We've told you about all the musicians and other celebs who've stopped into Paisley Park while on tour in recent years, but here's a new one: Beck dropped into Prince's Chanhassen compound with his band and actually set up shop there in Studio A, churning out a fun new three-track EP that dropped today as a surprise release.
"He's a big influence for me, he's an inspiration," the real-life Beck Hansen says in a promotional video for the "The Paisley Park Sessions," which is available only through Amazon music services. "His musicality, but also playfulness, and the way he performed was really something that I connected with.
In addition to funked-up versions of Beck's own songs "Where It's At" and "Up All Night," the EP features a medley of Prince tunes called "The Paisley Experience." It starts with "Raspberry Beret" – which he regularly played in live gigs over the past two years – plus "When Doves Cry," "Kiss" and "1999." A video of the entire sessions will be released Nov. 18.
While clearly intended as a mostly-just-for-fun venture – Beck has a real new album coming Nov. 22, "Hyperspace" – the EP could have serious results for Paisley Park, advertising it as a prospective recording studio to other big-name stars as Prince's estate takes over management of the complex. This is the first big-name recording project to come out of Paisley since its founder's death.
