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The mentioning of multiple vaults has peaked my interest. Were these multiple vaults at Paisley Park? It seems if they were in other areas, logistically, that would be a problem for control and convenience. Some engineers said the Vault at Paisley was not organized and difficult to find items. I can only imagine if other vaults exist and were not on location, the possible disarray they would be in.

I am also curious if the Vault contained other items aside from the known audio and video formats. Examples of unreleased photo shoots, writings/screenplays, etc.

1800-NEW -MEAT was that a REAL script ??? this was in a bootleg CD liner note.....

luvsexy4all said:

1800-NEW -MEAT was that a REAL script ??? this was in a bootleg CD liner note.....

I had a weird dream a couple of days ago... I woke up very early in the morning thinking that someone had revealed an unwritten script by Prince for a movie or stage show... Then, I was confused whether or not I read about it or if it was only a dream... Is there such a beast?

nelcp777 said:

The mentioning of multiple vaults has peaked my interest. Were these multiple vaults at Paisley Park? It seems if they were in other areas, logistically, that would be a problem for control and convenience. Some engineers said the Vault at Paisley was not organized and difficult to find items. I can only imagine if other vaults exist and were not on location, the possible disarray they would be in.

I am also curious if the Vault contained other items aside from the known audio and video formats. Examples of unreleased photo shoots, writings/screenplays, etc.

That is interesting that you mention that. I do not know if Prince still had his house/studio out in L.A. or if he had homes/studios in other cities/states/countries but IF he did, I would assume he would have a storage of music he recorded in those as well. Unless he always brought or sent his recordings to be stored at Paisley Park. If I am not mistaken I think I once ran across an interview that he stated that there were several vaults. Again I could be wrong.

I actually read it just recently, that Prince said there are several vaults in the Rolling Stone interview.

"I've never said this before, but I didn't always give the record companies the best song. There are songs in the vault that no one's ever heard. There are several vaults; it's not just one vault."

Here is the link to the article http://www.rollingstone.c...z4DAwWJxNT

And that is gonna be very interesting in many ways, because I still think, people don't really know how to handle everything he created and left behind. Like there is no structure, because it is just too much - I believe they don't even know half of what is out there from him. (Not saying that I believe that somewhere in these vaults will be his will... and someone should specifically be there just for searching that one out, but okay.. )

I have read the Rolling Stone interview in regards to Prince's remarks about the Vault and multiple vaults. A lot of us get hung up on the knowledge of Prince's vast tracks, videos and concerts. That in itself is overwhelming. But I also think about the other items that may be in the vaults, photo sessions, scripts, concept artwork, and so forth. It is overwhelming when you think of the volume of work Prince has created both released and unreleased and in so many formats.

I remember when the Lotusflower site was being launched. I had thought then that maybe a lot of the Vault stuff was going to be categorized and worked on to save in the digital format (?). I had got a vide from the designer that this was in the works.

After reading a few interviews with various engineers, I do not think that may have happened.

We also are faced with the question, if the work is released, how is it determined in what manner? Eric Leeds said he was working on some unreleased James Brown stuff and Prince in essence questioned him in the same manner.

Personally, if anything is released, it should be done so as is. No fine tuning, altering tracks. But my opinioin has no weight on that.

After looking back on Prince's work, not only the recording part, but the performance end too, I am left speechless. If anything, the heirs need to put aside their personal differences (if there are any) and focus on Prince's work and legacy. I cannot and do not believe that there will be another artist who can come close to the volume and artistic genuis that we were blessed to witness from Prince.

PupleSpooks? Thanks for verifying the info about the vaults. nelcp777? I agree with everything you stated in your response. I would imagine sorting out 4 decades of various works and such would be a massive task for anyone to undertake and I also hope that if it is released it should be done 'as is' without any touch-ups and so forth.

nelcp777 I could quote U on Ur entire post, but instead of doing so, I'll just say, Thank You. Everything U said is exactly how I feel and what I think.

I just want to pick up on what u said and state one thing when it comes to releasing something of his vaults.

- if they release anything - then don't even dare to change one single thing. Don't even think about changing a single thing.

Take the CD out of the Vault (what is still not okay at all to me - it's for me violating everything that they just like that drilled the Vault open) and copy it. Done. I only want, what Prince did do. I don't want any others ideas on his art. I want it with his CD Art - if there is none, let it be none.

