This song has an interesting history. Although Prince did record the song himself in 1984, he didn’t release the song himself. Technically, the song was released in 1985 as part of Prince’s ‘The Family’ project, although this didn’t make much of an impact.
The song was initially popularised by Sinead O’Connor, who released a version in 1990 which became a hit.
Her cover is alright, but doesn’t have the same ‘Prince-ness’ as the original.
The Prince version is a slow jam, driven by guitar riffs and some particularly emphatic vocals.
As with all good slow jams, there’s a classy horns part – with the attendant guitar noodling excellence.
The backing vocals also add an extra layer of lushness, which is sorely missing in the 1990 cover.
After Prince’s death, his estate released his recording. This means that this gem was only officially released in 2018, 34 years after it was recorded.