I'm actually looking forward to the edits disc (still waiting for my box to arrive!) as I'll replace some of the long album versions with the edits on my ipod.
I'm not in love with "DMSR". I think it's a bland, rote funk workout with just some Prince production touches layered over it. It was left off of the first CD of 1999. They didn't like to push CDs to their maximum 74 minute length back then because the yields really went down. Warner's put a note on the back of the package: To enable the release of 1999 as a single compact disc, the song DMSR has been omitted from the original LP edition At 70 minutes that was B.S., even in the '80s. It could fit, they just didn't want to take a slight hit to profitability due to more discs failing quality control. Fleetwood Mac's Tusk was similarly trimmed - the single edit of "Sara" was used for the original CD in place of the album edit - to get the length under 74 minutes. It's possible Tusk actually wouldn't fit on CDs as they were pressed in the '80s - the vinyl LP is 74:25, although I'm betting 25 seconds could be cut via a few opportune fades most listeners wouldn't notice... Today of course CDs with lengths in excess of 80 minutes are floating around out there. They vary the pitch of the tracks, space the pits closer together, do all sorts of things to cram more audio onto the disc while still retaining backwards compatibility with most players made after the '80s. I'd imagine even first gen CD players could still track these modern discs alright, with exceptions.
I actually like that one! I know this is suppose to be a "Dance album", I have my fair share of listening to some but IMO, it doesn't suit Prince
Man if anything I was hoping there would be a 20 minute long extended version of it! This is the track that got me into Prince, I can listen to that jam all day
I’d be more than happy if it dragged on forever. Same with Automatic. Two of my favourite tracks off the album. Probably top 2 in fact. The first two tracks suffer from burnout as do most singles generally for me.
That's what the edits disc is for. I always found many of these songs outstay their welcome, I have now put together a ≈40 min. version of the album.
Using the edits is a way to hear what 1999 would sound like if P. had done what he did on all other albums, cut the full-lenght versions down to fit them on a single disc.
1999 is perfect in its imperfection. I don't know what everybody is going on about. It's a seminal album that is perfectly balanced. Change anything and the experience is totally different.. Maybe you had to have bought the album back in 82/83 to appreciate just how perfect it was at the time. And maybe that's just my nostalgia speaking, but c'mon. "It's the bloody Prince 1999. Shutup!"
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one! Some of his longer tracks hold my attention the whole way through (like the extended "Computer Blue"), but a lot of those 7+ minute songs could probably hit just as hard at half of their run time. 1999 might be my least favorite of the classic Prince albums just because of how needlessly long it is.
There's nothing wrong with the full album itself at all, i've listened to it a couple times all the way through. But every now and then I'm gonna reach for the edited playlist if i don't have the time to listen in whole.
That is the point that (at least) I was making, you can now have a different experience, if you so choose (just like you can now put the full-lenght "Computer Blue" in the tracklist of Purple Rain if you want that experience). There is nothing wrong with having the disc of edits as a bonus, it is not useless, I guess that is what I'm saying.
Some may see the inclusion of the all the 7"s and 12"s on these sets as a waste of space but I think it's pretty smart to include them all because if they aren't many fans will complain that they're not there, imo. I just wish they 'd find a way to mix them up more instead of doing multiple versions of the same song in a row. The Purple Rain deluxe disc was a little hard to listen for that reason.
That space wouldn't have been there at all if they hadn't been included, this would have just been a 4-CD set at about the same price. I can understand it for those that shell out for the LP set, in which case it could have saved cost, and I think it would have been good if there was an option with just the main album and the vault tracks (excluding the singles disc and the live stuff), like there was with Purple Rain. Yes, I don't like that either, I adressed it in this past post: Prince: 1999 Super Deluxe box 5CD/1DVD or 10LP/1DVD [11/29/19]
Ha! This reminds me of "It's Gonna be a Beautiful Night" on Sign 'O' the Times. It is often cited by fans as the weakest track but it is my favourite.
For me the revelation of listening to the vault discs on this deluxe edition is how 1999 could have been much more like Sign 'O' The Times if he'd decided to go that way. Obviously not in a track-for track sense, but in the sense of being a showcase for his versatility. I think many lesser artists would have been tempted to go that way but instead he made this really bold statement. I'm glad he went that way, if 1999 had been more eclectic I don't think Sign 'O' The Times would have quite the same impact.
He seemed to have (among other talents) great instincts about what work was or wasn't ready at any particular time, but still clearly wanted to move things along.
Regarding long songs outstaying their welcome or not, I’d go as far to say: Automatic only really starts to get interesting at 4:00 and LCD only really starts to get interesting at 4:30. In other words it’s the latter stages of those tunes that make them for me.
It’s cool than when I put the cds on my car stereo, the screen shows MCMXCIX. We might rename this thread like that that
