Prince's "Moonbeam Levels" finally gets a release

[Moonbeam]

I posted this on Facebook, and thought I'd post here as well, since this community is so awesome.

Today is kind of a big deal to me. Today marks the release of what has heretofore been my favorite unreleased Prince song, “Moonbeam Levels”, forever immortalized on a new compilation that casts it as being of the same caliber as his biggest hits. Of the hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of unreleased songs in his massive vault, it is “Moonbeam Levels” that was chosen to share disc space with songs like “Kiss”, “Sign o’ the Times”, and “Diamonds and Pearls”. Curious customers who decide to give Prince a try for the first time because they like “Purple Rain” or “Raspberry Beret” and pick up this 2-disc set will be graced to hear this song as if it is just another highlight in a career full of them, rather than its current status as a deeply beloved gem sitting amongst an endless treasure trove of unreleased goodies that have seen fans pay top dollar for decades for 10th generation cassettes besieged by hiss and distortion muffling most of their sheen. But it is in that world of crazy devotion, those seas of bootlegs by the thousand chronicling a parallel universe of purple grooves and lightning-in-a-bottle concert experiences from which “Moonbeam Levels” comes. No more.

Prince fans have clamored for the release of these countless unpolished jewels to make their way onto official releases for decades, and not just so that we have these songs in superior sound quality. This may seem peculiar (and rightly so), but for so many of us, Prince has been such a constant source of limitless joy that we are so eager to share it. To be a Prince fan is to feel like you’ve stumbled upon the world’s best kept secret – that somehow you’ve tapped into a new and glorious consciousness, and as such, you’re eager to see this Uptown expand its borders as far as its diminutive colossus of a Prince can spread.

And so it is that my brother and I came to buy copies of his albums just to give away to those cashiers who responded well to hearing Prince’s music as we went through a drive-thru. We collected books that documented his feverish recording sessions and used this information to concoct our own alternative Prince albums of unreleased outtakes, agonizing over track sequencing and font sizes and colors for the album covers we designed. As such, this release of a song from his precious vault of music is a momentous occasion rendered so painfully bittersweet by the circumstances of its green light. Surely, as big of a moment as this is, I’m positive that all of us who love Prince would happily exchange it if we could somehow rewrite the history of April 21st such that the world kept turning with is most artful passenger still alive and well. But we are left with small consolations now, and I’m going to try to take what joy I can from these moments as they come.

Nonetheless, any other song chosen to turn the key unlocking Prince’s secret genius would not have had the same personal impact. “Moonbeam Levels” represents a glimpse into Prince’s vulnerability – it is a desperate plea for help from someone who has reached the end of his ability to persevere through the world while feeling so alien in its midst - a humble and hopeful supplication for other-worldly healing. It is this feeling of otherness that unites Prince fans as a community, and I can’t think of a song that better represents that feeling than “Moonbeam Levels”.

This is a song that inspired me through many tough times growing up as an awkward kid in a place in which I never felt that I had a place. This is the song that gave me the username with which I registered on prince.org: it was as Moonbeam that I came to meet the love of my life, Tracy. And it was this song that I played on the piano in the funeral home during the last moments with my father before his cremation.

In a year that has been tough on so many fronts, I’ll take this as a reminder of the strength that I’ve needed to overcome previous hardships. The hope that the majesty of this song can more easily find its way into some other souls in need of solace brings me great joy.

This link is true to the history of the song, first presenting it in its new release, then as the most recently cleaned up demo version, and finally as a relic of the 80s cassette era played at the wrong speed.

https://www.mixcloud.com/rich-cranmore/ ... iple-play/

[Brad]

Great stuff, Moonbeam. Saw this on Pitchfork and thought of you immediately. Thanks for sharing the story!

[jamieW]

Awesome post, Moonbeam. I just think it's wonderfully cosmic that, of all the unreleased tracks, "Moonbeam Levels" is the one chosen for a career retrospective featuring primarily greatest hits. It's like a personal, well-deserved gift to his biggest fan.

[Listyguy]

It's pretty amazing that this song is being marketed as "new" or "unreleased", since it's been a known commodity on this forum forever!

[Live in Phoenix]

That's pretty amazing, especially since 4Ever looks quite a bit the same as the 1993 Hits release. ("But damn it, that Moonbeam song needs to be there!" someone must have said.)

Moonbeam, did you ever put together an alternative Dirty Mind album of live cuts, anything like that? I always wanted to hear a version that didn't sound so austere (if that's even shareable).

[Romain]

It's only the beginning ! I hope a new generation can discover this fabulous artist. Next year : Purple Rain remastered.... finally.


For the Outtakes and alternative tracks, I continue to digging and, for the moment, I have 379 songs with good sound. I pray for a good management of his backcatalog.

And Monnbeam...thanks..only thanks.

It's still hard to accept the fact he is gone isn't it?!

[Dan]

Thanks for sharing, Moonbeam. After reading what you wrote, a new dimension was added to my appreciation of the song, and I will never listen to it the same way again.

[Moonbeam]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I feel a bit silly announcing this as some big personal moment, but it is!

[Moonbeam]

That's pretty amazing, especially since 4Ever looks quite a bit the same as the 1993 Hits release. ("But damn it, that Moonbeam song needs to be there!" someone must have said.)

Moonbeam, did you ever put together an alternative Dirty Mind album of live cuts, anything like that? I always wanted to hear a version that didn't sound so austere (if that's even shareable).

"Moonbeam Levels" is obviously the biggest reason that I'm so thrilled with 4ever, but there are other reasons as well. Seeing songs like "Mountains", "Paisley Park", "Girls & Boys", "Batdance", and "Glam Slam" finally make a Prince compilation is awesome as well.

As far as Dirty Mind live stuff goes, I bought a bootleg that has a lot of those songs live, though it's not in very good sound quality. I'll have to dig around and see if there is something in better shape.

[Live in Phoenix]

That's pretty amazing, especially since 4Ever looks quite a bit the same as the 1993 Hits release. ("But damn it, that Moonbeam song needs to be there!" someone must have said.)

Moonbeam, did you ever put together an alternative Dirty Mind album of live cuts, anything like that? I always wanted to hear a version that didn't sound so austere (if that's even shareable).

"Moonbeam Levels" is obviously the biggest reason that I'm so thrilled with 4ever, but there are other reasons as well. Seeing songs like "Mountains", "Paisley Park", "Girls & Boys", "Batdance", and "Glam Slam" finally make a Prince compilation is awesome as well.

As far as Dirty Mind live stuff goes, I bought a bootleg that has a lot of those songs live, though it's not in very good sound quality. I'll have to dig around and see if there is something in better shape.

Ok, thanks, Moonbeam. Just curious.