I just got several emails from Amazon. Lovesexy, Batman, Graffiti Bridge, Symbol, and Come all pushed back to February 24 according to Amazon. Fuuuuuck!

KingSausage said:

I just got several emails from Amazon. Lovesexy, Batman, Graffiti Bridge, Symbol, and Come all pushed back to February 24 according to Amazon. Fuuuuuuuck!

Yep that blows....well that way I can pick up the Madonna reissues in the meantime!

KingSausage said:

I just got several emails from Amazon. Lovesexy, Batman, Graffiti Bridge, Symbol, and Come all pushed back to February 24 according to Amazon. Fuuuuuuuck!

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That's a shame. Not sure what's causing these delays, but my need to acquire new Prince product has faded over the last month or so. I've only have SOTT on reserve, and the next time it gets pushed back (currently 9/27), I'm just going to cancel it. Deluxe edition box sets, I'm in. But until then, meh, I can wait.

Disappointed with the delays. At least I was able to buy the reissues of "For You" and "Prince".

here is a post by Alan Leeds on fb, a closed group called Make the House Shake: the life and legacy of Prince:

https://www.facebook.com/...4/?fref=nf

Alan Leeds I understand through the industry grapevine that the Estate is soliciting bids from several major labels to re-master and re-issue many Prince albums, particularly those released after he parted with Warner Bros. He wasn't scheduled to reclaim the Warners album masters until 2018. Until then they remain in Warners' hands. And, if I'm not mistaken, the film soundtrack albums - "Purple Rain", "Batman", "Parade" and "Graffiti Bridge" are NOT part the deal and will stay with Warners forever. I have no idea if any new deal with a label would include vault access to unissued material or concert recordings.

None of this makes any sense. And to have those cassette reissues come out on top of all the vinyl confusion? Par for the course when it comes to being a Prince fan.

Fuck it. I bought an original pressing of Lovesexy.

I would be very interested in knowing the details of the why/what/how of the recent reissues.

When WB did the 2009-2011 180 gram reissues of Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999 & Purple Rain, they were accompanied by hi-def digital downloads (through HDTracks), which didn't reamain available for long. As I recall, Prince deemed these releases "unauthorized" at the time, though they (the vinyls) have remained on the market. I'd be curious to know if anyone has picked up the 180 gram releases recently and if the "NPG Records" label has been added to the sleeve.

There was the big press release announcing the new licencing partnership between WB and NPG, just before Plectrum and Art Official Age dropped. Though the Purple Rain reissue did not happen, we can assume that the recent releases of For You and Prince were the result of whatever deal was made, as they bear the "NPG Records" mark. Prince did not seem happy about the reissues (though it was obviously a deal he agreed to, at least to the satisfaction of the WB legal dept), as he denied on Twitter that they were even coming out, just before For You hit the streets.

The only cassettes planned were the four that have come out, and they are the same four titles WB had previously reissued - before the NPG deal - on 180 gram vinyl. The cassettes do carry the "NPG" label designation on them.

Of the recent releases, the For You and Prince vinyls were already in stores (For You) and in the distribution channels (Prince) at the time of his death. It's also concievable that the cassettes were in production already. I'm wondering if what has now come out was too late to stop and the rest of the planned releases have been put on hold pending a renegotiation and possible new deal for (dare we hope) expanded reissues?

Interesting and I wonder

Pgeishirt said:

here is a post by Alan Leeds on fb, a closed group called Make the House Shake: the life and legacy of Prince:

https://www.facebook.com/...4/?fref=nf

Alan Leeds I understand through the industry grapevine that the Estate is soliciting bids from several major labels to re-master and re-issue many Prince albums, particularly those released after he parted with Warner Bros. He wasn't scheduled to reclaim the Warners album masters until 2018. Until then they remain in Warners' hands. And, if I'm not mistaken, the film soundtrack albums - "Purple Rain", "Batman", "Parade" and "Graffiti Bridge" are NOT part the deal and will stay with Warners forever. I have no idea if any new deal with a label would include vault access to unissued material or concert recordings.

Vinyl re-issues are more HD in my ears than encoded digital music... but it's good to know that NPG Records are added to the inner sleeve... u can sense it that he fought for the masters for so long and seeing the description is nice... I haven't gotten the For You and Prince LPs... but seeing it on pictures was nice

kdavis said:

I would be very interested in knowing the details of the why/what/how of the recent reissues.

