24 is an unreleased third studio album by Madhouse, and was recorded from July-December 1988, in between dates of the Lovesexy Tour in Europe and the USA, with a planned release in early 1989. All tracks are believed to have been written by Prince, and all contain him playing most instruments, with Eric Leeds playing saxophone and flute, with minimal contributions from other musicians. Unlike the previous albums, neither Sheila E. nor Levi Seacer, Jr. were involved in the recordings. Following on from Madhouse’s first two album, 8 and 16, all tracks are given numerical names (albeit written as numbers rather than written words, unlike the previous albums), but they are also given subtitles in brackets to give them more individual character.
The album was rejected by Warner Bros., but later in 1989, Eric Leeds compiled a new ten-track Madhouse album, 26, which later evolved into his first solo album Times Squared.
On 21 January 1991, Prince submitted four tracks planned for that album to Miles Davis (17 (Penetration), 18 (R U Legal Yet?), 19 (Jailbait) and 20 (A Girl And Her Puppy)) for his consideration. Prince wanted Davis to record additional trumpet parts before sending them back. Davis instead taught the four tracks to his band, and recorded new versions of (Penetration, Jailbait and A Girl And Her Puppy) with his band in late March 1991 at Bauer Studios (Studio 1), Ludwigsburg, Germany. His studio versions remain unreleased but live versions of Penetration and Jailbait were released in 2021 on the posthumous Merci Miles!, Live At Vienne.
In 1993, Prince recorded a new Madhouse album with his current band, also called 24, with entirely new tracks. See 24 for details.
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