Prince HD tracks

Imagine Stipe's thoughts if people were using numbers posted on an internet forum to decide whether or not to purchase his music.
Christ, you can't even hear the rhythm of the hammer and nail, the air between, and the glorious half-tones and harmonics of punctured peel and citrus and the hiss of the spray!

I'll have mine with Absolut!

 

LOL! Nice to see someone playing along with my randomness...

 

Grundman's quote implies 1999 is still with WB.

The music industry will watch very closely to see if Prince catalog will revert to him after each album is 35 years old, beginning this year. Prince himself isn't showing his cards and it hasn't been tested in court.

 

I notice HD Tracks has WAV, FLAC, etc. for 1999. While I can convert FLAC files I prefer WAV because it's easier for me to convert in iTunes to my preferred format (Apple Lossless). Is there really enough sound quality difference between FLAC and WAV for me to care which one i get?

 

No both are lossless, I prefer wav also for my setup

 

There is no difference in sound quality whatsoever.

 

Uh-oh. The semantics police will arrive soon. Please, please overlook this statement uber-wise semantics police. I'd hate for the thread to be closed as I just want to read about 1999.

Pretty please.

 

I know,lol It was either to answer him or direct him to the many flac vs wav discussions already stabbed to death

 

Thank you for your honesty. I have read so many things about all kinds of files and at the end of the day will pay for quality however, convenience is key. A download means one less thing to have to cram on the shelf but i will not pay for lossy files. I am just so tired of re-buying everything and have decided that whatever i buy now will be the final version. I don't mind that the Mo-Fi and AF cds cost a bit more because i know they are putting out quality product and i will not need to get yet another copy of a Miles Davis or Bob Dylan album ever again.

Getting back to Prince though, i did have the joy of sitting in the main studio at Paisley Park to hear a pre-release (by several months) run through of The Rainbow Children straight off the master. It was incredible. I know this stuff can sound fantastic when treated correctly.

 

For those interested. You could save yourself $8.

 

Speaking for the 24/96 version. This is a nice release. But the old CD is actually very good in comparison. Both have the same tone and dynamic range. On my system I would value the HDtracks version as no more than a 10% improvement over the CD, the benefit mainly rests the removal of a very thin veneer over the vocals. A-B'ing highlights a very high degree of similarity.

So this is a good release. But the original CD is also very good. The mastering engineers for both releases did their job correctly.

I consider 1999 a good sounding album, it doesn't "need help".

 

Well I find the HDtracks version a huge improvement over the cd, which to me sounded like it was mastered from 9th generation tapes. I would not say the tone between the two are similar at all, I always thought of the old cd as very dry and flat sounding; just my thoughts for people thinking about buying the HDtracks version.

 

Hmmm, on my system it was very difficult to tell the two 1999 versions apart (CD & HDtracks). Since your experience is so vivid, it leads me to think that there have to be different 1999 CD pressings going around. My UK source 1999 CD sounds excellent.

Again, I think the HDtracks version is great.

I may need to upload some samples to highlight my similarity experience.

 

There is a podcast called the Peach & Black Podcast from four guys in Australia who discuss all things Prince. Their shows are superb, in my opinion. Anyway, two of them went to New York to attend Prince's press conference for the Welcome 2 America tour and actually had an audience with His Royal Purpleness and got to talk to him for about two hours. The guys said on that podcast that he confirmed that his first six albums were already remastered (this was back in 2010). So that means from For You to Purple Rain. Prince will get back full rights to Purple Rain in 2014, according to the P&BP guys. I guess he's waiting until next year to release a special edition, hopefully.

I highly recommend listening to these guys.

 

This reminds of when I began rebuying some cds and found that many newer pressings on Warner Brothers sounded bad. Some call these "secret remasters". It was as if something was done to try to make them louder, more mid range with less clarity. 1999 was one of those. I then found an older pressing and it was an obvious improvement. The only physical way to identify the new ones is they have an embossed WB logo at the bottom right corner on the rear of the case. Perhaps Manly Moose has one of those copies?

