM radio style instrumentation and demo quality of the recording. Another Sheila E. deep cut follows in the form of ‘Dear Michaelangelo’ (misspelling intentional), a whimsical ode to unrequited love. It’s a bit corny, but has all the laced sleeve romanticism of mid-80's Prince and is remarkable when you realize it was cobbled together on an off day during the Purple Rain tour.

The album ends with Nothing Compares 2 U, offered here for the second time from the estate to pack the set with another hit. The track was first heard on the excellent Family release on Paisley Park, but I’m from the school of thought that says Sinead O'Connor and co-producer Nelly Hooper really got the best out of this one. I find Prince’s arrangement plodding, especially with that irritating ‘Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh....’ hook which Connor and Hooper rightfully omitted.

All in all, Originals is a fine collection, hopefully pointing the way towards unearthing more worthy finds from The Vault, as well as drumming up interest for proper re-releases of Vanity/Apollonia 6, The Time, Jill Jones, Sheila E. and The Family. For new and old fans alike, this collection proves once again Prince’s astonishing range as a songwriter, producer and musician, who could assimilate almost any genre that struck his fancy, and toss off timeless tunes left and right. A true Original indeed.