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

NPG RECORDS & WARNER BROS. RECORDS ANNOUNCE TWO NEW PRINCE RELEASES, BOTH WITH PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MUSIC FROM THE VAULT

GREATEST HITS COLLECTION PRINCE 4EVER ARRIVES ON NOVEMBER 22

REMASTERED, DELUXE VERSION OF PURPLE RAIN DUE IN EARLY 2017

October 21, 2016 (Burbank, CA) - Today, NPG Records and Warner Bros. Records announced two new Prince releases that will celebrate the iconic artist's music and introduce fans to previously unreleased material from his legendary vault. This will mark the first Prince recordings released since his passing on April 21st of this year.

Released on November 22nd in the U.S. and November 25th around the world, Prince 4Ever will bring together 40 of Prince's best-loved songs, including the blockbuster hits "When Doves Cry," "Let's Go Crazy," "Kiss," "Little Red Corvette," "Purple Rain," "Raspberry Beret," "Sign O' The Times," "Alphabet Street," "Batdance," "Cream," and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World."

Prince 4Ever includes "Moonbeam Levels" - a previously unreleased song originally recorded in 1982 during the 1999 sessions and later considered for the never released Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic album. Prince 4Ever will also arrive with a 12-page booklet of never-before-seen photos by acclaimed photographer Herb Ritts.

In addition, early next year will see the release of the much-anticipated remastered, deluxe version of Purple Rain, plans for which were agreed with Prince before he passed away. The remaster of the classic Purple Rain will arrive with a second album of previously unreleased material. More details will be revealed closer to the release date.

The track-listing for Prince 4Ever is as follows:
1. 1999
2. Little Red Corvette
3. When Doves Cry
4. Let's Go Crazy
5. Raspberry Beret
6. I Wanna Be Your Lover
7. Soft and Wet
8. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad
9. Uptown
10. When You Were Mine
11. Head
12. Gotta Stop (Messin' About)
13. Controversy
14. Let's Work
15. Delirious
16. I Would Die 4 U
17. Take Me With U
18. Paisley Park
19. Pop Life
20. Purple Rain
21. Kiss
22. Sign 'O' The Times
23. Alphabet Street
24. Batdance
25. Thieves In The Temple
26. Cream
27. Mountains
28. Girls & Boys
29. If I Was Your Girlfriend
30. U Got The Look
31. I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man
32. Glam Slam
33. Moonbeam Levels
34. Diamonds and Pearls
35. Gett Off
36. Sexy MF
37. My Name Is Prince
38. 7
39. Peach
40. Nothing Compares 2 U

 

No Erotic City or "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"?

 

40 songs and only one before unreleased? I have already two Prince compilations (2cd and 3cd) because of extended versions and elsewhere unavailable songs.

 

Mentioned in the text, but not in the track listing. Weird.

 

This is most likely an error IMO.

 

It's also a strange choice to include songs like Girls & Boys, Peach and Glam Slam. I am happy for "Glam Slam" but it is a puzzling inclusion.

 

Wheeew...I'm loathe to be the first person to say that "Moonbeam Levels" contains this haunting line at the end of each chorus:

"I'm lookin' 4 a better place 2 die."

Only one album of unreleased material from Purple Rain. Well, I guess they'll be leaving out quite a bit (although I hope that "more details to be revealed" is a good news).

I must keep in mind that if the Deluxe Purple Rain was all put together while Prince was still alive, if course it's going to leave stuff out. That was his way.

 

I'm hoping it's the full version with the instrumental outro at the end. Every bootleg since the mid-90's seems to have cut that bit off.

 

I'm hoping that the release of "Moonbeam Levels" is a sign that Susan Rogers has her hand in things now, as she alluded to when she said that the estate reached out to her. It is well documented that "Moonbeam Levels" was a favorite song of hers.

 

glam slam just missed the top 40, why is that strange its on here? whats odd is I don't see the song "dirty mind"

 

The part that irritates me most is the "Prince's best-loved songs". If that were the case, it would be a very different track-list.

Susan also hated Adonis and Bathsheiba, which is loved by many fans.

 

Well, I think it matters very little as everything Susan has said would leave one to believe that she would give the fans what they want. But if you're saying that the inclusions of "Moonbeam Levels" is no indication of Rogers being involved, then yes I see what you're saying.

