Let’s Work is the sixth track on Prince’s fourth album Controversy, and, three months after the album’s release, Let’s Work was released as the album’s second single.
The track was initially recorded (as Let’s Rock) between 10-21 July 1979 at Mountain Ears Sound Studio in Boulder, Colorado, during sessions for The Rebels album. Let’s Rock was named after a dance called "The Rock" Prince had seen in clubs during the summer of 1979 (The dance itself influenced or was influenced by Edwin Starr’s single "It’s Called The Rock" from his album "Happy Radio" released that year). Prince wanted to release it as a single immediately after recording but Warner Bros. declined. It was considered as the opening track for the Prince album before being shelved a few years.
While Prince liked the track, he felt it needed to be renamed when released in 1981 to avoid it seeming dated. Let’s Work was re-recorded during sessions for the album in Spring and Summer 1981, at Hollywood Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California.
The song was completed at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, between 14 and 23 August 1981. Prince and Morris Day worked on the Dance Remix of the track on 8 December 1981, two months after the track’s initial release, also at Sunset Sound.
It was revealed in November 2003 on the NPG Music Club website that Morris Day plays drums on the extended portion of the Dance Remix, and that Prince and Morris Day switched drumming duties live as the tape was running. The Dance Remix contains sampled clips from Private Joy, Annie Christian and Controversy, the first time a Prince song sampled another of his songs (something he has done often ever since).
Various loops from the song were included in the NPG Music Club’s short-lived Musicology Control Room Mixer, opened on 3 June 2003, which appeared to be alternate recordings, but it is unclear when these were made. Since these are short loops lasting no more than a few seconds, they are not listed below.
On 21 June 2013, an instrumental rehearsal of Let’s Work featuring Prince (bass), Donna Grantis (guitar) and Hannah Ford (drums) was streamed live on 3rdEyeGirl LiveStream TV for 1:35 minutes.
|
|
Recording Information
|
Recording Sessions
|
Date
|
Studio
|
Additional info
|
10 - 21 July 1979
|
Mountain Ears Sound Studio Boulder, Colorado
|
Tracking of Let’s Rock
|
Spring-Summer 1981
|
Hollywood Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, CA, USA
|
Re-recording as Let’s Work
|
14 - 23 August 1981
|
Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA
|
Overdubs, mixing
|
8 December 1981
|
Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA
|
Additional recording creating Dance Remix
|
Recording Personnel
|
Album version
- Prince - all vocals and instruments
Dance Remix
- Prince - all vocals and instruments
- Morris Day - drums on extended portion only (uncredited)
Let’s Rock (Unreleased)
|
|
Versions
|
Released Versions
|
|
Video Versions
|
|
Broadcasts/streaming (only)
|
Title
|
Length
|
Released
|
Version
|
Additional info
|
Let’s Work
|
2:52
|
Delayed performance TV broadcast
|
Live
|
8 June 1998, Vibe, CBS Television City, Los Angeles, California
|
Let’s Work
|
2:10
|
Prince! Behind The Symbol TV broadcast
|
Live
|
24 March 2011, Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC, USA
|
Let’s Work Instrumental
|
1:35
|
3rdEyeTV Show # 2 live video stream
|
Rehearsal
|
Recorded 21 June 2013, Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota
|
Let’s Work Instrumental
|
4:10
|
3rdEyeTV Show # 3 live video stream
|
Rehearsal
|
Recorded 21 June 2013, Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota
|
|
Sampled, Referred to, Quoted in...
|
Title
|
Length
|
Released
|
Version
|
Additional info
|
Partyman (The Purple Party Mix)
|
6:02
|
Partyman single
|
Remix
|
Remix by Femi Jiya and Prince; Includes sampled clips of Sexy Dancer, I Wanna Be Your Lover, Head, Partyup, Let’s Work, 1999, Raspberry Beret, Erotic City, Kiss, U Got The Look, Housequake, Alphabet St., The Future and a chant from Batdance
|
Partyman (The Purple Party Mix)
|
5:58
|
The Scandalous Sex Suite EP
|
Remix edit
|
As above, missing The Joker’s opening dialogue
|
Purple Medley
|
11:03
|
Purple Medley single
|
Studio medley
|
See Purple Medley for more details
|
|
Unreleased Versions
|
Title
|
Version
|
Additional Info
|
Let’s Rock
|
Studio
|
Original version
|
|
|