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“So, do you like environmental records?
Crickets chirpin', water rushin'
Supposed to make you horny
It just makes me want to go to the bathroom
Actually this one's not bad, check it out…”
#PrinceTwitterThread
Crickets chirpin', water rushin'
Supposed to make you horny
It just makes me want to go to the bathroom
Actually this one's not bad, check it out…”
#PrinceTwitterThread
Around 1989/1990 (the Batman era) I bought my first Prince bootleg. It was a 3LP set called Royal Jewels and looking back it was a weird compilation of unreleased tracks. Back then it felt like a holy grail and it was my first introduction to many unreleased Prince songs.
Only a few months later I visited the annual fair in my hometown and stumbled upon a stall that sold a cd called Christopher – The Complete Sessions. Another weird compilation, but man… I was so happy I owned The Black Album tracks on a proper cd and the rest felt like a bonus.
Both the 3LP and the Christopher cd feature the quirky The Time-like ‘Movie Star’ and the bittersweet waltz ‘A Place In Heaven’ back to back. The moment ‘Movie Star’ segues into ‘A Place In Heaven’ with that environmental records comment, is where the tracks are split on the cd.
So to me that silly banter will forever be linked to ‘A Place In Heaven’. Even though it does not quite belong. Now that the song has been properly released in no less than three versions on the ‘Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition’ without it, I quite miss it.
And that makes me wonder about the way I perceive the massive box sets like ‘1999’ and now ‘Sign O’ The Times’, and to a lesser extend the ‘Purple Rain Deluxe’. I know we were not supposed to have those songs prior to these official sets, but we did and it felt special.
Yes, the sound quality was subpar. Yes, the artwork sucked. Yes, the information we got about these songs was mostly incorrect. But owning that vinyl set, owning that cd, knowing those unreleased gems, back in the day it made me feel like these songs were just made for me.
Of course I knew better, those pesky bootleggers were only in it for the money. They were selling stolen goods, no love for the music at all. But the teenage me gladly overlooked that fact. ‘Don’t ask where it came from, just enjoy the music’.
Musically the song is not very interesting. The beat seems like a pre-set (it probably is) and the piano part is very rudimental. It’s the harpsichord use that stands out and makes it sound like no other song in Prince’s body of work.
Regardless, ‘A Place In Heaven’ was a song that resonated with me. As a teen my outlook on life was not too bright (is any teen’s?) and although the song was about a girl it might as well have been about me.
It was this part of the lyrics that I noticed first. That was basically my problem. Of course I did not want to die, but life seemed to be this big obstacle and was I really living it? No, I was too scared to face the world. I was merely existing.
There was another song I was listening to a lot at that time and that was ‘Life’s What You Make It’ by Talk Talk. Thematically those songs overlap here and there.
In ‘A Place In Heaven’ Prince gives the listener a similar message.
The main thing I took away from the song was that you have to create the life you want to live for yourself. No one will do that for you. Actually, no one can.
Saying ‘A Place In Heaven’ changed my life would give the song way too much credit. But without a doubt it was one of the bricks that eventually formed the path on which I chose to walk in life. And that’s why I feel kinda possessive of the song.
This makes me question my feelings about the now official release and with that the release of all those other songs on the box sets. I love that I can finally listen to it all in great quality. But somehow I think I love the idea of a more secretive nature for these tracks more.
I fully realize that sounds rather snobbish and let’s face it, thousands of others have heard them before as well. I should take lesson again from the lyrics and stop whining. These songs deserve proper releases.
As for ‘A Place In Heaven’ we now have no less than three versions in pristine quality! Here’s Prince’s version. Actually this one's not bad, check it out… https://open.spotify.com/track/7nXbyEbiSclk8IA6Y2rycE?si=5dfZ_J-hRhCGFoyrThlcmw
This one is on ‘Disc 4: Vault Tracks part 1’ of the box set as the thirteenth track. This is the version Prince recorded on 27 March 1986 at his Galpin Blvd Home Studio, the same day he also recorded ‘Movie Star’, so it makes sense they were at one point connected.
The track was later reworked when Prince gave Lisa Coleman the lead vocals on the song. She recorded her part in April 1986, with Wendy Melvoin providing backing vocals. That version is on ‘Disc 6: Vault Tracks part 3’, track number eleven.
