Moonbeam Levels is song recorded on 6 July 1982 (the day before Lady Cab Driver), at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California. It was released as the only previously-unreleased track on the first posthumous compilation of Prince's music, 4Ever.
Even though it was recorded during the sessions for 1999, it was never placed on a configuration of that album. It was worked on further in June 1983 and later considered for inclusion on the aborted Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic album (different from the 1999 album Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic), as the ninth and final track on the mid-January 1989, configuration of the album before it was abandoned when Prince began work on the Batman soundtrack album.
In early 2002, during an online chat to promote the second year of the NPG Music Club, the moderators asked if members would be interested in a pristine copy of Moonbeam Levels, hinting that it might be available as part of the membership package. The song, however, remained unreleased until after Prince's death.
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