What does it sound like?:
The Prince Estate in their wisdom have decided this 1991 effort, the follow up to the patchy Graffiti Bridge and the first album recorded with The New Power Generation, is next in line for the box set treatment, this one weighing in at a hefty 7cds plus a bluray. Personally it’s not one of my go to Prince albums – I’d far rather have had Parade or Around The World in a Day – take out the title track, Cream, Gett Off and Money Don’t Matter 2nite and there’s not a lot left other than some fairly generic pop funk stuff that Prince could write in his sleep – not terrible by any means, just not that great, the sound of an artist following current trends rather than setting them, and imitating rather than innovating. The first cd is of course a remaster of the original set, while the second concentrates on 12-inch mixes and the like, which really don’t float my boat. The real gold is to be found on the next three cds, which contain 33 previously unheard tracks from the vault. Many of these are a vast improvement on the songs that made the final album, and although once again some are a bit Prince by numbers you can easily put together three or four alternate versions of the record that by far outclass the original. Perhaps when an artist is in such a prolific period with so much material to choose from it’s hard to tell the wood from the trees, and could it be that more recent recordings held sway over older songs he’d maybe lost interest in. The final two cds are live recordings from an early 1992 show at his Glam Slam club and to be fair the material played from the album does have more spark in this setting than it does in its studio incarnation, and of course he sweetens the deal with some tried and trusted crowd pleasers. If you’re a fan of this era of Prince’s work, and the album is still somewhat surprisingly his biggest UK seller, then this set is well worth investigating, but more for the unreleased material than for the album itself.
What does it all *mean*?
There’s been quite a gap between this set and the previous one – hopefully they can up the pace to produce annual releases covering the great albums, such as the ones mentioned above, that haven’t yet been fully explored – who knows what gems still lurk in his cavernous vaults!
Goes well with…
Getting funky.
Release Date:
27 October
Might suit people who like…
Prince in all his various styles and guises.
Thanks for this. I’ll give it a miss, and wait for the Around The World… box, by far the most interesting period for me.
Another good review Bargie thank you.
Great review!
This will be on my Christmas list. I’m certain I will enjoy CD2. It sounds as though I will love the Vault and the live material.
Agree completely about the mediocrity of this album. I sold the 1999 box set, didn’t do anything for me. Still have Sign O The Times but I think I like Prince much less than I did at the time. I always thought SOTT was flawed. I am with those who think Parade is his best album.
I have SOTT on vinyl and haven’t played it for years, probably decades. My mates played him a lot but I never got it.
I guess it is a bit impractical if you are getting Mp3s to review, I’m assuming that is the case, but my major gripe of all reviews referring to remastered albums is that no one ever seems to do an A/B comparison with the original album.
This
We would also need to know what equipment was being used for the comparison, iPods and phone listening or a top rate HiFi system might provide different results (removes Hoffman hat)
I’ll list my equipment next time. I have been gifted a snazzy DAC, amp and pair of headphones by a very dear friend, which have enhanced my listening experience immeasurably.
Sign o the times and Parade are my favourite albums of his. I was tempted by this but the asking price is way over the top so will give it a miss.
Sounds like I am not missing too much.
Amazon Aus had this on pre-order for $38. It’s now up to $54, still a great price.
I fully expect them to say it’s on back order for the next six months then cancel it.
Same goes for this.
When I last looked it was about £180 in UK how can the Aussies do it for $54?
It’s a mistake
A shout out for Rosie Gaines, the best vocal foil for Prince ever. She’s brilliant on every track she features. She makes the extended Daddy Pop a joy.
Yes, she was phenomenal. Such a shame it all ended on bad terms. P has form on that…