German Magazine Offering Exclusive Prince Vinyl Single
German magazine Musik Express is offering an exclusive Prince 7-inch with their upcoming October issue. The vinyl single features the previously song “My Computer” on the a-side, with an excerpt of “Shhh” on the b-side.
“My Computer” was originally released on Prince’s 1996 LP Emancipation. The song details the singer’s search to find a deeper connection with people online. The conflict, of course, is that while the internet makes communicating with others easier than ever before, staring at a computer monitor is an extremely isolating experience. Prince's viewpoint on technology was revolutionary for its time, considering it was released at a point when more than 90% of Americans still had not yet connected to the world wide web.
The track features a sample of the original AOL “You’ve got mail” greeting, recorded by voice over actor Elwood Edwards. Singer Kate Bush also contributed to “My Computer,” recording heavily processed backing vocals for the song. It marked the second collaboration between the artists, with Prince having previously contributed vocals and instrumentation to Bush’s 1993 song “Why Should I Love You?.”
B-side “Shhh” was written by Prince, but originally recorded by singer Tevin Campbell for his 1993 album I’m Ready. The purple one eventually reclaimed the track and released his own version on The Gold Experience. The version featured on the new 7-inch vinyl comes from The Versace Experience (Prelude 2 Gold), a promotional cassette of then-unheard Prince material that was given to attendees at Paris Fashion Week in 1995.
Last October, a version of "17 Days" from Prince's Piano & A Microphone 1983 album was released as a vinyl single along with an issue of Germany's Rolling Stone magazine.
Fans can pre-order the October issue of Musik Express, along with the exclusive vinyl single, now. Those outside of Germany should be prepared to pay extra shipping costs.
Emancipation, The Versace Experience and Prince's 1996 album Chaos and Disorder will all be making their vinyl debuts on Sept. 13.