Now this is a real Youtube treasure find. Prince's first public performance of his signature hit at a concert he recorded and filmed, from which suppled the last three tracks for the PURPLE RAIN album. So this is the original 14 minute version of the song minus post-production edits and strings over-dubs. (Watch it before Prince C&Ds it!)



Three Thoughts:

(1) You can see why the unnecessary 2nd chorus was axed, along with the awkward 3rd verse. But I dunno, I liked the 4 minute instrumental opening and revelatory to hear that track without the strings.
(2) Hey that crowd shout ("owww!") was legit.
(3) For whatever reason, Prince never gets as much credit as a guitarist as he probably deserves.