Prince: The Albums - #22, Old Friends 4 Sale (Finished!)

[SHOOTER]

Rank 1-10
The Rest of My Life
It's About That Walk
She Spoke 2 Me
5 Women
When the Lights Go Down
My Little Pill
There Is Lonely
Old Friends 4 Sale
Sarah
Extraordinary

The Album (39 minutes)


We're only TWO albums away from wrapping up Prince's 90s catalog! First up is the Warner-sanctioned The Vault...Old Friends 4 Sale released as the last album to fulfill Prince's contract with them in August 1999. It's only TEN songs but I know y'all so I'll give you a good 3 weeks to knock this one out!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Old Friends 4 Ranking}
🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾
tim
singingrulebritannia
filthy
God
Butterflies & Hurricanes
Ling-Ling
.indulgecountry
newpower
Linnethia Monique
samo🦕
CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker
Zach
Unhinged
Sir Benji
mamooshka
LBTrocks
Mirago
Kanenrá:ke
fearlessarrow
@antigonerising
Tea-why

[Zach]

So we move from one of my most familiar Prince albums to one that I hardly know. This should be fun.

[SHOOTER]

10-Day Reminder

SPOILER: Click to show

{Old Friends 4 Ranking}
🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾
tim
singingrulebritannia
filthy
God
Butterflies & Hurricanes
Ling-Ling
.indulgecountry
newpower
Linnethia Monique
samo🦕
CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker
Zach
Unhinged
Sir Benji
mamooshka
LBTrocks
Mirago
Kanenrá:ke
fearlessarrow
@antigonerising
Tea-why

[Sir Benji]

I forgot about this I need to submit my list

[SHOOTER]

5-Day Reminder

1. SHOOTER
2. Mirago
3. tim
4. LBTrocks
5. Linnethia Monique
6. samo🦕
7. Kanenrá:ke
8. @antigonerising

Sir Benji .indulgecountry

SPOILER: Click to show

{Old Friends 4 Ranking}🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾
tim
singingrulebritannia
filthy
God
Butterflies & Hurricanes
Ling-Ling
.indulgecountry
newpower
Linnethia Monique
samo🦕
CagedJuggalo The Third Tanker
Zach
Unhinged
Sir Benji
mamooshka
LBTrocks
Mirago
Kanenrá:ke
fearlessarrow
@antigonerising
Tea-why

[Deleted]

I submitted! check our pm

[SHOOTER]

Mar 10, 2021 13:56:21 GMT -5 @antigonerising said:

I submitted! check our pm

Monifah distracted me!

[Sir Benji]

Sending my list now 🤦🏾‍♂️

[SHOOTER]

The Vault - Old Friends 4 Sale (Reveals Pending)

1. SHOOTER
2. Mirago
3. tim
4. LBTrocks
5. Linnethia Monique
6. samo🦕
7. Kanenrá:ke
8. @antigonerising
9. Zach
10. Sir Benji
11. .indulgecountry * (the only white person I know who stay stuck running on CPT)



Although it's technically his 22nd full-length studio release, The Vault - Old Friends 4 Sale wasn't a traditional release sanctioned by Prince but, rather, a collection of previously-unreleased material issued by Warner Bros. in the summer of 1999 to fulfill Prince's contract with the label. Hence the disclaimer in the liner notes: "The enclosed material was written during the period beginning 1/23/1985 and ending 6/18/1994 and was originally intended 4 private use only."

The oldest song, its title track, was taken from Parade recording sessions in 1985 while the rest was culled from an assortment of early 90s sessions, including three songs from the abandoned soundtrack Prince had been crafting for a 1994 James L. Brooks' film entitled I'll Do Anything (a box office dud). With no promotion on Prince's behalf, followed by a much more high-profile following it three months later, the record came and went with little fanfare and has languished in Prince's discography as one of his least-referenced bodies of work (which I'm sure pleased him deeply).

Reveals will start tomorrow hopefully.

[.indulgecountry]

Mar 15, 2021 23:14:34 GMT -5 SHOOTER said:

The Vault - Old Friends 4 Sale (Reveals Pending)

11. .indulgecountry * (the only white person I know who stay stuck running on CPT)

Screaminggg

My list has landed in your DMs

[SHOOTER]

All my cares and troubles dive right off my window sill
Every time I pop my little pill...





