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Listen: Surreal Prince medley ‘Our Destiny / Roadhouse Garden’ out now from ‘Purple Rain’ deluxe edition

by Jackie Renzetti

May 12, 2017

Warner Bros. and NPG Records have released a double whammy for Prince fans today. “Our Destiny/Roadhouse,” two previously unreleased songs blended into one track, is the second track available for streaming from the upcoming Purple Rain album reissue.

While the bones of the tracks were recorded at a June 7, 1984 show at First Avenue, Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman put three more days of work into the track during September of that year at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, according to the fan site princevault.com. It’s likely that it was considered for the Prince and the Revolution album Roadhouse Garden, which was never released.

A driving bass drum and mesmerizing synth combined with Coleman’s sweet lead vocals fill “Our Destiny” charm. In a seamless yet surreal segway, the Purple One comes in halfway through for “Roadhouse Garden.” Bootlegged versions of the “Our Destiny” have been shared before, but the studio track features Coleman’s clear voice. It’s also the earliest recorded track to feature the keyboardist on lead vocals, according to Prince Vault.

Prince performed the medley live with the Revolution in the '80s, and the band have brought it back for their recent tour — starting with both of their sets at Paisley Park as part of last month's Celebration 2017. It's a good bet we'll hear it this summer at Rock the Garden.

After the Revolution’s Parade project wrapped up, Coleman and Melvoin went on to release five full-length albums for labels including Columbia and Virgin. The two have also continued to collaborate in composing for television and movies. Their scores have accompanied Crossing Jordan, Heroes, Touch, and the Emmy Award-winning theme for Nurse Jackie.

Due out June 23, the Purple Rain reissue comes in deluxe and expanded deluxe packages, which both include the remastered original album and 11 unreleased tracks. The expanded version comes with single edits and B-sides, as well as a live DVD recording of Prince playing at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1985. Full track lists for each disc can be found here.

Jackie Renzetti studies journalism and political science at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities. She is an editor at the Minnesota Daily and co-hosts Radio K’s “Off the Record.”

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.