The album remaster is atrocious. If you can get it cheap, I'd say the sound of the bonus disc is adequate. I've heard there are better video copies of the Syracuse show out there, but the audio is decent. Just my opinion of course.
My big worry is that, even though we all know the remaster was shoddy, and done by someone who really had no reason to do it, the fact that it's Prince approved might mean we get stuck with it. Unless they go all out and present a new remaster (done by actual remastering professionals) alongside the 2014 mastering. That might be the best we can hope for.
Just get a used copy of the original CD, which should be pretty damn cheap (millions were sold, it's not rare). The deluxe CD edition is $25 on Amazon and you can probably get a used copy cheaper. Here's the deal... the remaster of the album sucks. Brickwalled and compressed. But the other discs in the deluxe set are fine (though as pointed out, the sources for the vault tracks aren't that great). Until Warner decides to do another deluxe edition, this is what we have, and it's not that expensive to grab it now.
I just came to say this critique is wrong. Is it too long? Is it dated? Absolutely. But it actually may be one of his most focused albums. Been listening to the vinyl box and having a blast. You can tell he didn’t half ass a note on it.
I LOVE Emancipation. It and Chaos and Disorder are two of my very favourite Prince albums. I guess you can add The Truth too but that era was the end of the "dirty" Prince just before he embraced being a Jehova's Witness. Emancipation isn't a perfect album but I like when he is at his most ambitious. Not everything is going to hit but it is fun listening to him try many different things.
The thing about Emancipation is that every Prince album prior is "of a piece," meaning, they have a fairly consistent vibe, mood, style or concept. Dirty Mind is the new wave funk album. Parade is the lush, orchestrated soundtrack. Lovesexy is rebirth. Diamonds & Pearls is a 90s pop album. Though he started using the "Experience" concept on The Gold Experience, all his albums were "Experiences." If Emancipation has a concept, it's Freedom. And I suppose that Prince indeed had the freedom to do anything he wanted, which was to show off everything that he could do. But the variety of tunes, and its length, make it an exhausting listen. Only recently have I been able to listen and appreciate what he was trying to do. I see Emancipation as a complete break in how Prince previously made records (or at least, decided how songs fit together to create an Experience). From 1996-1999, that's what we got (with the exception of The Truth). It wasn't until 2001, when he released The Rainbow Children, that we got an album of consistent style, and he would continue to do that until the end of his career.
While the album remaster is not great and many of the Vault tracks are clearly taken from sources not optimal (probably due to it being rushed out quickly before the actual Vault was fully catalogued and moved), the music is so damn good that honestly I am glad I got it and would have bought it just the same knowing the imperfections One thing I did though was burn a CD of the HDTracks Purple Rain mastering to replace the included remaster
Hmm, I'm not sure I agree. The "Love Symbol" (released pre-Emancipation in 1992) album is fairly sprawling and diffuse. I love it but there is a lot of stylistic jumping around from track-to-track. Conversely, Newpower Soul (released post Emancipation in 1998) is basically a funk/R & B album. While it is not one of my favourites I think it meets your criteria of being "of a piece" and having a fairly consistent vibe, mood, style or concept.
I disagree. "Love Symbol" is a flawed album for sure, but I think Prince had a vision for that album, and I think it holds together fairly well despite the flaws. My argument is that Emancipation is first time he intentionally didn't try to create an "experience" as an album. He wanted to show the world his versatility. And while there are recurring themes, the album is far more diverse and, as a result, diffuse, than any previous record.
damn, i remember driving to Sunset Tower in my lunch hour to pick up that set on the release date...perhaps his biggest disappointing release, mainly due to high expectation. the biggest problem with Emancipation would be the ridiculous self-impose concept of 12 songs/60 min. per each disc... becasue of it, lot of the songs were strecthed out WAY beyond what they needed to be...besides Kirk Johnson isn't creative enough to make those stretch minutes useful like P did in the 80's.
I don't share this opinion but many fans believe he waited a little too long to release a three disc/three-hour long album. The theory goes that if it had been released in 1994 or 1995 it would have been much stronger. I love Emancipation the way it is (even "Mr. Happy" and "Da, Da, Da!") but I would definitely welcome a massive mid nineties boxed set.
For the record, the main thing that interests me is the Paisley Park concert .... Did they do a good job? Does it have any kind of 5.1 mix? Is the video quality good? I have been umming and ahhing about this since it was released Cheers Mark
Agree 100%. He had so many great tracks from 1993-95 he could've easily released a triple album. Well, if he wasn't at war with his record company. But he definitely had the music ready.
it's just from an 'in-house' video archive at Paisley Park so...no, it wasn't really meant for 'wide-type' release. having said that, it's an excellent show from an excellent era with Miles guesting so...anyways, here's a sample so you be the judge
It’s a stereo mix, and I’d assess the fidelity as slightly better than a soundboard recording, IMHO. The live Utrecht show is only slightly better, fidelity-wise. The reason to get it is the remaster and the vault tracks, as far as I’m concerned.
Duane Tudahl's Parade/SOTT book is up for pre-order. Prince and the Parade/Sign O’ The Times Era Studio Sessions: 1985-1986
700 pages?! Foreword by Sir Elton?! I didn't think it was possible for me to be more excited by this book!