Prince Estate Signs Deal With Sony Music to Re-Release 35 Catalog Albums

There is some good discussion on the Discogs page for this release (which lists them as Unofficial). I bought the record thinking it was official, but I'm now convinced that it isn't official.

Read about it here:
Prince - 3121

 

What’s the word on a rerelease of The Gold Experience? Anyone know?

 

Musicology is one of his better later albums IMO.

 

Nobody knows yet, outside of these 3 announced reissues.

 

That's not particularly mean, IMHO. It's hardly happiness and light but I can't tell the context in which the question was asked, when it was asked, what his day was like before it was asked, etc. I'm not willing to assume this is "mean".

Ed

 

I'm sure you already know that Sony has put it up on iTunes. "Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings.

Ed

 

sheesh, Sony, not all of us are all up in vinyl . . .

 

I have 3121 on vinyl as well and this is the first I've heard that it's a fake, agree that if so it's incredibly well done, would also like to see more confirmation than a Discogs page as they are hardly error free.

 

I mean, if you want to defend that, go ahead.

Maybe we shouldn't rely on anything Prince said because he might have had something bad for breakfast? Maybe he stubbed his toe the night before?

 

Not saying Prince didn't say this... but the article was written by Barney Hoskyns, who never really wrote anything good about Prince in NME, and also wrote the forgettable Prince biography, "Imp of the Perverse." I never got the impression that Hoskyns understood Prince (as evidenced by the article you took the quote from, and what I remember about that biography). He has always seemed like a music critic by way of tabloid journalism. And since journalists weren't allowed to record interviews with Prince, the quote is even more questionable.

Not saying he didn't say it, but we can't take that as gospel.


If he had left a will there wouldn't be any questions. Damn frustrating!

 

Yeah, I'm not saying that was how he felt when he passed, but it was a weirdly antagonistic remark (in reaction to Susan giving interviews on her time with him) towards someone who didn't really deserve it.

 

Well, you're right, that we can't say he never would have released things. We have the Crystal Ball set that demonstrates that he was somewhat true to his word. Of course we also have all of the effort that went into Crystal Ball II that demonstrates that he was untrue to his word, as well. So, a "matter of public record" means nothing. I mean, I once told this chick that I was a doctor so that I could perform an examination on her. Once I had finished "operating," she never saw this doctor again. That is to say, words mean nothing. Hell, Prince said at one point that he would destroy all of his tapes, and yeah, that didn't happen.

 

Selfishly I'm glad he didn't have a will as he probabaly would have had all of these limitations in releasing his music. The Estate clearly is just going to put everything out there eventually and are OK'ing vinyl releases, comps, streaming, etc. Prince's catalog was never neat and tidy so however they want to get the stuff out there I'm OK with it. With how they put out Piano & A Microphoen it seems like they will put some thought on how to get the unreleased stuff out thematically.

 

Yes, but without TMBGITW. Does that mean either: A) We have to wait until the lawsuit is settled (however many years or decades that might take) to get a vinyl reissue? Or B) They're going to rerelease TGE on vinyl without its most popular song? I'm not crazy about either option.

 

I read the thread, and you're right. There are too many suspect pressing details that would suggest it probably is a fake. But kudos to whoever made it. It is one of the best-looking (and best sounding) bootlegs I've ever owned.

 

False equivalency. You were never a doctor. Prince has dug into his vaults before. Several times. And if you read my previous statement, I mention that he had already outlined several items that he was planning on releasing from his vault in the future. I don't remember offhand what they were, but I've quoted that interview on another Prince-related thread on this site, so feel free to look it up. But all of this, combined with his cooperation with the PR Deluxe Edition indicates that he was more than willing to dig into the vaults. We just don't know the specifics of what he would - or would not - have chosen.

 

No it's not. A lie is still a lie. Even with the best intentions if a person doesn't come through, it's still false. We're talking about Prince coming through, and he rarely did. All he did was tease and talk. Talk, talk, talk. At least she got something from my services, false though they may have been, but the act, itself, wasn't false. Prince didn't act, and any fans who trusted his word always came out empty handed (with the exception of Crystal Ball).

Now, I'm not bad mouthing Prince. That's just the way the dude was. Very flighty. Eventually I came to grips with it and loved him for it. I realized to just take what I could get. Prince cared about his fans, only not in the way that many of us wanted.

So, to say something was a matter of public record with Prince means zero unless he actually came through with it. That's all I'm saying, and that his track record demonstrates that he didn't come through.

 

He dug into the vaults and got what he wanted - to say because he agreed to release songs for PR Deluxe doesn't mean he would have wanted the Piano noodling released from 1983 seems strange.

 

Sigh. This is growing tiresome. Look, when I said it was a matter of public record, I was responding to the person who complained that this wasn't what Prince would have wanted. I responded that, actually, Prince said, on several occasions, that he had plans to delve into the vaults.

We can't predict if he actually would have or not. Or what he would have (or would not have) released. We can't predict what anyone would or would not have done. Every such bit of speculation is just that. Speculation. My point was that he was not inherently, philosophically opposed to digging into the vaults. He wasn't. He said so. It's a matter of public record. Disagree if you want, but this discussion is starting to get a bit too circular for my tastes.

 

I never said that. I specifically said that there's no way to know what he would have wanted released, and what he would have wanted to stay in the vaults. I also said that he left no will, no instructions, and easy access to his vaults for the estate to handle at their discretion. So, we have nothing to go on, and we simply have to trust that the estate will try to act in his best interests.

 

Don't give up so easy. You give up too easy. It's just a message board.

 

It sounds a bit harsh, but to me it doesn't sound overly antagonistic, so much as it sounds defensive. Like he was tired of people trying to speak for him and second-guess his motivations. In which case, I can kind of seem where he's coming from. But I haven't read the interview, so I don't really have much context.

 

Perhaps. But it's starting to feel a bit like this:

 

I just thinking your reading into what he said. I won’t do that. If you want to, have at it.

Ed

 

Well, I played my 1988 Lovesexy vinyl yesterday and I can’t see how they could improve on that. I’d buy it anyway but I can’t see this happening.