 

I love that they included "Girls & Boys" (and also from Parade "Mountains").

 

Moonbeam Levels?!? Glory be!!!!! I was just listening to this track yesterday and wished there was a better version circulating. Please, don't brick-wall this set!

 

Like the cover, hope we get a vinyl version

 

Well, 7 of my Most Loved Songs by Prince are:

Let's Pretend We're Married
DMSR
Lady Cab Driver
Eye No
Anna Stesia
Thunder
The Morning Papers

So just a rehash of songs mostly on his prior 2-CD Hits/Best of Releases, and looks like a cash grab(like the new Bowie 2-CD Legacy release that is pointless after the excellent 3-CD version of 'Nothing Has Changed, Everything Has Changed').

I am interested on the 'Purple Rain' Deluxe Reissue though.

 

Dissappointing that it is not a career spanning compilation, and I wonder what that indicates for the future of the NPG era material...?

But on a quick look, taken for what it is, a Warner era compilation, this is a good selection. The track listing reads like a "corrected" The Hits, removing the non-hit inclusions ("I Feel For You", "Do Me, Baby" "Adore", "Pink Cashmere", "Pope") and adding a lot of the the minor singles missing on that one, like "Let's Work", "Take Me With U", "Paisley Park", "Mountains", "Girls & Boys", "Glam Slam", "My Name Is Prince", even "Batdance" is on here (against all odds), and I love that they included "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" (it was an A side in the UK safter all). "Dirty Mind" is the only omission that stands out compared to The Hits, and "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" is also missing in action, compared to earlier compilations.

Are you sure? Seems in line with the rest of the tracks being only Warner stuff to not include "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", if not it doesn't make sense to have some of the minor hits from the 80's but nothing from later on...

Why? They were singles, and "Girls & Boys", "Glam Slam" and "Peach" were hits in Europe (#11, #29 and #14 in the UK, respectively), it's not all about the US hits. I think it is great that they expanded the selections from Parade and Lovesexy beyond the regulars "Kiss" and "Alphabet St.", which are the only tracks ever included from those albums on compilations, makes it more balanced. I actually think ”Anotherloverholenyohead” and "I Wish U Heaven" should have been on here too. (If I had been in charge I would have skipped "My Name Is Prince" and "Batdance" to make room.)

 

Another collection that avoids everything past 1993? This looks as pointless as that upcoming Bowie collection. Cool to finally get an official release of Moonbeam Levels, but I'd rather see the vault material get standalone releases instead of just making people repurchase songs for the fourth or fifth time. Given this collection wishes to stop after 1993 (surely they could've thrown in something off ARTOFFICIALAGE or something being a Warner title that is much more recent, to give the illusion of trying to show Prince didn't quit making music in 1993), it seems pointless given The Hits/The B-Sides stops at the exact same point and has been a fine collection for 20 plus years.

 

Here's hoping for a great deluxe edition of Purple Rain, one of the greatest albums of all time!

 

They might as well have put a cardboard slip case with that photo over one of the existing compilations with the Moonbeam Levels as a CD single. It's such a cheap idea to use that song as a carrot for collectors. It doesn't respect us.

 

I don't think having it there is aimed at collectors, I think it is a way to possibly make some casual fans that buy this interested in future "vault" releases, by having an unreleased track included and signaling that they have "entered the vault", the song will surely be part of some later release. It has been known all along that they would release a compilation designed to get them some quick cash flow, it was expected that it should be something aimed at casual fans, in time for Christmas. We don't have to buy this, it is not for us really.

 

I can't believe "Dirty Mind" would be omitted, so that track list has to be at least slightly questionable. That's a defining song in his catalogue and you'd think it would be impossible to overlook. And I'm surprised "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" isn't on it either, because it was such a hit. Also, I wonder if 4Ever uses the album versions or, where applicable, the 45 edits/mixes? ("Batdance", I'm looking at you).

 

The first thing I thought of when I saw this collection, was "Bowie Legacy", also coming in November.
Since both artists were highly influential, I can't help but thinking that both compilations will be compared back-to-back. That's unfortunate, because I'm sure both Bowie and Prince had very high respect for each other and wanted to be judged for what they did individually and not much else. Though I'm not a Prince fan as such, I can hear his importance.

 

I have all of his albums in my collection (except for the last three). This is just another post mortem cash grab! SLAVE!