Nothing Else Compares to Prince Singing 'Nothing Compares 2 U' in 1984

By Aimée Lutkin | April 19, 2018 | 8:22pm

Entertainment

If you’re feeling weary, raw, enervated, at a loss, lonely, nostalgic, hopeful, or in need of a good sing-into-the-mirror track, this original 1984 studio version of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” will save you.

The video above, released by the Prince estate, includes previously unseen footage of Prince & The Revolution rehearsing during the summer of 1984. As Jezebel’s Rich Juzwiak wrote upon the release of a new Prince album following his death, enjoying material he didn’t necessarily want out there is morally complicated. Prince was notoriously controlling about his public image and music. According to Pitchfork, the song was first recorded by The Family, a band formed by Prince, for their 1985 album. It sounds considerably different there and as sung by Sinead O’Connor in 1990, the most popularized version. Compared to Prince’s vocals, they sound like a synthesized elevator track and a mournful dirge.