The Prince estate has revealed a previously unreleased song titled “Don’t Let Him Fool Ya,” one of two-dozen unearthed-from-the-vault tracks that appear on the upcoming reissue of Prince’s 1999.
“Don’t Let Him Fool Ya” is a classic funk work-up stylistically in the vein of 1999; the song was recorded in the summer of 1982 — the later stretch of sessions that yielded 1999 — at Prince’s Kiowa Trail home studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
With a home studio at his disposal, Prince was able to record whenever and whatever he wanted: On “Don’t Let Him Fool Ya,” Prince plays keyboards, drums, guitars, bass and multilayered his own vocals.
The Prince Estate previously shared an unreleased live version of “1999” and the first studio take of “International Lover” from the massive 1999 reissue, due out November 29th. In addition to the 1982 LP, the deluxe edition features 23 unreleased tracks and 1999 demoes culled from Prince’s vault, a disc full of remixes and single edits, and a live recording of Prince’s “late show” concert in Detroit on November 30th, 1982. An adjoining DVD on the Super Deluxe Edition features video of Prince’s entire concert from the Houston Summit on December 29th, 1982.
The accompanying book includes Prince’s handwritten lyrics for “Little Red Corvette” and other songs from that period, rare photos by Allen Beaulieu, images of the 1999 analog reels and liner notes by Rolling Stone’s David Fricke and Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan.