Nothing Compares 2 U is the sixth track on The Family’s first and only album The Family. Prince wrote seven of the eight songs on the album, but Nothing Compares 2 U is the only track for which Prince took official credit.
After becoming a worldwide number one single when covered by Irish singer Sinead O’Connor, Prince began playing the song in concert. In 1993, a live version (sharing lead vocals with Rosie Gaines and recorded at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN on 27 January 1992 (a.m.)) was included as the eleventh track (one of two new tracks) on The Hits 1.
He played it live consistently from 1990 onwards, and in 2002, released another live version as the twelfth track on the second disc of his first live album, One Nite Alone... Live! (along with Xenophobia, Extraordinary, Avalanche, Family Name, Raspberry Beret, The Everlasting Now, Wanna B Ur Lover, Diamonds & Pearls, The Beautiful Ones and How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore from the same show).
Basic tracking for Prince’s original version took place on 15 July 1984 at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. with Susannah Melvoin on backing vox (a slighlty altered mix of the original version was released posthumously in 2018). St. Paul Peterson and Susannah Melvoin overdubbed vocals onto the track in late 1984 - early 1985, and Clare Fischer added orchestral overdubs during the same period.
Miles Davis had requested an instrumental of Nothing Compares 2 U to record his trumpet on. But Prince wasn’t keen on that and thought it was corny just to do a trumpet on top of a song that already existed. So around 1991 Prince re-cut it and gave it a different flavor.
Prince was partly inspired in writing the the song by Sandy Scipioni, his personal assistant in the 1980s, who had to leave suddenly after her father’s death (Prince and Scipioni were not in a romantic relationship, however).
Prince’s live version from The Hits 1 went on to be simulcast on US radio stations at 5:07 p.m. CT (6:07 ET/3:07 PT) on 4 May 2016, marking exactly "7 hours and 13 days" since Prince was pronounced dead.
In 2018, a new mix of Prince’s original version was made and released on 19 April 2018 as download file on Tidal and Apple Music as well as streaming on Spotify and Deezer, and on youtube with an accompanying video made up of Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse rehearsal footage. A (limited to 1984 copies) purple vinyl single was available on 21 April 2018 at Electric Fetus in Minneapolis, while a picture disc was available through The Prince official store. A normal black 7 inch single of the song was subsequently available from 25 May. This version was subsequently also included as the fifteenth and last track on the posthumous album Originals in 2019.
This 2018 version was mixed by Tony Maserati to mimic the original Prince version from 1984, but has the Clare Fischer orchestral overdubs buried deep in the mix, but audible. It also has Susannah Melvoin backing vocals, which were not in the 1984 original. That version also has more layers of saxophone in the bridge than the 2018 remix.
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Recording Information
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Recording Sessions
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Date
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Studio
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Additional info
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15 July 1984
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Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, MN, USA
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Tracking
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18 July 1984
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Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, MN, USA
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Saxophone overdubs
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Late Summer 1984 (estimate)
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Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, MN, USA
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Vocal overdubs by Susannah Melvoin and St. Paul Peterson
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October 1984 (estimate)
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Monterey Sound Studios, Glendale, CA, USA
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Clare Fischer Orchestral overdubs
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1991 (assumed)
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Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Re-recording
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2018
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Mirrorball studios, North Hollywood, CA, USA
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Tony Maserati mix attempting to recreate a facsimile of the original Prince version
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Recording Personnel
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The Family version
Prince and the New Power Generation version
Original 1984 version
"Originals" version 2018
Unreleased 1991 version
- Prince - all instruments (assumed)
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Versions
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Released Versions
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Title
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Length
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Released
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Version
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Additional info
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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4:31
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The Family
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Studio
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The Family version
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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4:57
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The Hits 1
The Hits / The B-Sides
Nothing Compares 2 U promo
My Name Was Prince promotional album
Ultimate
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Live
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Prince and the New Power Generation version; 27 January 1992 (a.m.): Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA. Also known as Nothing Compares 2 U (Live)
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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4:17
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Peach single
Nothing Compares 2 U promo
4Ever
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Live edit
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Prince and the New Power Generation version; edit of version above
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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3:47
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One Nite Alone... Live!
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Live
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30 April 2002, Portland Center for the Perf. Arts - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR, USA
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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4:47
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Fdeluxe: Live & Tight As A Funk Fiends' Fix
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Live
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2 September 2012, Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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4:40
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Nothing Compares 2 U (2018 release)
Originals
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Studio
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Prince original version, mixed in 2018
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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4:12
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Nothing Compares 2 U (2018 release)
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Studio
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Edit of Prince original version, mixed in 2018
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Nothing Compares 2 U (Cinematic Mix)
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4:20
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Originals (Target & Japanese version only)
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Studio
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Mix of Prince original version, re-mixed in 2019
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Nothing Compares 2 U (Radio Edit)
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3:30
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Nothing Compares 2 U promo
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Studio
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Mix of Prince original version, re-mixed in 2018
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Nothing Compares 2 U (Live At Glam Slam)
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4:54
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Diamonds And Pearls / Nothing Compares 2 U (Live At Glam Slam) single
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Live (Fade)
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11 January 1992, Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Nothing Compares 2 U (Live At Glam Slam)
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4:50
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Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition
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Live
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11 January 1992, Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Video Versions
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Title
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Length
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Released
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Version
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Additional info
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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5:03
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Promotional release only
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Live promo video
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27 January 1992 (a.m.): Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA intercut with footage from past videos; see Nothing Compares 2 U for details
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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4:02
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Rave Un2 The Year 2000 VHS/DVD
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Live
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18 December 1999, Paisley Park, Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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?:??
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St. Paul: Live At Bunkers DVD
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Live
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As part of the "Family Medley". Recorded live in 2005, Bunker’s Bar And Grill, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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4:59
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youtube (2018)
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Studio
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Prince’s original version
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Nothing Compares 2 U (Live At Glam Slam)
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4:50
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Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition blu-ray
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Live
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11 January 1992, Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Broadcasts/streaming (only)
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Title
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Length
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Released
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Version
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Additional info
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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T.B.C.
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Live concert radio broadcast
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Live
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22 July 1990, Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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T.B.C.
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Delayed concert TV broadcast
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Live
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29 July 1990, Estadio Santa María del Mar, La Coruña, Spain
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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T.B.C.
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Delayed concert TV broadcast
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Live
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19 January 1991 (a.m.), Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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T.B.C.
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Delayed performance TV broadcast
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Live
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2 March 2004, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, NBC Studios, Burbank, CA, USA
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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T.B.C.
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iHeartRadio Music Festival video stream
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Live
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22 September 2012, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV, USA; guesting with Mary J. Blige
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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T.B.C.
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iHeartRadio Music Festival TV broadcast
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Live
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22 September 2012, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV, USA; guesting with Mary J. Blige; same performance as above with different camera angles and editing
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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T.B.C.
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Live concert online stream
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Live
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10 May 2015, Baltimore, MN, USA, Royal Farms Arena
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Unreleased Versions
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Title
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Version
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Additional Info
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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Studio
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true 1984 original, without 2018 mix
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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Studio
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Alternate mix of The Family’s version, with stronger synth element
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Nothing Compares 2 U
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Studio
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Instrumental re-recording for Miles Davis
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