Unreleased (1986) / Jill Jones (1987)
I’ll happily listen to the Jill Jones version but my heart will always be with the unreleased original, with Prince on vocals and The Revolution on fire. Initial tracking of this vault A-lister was recorded at the same 1984 birthday concert that gave us Our Destiny and Roadhouse Garden, plus the finest version of Noon Rendezvous ever committed to tape. Overdubs were added two years later and I can only hope we see a cleaned-up posthumous release when the inevitable remaster of Parade emerges in the future. All Day, All Night begins with Wendy doing her best Nina Hagen impression, then, with a nod to Oklahoma!, Prince delivers possibly his greatest opening line: “oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful ass.” Even Rodgers and Hammerstein must have doffed their caps at that couplet. The music that follows is prime Revolution hotsauce and when the toms go into overdrive four minutes in, you’re already planning your ‘SHOCKALAKA!’ tattoo.