PurpleSpooks said:

nelcp777 I could quote U on Ur entire post, but instead of doing so, I'll just say, Thank You. Everything U said is exactly how I feel and what I think.

I just want to pick up on what u said and state one thing when it comes to releasing something of his vaults.

- if they release anything - then don't even dare to change one single thing. Don't even think about changing a single thing.

Take the CD out of the Vault (what is still not okay at all to me - it's for me violating everything that they just like that drilled the Vault open) and copy it. Done. I only want, what Prince did do. I don't want any others ideas on his art. I want it with his CD Art - if there is none, let it be none.

I want it all pure as he did do it and I guess that is what we all want.

I am with you on this. I agree. No artwork, give me a generic cover with his name and his title. I do not want other peoples spin on his work. I do not want, for example, Sheila to say he would have wanted it this way, or Eric Leeds saying I think it was suppose to be this way. Just pull it out of the Vault and release it, keeping the original intact.

If there is a track that is 2 hours long, give me the 2 hours. I do not want it cut down to meet time restrictions or to market it.

At this point, we as fans and those in charge of Prince's estate should and must honor his legacy and his work. Plain and simple.

If there were not any releases, then so be it. I would, for my own curiousity, would at least like to know the volume and scope of his work.

Regardless if people like Prince, agree with him as a person, or his beliefs, his style or choices, there is not 1 person who could remotely produce and create the volume Prince did.

I understand the Vault is not all "hits". But a hit to the the industry is not necessarily a hit to us, the fans.

Preserve and maintain his work and legacy.

I've read so much about it. I'm thankful for it. I've always been excited about the idea of it and the concept of it. I appreciated the teasing that Prince's did over the years. There is so many amazing recordings in there. It's gonna prove why I think Prince is the greatest artists ever. There are some recordings I've been wondering about, regarding whether or not it's in the vault. I have so many requests in my mind as to what I would love to see released in the future from the vault. I'm still excited about it all. I appreciate the fact that Prince kept throwing things in there over the last 20 years and that he was determined not to let his catalog (officially released and unreleased in the vault) define him. Are we allowed to discuss about what's possibly in there along with what's actually in the vault??

As much as I'd love to have lots of vault material released soon, I also think it might be a good idea to carefully put together an album with some of the best and/or most commercial vault tracks (overseen by whomever is decided to be best for the job, although it sounds like Jam & Lewis may be most likely and would probably be a strong overall choice), find a label to really get behind it... and even release a couple of singles with full promotion as the way to start releasing vault material.

This sort of project could really prove how much of a market there still is for Prince, help get a sizable amont of new fans into his music, get some "new" Prince songs to become part of pop culture and make their mark, and, most importantly, help assure we continue to get future vault albums released for as long as possible. I think focusing on at least some of the more "mainstream friendly" material for the first release and really getting it out there and heard and sold could be a great decision.

For example, I think "Open Book" could easily be a hit if released (and properly promoted) right this minute, while "Turn It Up" (although it probably would need to be with slightly more modern production) might also have a good chance... Songs like "Wondeful Ass" and the original "Old Friends 4 Sale" are awesome, and while they might not be designed for widescale radio play, they would be great tracks on any album. Add some other unreleased gems, such as "Electric Intercourse," the acoustic version of "Love" (SO underrated), the original "Days of Wild," etc. and then include a couple of landmark live tracks such as "Just My Imagination" from Small Club, for example (and, if the rights issues could be settled, including the Super Bowl performance and RRHOF performance would make a lot of sense from a commercial/sales perspective). Going about it this way, you could easily fill up a truly GREAT album with about 10-12 top-shelf vault songs plus Just My Imagination from Small Club (8 minutes), the Super Bowl Performance (12 minutes) and the RRHOF Performance (6 minutes)...

