Difference between revisions of "Let’s Work"

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|album(s)                  = [[Album: Controversy|Controversy]]<br>
 
|album(s)                  = [[Album: Controversy|Controversy]]<br>
 
[[Album:_Ultimate|Ultimate]]<br><br>
 
[[Album:_Ultimate|Ultimate]]<br><br>
[[Album:_Prince_4ever|Prince 4ever]]
+
[[Album: 4Ever|4Ever]]
 
|writer(s)                = [[Prince]]
 
|writer(s)                = [[Prince]]
 
|producer(s)              = [[Prince]]
 
|producer(s)              = [[Prince]]
 
|previous song            = [[Let's Pretend We're Married]]
 
|previous song            = [[Let's Pretend We're Married]]
|next song                = [[Life Can Be So Nice]]
+
|next song                = [[Letter 4 Miles]]
 
|introduction              = '''Let's Work''' is the sixth track on [[Prince]]'s fourth album [[Album: Controversy|Controversy]], and, three months after the album's release, [[Single: Let's Work|Let's Work]] was released as the album's second single.
 
|introduction              = '''Let's Work''' is the sixth track on [[Prince]]'s fourth album [[Album: Controversy|Controversy]], and, three months after the album's release, [[Single: Let's Work|Let's Work]] was released as the album's second single.
  
While specific recording dates are not known, the album sessions took place in Spring and Summer 1981, at [[Prince]]'s [[Kiowa Trail Home Studio]], Chanhassen, MN, USA and [http://hollywoodsoundstudios.com/ Hollywood Sound Recorders], Los Angeles, CA, USA. The track was originally recorded as '''Let's Rock''' (named after a dance called "The Rock" [[Prince]] had seen in clubs during the summer of 1981), and [[Prince]] wanted to release it as a single immediately after recording. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros._Records Warner Bros.] declined, and while [[Prince]] liked the track, he felt it needed to be renamed when released to avoid it seeming dated.  
+
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 [[Album: The Rebels (1979)|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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Starr 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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros._Records Warner Bros.] declined. It was considered as the opening track for the [[Album: Prince|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 [[Prince]]'s [[Kiowa Trail Home Studio]] in Chanhassen, Minnesota and [[Hollywood Sound Recorders]] in Los Angeles, California.
  
The song was completed at [[Sunset Sound]], Hollywood, CA, USA, between [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/August_14|14]] and [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/August_23|23 August 1981]]. [[Prince]] and [[Morris Day]] worked on the '''Dance Remix''' of the track on [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/December_8|8 December 1981]], two months after the track's initial release, also at [[Sunset Sound]].  
+
The song was completed at [[Sunset Sound]] in Hollywood, California, between [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/August_14|14]] and [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/August_23|23 August 1981]]. [[Prince]] and [[Morris Day]] worked on the '''Dance Remix''' of the track on [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/December_8|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).
 
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).
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Various loops from the song were included in the [[NPG Music Club]]'s short-lived [[NPG Music Club#Musicology Control Room Mixer|Musicology Control Room Mixer]], opened on [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/June 3|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.
 
Various loops from the song were included in the [[NPG Music Club]]'s short-lived [[NPG Music Club#Musicology Control Room Mixer|Musicology Control Room Mixer]], opened on [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/June 3|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 [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/June 21|21 June 2013]], an instrumental rehearsal of [[Let's Work]] featuring [[Prince]] (bass, [[Donna Grantis]] (guitar) and [[Hannah Ford]] (drums) was streamed live on [http://new.livestream.com/3RDEYEGIRL/events/2174650 3rdEyeGirl LiveStream TV] for 1:35 minutes.
+
On [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/June 21|21 June 2013]], an instrumental rehearsal of [[Let's Work]] featuring [[Prince]] (bass), [[Donna Grantis]] (guitar) and [[Hannah Ford]] (drums) was streamed live on [http://new.livestream.com/3RDEYEGIRL/events/2174650 3rdEyeGirl LiveStream TV] for 1:35 minutes.
 
|recording info            =
 
|recording info            =
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
{{RecordingLine|
|date                      = Spring-Summer 1981
+
|date                      = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/July_10|10]] - [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/July_21|21 July 1979]]
|studio                    = [[Kiowa Trail Home Studio]], Chanhassen, MN, USA or [http://hollywoodsoundstudios.com/ Hollywood Sound Recorders], Los Angeles, CA, USA (unverified)
+
|studio                    = [[Mountain Ears Sound Studio]]<br> Boulder, Colorado |additional info          = Basic tracking of '''Let's Rock'''
|additional info          = Initial tracking of '''Let's Rock'''
+
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
|date                      = Spring-Summer 1981
 
|date                      = Spring-Summer 1981
|studio                    = [[Kiowa Trail Home Studio]], Chanhassen, MN, USA or [http://hollywoodsoundstudios.com/ Hollywood Sound Recorders], Los Angeles, CA, USA (unverified)
+
|studio                    = [[Kiowa Trail Home Studio]],<br>Chanhassen, MN, USA<br>or<br>[[Hollywood Sound Recorders]],<br>Los Angeles, CA, USA (unverified)
 
|additional info          = Re-recording as '''Let's Work'''
 
|additional info          = Re-recording as '''Let's Work'''
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
|date                      = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/August_14|14]] - [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/August_23|23 August 1981]]
 
|date                      = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/August_14|14]] - [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/August_23|23 August 1981]]
|studio                    = [[Sunset Sound]], Hollywood, CA, USA
+
|studio                    = [[Sunset Sound]],<br>Hollywood, CA, USA
 
|additional info          = Overdubs, mixing
 
|additional info          = Overdubs, mixing
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
|date                      = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/December_8|8 December 1981]]
 
|date                      = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/December_8|8 December 1981]]
|studio                    = [[Sunset Sound]], Hollywood, CA, USA
+
|studio                    = [[Sunset Sound]],<br>Hollywood, CA, USA
 
|additional info          = Additional recording creating '''Dance Remix'''
 
|additional info          = Additional recording creating '''Dance Remix'''
 
