For my latest instalment in the Silver Anniversary Series, I'm kind of passing the buck! It's not that I don't want to do this instalment, it's that someone has pretty much done it already and I'm not one for reinventing the wheel or biting others work.
Many people don't know that DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince were around as early as 1986, two years before their major releases on Jive Records, so I think it's important to cover them within this series, and when you've read this article you'll understand why a bubble gum pop act is being featured on this site (hint - it wasn't always like that!).
Now, Werner Von Wallenrod did an excellent narrative earlier this year on his blog about the 'original' version of DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince's Girl's ain't nothing but trouble. I say 'original' because as Werner rightly points out in his review, the original 12" (released in 1986) existed two years before the more commonly known version and the differences are pretty significant and intriguing.
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I'm not going to go into the differences here as Werner will give you the low down, but let's just say that once you've read his review you'll be wondering whether Jeff and Will could possibly have been a more credible group with much more underground success. I'm not suggesting they would ever have been 'street', but they could have been something more akin to Biz Markie's style of credible comedy hip hop.
I'm not going to go into the differences here as Werner will give you the low down, but let's just say that once you've read his review you'll be wondering whether Jeff and Will could possibly have been a more credible group with much more underground success. I'm not suggesting they would ever have been 'street', but they could have been something more akin to Biz Markie's style of credible comedy hip hop.
Anyway, head over to Werner's review and see for yourself what I'm waffling on about.
http://wernervonwallenrod.blogspot.com/2011/01/dj-jazzy-jeff-fresh-prince-uncensored.html
Once I'd read Werner's review, it made me wonder about the other version of this single, Guy's ain't nothing but trouble. Did this undergo the same revamp? Unfortunately I can't find a copy to listen to, but if anyone else knows the answer then please let us know or leave a comment.
I also wanted to provide you with an audio clip of the original 12" so that you could hear the difference for yourself, but no matter how much I dig, I've not managed to dig up a copy (yet!). If anyone knows of a blog that has this, please let me know and I'll add it here.
Mike Check.
This version - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlEjAOZ7oFQ - sounds the same to me as the UK version on Champion from 1987. The Champion issue also says it's licensed from Word Up Records. I need to hear them both together to compare...
ReplyDeleteHi there, and thanks for sharing this information. Ironically, I have a promo copy of the UK version on Champion Records, but never considered checking it, Duh! You're right though, it's exactly the same as the original and licensed from Word Up.
DeleteNow I know this, I'll rip it and share it. Many thanks for the heads up and for helping me to find something I'd already got, lol.