My general idea for an initial vault release (obviously, this doesn't include many great vault songs and those would be highlights on future releases... this is just IMO the sort of album and approach that might really catch on):

"TURN IT UP" - Prince

1. Turn It Up

2. Electric Intercourse

3. If It'll Make You Happy

4. Possessed

5. Open Book

6. Wonderful Ass

7. Love (acoustic)

8. Days of Wild

9. Moonbeam Levels

10. Train

BONUS TRACKS with video included for #2 and #3:

1. Just My Imagination (Live from The Hague)

2. Super Bowl Medley (Live from Super Bowl XL1 in Miami)

3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Live from RRHOF, with Lynne, Petty, Winwood and Harrison)

Release "Open Book" as lead single, sending to radio concurrent with MTV/VH1/BET debut of a high-production value video that's a tribute to Prince's life and work including footage of him at different points of his career and featuring members of his different bands over the decades. For follow-up singles, IMO gauge radio interest and choose whichever of "Train," "Turn It Up" or "If It'll Make You Happy" seems most likely to keep the momentum going. Before anyone comes down too hard on me because of disagreements regarding this idea, I just felt like putting my thoughts together tonight for some reason and would love to see an initial vault album really be both artistically great and, if possible, also even a watercooler sensation.

[Edited 7/1/16 23:43pm]

[Edited 7/1/16 23:48pm]

PurpleSpooks said:

(Not saying that I believe that somewhere in these vaults will be his will... and someone should specifically be there just for searching that one out, but okay.. )

I agree that there probably isn't a will in there. If there was a will, wouldn't it have to be drawn up by a solicitor for it to be legally binding? This being the case then someone would know if there was or wasn't a will and it wouldn't need to be searched out.

jaypotton said:

Personally I would prefer an anthology style approach grouping songs together by the date or era they were recorded in...so for example all the 1999 out takes together along with other songs recorded around '82. Failing that maybe they should first go down the Remaster Deluxe route (better late than never) and include all out takes on a second disc for all of his albums PLUS then also release vault anthologies collecting the other tracks. However, without Prince around how would anyone really know what project Prince intended a song for? Whatever they do it is a mammoth task and needs to be done with supreme care to protect the legacy. From a selfish fan POV I would like to see 3 releases a year (to give me time to absorb each one) and if they went down the grouping together by era route then the album covers are already done (the backdrop for the Piano & Mic tour using the same artist produced pics as HITNRUN albums)

There are several projects that are close to be finished and ready to go in the vault. There is several tracklistings out here for unreleased projects. I think the estate has several things to help them in putting together future releases. I don't think the songs all need to be release by eras. I don't think Prince would want that. Mix the recordings up for some cool compilations. This is why I appreciate his Crystal Ball release and the unreleased Crystal Ball II could be a really good follow up to first one.

sms130 said:

jaypotton said:

sms130 said:

There are several projects that are close to be finished and ready to go in the vault. There is several tracklistings out here for unreleased projects. I think the estate has several things to help them in putting together future releases. I don't think the songs all need to be release by eras. I don't think Prince would want that. Mix the recordings up for some cool compilations. This is why I appreciate his Crystal Ball release and the unreleased Crystal Ball II could be a really good follow up to first one.

hmmm that is NOT confirmed. Prince said in interview(s) he had two Revolution albums complete, but Prince said lots of things that were not strictly true. Dr Fink seems to think there are two revolution albums also so perhaps this is true. However, by the very fact that they are Revolution albums it means the songs are grouped by era..which is my point. They will work as albums due to the contemporary nature of the songs. Obviously you would prefer a more mixed approach which is cool, but I would prefer a more logical method to collect them together and without Prince around to curate then grouping together songs by any other means is unlikely to have any accuracy or reflection of what Prince intended.

Right, he has 2 albums worth of material with The Revolution and you're right to some degree. I said mix them up on some of the releases, not for all of them. He has another Vanity 6 album in the vault as well. We know that it's a combination of recordings of outtakes from the first album along with some of the recordings intended for the unreleased second album. The estate can go back and forth with the way they put together these projects.

[Edited 7/3/16 14:31pm]

sms130 said:

jaypotton said:

sms130 said: hmmm that is NOT confirmed. Prince said in interview(s) he had two Revolution albums complete, but Prince said lots of things that were not strictly true. Dr Fink seems to think there are two revolution albums also so perhaps this is true. However, by the very fact that they are Revolution albums it means the songs are grouped by era..which is my point. They will work as albums due to the contemporary nature of the songs. Obviously you would prefer a more mixed approach which is cool, but I would prefer a more logical method to collect them together and without Prince around to curate then grouping together songs by any other means is unlikely to have any accuracy or reflection of what Prince intended.

