One of the reasons I usually use Amazon for these box sets is due to the easy return policy, usually because disks are scratched or some other damage.
Beyoncé is 38. Sean Paul is 42. Jennifer Lopez is 45. Pharell and Eminem are both 47. Snoop is 48. And Dr. Dre and Jay-Z are both 50. And those are just some of the big-name artists. Kids respect their elders as much as we did. But just like we didn't listen (for the most part) to Sinatra and Tony Bennett as much as we listened to the Beatles or the the Stones, Kids these days don't consider music made by 60-70 year-olds to be "old music." They consider it ancient history. That's just how the generation gaps goes. As for Auto-Tune singers "all sounding the same," I heard the same argument against Hip-Hop when I was in high school. Especially from my teachers. And I'm sure my parents heard the same about Rock & Roll (my grandparents were fond of saying, "Turn off all that noise," as if the Beatles and the Stones sounded exactly the same). As for music not having quite the same cultural prominence - possibly. But I would just argue that the cultural emphasis has just shifted from rock to rap. The rap star (or trap star) today is this generation's manifestation of the classic "rock star" archetype that we grew up with. Live fast. Die young. Have a beautiful corpse. Sex, Drugs, and Parties. And young people today love that music like we did Rock & Roll. And just because kids don't spend money on music doesn't mean it's not important to them. Billie Eilish played one of Houston's biggest venues on this past tour. And my school students worship her. They parse her lyrics like we did those of Prince. Every generation is fundamentally the same. The human condition remains constant. And just like clockwork, every generation turns out people who say, "These kids have got no respect," "Things weren't like that in my day," and yes, "Get off my lawn." Yes, but it's his own fault.
A very well explained post here. And yes, it is mostly Prince's own fault. The lyric comparison is sad, though.
I'm not sure I see why. Exactly how much Billie Eilish have you heard? I think she's quite talented. And while she has some songs that are pretty lyrically straightforward, like "Bad Guy" or "You Should See Me In a Crown," just as Prince had "Kiss" and "1999," she gets much deeper in other songs, just as Prince did. She could become an icon, if she continues on this trajectory, and maintains her quality. BTW, not trying to threadcrap here. Just pointing out that every generation has their icons. And every generation, the older folks shrug off the young heroes. I still remember many people of my parents' generation claiming that Prince was just a rip-off of Sly Stone and Hendrix. YMMV.
Amazon shipped my 1999 boxset in the box from the factory and it arrived in flawless condition. I think it is one of the many benefits from ordering early.
I have quite a few various artist and electronic albums that have 3 albums per sleeve - the sleeve is a little thicker to accommodate the 3 LP's. It works fine and is not an issue if you use the right inner sleeve. Personally mofi inners would be the last inners I would ever use due to them being easily scrunched and just too thick for constant insertion and removal of albums. I use covers33 polylined paper inners with slight curved edges if no cardboard inner sleeve or plain el cheapo U shaped inners if there is a cardboard inner. October can't come quick enough so I can spin the 6 LP's of Vault material.
Not mine. Half of the covers had seam splits and a corner was dinged. Thankful for the easy returns/exchanges. I had to jump on it rather quickly to make sure I secured a copy though.
Oh man. Sorry to hear that! I was really impressed that such a huge box set arrived without any casualties. All the records were packed really tight so there was nothing moving around. I even kept the factory box and used it when I moved.
Amazon can be a crapshoot. I've had numerous problems with dinged corners, scratches, and don't even get me started on CD's. I've had jewel cases not just cracked, but smashed. And yet, for all that, I'm still going with Amazon, because they're cheaper and have a better return policy than most.
Just today received the 1999 vinyl super deluxe set from Amazon. The box you refer to must be what I got also, because it took me 10 minutes to open the box built like a Sherman Tank.
Pretty nice set isn't it? Highly recommend you check out the contents for potential issues like I had!
At one point, The Bootleg Series, vol. 1-3 came in a fatboy case. But that was before Dylan's legend was completely secure. Give Prince another 35 years. He hasn't won a Pulitzer yet, so right now, it's a bit apples to oranges.
Several LP covers and inner sleeves had top seam splits. Bottom corner of my box was dinged ever so slightly but enough to cause some corner damage on some of the covers as well. None of it was extreme, but when you are paying a premium price, you should get undamaged product.
And I hope it doesn't have the pressing issues that ONA Live has had on vinyl - does anyone have a decent disc 3 with no crackle?
It won't, it will (should) be pressed @ Optimal like the other Warner reissues. no issues with any of those pressings. I have a decent disc 3 on ONA live - not perfect but not unlistenable like ONA alone which I have to return again. cheers
Glad to hear no issues with the Warner pressings (I've bought the hi-res and cd versions on the other SDEs but will be going LP for Sign), and glad to hear it's an optimal pressing, a fan of what they do. I managed to get a listenable ONA solo piano on second attempt so fingers crossed for you.
My vinyl "1999" Super Deluxe Edition pre-order got as low as $188 on Pre-order but the big pre-order price guarantee item of my lifetime was THE SMITHS "Complete" Super Deluxe LP/CD/DVD set which I got shipped to my door for $167. I love supporting my local indie, which is for the most part Amoeba, but it was $499, which was lower than on Rhino.com but I can't justify 3x the cost. There are just so many other box sets I could fit in that cost difference.
I’m finding that’s the case less and less these days. I received my ONL Live yesterday and all 8 sides were flawless. I haven’t got round to playing ONA or the Aftershow yet.
No..a decent hardback photo book is probably rrp £20...for £50 I’d want more content ..like extra discs ..maybe 9 discs instead of 6!
I just checked out of curiosity and all of my Prince reissues are MPO pressings (EU). I’m guessing that all the issues reported have been with US pressings?
Actually I have seen a difference though and each generation seems to be worse than the last. I base this just from another forum I used to post at, but now mainly lurk at that is more youth/pop driven than this place that is more Macca/Stones. 15-ish years ago, there was a reverence for Prince, Jackson, Madonna, Whitney and the other pop stars of the 80s who had basically influenced the stars of their generation. Now we have snot-noses who won't even listen to something from the mid-2000s, one poster in particular is famous for bashing "dusty" music (and in his mind, someone like Avril Lavigne qualifies as that), disrespectful to the point that moderators even called him out when Kenny Rogers passed away and he was SHOCKED AND FLOORED that anyone actually knew who this guy was, when the reality is that pretty much everyone born in the 70s and 80s had parents who loved his music (my mother in law's favorite singer, both my parents liked him too) but he's so filled with contempt and ageism that he has a hard time quantifying that a world existed pre-2015. Hell, even look at the hatred Gaga fans show Madonna vs. the way Britney fans were towards her when in reality, Gaga is more of a logical successor than Britney ever was.
