Note from Mr. The Analog Kid: I originally featured this blog entry way back on 12/24/2013. I check my statistics regularly, and this post is always at the top of my daily views list. The vinyl rip that I used on the original entry was one of the first I ever attempted, and I have upgraded both my equipment and my technique in the years since. Therefore, I decided to create a brand-new high-quality 320 kbps rip of “The Family” for all of the interweb to enjoy! Call it a re-grooved Groovy Tuesday…
Every Tuesday, the Analog Kid blog goes back in time and features some groovy R&B/soul songs from a specific year. Sometimes you’ll hear songs from individual artists, and other times you’ll get an entire full-length classic LP ripped directly from the Analog Kid’s vast vinyl vault. Warning: by R&B/soul, I also mean disco. I could go Cheryl Lynn on your ass at any given moment, so just be ready!
Although The Family was technically a band, Prince actually wrote and recorded most of their 1985 debut album himself. The vocals were added by Susannah Melvoin (Wendy’s sister) and St. Paul (aka Paul Peterson from The Time), and future New Power Generation member Eric Leeds supplied the saxophone. Other than that, it’s all Prince. As he had often done with The Time, Prince gave writing credits to the members of The Family even though he had written the songs by himself (with the exception of “River Run Dry,” written by Revolution member Bobby Z).
Of course, The Family is best-known as the original source for Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Sinéad’s version spent four weeks at number one in the spring of 1990, and Prince himself finally released his own version on The Hits compilation in 1993.
The Family’s one album was not a commercial success, and the band disbanded after only one live show. The Family has never been released on CD in the United States, and as a result it has become one of the rarest Prince recordings. The Analog Kid hopes you enjoy this smooth soul classic.
![The Family [320 kbps]](https://analogkidblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/the-family-320-kbps.png)
The Family: The Family
Paisley Park/Warner Brothers, 1985
320 kbps vinyl rip courtesy of the Analog Kid
1. “High Fashion” (St. Paul/Jerome)
2. “Mutiny” (Jerome)
3. “The Screams Of Passion” (St. Paul/Susannah)
4. “Yes” (Jerome/Jellybean)
5. “River Run Dry” (Bobby Z)
6. “Nothing Compares 2 U” (Prince)
7. “Susannah’s Pajamas” (Eric Leeds)
8. “Desire” (St. Paul)
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
Sinéad O’Connor: “Nothing Compares 2 U” (Prince)
From the album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
Chrysalis Records, 1990
![The Hits [Disc 1]](https://analogkidblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/the-hits-disc-1.jpg)
Prince: “Nothing Compares 2 U” (Prince)
From the album The Hits 1
Warner Brothers, 1993
Thanks so much for this. Thumbs up!
I know the news of Prince’s passing must be hitting you hard. You sound like a real fan.
Yeah, it’s been rough. The site is getting a ton of traffic due to all of the Prince posts, and I’ve received some very nice emails thanking me for the rarities. That has made me feel a little better I guess, but man– I’m still pretty shaken up. The man was simply the best performer I have ever seen.
Thank you for the rare Prince collection. I never could find a copy of the Black Album and Lovesexy is out of print or just not sold by Amazon right now. His passing was hard for me as well too. I saw him once years ago on the HitnRun tour in 2001 and it was the best concert I ever saw.
Thanks for reading (and listening)!!
thank you for the post, all of these songs bring me back to the good ol days of great music.
I’m one of those guys who came of age music-wise in the late ’70s, when “disco sucks” was still the clarion call. I and my pals were into hard rock, old punk rock, Brit rock, and the guitar gods of the late 60s early 70s. As a result, we tended to dismiss any new music, particularly funky R&B, as crap. Unfortunately, most of my friends painted Prince with that same brush… but when I heard that brittle solo at the start of “When Doves Cry” and the whole song “Let’s Go Crazy”, I knew he was the real deal. Flash forward several decades and I’m watching him onstage with a bunch of other classic rock legends playing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. And when Prince took the solo – the way Sherman took Atlanta – all of those guitar gods standing next to him stood there in gobsmacked… and Prince played on with that knowing half-smile. Your tribute was worthy of the man.