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

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by MemoInPR, Jun 27, 2018.

  1. 99thfloor

    99thfloor Senior Member

    Location:
    Sweden
    Did he? What evidence is there, or where has it been mentioned, that he had done anything besides prepare a remaster for the main album? At the time he seemed to just stall the project for years until it seemed it was canceled. I don't think there would have been a Deluxe had he still been around.

    What I think we can know is that he would have wanted to live on for at least another 20 years. There's some strange argumentation going on here lately that seems to assume was planning for his demise at the age of 56, why would he be doing that?

    Going by Ultimate Rave and Up All Nite With Prince the model seems to be that the CD release bundles things together and the LP releases are the separated parts. So the vinyl Crystal Ball (if there is one) will probably only be that compilation and not have The Truth, it will be a big enough set anyway, I guess 6 discs.
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2021
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  2. DolphinsIntheJacuzzi

    DolphinsIntheJacuzzi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    I don't think that anyone's suggesting that he was planning for his demise at age 56. He had just come to the point in his career where he appeared potentially ready to begin cultivating his legacy in earnest. Much like Neil Young, another restless spirit and provocateur.

    Neil Young, like Prince, steadfastly avoided looking backwards for nearly 60 years. Then, after a career of notoriously shelving albums months before release, he finally started tending to his vaults, slowly (sometimes very slowly) releasing one treasure after another.

    From the fact that Prince was even willing to discuss an expanded PR deluxe edition with Warner's, I think we can at least infer that he was open to the idea of looking back over his catalog of work, and perhaps beginning to release bits at a time to the public.

    Again, what he would have chosen to release is anyone's guess. But I do think that there would have been more to come. And I think that the Estate has done an admirable job of hand-selecting what material he might have deemed best suited for release. YMMV.
     
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  3. DolphinsIntheJacuzzi

    DolphinsIntheJacuzzi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    My favorite quote in that entire segment was Troy Carter discussing his methodology for determining future releases, and acknowledging, “I want to make sure that Prince isn't somewhere in Heaven giving me the side-eye.” That just further solidifies my faith in Troy Carter and the Estate's decisions going forward.
     
  4. Nathan Aaron

    Nathan Aaron Forum Resident

    Thanks for sharing this! I missed it on TV!
     
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  5. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored


    It’s cool to see the attention on this upcoming “new” album. I just wish more people had cared about his music at the time. Lotusflower, for example, never should have ended up in $1 bargain bins.
     
  6. dougotte

    dougotte Petty, Annoying Dilettante

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I enjoyed that piece (like most 60 Minutes segments). When Morris Hayes played a track from the upcoming album and described how Prince would record most things on his own, then tell Hayes to "overproduce" it, I wish the correspondent had asked him for examples of what he changed on the currently playing track compared to Prince's original version.
     
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  7. Lands End Drums

    Lands End Drums Forum Resident

    The dreadful Bria Valente disc surely belongs there. :D
     
  8. In 2017 exactly a year after his death I visited Paisley Park. No photos allowed inside. Cool spot. A bit like a modernist industrial park office building on the outside. Dated 1980s painted colors inside.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  9. DolphinsIntheJacuzzi

    DolphinsIntheJacuzzi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    I don't really think that people didn't care about his music. He was just so prolific that it was difficult for the average music fan to keep up. Keep in mind that in this was his 16th album in 12 years, and his third triple-album. Most people just couldn't keep up with that pace.

    Add to that the fact that some of the releases were either so obtuse (N.E.W.S.), so pedestrian (New Power Soul), or so redundant (Girl 6) that a great many people eventually tuned out. Not out of apathy, I don't think, but sheer overload.

    Pity, as they missed some phenomenal albums like Lotusflow3r. But maybe now that he's gone, people will finally be able to catch up with some of those great albums as they're re-released. I hope so.

    On that note, does anybody have sales figures for the re-released post-Warner's albums so far (Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth, Rave In2/Un2, The Rainbow Children, and the One Nite Alone series)? I'd just be curious to know how these are doing overall.
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2021
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  10. Nogoodnik

    Nogoodnik Celebrity Jeopardy and Mini Crossword smart

    Location:
    Saint Paul, MN
    Regarding the SDE pricing: just remember, Tom Petty fans know the sting first hand of paying a premium for the promise of ‘exclusive content’ only to have that content released on its own at a later date.
    So, y’know...buyer beware and such like.
     
  11. ad180

    ad180 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Sitting here cranking up "Exodus" for the second time this year... what an overlooked gem of an album.
     
  12. Joker to the thief

    Joker to the thief Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I hope they reprint those NPG albums there's some great stuff on them
     
  13. DolphinsIntheJacuzzi

    DolphinsIntheJacuzzi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Yeah, I'm a huge TP fan, as well. And the TP threads have been lit up lately over the whole Finding Wildflowers fiasco. I never bought the SDE, because I thought $100 for a single disc was ridiculous. And I feel the same way about the Welcome 2 America Blu-ray.

    But, yeah, buyer beware. Record companies will always gouge if they can. And then, when they sell the item you paid $100 for later for $15, they'll make you feel like a chump.
     
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  14. Nogoodnik

    Nogoodnik Celebrity Jeopardy and Mini Crossword smart

    Location:
    Saint Paul, MN
    I’ve posted something similar before- probably in that Wildflowers thread, but it’s almost an act of outright defiance on my part when I see price points of that nature to say “Oh, there’s just no way I’m paying that. I’ll make do with less.” Even if I could afford it, I’d still end up feeling fleeced and it would color my appreciation of that purchase.
     
