One of the brilliant facts about Prince Rogers Nelson was that his extremely prolific nature was tempered with a high level of quality control. Such is the case with “Don’t Let Him Fool Ya,” one of nearly two dozen outtakes found on the forthcoming 1999 deluxe edition box set. The four and a half minute song is a fully fleshed out New Wave/Funk number, sung in Prince’s unwavering falsetto. Yet it’s also kind of apparent that this amazing little nugget was probably nothing more than an either a writing exercise or something he whipped out to get an idea out of his head. Never known for letting a single idea go to waste, he drew out a full production before deciding what to do with it, and in the melody one hears ideas that would reappear on Ice Cream Castle, the album he wrote and produced for friends The Time. “Don’t Let Him Fool Ya” is a fine addition to an already stellar discography, and proves that the Prince vaults are far from empty.
The Recoup 
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