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Label:    NPG Records – R1 566557, Warner Bros. Records – R1 566557
Format:    Vinyl, LP, Album, 180 Gram
Country:    US
Released:    Sep 21, 2018
Genre:    Pop
Style:    Ballad

Medley:    (22:38)
A1.1        17 Days
Composed By – Lisa Coleman, Matthew Fink*, Prince, Wendy Melvoin
A1.2        Purple Rain
Composed By – Prince
A1.3        A Case Of You
Composed By – Joni Mitchell
A1.4        Mary Don't You Weep
Arranged By – Prince
Composed By – Trad.*
A1.5        Strange Relationship
Composed By – Prince
A1.6        International Lover
Composed By – Prince
A1.7        Wednesday
Composed By – Prince
B1        Cold Coffee & Cocaine
Composed By – Prince
5:14
B2        Why The Butterflies
Composed By – Prince
6:28

Phonographic Copyright ℗ – NPG Records
Copyright © – NPG Records
Licensed To – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Recorded At – Kiowa Trail Home Studio
Pressed By – Optimal Media GmbH – BH11423
Art Direction, Design – Alex Tenta, The Prince Estate
Engineer [Mastering] – Bernie Grundman
Executive-Producer [Archival Producer] – Michael Howe (3)
Lacquer Cut By – CB*
Photography By [Archive Photos] – The Prince Estate
Photography By [Artist Photography] – Allen Beaulieu
Producer, Arranged By, Performer – Prince
cat# R1 566557 appears on spine

Recorded at Prince's Kiowa Trail home studio in Chanhassen, MN.

Sticker:
The Previously Unreleased Home Studio Recording On 180g Audiophile Vinyl
Barcode (scanned): 603497861286

As the first major release from Prince's vault (the 2017 expanded edition of Purple Rain was announced prior to his 2016 death), Piano & a Microphone 1983 is disarmingly casual. Its prosaic title is a precise description of the album's content -- it is nothing more than Prince sitting at a piano, playing whatever comes to his mind for just over half an hour -- yet even if the record delivers upon that promise, it's not quite as simple as it seems. For one, there's a level of intimacy on Piano & a Microphone unlike anything else in Prince's catalog. While there may have been some editing sleight of hand to make these 35 minutes appear to be a continuous performance, there's no production to speak of, yet it still bears the hallmarks of a studio recording; the music is too clear to be anything but. Despite early appearances of "17 Days," "Purple Rain," and "Strange Relationship," this can't be called a demo session: Prince plays his recent "International Lover," hauls out the spiritual standard "Mary Don't You Weep" -- a song he could in no way have been considering for inclusion on an album -- and plays a bit of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You." The brevity of "A Case of You" and "Purple Rain" -- both hover around 90 seconds -- highlights this session's informality, but that point is hammered home at the end of the record when Prince goofs through "Cold Coffee and Cocaine" in a voice he'd later perfect on "Bob George" and tries to find a concrete song within "Why the Butterflies." Far from detracting from Piano & a Microphone, these loose ends are the reason to listen to the album. The whole affair plays like the listener is eavesdropping on Prince creating, and there simply can't be a reissue more valuable than that. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

• Media Condition: Mint (M)
• Sleeve Condition: Mint (M)
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: FUNK
• Best Sellers: Top Seller
• RSD Date: n/a
• Format Type: LP
• Released: 09/21/2018