  15. aintgotnoclock

    aintgotnoclock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    This still the Prince thread? Let's give Tom Petty the treatment The Purple One gave him on that Beatles song.

    What unreleased albums of His from the 1980s do we think stand an honest chance of being released?

    I was thrilled with the vault tracks on the 1999/PR/S'O'TT anniversary editions. I'm hoping there's more from the earliest days, though probably not completed albums. Some of the mid-90s stuff I would like to hear too (The Undertaker, etc).
     
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  16. thekid87

    thekid87 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Yes, me too!
    I would love to see a SDE for the 1993-1995 years. All those songs that ended up on Come, Gold, Exodus, Chaos And Disorder, Children Of The Sun, Undertaker, CB’98, Madhouse 24, etc with vault tracks and a live album. All in one huge set... remastered nicely. Maybe someday.
     
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  17. DolphinsIntheJacuzzi

    DolphinsIntheJacuzzi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    There were exactly three posts that used TP as a comparison point to make the observation that many deluxe sets are ridiculously priced - like Prince's Welcome 2 America Deluxe set. We were all on-topic. There was no need to get rude. So, I think I'm going to give you the treatment Prince gave Beck at the Grammy's.

    [​IMG]
     
  18. DownInAHole

    DownInAHole Forum Resident

    I would love that too but it might be a little too big to be releasable. I think it's more likely it will be split into separate releases. It would make sense to combine Come and The Gold Experience but that isn't likely to happen until the legal issues with "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"are settled. I could also see the two NPG albums being released together (possibly with the unreleased 24 Madhouse album) but, again, there is a legal issue with "Guess Who's Knockin'." I'm not too familiar with Glam Slam Ulysses but that would be the beginning of this era, correct? I know "Come" was quite different, were any of the other songs significantly different than how they were later released?

    I was thinking about Crystal Ball today. I wonder what the chances are that it will be reissued without the segues connecting most of the songs together? Probably very unlikely. It would be great to get the full versions of the songs that were edited and to be able to assemble Dream Factory and (the original) Crystal Ball using songs from that set without jarring edits. I understand the estate would like to reissue it as it originally appeared but I think most fans would rather get the full versions without the segues. Ideally, I would scrap the 1998 version of Crystal Ball altogether and just move those songs to the appropriate reissues but, with the Sign 'O' the Times reissue out, it is too late to do that.
     
  19. DolphinsIntheJacuzzi

    DolphinsIntheJacuzzi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    I think that The Gold Experience is the last album that could potentially get a deluxe edition by itself. With hits like "P Control," "Dolphin," "Gold," and obviously "TMBGITW," it's the last Prince album that most casual fans would recognize. So, I wouldn't be surprised to see it have its own deluxe edition, apart from anything else. Although who knows how long it will take to settle the lawsuit. I hear Italian courts run slowly.

    Come will probably be re-released as a standard standalone reissue, since they were both catalog albums. And Chaos & Disorder has already been re-released, so I doubt they'll revisit it very soon.

    As for the rest mentioned, I could definitely see how the Estate might choose to do a deluxe box covering that period. It could be more manageable without the catalog albums attached.

    But at this point, it's anyone's guess. So far, Sony hasn't done any boxed sets, unless you want to count the Rave In2/Un2 bundle. All of the other boxes have been Warner's. So, this is all really uncharted territory.

    Given a choice, I'd like to see them do individual standalone re-releases for all of the albums that have been released in any format previously. Then just give us a boxed set series of completely previously unreleased tracks. A la Dylan's Bootleg Series.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2021
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  20. aintgotnoclock

    aintgotnoclock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    I must have had my browser tabs crossed, I thought there were pages of TP talk here. Lol, sorry! But good response.
     
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  21. At this point, The Flesh and the original Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic.

    Well, let me ask you this: if the estate released the the final Crystal Ball configuration, and the final Dream Factory config (with bonus songs to fill out earlier Dream Factory sequences, and corresponding bonus material for Crystal Ball), from Prince's final mix down masters, would you buy those if they came in seperate, standalone releases, even though the repeat songs?

    What if they did both of the above and also they released a standalone Roadhouse Garden, which also has repeated songs, would you buy it?

    Let's say they were $20 a pop for CD versions.
     
  22. Freek999

    Freek999 Forum Resident

    I'll buy any new music / new album configuration, as long as it's released on cd.
     
  23. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored


    Do you have a pre-order link? And are they on vinyl too? :)
     
  24. That's the thing. I have the SotT box set, yet I would buy a Crystal Ball, Dream Factory and Roadhouse Garden releases, just to have the proper running orders and mixes that Prince put together.

    We wouldn't need the unedited songs without segues, when they can release Prince's original visions for the albums? I'm sure we'd eat those up, even if we're quadruple-dipping.

    I think releases like that are within the realm of possibility, although isn't "Joy in Repetition" tied up on Graffiti Bridge as a soundtrack album owned by WB?
     
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  25. DownInAHole

    DownInAHole Forum Resident

    Absolutely! I think it is likely that those releases will materialise eventually. I would also like unedited/unsegued versions of the nineties tracks from the 1998 version of Crystal Ball.

    At the time, it was great to get Crystal Ball (even if there were some headaches attached to its release!), but twenty-three years later it seems redundant and unnecessary. As a listening experience it always lacked cohesion, I would much rather hear those songs in the context of the albums/era they were recorded.
     

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