Right, he has 2 albums worth of material with The Revolution and you're right to some degree. I said mix them up on some of the releases, not for all of them. He has another Vanity 6 album in the vault as well. We know that it's a combination of recordings of outtakes from the first album along with some of the recordings intended for the unreleased second album. The estate can go back and forth with the way they put together these projects.

[Edited 7/3/16 14:31pm]

Based on previous comments reporting that he destroyed his more salacious recordings, i highly doubt another vanity 6 album exists - but i guess time will tell

nelcp777 said:

I have read the Rolling Stone interview in regards to Prince's remarks about the Vault and multiple vaults. A lot of us get hung up on the knowledge of Prince's vast tracks, videos and concerts. That in itself is overwhelming. But I also think about the other items that may be in the vaults, photo sessions, scripts, concept artwork, and so forth. It is overwhelming when you think of the volume of work Prince has created both released and unreleased and in so many formats.

I remember when the Lotusflower site was being launched. I had thought then that maybe a lot of the Vault stuff was going to be categorized and worked on to save in the digital format (?). I had got a vide from the designer that this was in the works.

After reading a few interviews with various engineers, I do not think that may have happened.

We also are faced with the question, if the work is released, how is it determined in what manner? Eric Leeds said he was working on some unreleased James Brown stuff and Prince in essence questioned him in the same manner.

Personally, if anything is released, it should be done so as is. No fine tuning, altering tracks. But my opinioin has no weight on that.

After looking back on Prince's work, not only the recording part, but the performance end too, I am left speechless. If anything, the heirs need to put aside their personal differences (if there are any) and focus on Prince's work and legacy. I cannot and do not believe that there will be another artist who can come close to the volume and artistic genuis that we were blessed to witness from Prince.

I like the idea of movie/play scripts.

Still want to know how Quest got Wally?

2freaky4church1 said:

Still want to know how Quest got Wally?

I do...

2freaky4church1 said:

Still want to know how Quest got Wally?

I generally find that songs themselves are more interesting than the who/what/when/where/how of someone got to hear them.

Still. Everything is bound to come out in time.

maybe someone should list all the unreleased albums we know of ..in case someone involved in the vault has an idea what to look for ???

luvsexy4all said:

maybe someone should list all the unreleased albums we know of ..in case someone involved in the vault has an idea what to look for ???

Well the estate could do a lot worse than check out princevault for a comprehensive listing

back in April they drilled it open..was it ever said wheat they found? I mean they had to of inventoried it...

IamBryan said:

jaypotton said:

luvsexy4all said:

maybe someone should list all the unreleased albums we know of ..in case someone involved in the vault has an idea what to look for ???

Well the estate could do a lot worse than check out princevault for a comprehensive listing

A complete inventory of all the tapes and files should be the priority, it's a gigantic work but I fail to see how it can be avoided on the long run if the estate want to be able to find their way through the vault. What we know of is only the tip of the iceberg, particularly after 1995.

databank said:

jaypotton said:

Well the estate could do a lot worse than check out princevault for a comprehensive listing

A complete inventory of all the tapes and files should be the priority, it's a gigantic work but I fail to see how it can be avoided on the long run if the estate want to be able to find their way through the vault. What we know of is only the tip of the iceberg, particularly after 1995.

I would imagine the inventory and cataloguing of the Vault(s) is in process. I believe there is a time requirement that Bremer has to meet on the asset inventory. This was mentioned in the Estate sticky.

I wonder if those who are doing the inventory are overwhelmed by the content and volume? I do not mean this in a negative way.

Man, it just hit me, how messed up would it be if Prince over hyped the vault and there was not nearly the volume of material that we were lead to believe?

The first priority should be to back up the tapes with digital copies, so nothing gets lost. With enough people on the job it shouldn't take too long. Hell, if need be get Robocop on the case.

fortuneandserendipity said:

The first priority should be to back up the tapes with digital copies, so nothing gets lost. With enough people on the job it shouldn't take too long. Hell, if need be get Robocop on the case.

Or hire some of us org members to sort through it! I don't think we would have a lack of folks willing to brave the vault or vaults!