Listen to Prince’s Studio Recording of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’
With the second anniversary of Prince's death approaching, his estate has given us a taste of what's inside his famous vault.
You can now hear his original, and previously unreleased, 1984 recording of "Nothing Compares 2 U," which was first released by the Family in 1985 and was taken to the top of charts all over the world by Sinead O'Connor in 1990. Prince's estate also announced a pair of websites that will allow fans to learn more about his career and share their thoughts on his legacy.
"I spotted the 2" multi-track reel in the Vault some weeks back while doing a 1984-era inventory," Michael Howe, the estate's official archivist, said in a press release. "After retrieving my jaw from the floor, we took the reel upstairs, analyzed it, put it up on the Studer 24 track machine and digitized it to 24/192. Even our 'faders up' rough mix was compelling enough to indicate that this was something very special indeed."
"No Prince-penned song performed by another artist has enjoyed more chart success (No. 1 in 20+ countries) and overall cultural impact than Sinead O'Connor's 1990 recording," Howe continued. "So hearing the song in its original context performed in its entirety by the author makes it particularly noteworthy."
The song was recorded at Prince's Flying Cloud Drive "Warehouse" in Eden Prairie, Minn., with Prince playing all the instruments except for Eric Leeds' saxophone and background vocals provided by Susannah Melvoin and Paul "St. Paul" Peterson. The track is accompanied by a new video the estate has put together that features previously unseen footage of Prince and the Revolution rehearsing their stage show in that warehouse. Check it out below.
Watch Prince's New Video for 'Nothing Compares 2 U'
Prince's estate has created a new official discography website with audio clips, photos, videos and commentary. It's also launched Prince2Me, the first in a series of planned sites where fans can "craft their own message using Prince vocabulary, an array of images and videos provided by the Estate" and share them on social media. Using the hashtags "#Prince2Me" or "#NothingCompares2U" will activate an emoji featuring the artist's Love Symbol.
"Nothing Compares 2 U" is currently available for streaming, but fans can also go over to the relaunched Prince HitNRun website and pre-order it on both black vinyl and a limited-edition picture disc, as well as other Prince merchandise. The 7" single, which includes edited and full-length versions, will be released on May 25.