Live 4 Love (full title in the booklet Live 4 Love (Last Words From The Cockpit)) is the 13th and final track on Prince’s 13th album Diamonds And Pearls, the first album to be credited to Prince and the New Power Generation.
In 1993, the track was included as the b-side of The Morning Papers, the fifth and final single from Prince’s 14th album .
In 2001, a 1992 live version was released as a video and audio download as part of NPG Music Club Edition # 10.
Original tracking of this song was at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, Minnesota, most likely on 20 November 1990 after midnight, continuing the session tracking Diamonds And Pearls. The original recording was over 7 and a half minutes long, and did not yet feature Tony M.’s rap. An edit of this version, made its way to the 27 November 1990 configuration of Diamonds And Pearls as the tenth track.
The song was worked on further in early December, when Prince added rapped the lyrics from the pre-existing The Flow (recorded as a stand alone track on 11 September 1990), and incorporating a bassline that would later be included on the released 1992 version of The Flow. This different 7:30 ‘Early Version’ with Prince’s The Flow rap was featured on the early December 1990 configuration of the Diamonds And Pearls album, and was released on 28 September 2023 as Live 4 Love (Early Version), as a preview for the Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition, where it was featured as the ninth track of Vault Tracks part 1, one of the discs with previously unreleased tracks included with the box-set.
After further work and replacing the The Flow rap with something Tony M. came up with specifically for the song, it became the final track on a January 1991 configuration. It continued its life as the last track on the subsequent 1 March 1991 and 8 May 1991 configurations, and remained there for the released version of the album.
|
|
Recording Information
|
Recording Sessions
|
Date
|
Studio
|
Additional info
|
20 November 1990 (a.m.)
|
Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA
|
Tracking
|
November 1990 (assumed)
|
Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA
|
Editing
|
5 December 1990
|
Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA
|
Additional recording
|
Late January 1991 (assumed)
|
Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA (assumed)
|
Additional recording, editing
|
Recording Personnel
|
- Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted (listed in liner notes as ‘Insatiable’)
- Michael B. - drums
- Sonny T. - bass guitar (credited for "bass and backing vox")
- Tommy Barbarella - keyboards
- Tony M. - rap (credited for "lead raps and backing vox")
- Tim Penn - vocals (uncredited)
Live 4 Love (Early version)
|
|
Versions
|
Released Versions
|
|
Video Versions
|
|
Unreleased Versions
|
Title
|
Version
|
Additional Info
|
Live 4 Love
|
Studio
|
Shorter edit of the so called ‘Early Version’
|
Live 4 Love
|
Studio
|
Fewer sound effects than released version, with falsetto vocal and slightly different lyrics in places
|
|
|