Read on Twitter
The rehearsal jam was recorded on July 22, 1986 @ Washington Ave. warehouse in Edina, MN per http://Princevault.com . On #SOTTDELUXE, it is the 6th track on Pt. 2 of the 'Vault' on the CD release.
The #SOTTDELUXE version runs at 12:36, likely a rehearsal for two one-off upcoming shows @MSG on Aug. 2 & 3 that year. These were his first 2 shows at the storied arena, as he covered the NYC area via Nassau Coliseum on the 'Purple Rain' tour. http://www.princerecordings.com/madison-square-garden-1986/
On the #SOTTDELUXE version, Prince screams 'Ice Cream' several times in an apparent nod to this song he wrote for the Time. or maybe it was just July and the sweets-loving Prince was thinking of having some; it's what he's using as a band cue.
Though the SOTTDV stands alone as a propulsive funk ditty, with several other songs incorporated, the 59 min. version gives you more insight into Prince's rehearsal process. In every one I've heard, Prince is musician, bandleader, arranger, taskmaster and jokester.
I talked to @Wallysafford1 who's on the track along with Greg Brooks. Detroit in the house! Rev, Miko, Susannah, Jerome, Eric, Atlanta too. He confirms what we all know - these rehearsals ran for hours but P always had time for pranks. And you never knew what you might get.
How about Prince one day singing falsetto and playing 'Ain't No Way' by Aretha Franklin, with Boni Boyer chiming in? Wally said he shed tears because Prince played and sang it so beautifully. Imagine that. For reference, here's Aretha's version.
On the long version of the song, I enjoy hearing P lead the band. 'Give me a guitar (the other one)!' 'Susan, can we record' & when he says 'New song, Soul Psychodelicide - 3 years, 4 months take up two albums' (lol) - ICE CREAM! among other directives.
But you betta hit that cue though no matter how much he was joking, these rehearsals were always tight, even while he was working things out in his head. That's what makes them so amazing...Wally says they would have an A, B, and C set and you had to know all of them.
I think any musician who wants to understand process can get so much out of listening to Prince rehearsals so it's kind of a shame that the SOTTD version is just 12 minutes. Listening to these rehearsals is like going to an artist's studio and watching them paint or sculpt.
The '84 basement rehearsals are amazing despite the grainy footage. Watching young P work things out knowing all that was coming is endlessly fascinating. Also when did @therevolution eat, drink, go to the bathroom cause P never did!
Although I was assigned the short version, I'd advocate the longer one to enjoy but also to learn from. P recorded this five days after 'Joy In Repetition' for 'Graffiti Bridge.' 'Soul Pyschodelicide' is referenced.
That wasn't the 'GB' version but I didn't think anyone would mind cause that live version KILLS. So basically Prince referenced a song within a song and then recorded the song he'd referenced that didn't yet exist. He may have gotten the inspiration for it from these brothers.
These are the Chambers Brothers - Lester, Willie, Joe, and the late George. (Not in order as the pic doesn't tell you who's who.) They hail from Carthage, Mississippi and grew up playing music in church, but are best known as a psychedelic soul band out of L.A.
They combined various influences and genres for their own funky sound. When they hooked up with a white drummer, Brian Keenan, they were able to expand into the folk/alternative world. They are best known for their 11-minute song, "Time Has Come Today."
One of P's influences was Sly and the Family Stone, a diverse band. But the Chambers Brothers had to be in there as well. The guttural/primal vocalizing/screaming was certainly a P-Funk hallmark too, and Prince echoed it in his work.
If you're wondering where you've heard "Time Has Come Today" lately, if you're an NFL fan, this is where:
A segue: since Prince loved sports and his hometown teams. He wrote a fight song for the Vikings. In 2017, @stefondiggs won a playoff game with a walk-off touchdown now known as the Minneapolis Miracle.
Behind the Minneapolis Miracle:
Behind the Minneapolis Miracle:
This was the first NFL season after P ascended to a higher throne and given how crazy that play was, with Diggs almost falling, I always thought that there was some divine intervention there. The actual name of the play is 'Buffalo Right, Seven Heaven.' So you be the judge.
There are four different versions of 'Time Has Come Today' largely viewed as a social justice song. Lester Chambers said he was told by Columbia to sell the song to a white group cause they didn't know what to make of a black band who made multi-genre music.
"Now the time has come nowhere (place) to run
Might get burned up by the sun but I'll have my fun
I've been loved, pushed (put) aside I've been crushed
By tumbling tide and my soul has been psychedelicized
Now the time has come there are things to realize
Time has come today."
Might get burned up by the sun but I'll have my fun
I've been loved, pushed (put) aside I've been crushed
By tumbling tide and my soul has been psychedelicized
Now the time has come there are things to realize
Time has come today."
The words of the Chambers Brothers that somehow fit the end of this #PrinceTwitterThread. All things must end. In the last days of his beautiful life, Prince bought six albums from @efetusmpls and one of them was The Chambers Brothers https://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/04/21/prince-last-cd-purchases-at-electric-fetus
George 'Pops' Chambers died in 2019 at the age of 88. https://variety.com/2019/music/obituaries-people-news/george-chambers-dead-dies-chambers-brothers-1203369613/
And that's my #PrinceTwitterThread. Thank you @Wallysafford1 @deejayumb @EdgarKruize @polishedsolid C. Liegh McInnis and of course the man who brought us all together. May he forever reign. 
