PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - POP LIFE (12" VINYL) 0-20357

This is the 12" single for "Pop Life".  Unlike the 12" single for "America", "Pop Life" actually lists titles for the alternate versions of the songs.  The song appearing on side 1 is "Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix)" while side 2 is "Hello (Fresh Dance Mix)".  Both are basically extended versions of the songs.

The covers and labels are almost identical to the 7" single.  The Paisley Park logo appears on both sides of the record label and also on the sleeve.

I should also mention, most 12" singles during this time period are recorded at 45 RPM.  Prince is the composer of both tracks and this is the commercially released single in the US.

The sku is 0 7599-20357-0.

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - POP LIFE
01. Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix) 06:16 (Prince)
02. Hello (Fresh Dance Mix) 06:38 (Prince)

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - POP LIFE (7" VINYL) GWB 0529

Here's another release in the Back To Back Hits series.  This time, the A-side is "Pop Life" and the B-side is "America".  Both songs are taken from "Around The World In A Day" and come in a generic sleeve.

I've discussed this series in the past so I won't spend a lot of time going over it here.  The serial number appears below the Paisley Park logo on the label and includes a -A or -B at the end to distinguish the which song is the actual title track.

Prince is listed as sole author on "Pop Life" while the Revolution are given song writing credits on "America".  Both versions of the songs are the single versions.

You'll be able to tell if the 7" is part of this series by the GWB before the 4 number sequence.

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - POP LIFE
01. Pop Life 03:42 (Prince)
02. America 03:40 (Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Matt Fink, Mark Brown, Bobby Rivkin)

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - AMERICA (12" VINYL) PRO-A-2300 PROMO

This is the promotional 12" release of "America".  As you can see, it's kinda cool because it has artwork unique to the release.  Notice how "Prince and the Revolution" is written using the "Purple Rain" font.  The front of the cover is the interesting font used for the song "America" on the album release.  The Paisley Park logo appears on the cover and the back cover is blank white.

The version on the record is the single version of the song and repeats on both sides.  Under the promotional serial number you can find the warning, "Promotional copy. Not for sale."

Three of the singles from "Around The World In A Day" are given unique artwork for the promotional 12".  

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - AMERICA

01. America 03:40 (Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Matt Fink, Mark Brown, Bobby Rivkin)

02. America 03:40 (Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Matt Fink, Mark Brown, Bobby Rivkin)

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - AMERICA (12" VINYL) 20389-0

The 12" version of "America" is radically different from the 7".  There's nothing to distinguish the tracks from the 7" or album versions, but "America" is extended almost 22 minutes.  "Girl" is likewise treated to an extended version.

The cover is the same as the 7".  There's nothing much to say about this release other than it's the official record sold commercially for the single in the US.

The sku is 0 7599-20389-0.  

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - AMERICA

01. America 21:46 (Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Matt Fink, Mark Brown, Bobby Rivkin)

02. Girl 07:36 (Prince)

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - AMERICA (7" VINYL) 7-28999 PROMO

There are two versions of the 7" single of "America".  One is the commercially sold version and the second is the promotional version.  For those of you who aren't familiar with promotional items, they are usually printed and sent to radio stations and record stores.  Places where people who can influence sales will listen and hopefully promote the music further.

Because it's free, they are traditionally low end when it comes to content.  However, some artists make the promotional material more exciting and collectible with different covers and exclusive content.  Warner Bros. and Paisley Park were not so generous in '85.  As you can see from the photos in this post, the promotional 7" has the single version of 'America' and the track repeats on both sides.

Another difference is the inclusion of the words, "Promotion Not For Sale" on the label.  These items were never intended for commercial sale.

'America' is considered a group effort by Prince and the Revolution.

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - AMERICA

01. America 03:40 (Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Matt Fink, Mark Brown, Bobby Rivkin)

02. America 03:40 (Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Matt Fink, Mark Brown, Bobby Rivkin)

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - AMERICA (7" VINYL) 7-28999

"America" was released October 02, 1985.  It's a single from "Around The World In A Day" and the song is listed as a collaboration between Prince and his band, the Revolution.  I can't remember who actually gets a writing credit on the track, but I can't check the Library Of Congress online catalog because they're offline due to the government shut down.  It's the fourth and final single from the album.

Like the other singles, the cover is taken from the album cover.  It's a blown up portion of the album.  It focuses on one of the people portrayed in the artwork.  The single was released on vinyl only.  There are two official releases.  The 7" and the 12".  My research has shown there are possibly two variations of the 7" cover, but I haven't been able to verify this yet.

The full catalog number is 0 7599-28999-0.  The single includes a b-side...  The song, "Girl".  This is the second song written by Prince given this title.  The first is a song recorded by The Time from their original album.  The songs are dramatically different but both are slow numbers.

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - AMERICA

01. America 03:40 (Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Mark Brown, Matt Fink, Bobby Rivkin)

02. Girl 03:57 (Prince)