Kanenrá:ke : 9
Mirago : 9

@antigonerising : 10
Linnethia Monique : 10
tim : 10
LBTrocks : 10
.indulgecountry : 10
Sir Benji : 10
SHOOTER : 10
samo🦕 : 10
Zach : 10

My Little Pill was one of the songs Prince had written as part of a soundtrack to James L. Brooks' 1994 film I'll Do Anything, starring Nick Nolte, which was originally crafted as a musical about a struggling actor that ends up being the sole caretaker for his daughter who inadvertently winds up getting cast in a sitcom he had been turned down for. Test audiences reacted poorly to the preview screenings, and musical selections included, so once they decided to abandon the musical plot, Prince abandoned the soundtrack.

[.indulgecountry]

This was certainly.... something that existed.

[tim]

Mar 17, 2021 15:51:13 GMT -5 SHOOTER said:

My Little Pill was one of the songs Prince had written as part of a soundtrack to James L. Brooks' 1994 film I'll Do Anything, starring Nick Nolte, which was originally crafted as a musical about a struggling actor that ends up being the sole caretaker for his daughter who inadvertently winds up getting cast in a sitcom he had been turned down for. Test audiences reacted poorly to the preview screenings, and musical selections included, so once they decided to abandon the musical plot, Prince abandoned the soundtrack.

I just watched the trailer and I actually vaguely remember that movie. I had no idea that Prince was initially involved...nor can I imagine the movie ever being a musical. How random.

Anyways, this was the only correct choice for last place.

[SHOOTER]

'Cause I'm alive and that's reason enough for me to bust a smile
I have arrived and now I want to stay for a little while
Today, today is the first day of...





samo🦕 : 1
tim : 3

@antigonerising : 7
Sir Benji : 7
SHOOTER : 7
Mirago : 7
Linnethia Monique : 8
LBTrocks : 9
.indulgecountry : 9
Zach : 9
Kanenrá:ke : 10

The Rest of My Life was another song written specifically for the I'll Do Anything movie. It was released as a radio single in Japan ahead of this album's release but failed to chart.

[SHOOTER]

Got your good shoes on
Ribbon in your hair
That skirt ain't talking too long
I can see your underwear...





.indulgecountry : 2
Kanenrá:ke : 3
samo🦕 : 4
LBTrocks : 5
Sir Benji : 5

Zach : 7
tim : 8
SHOOTER : 8
@antigonerising : 9
Linnethia Monique : 9
Mirago : 10

Sarah was recorded in 1996 during the Emancipation sessions but did not make the final cut for that album. Prince never divulged who in particular inspired this song.

[SHOOTER]

Each and every thing you do is so very nice
You make my clock tick twelve twice
Then disappear time and everything else
When you are near...





Linnethia Monique : 1
@antigonerising : 2
Sir Benji : 3
.indulgecountry : 4
tim : 5
SHOOTER : 5

Kanenrá:ke : 7
LBTrocks : 8
samo🦕 : 8
Mirago : 8
Zach : 8

Extraordinary was first recorded in 1992 by NPG member Rosie Gaines for what was to be her Paisley Park debut album Concrete Jungle. Prince then took the track back for himself after that album was shelved due to his ongoing battle with Warner Bros. He repurposed the song again in 2002 when it was released as part of his One Nite Alone...Live! album.

[SHOOTER]

How many ask for your number
Before they even know your name?
How many out there tired of playing
This silly old time game?





tim : 1
LBTrocks : 3
@antigonerising : 4
SHOOTER : 4
Linnethia Monique : 5
Zach : 5

Kanenrá:ke : 6
Mirago : 6
.indulgecountry : 7
Sir Benji : 8
samo🦕 : 9

When the Lights Go Down was recorded in late 1991 as part of the Love Symbol sessions.

[SHOOTER]

Is it me or did the room just get darker?
Is it me or did I just lay down and die?
Is this a dream or did the world just crumble at my very feet?
How in heaven will I ever be all right?





LBTrocks : 1
tim : 2
@antigonerising : 3
Zach : 3
Mirago : 4
Kanenrá:ke : 5

.indulgecountry : 6
samo🦕 : 6
Linnethia Monique : 7
Sir Benji : 9
SHOOTER : 9

There Is Lonely was another song written for the I'll Do Anything film. Actor Albert Brooks recorded a full version of the song that was used in the test screenings for the movie.

[SHOOTER]

Ass like a fine cut diamond
Mounted on two legs of stone
The prison I could do some time in
If I ever got that ass alone...





.indulgecountry : 1
Sir Benji : 1
Zach : 1
Mirago : 2
samo🦕 : 3

Linnethia Monique : 6
SHOOTER : 6
tim : 7
LBTrocks : 7
@antigonerising : 8
Kanenrá:ke : 8

It's About That Walk was taken from Prince's recording sessions in Paris while on tour in 1993; it was released to German radio as a single but failed to chart.

[SHOOTER]

My friends look at her, they see mystery
But I look at her and I see a masterpiece
Can it be, I mean, really, did she?