Check Lisa’s version out here: https://open.spotify.com/track/05ykznS2fPwDmR74M0gZOD?si=0em5ivCLTT26HwiTbuKqpw
I love the harmonies in Prince’s version. His vocals are amazing. But if I had to choose I slightly prefer Lisa’s vocals here. While Prince’s singing is far superior, Lisa brings a bittersweet quality to the lyrics that really stands out.
‘A Place In Heaven’ was supposed to be an important part ‘Dream Factory’. It was featured on various configurations and even part of some segues. If you are interested in the details, check out the mighty @PrinceVault: http://princevault.com/index.php?title=A_Place_In_Heaven
I do want to elaborate on the third version of the song, ‘Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A’, which can be found as the seventeenth track on ‘Disc 4: Vault Tracks part 1’. Check out ‘Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A’ here: https://open.spotify.com/track/71iPvcQG6hfIKqyv6UPDTY?si=teWBJKliT7-ZUnVAu-pg7A
‘Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A’ is of course ‘A Place In Heaven’ spelled backwards, but when you listen to it, it basically is the song played backwards as well.
Prince had been backmasking earlier in his career, but a complete song reversed is unique. Check out my #PrinceTwitterThread about ‘Darling Nikki’ for instance about his backmasking there. https://twitter.com/EdgarKruize/status/1262078296612909068?s=20
Why it works very well here, is because of this part of the lyrics:
When you listen to people crying backwards it sounds like laughing and vice versa. And here the song literally is turned around. The backmasked vocals of ‘Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A’ sound desperate and scary.
When listening you will also notice that the music sounds different. That’s because it actually is a different musical track, almost ambient like. And this musical track also is quite dark and bleak, to emphasise the feeling of desperation.
In many works of fiction there are parallel worlds that are exactly the opposite to reality as we perceive it here. ‘Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A’ to me feels like Prince’s attempt to put a parallel world to music. ‘A Place In Heaven’ is the upside, ‘Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A’ is the upside down.
That said, within Prince’s body of work there is quite a lot of backmasking, mirror messages and reversed imagery. What was he trying to say by hiding all these messages in reverse? That deserves a whole thread in itself. I might get to that one day.
Just for fun you can easily reverse that stuff yourself. You can hear both Lisa and Prince on it. Or is that Wendy doing a falsetto? What’s amazing is that the lyrics and melody remain, but the music totally transforms the listening experience.
Oo you can save yourself the trouble of reversing it. Someone else has already done it. So here’s ‘Nevaeh Ni Ecalp A’ in reverse:
I don’t think this gloomy version would have helped the younger version of me battle his teenage angst.
What is interesting though is that we get three versions of a song and they all have their own distinctive character. Almost like they are three different songs. And that justifies all three of them being on this box set.
But in all honesty… After giving the new remastered versions a few plays, I’ve already gone back to listening to the crappy versions I’ve known and loved for about three decades now. The songs may now be out there in all their glory, but those older ones will forever be ‘mine’.
It must be noted that the idea of heaven is a recurring theme within Prince’s work. In 1985 he recorded the ureleased ‘Heaven’, in 1988 ‘I Wish U Heaven’ was on the ‘Lovesexy’ album, with Ingrid Chavez he worked on ‘Heaven Must Be Near’ and there was ‘Heaven Is Keeping Score’.
And those are only the ones that name the afterworld Prince so desired in the title. From the top of my head there are over 20 songs that mention heaven in the lyrics, from Anna Stesia to Arrogance and from Controversy to Te Amo Corazon. Without a doubt there must be many more.
What makes ‘A Place In Heaven’ stand out once again, is that it is about a heaven you have to create for yourself. Right here, on earth. You can do it too. All you have to do is recognize that you have that power.
That’s about all I have to say about ‘A Place In Heaven’. And I’m curious, which of the three released versions is your favourite? Let me know!
For now I would like to wish all of you a very happy holidays on behalf of the entire #PrinceTwitterThread crew. Whatever you are celebrating this week, have a good time. Stay healthy, stay safe, spread some love wherever you are in the world. Peace!
