As a tried and true Prince fan I'm not sure how I missed Ta Mara and The Seen.... This white girl-fronted MN-based band from the mid-80s slipped through my fingers (though now that I think about it...I definitely remember seeing this in the "cut out bins" of Golden Oldies and just presuming it was crap based on the oh-so-classy cover art.

  Margie Cox made an appearance on Prince's 90s 1-800-NEW-FUNK compilation with the outstanding "Standing At The Alter" but I somehow never connected that she had a long-standing Prince connection that was worth exploring.

  Well some youtube digging can cure all ills and after a brief indoctrination, I'm here to share. I think this one is my favorite, which definitely has a "Lovergirl" feel. Prince didn't actually have anything to do with it - it was produced by The Time's Jesse Johnson - but it's dripping with the Minneapolis sound. The ending reminds me of "Nasty Girl" and I love that she bites off a bit of Aretha's "Since You've Been Gone" in the vamps.

  Ta Mara & The Seen - "Long, Cold Nights"

  I like this one too...HELLO 80s video!! "Affection"

  And here's a snippet of the 90s track, which actually was written/produced by Prince - "Standing At The Alter"