A never-heard-song from Prince was released seven months after the death of the legendary musician. The song’s title is ‘Moonbeam Levels,’ a track that Prince recorded three decades ago and did not make the cut for any album.
Prince’s first posthumously song premiered on ABC News on November 22 alongside the release of the Purple Rain’s author new greatest hits collection, Prince 4ever.
ABC unveiled ‘Moonbeam Levels’ during a private listening party at New York City’s Cutting Room Studios.
The story behind Prince’s never heard song
Prince recorded ‘Moonbeam Levels’ in 1982. The song was probably cut off from Prince’s “1999” studio album, and the track was going to be a part of the never released collection “Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic.”
The track is an excellent example of Prince’s first work. It is an R&B ballad with a growing piano melody, rousing guitar riffs, and eccentric vocal wails.
On the downside and despite the musical delights of ‘Moonbeam Levels,’ the song has a rather somber lyrics with Prince singing: “Please send all your moonbeam levels to me / I’m looking for a better place to die.”
Why did ‘Moonbeam Levels’ never make it to an album?
The message of the track may have been the reason why the never-heard song was not part of any album. 1999’s album lyrics revolved around sex, pleasure, and bondage. In 1983, even MTV considered it too sexual for its channel.
Of course, there were other minor themes in the record. “Free” was a piano ballad about how Americans should appreciate their freedom, while “Something in the Water” is Prince’s preoccupation with the Compuware Age that would continue in future albums.
The track is now available on Price 4ever
‘Moonbeam Levels’ will be the first Prince recording to release since he died on April 21. However, there is already a follow-up in the works: a 2018 deluxe reissue of Purple Rain that includes a second album of never-heard material.
Prince died at the age of 57 from a Fentanyl overdose. He left a legacy of rock and pop music alike that includes the highly acclaimed 1984 Purple Rain album and his platinum record Prince in 1979, his second album.
Prince sold more than 100 million records worldwide and released one of the greatest hits of all times, Purple Rain, a song that sold more than 13 million copies in the US market and stayed 24 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.
Source: ABC News
