Strange Relationship

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Strange Relationship

from the album Sign O’ The Times from the album Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe from the album Piano & A Microphone 1983 Song details Performer: Prince First Released: 30 March 1987 - Sign O’ The Times album Album(s): Sign O’ The Times One Nite Alone... Live! Writer(s): Prince Producer(s): Prince Live Appearances First and last live appearance: 24 August 1986: New Morning, Paris, France 28 February 2016 (show 2): Paramount Theatre, Oakland, CA, USA Performed regularly on tour: Lovesexy Tour One Nite Alone... Tour Performed occasionally in shows: 1986, 1987, 1988, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2016 (solo piano)

Strange Relationship is the third track on the second disc of Prince’s ninth album Sign O’ The Times. In 2001, a 1987 live version was included as part of NPG Ahdio Show # 4, and the same version was offered as an individual download in 2005. In 2002, a live version was also included as the sixth track on the second disc of One Nite Alone... Live!, Prince’s first live album (along with Muse 2 The Pharaoh, Mellow and The Other Side Of The Pillow from the same show). A brief solo piano rehearsal of the track was released on the 2018 posthumous album Piano & A Microphone 1983, preceded by Mary Don’t You Weep, which also includes some lyrics from Strange Relationship. Initial tracking is believed to have taken place on 14 March 1983 at Prince’s Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman reworked the track heavily in one or more sessions in mid-late June 1985, adding Fairlight CMI sitar and other overdubs at The Complex Studios, Los Angeles, California. This overdubbed version was edited down in a later session and included as the seventh track on a late April 1986 configuration of Dream Factory, and as the album expanded, it was included as the sixth track on the first disc on the 3 June 1986 and 18 July 1986 configurations. When the Revolution disbanded, Prince remixed the song at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, to minimize Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman’s involvement. Eric Leeds recorded a saxophone overdub, but Prince removed it from the final mix, which was included as the third track on the 5 November 1986 configuration of the Camille album (to be credited to Camille). A few weeks later, it was included as the sixth track on the second disc of the triple-album Crystal Ball on the 30 November 1986 configuration, which was eventually pared down and became Sign O’ The Times. Probably after its release on Sign O’ The Times, Prince commissioned Shep Pettibone to remix the song, possibly around the same time he also remixed Hot Thing. The Club Mix remained unreleased at the time, but was released on Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe in 2020. The Super Deluxe set also included the initial Wendy & Lisa overdubbed version, called ‘Original Version’ here, even while the true original version was recorded in 1983 and remains unreleased. Recording Information Recording Sessions Date Studio Additional info 14 March 1983 (estimate) Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA Basic tracking August 1983 (estimate) Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA Rehearsal recording Late April / early May 1984 Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, MN, USA overdubbing Mid June 1985 The Complex Studios, Los Angeles, CA, USA Overdubs and reworking by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman Late June 1985 The Complex Studios, Los Angeles, CA, USA Overdubs and reworking by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman Mid March 1986 (assumed) Galpin Blvd Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA Editing, mixing Late October - early November 1986 Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA Remix minimizing Wendy & Lisa contributions & recording of later discarded saxophone overdub mid- late 1987 (assumed) Mastermix Studio, New Jersey remix, additional production, editing; Shep Pettibone Recording Personnel Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted (credited as Camille for vocals) Wendy Melvoin - tamborine, congas Lisa Coleman - sitar, wooden flute (both from Fairlight) Don Batts - engineer (basic tracking) Susan Rogers - engineer Versions Released Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info Strange Relationship 4:04 Sign O’ The Times Studio Strange Relationship 4:04 Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Studio Remastered in 2020 Strange Relationship 2:38 Piano & A Microphone 1983 'Rehearsal' a.k.a. Strange Relationship (Piano & A Microphone 1983 Version) Strange Relationship (Live '87) 4:41 NPG Music Club .wma download Live 21 March 1987, First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota; edited from full live version Strange Relationship 4:24 One Nite Alone... Live EP promo Live 11 March 2002, Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, IN, USA; longer version than below; begins with spoken intro from previous song, slightly longer audience noise at end without spoken transition Strange Relationship 4:12 One Nite Alone... Live! Live 11 March 2002, Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, IN, USA; slightly alternate edit than above Strange Relationship (Live In Las Vegas) 3:52 Live At The Aladdin Las Vegas promo Live 15 December 2002, Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, Las Vegas, NV, USA Strange Relationship (Original Version) 6:41 Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Studio Strange Relationship (1987 Shep Pettibone Club Mix) 7:07 Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Remix Video Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info Strange Relationship 2:30 Lovesexy Live 1 VHS Live 9 September 1988, Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, West Germany Strange Relationship T.B.C. Live At The Aladdin Las Vegas DVD Live 15 December 2002, Aladdin Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV, USA Sampled, Referred to, Quoted in... Title Length Released Version Additional info Mary Don’t You Weep 4:42 Piano & A Microphone 1983 album pre-order download Rehearsal Contains lyrical interpolation of Strange Relationship Unreleased Versions Title Version Additional Info Strange Relationship Studio Original 1983 recording Strange Relationship Studio 1985 mix with saxophone by Eric Leeds (removed for release) Strange Relationship Studio ’sitar' version, edit, as placed on Dream Factory

Additional Information See also Trivia Sign O’ The Times album Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe album Dream Factory unreleased album Camille unreleased album Crystal Ball unreleased album References The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004) Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions 1983 and 1984 (Expanded Edition, paperback), Duane Tudahl (2018)

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