}}
 
}}
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|2= 2:56
 
|2= 2:56
 
|3= [[Single: Let's Work|Let's Work]] single<br>
 
|3= [[Single: Let's Work|Let's Work]] single<br>
[[Album:_Prince_4ever|Prince 4ever]]
+
[[Album: 4Ever|4Ever]]
 
|4= Edit
 
|4= Edit
 
|5=  
 
|5=  
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{{Songline|
 
{{Songline|
 
|1= '''Let's Work'''
 
|1= '''Let's Work'''
|2= T.B.C.
+
|2= 2:52
 
|3= Delayed performance TV broadcast
 
|3= Delayed performance TV broadcast
 
|4= Live
 
|4= Live
|5= [[08_June 1998|8 June 1998, Vibe, CBS Television City, Los Angeles, CA, USA]]
+
|5= [[08_June 1998|8 June 1998, Vibe, CBS Television City, Los Angeles, California]]
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{Songline|
 
{{Songline|
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|3= [[3rdEye TV|3rdEyeTV Show # 2]] live video stream
 
|3= [[3rdEye TV|3rdEyeTV Show # 2]] live video stream
 
|4= Rehearsal
 
|4= Rehearsal
|5= Recorded [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/June_21|21 June 2013]], Paisley Park, Chanhassen, MN, USA
+
|5= Recorded [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/June_21|21 June 2013]], Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{Songline|
 
{{Songline|
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|3= [[3rdEye TV|3rdEyeTV Show # 3]] live video stream
 
|3= [[3rdEye TV|3rdEyeTV Show # 3]] live video stream
 
|4= Rehearsal
 
|4= Rehearsal
|5= Recorded [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/June_21|21 June 2013]], Paisley Park, Chanhassen, MN, USA
+
|5= Recorded [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/June_21|21 June 2013]], Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota
 
}}
 
}}
 
}}
 
}}
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}}
 
}}
 
|video versions            =  
 
|video versions            =  
|first live appearance    = [[05_October 1981|5 October 1981, Sam's, Minneapolis, MN, USA]]<br>
+
|first live appearance    = [[05_October 1981|5 October 1981, Sam's, Minneapolis, Minnesota]]<br>
 
* [[01 January 2016-am|1 January 2016 (a.m.), Gouverneur Bay Estate, Gouverneur Bay, France (Saint Barthélemy)]]  
 
* [[01 January 2016-am|1 January 2016 (a.m.), Gouverneur Bay Estate, Gouverneur Bay, France (Saint Barthélemy)]]  
 
|performed regularly on    = [[Controversy Tour]]
 
|performed regularly on    = [[Controversy Tour]]
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* [[Single: Let's Work|Let's Work]] single
 
* [[Single: Let's Work|Let's Work]] single
 
|references                = ''[[Book:_The_Vault|The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004)]] ''
 
|references                = ''[[Book:_The_Vault|The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004)]] ''
 +
*[http://www.waxpoetics.com/wax-poetics-magazine/wax-poetics-issue-67/ Wax Poetics Issue 67,  February 2018]
 
|categories                = [[Category:1981]][[Category:Released Songs (Prince)]][[Category:Songs (Prince)]][[Category:Recorded 1981]]
 
|categories                = [[Category:1981]][[Category:Released Songs (Prince)]][[Category:Songs (Prince)]][[Category:Recorded 1981]]
 
}}
 
}}

Revision as of 22:16, 13 June 2019

Let's Pretend We're Married   < < < Non-Prince Songs All Prince Songs Unreleased Songs > > >   Letter 4 Miles
Let's Work

Controversy.jpg
from the album Controversy
Letswork single.jpg
single art for Let's Work
Song details
Performer: Prince
First Released: 14 October 1981 - Controversy album
Album(s): Controversy

Ultimate

4Ever

Writer(s): Prince
Producer(s): Prince
Live Appearances
First and last live appearance:
Performed regularly on tour:
Performed occasionally in shows:

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 Prince's Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota and 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
Basic tracking of Let's Rock
Spring-Summer 1981 Kiowa Trail Home Studio,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
or
Hollywood Sound Recorders,
Los Angeles, CA, USA (unverified)
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)

Versions
Released Versions
Title Length Released Version Additional info
Let's Work 3:52 Controversy Studio
Let's Work (Edit) 2:56 Let's Work single

4Ever

Edit
Let's Work (Edit) 2:56 Let's Work promo Edit, mono version
Let's Work (Dance Remix) 8:02 Let's Work single

Ultimate

Extended version a.k.a. Let's Work (Xtended); drums on extended portion by Morris Day
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 and Alphabet St.
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
 
Additional Information

See also Trivia


References
Let's Pretend We're Married   < < < All Songs Unreleased Songs > > >   Letter 4 Miles