Hear Prince’s Previously Unreleased “I Need A Man”

Hear Prince’s Previously Unreleased “I Need A Man”

Prince’s estate and Warner Records are about to release a big deluxe reissue of the late legend’s 1987 double album Sign O’ The Times. It’ll feature a total of 45 unreleased studio tracks — there’s no shortage of material in the Purple One’s vault — and we’ve already heard “Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 1)” and “(Version 2),” “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version),” “Cosmic Day,” and an early studio run-through of “Forever In My Life.” Today, we’re getting another, “I Need A Man,” presumably the last track to be released before the whole thing comes out next week.

“I Need A Man” was recorded at the Washington Avenue Warehouse on January 22, 1987, with engineer Susan Rogers. Originally recorded in 1981 for the Vanity 6 predecessors the Hookers, Prince retracked it after seeing Bonnie Raitt perform and deciding to offer her some songs, adding live drums, Fairlight and Mirage synths, sax, trumpet, and his own guide vocals. But Raitt never ended up using the song, so it remained in the vault until now. Listen to “I Need A Man” below.

The Sign O’ The Times reissue is out 9/25 via Warner Records. Pre-order it here.

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