A Prince Song Recorded During “1999” Sessions Is On Another Level (Audio)

Seventeen years before the rest of our calendars said so, Prince made 1999 a thing. This 1982 album would be the Artist’s second-most successful in the United States (only behind Purple Rain, which followed). In addition to its cathartic title track, the album featured hits such as “Little Red Corvette” and “Delirious.”

This week, NPG/Warner Bros. Records released 4Ever. The first posthumous release since Prince’s April death, this double LP features 40 songs chronicling the Paisley Park founder’s career between 1978 and 1992. Featuring many single versions of the hits in three decades, as well as a few rare B-sides, the release also includes the official drop of “Moonbeam Levels.”

Havoc Reveals That Prince Played Keys On A Mobb Deep Track (Video)

This song was recorded in 1982, during the 1999 studio sessions. Although it did not make the quadruple-platinum affair, it was just one of many Prince recordings that got a secret life through bootlegging, tape-trading, and the underground marketplace.

On ABC News, New York City’s Cutting Room Studios played host to an audience—unveiling the track. As Prince’s catalog is limited online, this is the best possible way Heads can hear what the posthumous project contains, and ponder whether this cut would have fit the 1999 surroundings. For those curious, the song plays at the top of the video.

Prince & Big Daddy Kane’s 1989 “Batdance Remix” Is Finally Released (Audio)

According to Newsweek, “Moonbeam Levels” was in consideration for Prince’s 1989 shelved Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic album. That LP reportedly gave way to the Batman soundtrack, becoming some of the storied recordings held in Paisley Park vault.