Posthumous Prince Playlist

My Mixtape’s A Masterpiece is a weekly feature in which a guest compiles a 11-song playlist around some theme. This week, Keith Doughty assembles a group of Prince tracks that have been posthumously released.

The stories of Prince’s vault of unreleased music preceded his death in 2016. Already extremely prolific with officially released music, Prince was said to have hours and hours of fully completed songs locked away where, outside of sketchy bootlegs, fans couldn’t hear them. These songs, recorded over the course of his almost 40-year career, included music created during the height of Prince’s commercial and creative peak. Although the musician would make occasional noise about releasing some of these long sought after tunes, very few were actually forthcoming in his lifetime.

That all changed with Prince’s untimely death. Prince died without a will, so it was left to his estate to figure out what to do with the contents of this legendary vault. Regardless of what Prince would have personally wanted, his estate made the decision to start releasing unreleased music at a steady clip. Finally, Prince fans would get the chance they were waiting for. But would this music live up to their lofty expectations? As it turns out, these unreleased songs mirror Prince’s released oeuvre in that they are a real mixed bag.

There are some stinkers, some interesting-but-flawed songs, and some stone-cold new classics. So without further ado, here is my mixtape of Prince’s posthumous releases.

1. “Wonderful Ass” (from Purple Rain (Deluxe Expanded Edition))

This song, as the kids say, is a bop. It’s that perfect combination of funk and new-wave that only Prince in the mid ‘80s could achieve. I also love how the titular line seems like a non-sequitur for most of the song.  Seriously, look at the below lyrics and try to imagine what the next line in the song will be.

You do not understand my quirky ways
My crazy logic leaves you in a daze
You think my neurosis is just a phase

Did you imagine “you’ve got a wonderful ass”? Of course you didn’t. But Prince did, and that’s why he was a genius.

2. “Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden” (from Purple Rain (Deluxe Expanded Edition))

Actually a combination of two unreleased songs, the first sung by Lisa Coleman of The Revolution and the second by Prince. Honestly, the second song is just ok, but I really love “Our Destiny”. It leans into pop/new-wave even more than Purple Rain did. I’d have loved to hear an entire album from Prince and the Revolution in this vein, but it seems like this is the closest we’ll get.

3. “Electric Intercourse” (from Purple Rain (Deluxe Expanded Edition))

This is my favorite of the of the unreleased tracks on the Purple Rain reissue. Originally recorded during the Purple Rain sessions, “Electric Intercourse” was most likely intended for inclusion on that album until it was replaced by “The Beautiful Ones.” Which frankly makes sense. “The Beautiful Ones” is a great, great song; probably my favorite of Prince’s slow love songs. It clearly fits better thematically with Purple Rain. While “Electric Intercourse” is musically similar to “The Beautiful Ones”, the latter is a love song whereas the former is a pure sex song: 

Cuz baby, U shock my wild
With a sexual electricity extraordinaire
Come and take advantage and undress me
I don't even know U, I don't even care

Dead sexy. I understand why Prince felt that “Electric Intercourse” wouldn’t fit on Purple Rain, but it’s pretty wild that he just locked the song up for over 30 years and did nothing with it.

4. “You’re My Love” (from Originals)

This song is from the Originals album, which is made up of Prince’s versions of songs he wrote for other artists. “You’re My Love” was written for Kenny Rogers—of all people—and released on his 14th studio album in 1987. Prince’s version is certainly a bit cheesy (once again, the song was written for Kenny Rogers) but I find it compelling to listen to a Prince song written in a very different style from what I’m used to. Prince sings in a low register for much of the song and slowly ramps up the emotion in his performance. By the time he hits the high note after the bridge, I’m hooked.

5. “Gigolos Get Lonely Too” (from Originals)

Another one from the Originals album, this song was written for Morris Day and The Time (obviously) and originally released on their second album, What Time Is It?. Since Prince ghost recorded most of the music on The Time’s albums, Prince’s version of this song is basically the same as The Time’s, but with Prince’s vocals replacing Morris Day’s. Now, I like Morris Day as much as the next guy, and Prince’s vocals really aren’t better than Day’s. But it’s notable that Prince can so easily replicate the distinct Morris Day persona while having so many other styles of singing in his toolbox. Morris Day really just had his one shtick (which was a great shtick, for certain), but I think it’s a testament to Prince’s talent that he can so easily step in and do the same thing with no drop in quality.

6. “Dear Michaelangelo” (from Originals)

The last song from the Originals album I’m going to highlight was written for Sheila E. and released on her Romance 1600 album in 1985. Much like The Time, Prince ghost recorded the music and sang backup on Sheila E.’s version of this song, so Prince’s version sounds similar musically. But Prince is a much better singer than Sheila E.. His version stands up well compared to his official releases from the mid-80s.

7. “Vagina” (from 1999 (Super Deluxe Edition))

This song is more on the fun but flawed end of things. It’s got a cool Rolling Stones-like guitar riff as the main backing track. Then Prince starts singing about a former lover named Vagina, a woman he meets at a gay bar and who is “half-boy, half-girl, best of both worlds”. What else do we learn about Vagina?

1. Her hair is shorter than Prince’s

2. She taught Prince how to dance

3. She’s so strong and so understanding

4. She won’t tell Prince where she got her name

I’m not really sure what to make of all this. Were the sexual and gender politics of this song progressive for its era (40 years ago)? Is this all a bunch of Prince lyrical nonsense and he would be mortified that it eventually got a wide release? I guess we’ll never know. But it’s an enjoyable ditty nonetheless.

8. “Moonbeam Levels” (from 1999 (Super Deluxe Edition))

This is another song I consider to be good but not great. It’s got a bit of a meandering verse that leads into a super catchy, but repetitive, chorus. Apparently Prince considered including this on almost every album from 1999 to Sign O’ The Times but ultimately decided against it.

9. “International Lover – Take 1 – Live in Studio” (from 1999 (Super Deluxe Edition))

Unlike the album version which is song in a high falsetto, this version of “International Lover” is sung entirely in a lower register. I actually think the lower register is a much better fit for this song. Plus, when Prince gets to the “sexy message from the cockpit” part of the song, he cracks up, showing some awareness of how ridiculous that part of the song is.

10. “Rebirth of the Flesh – Original Outro” (from Sign O’ The Times (Super Deluxe Edition))

“Rebirth of the Flesh” is performed in the same dark, funky style as the funkiest tracks on Sign O’ The Times and The Black Album. Prince sings through his ‘Camille’ alter ego, using studio effects to manipulate his vocals until they are 5% chipmunk, 95% androgynous dark lord of funk. The song was conceived as part of an entire album of Camille tracks, but the project was abandoned. While most of the other songs from the aborted Camille album were released in other forms, “Rebirth of the Flesh” was held back.

11. “The Cocoa Boys” (from Sign O’ The Times (Super Deluxe Edition))

Originally intended for a musical that never came to fruition, “The Cocoa Boys” is more story than song. Prince narrates a battle of the bands featuring, you guessed it, The Cocoa Boys.  The song drags a bit, but it has a cool grove to it and I like the way Prince incorporates singing and some of his fun vocal tics into the narration.