Unreleased (1985) / Internet download (2001)
Prince has experimented in reggae on several occasions, ranging from the blatant (Blue Light, Ripopgodazippa) to the subtle (Telepathy, Goldnigga). Splash falls somewhere in between. It has a textbook reggae beat with bass that’s broader than Broadway, but the song’s also drenched with aquatic sound-effects and a melody that’s pure musical theatre. Strange bedfellows that bunk up surprisingly well. Splash sounds like The Revolution having the time of their lives and is more summery than a slip’n’slide through Pimms, although the instrumental last minute could quite easily be the DVD menu-screen music for an animated movie about a mermaid. Here’s hoping future excavations into the vault yield lost classics on a par with this.