Alphabet St. (a.k.a. Alphabet Street) is the second track on Prince's tenth album Lovesexy, and, three weeks before the album's release, Alphabet St. was released as the album's first single.
In 1993, the track was included as the 14th track on Prince's first compilation album The Hits 1 (also included as the first disc of The Hits / The B-Sides).
In 2001, the track was included as the twelfth track on the compilation album The Very Best Of Prince. In 2006, the track was included as the eleventh track on the first disc of the compilation album Ultimate.
In 2002, a live version (as Alphabet Street) was included as the fifth track on the live release One Nite Alone... The Aftershow: It Ain't Over. In 2008, a 2007 live recording of the track was included (as Alphabet Street) as the tenth track on Prince's fourth live album Indigo Nights.
In 2011, a live version from the 3 August 2011 show in Oslo Spektrum was available as an mp3 download on Shelby J.'s Facebook page the day after the show (the meta-data attached to the track gives an album name of "Live In Oslo", but this is likely not an indication of an actual album).
Basic tracks were recorded on 30 December 1987 at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA (the day before the 31 December 1987 show where Prince and Miles Davis performed together for the first and only time). Cat's rap on the track was originally used in the unreleased song Bloody Mouth, recorded the previous month.
Alphabet St. is a blues-based pop/rock number distinguished by a scratchy rhythm guitar part played in a style reminiscent of Bo Diddley. The rhythm section features a simple drum machine beat, handclaps, and a popping bass line. The song includes a "yeah, yeah, yeah" chorus. The song expands from a sparse opening as layers of instrumentation build, creating a complex musical track. Cat provides a rap introducing the "Lovesexy" theme, before the song goes into an expanded vamp with a discordant horn motif to the fore. Ingrid Chavez ends the track with a recitation of the alphabet, from A to H, followed by "I... love u".
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Recording Information
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Recording Sessions
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Date
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Studio
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Additional info
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30 December 1987
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Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Initial tracking
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Recording Personnel
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Studio version
Indigo Nights version
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Versions
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Released Versions
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Title
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Length
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Released
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Version
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Additional info
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Alphabet St.
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5:38
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Lovesexy
Alphabet St. single
The Hits 1
The Hits / The B-Sides
The Very Best Of Prince
Ultimate
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Studio
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Alphabet St. (Edit)
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2:25
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Alphabet St. single
The Crown Jewels promo
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Edit
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Alphabet St. (Cont.)
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3:14
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Alphabet St. single
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Edit
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Second half of the song, continuing from where the single/radio edit ends
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Alphabet St. (Edit)
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5:33
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Nothing Compares 2 Him promo
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Edit
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Alphabet St. (This Is Not Music, This Is A Trip)
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7:48
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Alphabet St. single
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Remix
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Mostly instrumental 'dub' mix
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Alphabet Street
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2:54
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One Nite Alone…The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over!
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Live
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20 April 2002 (am), The Highlands Hollywood, Hollywood, CA, USA
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Alphabet Street
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6:09
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Indigo Nights
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Live
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22 September 2007 (am), 3121 at The IndigO2, London, England
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Alphabet Street
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13:15
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Shelby J.'s Facebook page mp3 download
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Live
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3 August 2011, Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway
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Video Versions
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Broadcasts/streaming (only)
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Title
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Length
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Released
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Version
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Additional info
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Alphabet St.
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T.B.C.
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Live concert radio broadcast
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Live
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22 July 1990, Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain
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Alphabet St.
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T.B.C.
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Delayed concert TV broadcast
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Live
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29 July 1990, Estadio Santa María del Mar, La Coruña, Spain
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Alphabet St.
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T.B.C.
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Delayed concert TV broadcast
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Live
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31 August 1990, Tokyo Dome (東京ドーム), Tokyo, Japan
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Alphabet St.
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T.B.C.
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Live TV appearance
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Live
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17 November 1999, Nulle Part Ailleurs, Studios Canal+, Paris, France
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Sampled, Referred to, Quoted in...
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Title
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Length
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Released
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Version
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Additional info
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Partyman (The Purple Party Mix)
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6:02
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Partyman single
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Remix
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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 and Alphabet St.
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Partyman (The Purple Party Mix)
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5:58
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The Scandalous Sex Suite EP
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Remix edit
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As above, missing The Joker's opening dialogue
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Purple Medley
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11:03
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Purple Medley single
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Studio medley
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See Purple Medley for more details
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Unreleased Versions
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Title
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Version
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Additional Info
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Alphabet St.
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Demo
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'Blues' demo of the song featuring just Prince and an acoustic guitar.
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Alphabet St. (This Is Not Music, This Is A Trip... Part 2)
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Remix
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Second part of the extended remix of the song. originally intended to be released as one long 15 min mix with a 'false fade' halfway through.
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Alphabet St.
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Remix
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Remixed version of the track by Kirk Johnson containing new beats and keyboard lines. Remixed sometime in 1994
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