House In Order is the second track on Mavis Staples’ second Paisley Park Records album The Voice (included as the fourth track on the 1995 reissue). In 1995, it was included as the third and final track on the CD single of Blood Is Thicker Than Time single, released in Europe to promote the NPG Records reissue of The Voice. The song was written by Prince and produced by Ricky Peterson.
While specific recording dates are not known, basic tracking of the released version took place in Summer 1992 at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota, without Prince’s direct involvement. The song might be older as a sample of Mavis Staples singing the phrase "Get your house in order" is present in 200 Balloons (from 1989) and a part of it in Batdance. Although this is not directly from the released version of House In Order, it does suggest the song existed before 1992.
Prince’s version (guide vocal) of House In Order was one of the Vault tracks recorded between 1990 and 1992 slated to appear on the planned Diamonds & Love expected to be released by The Prince Estate in the summer of 2022. That project, which consisted of material spanning both the Diamonds And Pearls and eras, was reduced to the Diamonds And Pearls era, excluding songs recorded after October 1991 (and this track as a result).
|