New Prince: 4Ever (2016) & Purple Rain Deluxe (2017)

Same here, but be glad that we're getting something! This is a first. We've not even had "remastered" albums in the last...30 years. No bonus tracks, nothing. There'll be plenty to come. There is a lot of money to be made by the family, and they're going to do what it takes to get it.

 

I'm fairly confident that the audio has been mixed from the original multitrack. If that's the case, they need to turn those guitars up a bit.

Same with the birthday show - vocals and guitars UP!

 

Does anyone have info regarding the 12" singles being released on June 23rd. Are new remasters being used or if Bernie Gundam is involved with the singles.

 

I would imagine they're exactly the same master as what's going on the CD, like most vinyls nowadays.

 

I'm of a differing opinion, as any of Prince's demos are most people's masters.

Let's hear it all.

 

For the most part, DVD audio = mp3, Blu-ray audio

You act like hi-res downloads aren't mastered

...but you won't get the DVD

 

Thanks... That's what I had thought... The singles that are already out there and the ones from RSD are just repressings if I remember correctly.

 

Yep. The "demo" of Old Friends for Sale is vastly superior to the finished version - with better lyrics as well.

 

Totally unrelated to Purple Rain, but since people mentioned 12" + CD singles, does anyone have any info on the Japanese series of CD singles that would have included all of Prince's 12" singles that was supposed to be released in 1997 (ads for them appeared in Goldmine) and got yanked? I've always wondered about those as there's still several extended mixes / b-sides that would have been released that STILL have not seen any type of digital release.

 

Yes, yes, yes.

I'm surprised more people aren't excited about this!

 

Try this, while it lasts:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10155181984100279

 

This is not something I can get excited about. How often does a remaster improve on the original? Not very often in my experience. However, it's interesting to learn about Prince's involvement with that. I can't remember the words that were used but there was a suggestion it's going to be significantly different from the original.

 

Prince has made 100s of amazing songs he never released. Sometimes because they didn't fit the album theme, sometimes because he forgot or thought it was a like another song he already released. It's true that he released his best songs, with exceptions like the songs Freek mentioned. But there are many more...

I do like the 2nd cd of the PR set, but I don't think it's the best stuff that could be on it. At least, as far as I know the songs on it.

 

Exactly. It bewilders me when people say that Erotic City should have been on Purple Rain...

 

Overall, I'm very pleased with this set. Yes, it is disappointing that the press release mentioned two concert films and it appears that we are only receiving one. And it also could have been worded better so we weren't expecting two discs/albums of unreleased material. However, when you look at the content we are receiving for the price point it is very hard to be upset. A full disc of outtakes, all of the twelve inch mixes/b-sides and a concert film for $35.00? That is extremely good value compared to many "deluxe/super deluxe" boxed sets which can be over a hundred dollars for similar content.

Oddly, I almost wish we were getting gouged on this set. I have bought some lavish box sets with excessive packaging because I wanted the music. With Prince I would have been happy to get the tchotkes that are often included in these box sets. I'll try to be happy that I am "saving" seventy dollars or so on this set.

 

Was this particular clip just released? Sounds miles better than the bootleg DVD I have.

 

Seriously, the price on this set has been perhaps the most surprising thing about it. I was easily expecting it to be double. So, I can put my minor criticisms to the side for this fact alone. Especially when one considers that there may be many other sets of this nature to appear down the road. I can easily fork over thirty-five bucks every six months or so (if I can hope that the sets will come out on a regular basis). If they were $100- each, I'd have to think twice. Also, I might be the only one who is actually happy to see that ALL of the 12" mixes and edits will be included, which will make this set the definitive one for chronicling every version of the tracks that were released at the time. And I must say that it's very heartening to see that work is being done to prep the '83 First Avenue for release at some point. So, kudos all around.

 

Yeah, it's new. Poor Wendy looks so nervous! It's absolutely charming to see the interplay between her + P here. I'd love to be able to watch the whole show in this quality.

 

It depends on who is mastering the recording. If you're a member here, then you're probably familiar with the names of mastering engineers who do quality work. Bernie Grundman is among them. This is exciting because 1) he mastered the original LP version, and in fact, he was Prince's choice for all his vinyl masters (LP and 12") through Lovesexy, 2) all releases since, including CD, were mastered by somebody else from Warner Brother's tape copy, not the original master that Prince kept in the Vault, 3) Bernie, who does first rate work, is doing it again at Bernie Grundman Mastering, which is arguably one of the best facilities on the planet.

It will certainly be an improvement. Of course, we won't know until it's released. But Bernie Grundman's track record for the last 40+ years leads me to believe this will be more than a modest improvement.

 

It's the same clip that was linked to in this earlier post: New Prince: 4Ever (2016) & Purple Rain Deluxe (2017)

That text was in turn copied from prince.org where it was posted by a person with inside knowledge. It contained a link to a download of the clip, which was later removed, but someone had posted it on Facebook.

 

I guess I'm in good company then, together with @99thfloor we do want to have all the single edits included in this set. I'm happy with this set as it's currently announced. Of course I'd welcome a more extensive release from The Vault regarding this period later on, but for now it suffices.

I think they are doing it right. A set like this should include all the B-sides, single edits and extended versions that were officially released. And this one does. The 10-minute version of I Would Die 4 U was officially released, so it should be included.

So basically you're saying that there should never be a deluxe version of Purple Rain, as a 32-CD edition will surely never happen. Some fan you are...

 

But how often is a remaster in 2017 the FIRST time an album is being remastered?
The only comparison is the Beatles re masters in 2012, which everyone agreed were huge improvements over the so-so original CDs from 1987. (Dates might be off by a year or so.)

In this case, it's been 33 years for PR. Technology with digital conversion and transfer has come a long way. The brickwall era seems to be behind us. And you've got one of the best guys in the business doing this. I'm gonna be more surprised if the new PR does NOT improve significantly on the (so-so) original CD.

 

Its a missed opportunity to release the album and the unreleased tracks on a 3 LP vinyl edition. Instead its just the album on vinyl again.

 

I'm a Prince maniac since 1984 and I'm still shocked that we are getting a full cd of high quality unreleased stuff. We are people that have been begging this for years.
I mean, if you been a P fan for decades, this is like living to see the Dawn , if you know what I mean
I still can't understand the bitching, unless you are someone completely new to the party

 

The bitching / disappointment stems from the getting-hopes-up two unreleased albums and two full live shows rumour or announcement or whatever it was.

Or mine does, anyway.