Mirago : 1
Sir Benji : 2
SHOOTER : 3
Linnethia Monique : 4
LBTrocks : 4
Kanenrá:ke : 4
Zach : 4
.indulgecountry : 5

@antigonerising : 6
samo🦕 : 7
tim : 9

She Spoke 2 Me was recorded in 1991 during the Love Symbol sessions; a shortened version of the track was used as the first song on the Girl 6 soundtrack from 1996 which was executive produced by Prince and featured music solely from him and his associated artists.

[SHOOTER]

Night fell so dark this evening
The moon wasn't shining nowhere
Sometimes that old light in the alley would light up this old heart of mine
But now I'm wondering if there's someone up there who really cares...





@antigonerising : 1
Kanenrá:ke : 1
Linnethia Monique : 2
SHOOTER : 2
samo🦕 : 2
tim : 4
Sir Benji : 4
Mirago : 5

LBTrocks : 6
Zach : 6
.indulgecountry : 8

The original version of Old Friends 4 Sale was recorded in 1985, during sessions for what became the Parade album, and featured lyrics with personal details that spoke directly to changes in The Revolution and Prince's relationship with both them and other members of his staff. He reworked the song in 1991 to be less personal and it is that version that was included here.

---

It took five women to get you off of my mind
It took five months, a plenty good wasted time
But it just took five minutes when I saw your face again
To fall in love all over, I guess, with you, I'll never win...





SHOOTER : 1
LBTrocks : 2
Kanenrá:ke : 2
Zach : 2
Linnethia Monique : 3
.indulgecountry : 3
Mirago : 3
@antigonerising : 5
samo🦕 : 5
tim : 6
Sir Benji : 6

Prince wrote 5 Women for English rocker Joe Cocker's 1991 album Night Calls (after he turned down Old Friends 4 Sale).

[Deleted]

I still find it so surprising that the title track is the one song here that originally comes from his '80s vault (and the mid-80s, at that). It sounds very much like '90s-era Prince. Granted, this reworking is from 1991, but still, you'd think there'd be traces of the '80s underneath.

My Little Pill wasn't even bad to me, so much as it just felt like a very incomplete thought. Knowing that it was for a movie kind of explains why it's so incomplete, it does make sense a a little musical segue you might hear during a scene transition or something.

This was very much a throwaway album in that there was no kind of theme or cohesion amongst the songs chosen here, but it's not a bad listen.

[newpower]

I missed this one (I've been dealing with health issues lately)... My #1 would have been Old Friends 4 Sale. I will try to do Rave In2 The Turd Fantastic (probably my least favorite Prince album). I haven't listened to that one since it was released. Maybe I'll like it better now.

[.indulgecountry]

Look at SHOOTER's favorite winning cause I slid in there late af and shook it up. You're welcome.

[tim]

Mar 17, 2021 16:42:44 GMT -5 SHOOTER said:

LBTrocks : 1
tim : 2

Well that's a rare sight! In fact, I think you and I were more in agreement here with Prince than we ever are in a country rankdown

Despite its lack of cohesion, I actually enjoyed this album more than I thought I would. Both "When the Lights Go Down" and "There Is Lonely" were two of the songs I kept coming back around to and so I'm a bit disappointed that those weren't as well-received. That said, I don't go into these with any set expectations lol.

[Sir Benji]

Mar 17, 2021 16:19:43 GMT -5 SHOOTER said:

Each and every thing you do is so very nice
You make my clock tick twelve twice
Then disappear time and everything else
When you are near...





Linnethia Monique : 1
@antigonerising : 2
Sir Benji : 3
.indulgecountry : 4
tim : 5
SHOOTER : 5

Kanenrá:ke : 7
LBTrocks : 8
samo🦕 : 8
Mirago : 8
Zach : 8

Extraordinary was first recorded in 1992 by NPG member Rosie Gaines for what was to be her Paisley Park debut album Concrete Jungle. Prince then took the track back for himself after that album was shelved due to his ongoing battle with Warner Bros. He repurposed the song again in 2002 when it was released as part of his One Nite Alone...Live! album.

I remember hearing this and “It’s About That Walk” on the radio briefly.
This charted within the lower Top 30 of UAC for 6 or 7 weeks before falling off.
This was the other album that was turned in with C&D in 96’.
I think WB should have released this in 97 after the “Emancipation” era was cut short.
They probably would have made more money off it.

[Kanenrá:ke]

The correct top 2! I didn't love the album but only my bottom 2 were songs I wouldn't come back to really.

"5 Women" is just as great as "Old Friends 4 Sale" so this was fine either way!