 

Maybe, I'm not gonna bother finding it to find out though, I'm happy with my purchase on HDtracks and did a comparison that satisfies me(I use FLAC files streamed to my stereo, which is why I dont have the CD handy). Now the new Controversy on HDtracks I wont buy, that sounds just like the CD from the samples, and the CD is for that album is good. What I'm waiting for is to see what they do with Around The World in a Day, cause that is easily the worst sounding Prince CD I own; very dry and thin. After hearing the vinyl I was just shocked by the difference. Now if anyone disagrees with me on ATWIAD then there are definitely secret remasters.

 

I have heard worse. I think the original cd sounds decent.

Could it be improved ? Perhaps, but maybe the recording sounds similar.

IMO, it is not as bad as you make it sound. The vinyl is better, but the cd isn't terrible.

 

I doubt that'll happen. These are obviously the 180g LP remastered - Around THe World In A Day wasn't a part of those.

 

So for a change this hi-res version has also become available in Germany (through Highresaudio) and being a big Prince fan, I shelled out the insane price of 21 Euros each for "1999" and "Controversy" (at 24/96, 24/192 would have been 23 Euros). "Purple Rain is not available yet, but I hope it will be soon.

I spent some time this afternoon comparing these to my standard CDs (both made in Germany) and the SHM CDs (which have a slightly tweaked EQ compared to the old versions). Here are my impressions (I will only refer to the mastering, since I still find it hard to tell the difference caused by a higher resolution, and you can't tell with different masterings anyway):

1999
The hi-res version is a notable improvement over the standard CD for me. It sounds altogether fuller/bassier and less bright. The SHM already had the bass boosted, so there's not that big a difference in that department, but it sounds brighter than the hi-res. Comparing them, some might even find the hi-res a tiny bit "muffeled", but it will come down to taste here. I have a rather bright system and quickly will find brightness harsh, so I prefer the hi-res version.

In short, if you think the original CD could use some more bass/warmth/meat, you'll probably find the hi-res to be an improvement. If you own the SHM and think it sounds "clear" instead of "bright", you might as well stick with that one.

Controversy
In general the differences are the same as for "1999". The hi-res and SHM have more bass than the original CD, but the difference in brightness is not as big here. It's probably the way this album was recorded, but I think there's sterile and slightly harsh touch to the sound, which still is apparent in the hi-res version. Still, the hi-res is a notable improvement over the standard CD, simply because of the fuller bass. Compared to the SHM, the hi-res is a little less harsh, but it's no night and day difference to my ears.

What's interesting is that the channels are reversed on the original CD compared to all other versions. I even compared the title track to the versions on "The Hits" and "Ultimate" and the channels were opposite from the old CD as well, so it seems that the mistake was made on the original CD. Maybe someone has the old LP and can compare it to the CD, I would be curious to know the result.

 

So we assume that these hi-res versions are from the masterings made for the 180g LPs, right? Apart from the three now available at HDTracks, which other albums have been re-issued on vinyl. Only "Dirty Mind", right? So let's hope that this one will come out as hi-res download too. Though "SOTT" and "Parade" would be great as well (especially "SOTT", "Parade" already sounds pretty good on CD).

 

Probably the wrong thread to post this observation, but I just got HDtracks "Purple Rain" yesterday. In two words, "astonishingly awesome". The HDtracks 1999 & Controversy editions are really really nice, "Purple Rain" takes it to another level, this one clearly beats my old CD & a vinyl needle-drop I have.

Bernie Grundman did a great job with this record. No mastering malarkey. Smooth, natural, honest and high definition. I consider this HDtracks version to be the definitive "Purple Rain", it's the last version of this album I will ever get.

Secondly, every single song on Purple Rain is killer, definitely no filler

Highly recommended.

 

That's great news, thanks. I hope "Purple Rain" becomes available around here soon. And I don't think this is the wrong thread for it, since many people interested in "1999", will also be interested in the other albums. Definitely better than burying the info in the HDTracks News thread.

 

I think I made a mistake, I claimed Bernie Grundman did this Purple Rain mastering, actually it is more likely Kevin Grey did this mastering a few years back for a vinyl re-issue. HDtracks does not state who the mastering engineer is. So I am speculating.

Anway, I can not state enough, HDtracks "Purple Rain" is definitive and it sounds absolutely fantastic.

 

D

Dang, I just bought the killer Bernie Grundman RTI 180-gram vinyl 1999, but now it looks like I'm going to have to pick up the 96/24 Purple Rain as well.

 

I don't think there is any confirmation that Bernie (or Kevin for that matter) did these HDtracks releases.