PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - PAISLEY PARK (7" VINYL) 929 052-7

This is a tricky one.  "Paisley Park" was released officially as a single in Europe but as far as I can tell, not in the United States.  However, I have found a number of archive websites that claim it did have an American release.  In both 7" and 12".  

So I've kinda narrowed down the possibility.  I suspect the record was released in a limited fashion in the US, but the version sold here were manufactured in Europe.  My reasoning behind this is the label of this single.  As you can see, it's clearly made in the EU but it says for the US.  Usually, when there's a foreign printing of one of these it says something like "made for the U.S. and the world outside of the U.S."  That indicates the release is meant for international markets.  And that there's an American version for sale commercially in the states.  The wording on this item is different and unusual.  

Considering that other items during this period were being printed internationally, it's not hard to believe this one could have been as well.  And then sold as a limited item in select markets within the U.S.

Anyway, even if it was never released as a single in the United States; this is an item I'd probably still include because of that.

Of all Paisley Park items, this is the one with the most paisleys on it.  Prince is the author of both tunes.

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - PAISLEY PARK

01. Paisley Park 04:41 (Prince)

02. She's Always In My Hair 03:27 (Prince)

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)

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - PURPLE RAIN (7" VINYL) GWB 0528

This release is the first of a series of releases known as "Back to Back Hits".  I'm sure this wasn't the first in the series, but it's the first appearing on the Paisley Park logo.

This release features 'Purple Rain' and 'Raspberry Beret'.  'Purple Rain' is taken from the "Purple Rain" motion picture soundtrack and 'Raspberry Beret' is from the "Around The World In A Day" album.  Both songs were top 40 hits.

This was only released on 7" vinyl as far as I know.  I'm not even sure these records were released to the general public for commercial sales or if they were promotional items.

Prince is the author of both songs.

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - PURPLE RAIN

01. Purple Rain 04:02 (Prince)

02. Raspberry Beret 03:31 (Prince)

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAY (CD) 9-25286 JAPANESE #2

This is the last of the gatefold CDs for "Around The World In A Day".  This is the alternate disc pressed in Japan.  This disc would become the style used on most subsequent pressings of the album on CD with the exception of the green lettering.  It's also the first CD version to feature the Paisley Park logo directly on the disc.  Both the Target versions don't have the logo.

Again, as previously mentioned, the difference between these three versions is the disc.  The gatefold long boxes and the cardboard sleeves were all printed in the US and they are the same for each version.  

Of the three, this is the hardest to find.  It is also the most expensive of the group.  The sku is 0 75992-25286 7.

PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION - AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAY

01. Around The World In A Day 03:25 (Prince, John L. Nelson, David Coleman)

02. Paisley Park 04:41 (Prince)

03. Condition Of The Heart 06:46 (Prince)

04. Raspberry Beret 03:31 (Prince)

05. Tamborine 02:46 (Prince)

06. America 03:40 (Prince)

07. Pop Life 03:42 (Prince)

08. The Ladder 05:26 (Prince, John L. Nelson)

09. Temptation 08:21 (Prince)