When WB did the 2009-2011 180 gram reissues of Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999 & Purple Rain, they were accompanied by hi-def digital downloads (through HDTracks), which didn't reamain available for long. As I recall, Prince deemed these releases "unauthorized" at the time, though they (the vinyls) have remained on the market. I'd be curious to know if anyone has picked up the 180 gram releases recently and if the "NPG Records" label has been added to the sleeve.

There was the big press release announcing the new licencing partnership between WB and NPG, just before Plectrum and Art Official Age dropped. Though the Purple Rain reissue did not happen, we can assume that the recent releases of For You and Prince were the result of whatever deal was made, as they bear the "NPG Records" mark. Prince did not seem happy about the reissues (though it was obviously a deal he agreed to, at least to the satisfaction of the WB legal dept), as he denied on Twitter that they were even coming out, just before For You hit the streets.

The only cassettes planned were the four that have come out, and they are the same four titles WB had previously reissued - before the NPG deal - on 180 gram vinyl. The cassettes do carry the "NPG" label designation on them.

Of the recent releases, the For You and Prince vinyls were already in stores (For You) and in the distribution channels (Prince) at the time of his death. It's also concievable that the cassettes were in production already. I'm wondering if what has now come out was too late to stop and the rest of the planned releases have been put on hold pending a renegotiation and possible new deal for (dare we hope) expanded reissues?

It's nice to see a re-issue or revamp of the cassette... Majestic Analog... I like to see the front of it... has a gold flower or leaf or whatever on front... Now I have to dig up for the cassette that is stuck somewhere

kdavis said:

I picked up the Purple Rain cassette reissue today - looks great!

Kobe said:

It's nice to see a re-issue or revamp of the cassette... Majestic Analog... I like to see the front of it... has a gold flower or leaf or whatever on front... Now I have to dig up for the cassette that is stuck somewhere

kdavis said:

I picked up the Purple Rain cassette reissue today - looks great!

Kobe...The front is identical to the original. With the yellow flower near the 'music from the motion picture Purple Rain' The text and images of flowers on the actual tape are the same too. The difference...it's a clear cassette. I think mine was white.

Just a general note for everyone.

They are made of vinyl.

They are called "records", or even "LP"s.

Just as CDs are made of polycarbonate plastic, but are called 'CD's, not 'polycarbonates'.

Thank you.

ok....

...people still actually have cassette players?

what the hell is going on....i feel like some confused old person....

Rimshottbob said:

I don't give two nuts what people call the records, I just want a chance to buy them!

Rimshottbob said:

Just a general note for everyone.

They are made of vinyl.

They are called "records", or even "LP"s.

Just as CDs are made of polycarbonate plastic, but are called 'CD's, not 'polycarbonates'.

Thank you.

.

LOL. Funny guy.

Thanks for verifying it for me... there were four color types back in the day and if memory serves me very well... The white version with printed black text.... the black shell with gray labels with black print... then complete black shell with white print and finally the clear shell with white print or looks grayish... I preffered the gray labels with the black print because the other three would disappear due to wear and wear

VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

Kobe said:

It's nice to see a re-issue or revamp of the cassette... Majestic Analog... I like to see the front of it... has a gold flower or leaf or whatever on front... Now I have to dig up for the cassette that is stuck somewhere

Kobe...The front is identical to the original. With the yellow flower near the 'music from the motion picture Purple Rain' The text and images of flowers on the actual tape are the same too. The difference...it's a clear cassette. I think mine was white.

I have five cassette decks and three walkmans... I still record my vinyl on tape to this day... it's the nearest to the analog sound rather than recording to a computer... I am currently listening to Controversy recorded to a maxell tape

BobGeorge909 said:

ok....

...people still actually have cassette players?

what the hell is going on....i feel like some confused old person....

Kobe said:

I have five cassette decks and three walkmans... I still record my vinyl on tape to this day... it's the nearest to the analog sound rather than recording to a computer... I am currently listening to Controversy recorded to a maxell tape

BobGeorge909 said:

ok....

...people still actually have cassette players?

what the hell is going on....i feel like some confused old person....

ha me too!! I have 4 double auto reverse decks .. one with pitch control .. an old 4 track cassette recorder .. a walkman and a monaural deck with mic for bootlegging concerts .. anything i like goes on cassette for further listening .. cds or vinyl or whatever means nothing until i make a tape of it .. then its official ..

I've got the For You reissue, but not the Prince reissue. It's not showing a listing on Amazon.

As far as I can tell:

Prince -- Has this reissue actually dropped?

ATWIAD - I ordered it locally, and the merchant says it won't arrive in store until September 6. But Amazon has no current listing for it.

Parade: Amazon is saying it will be released on August 23, before I was told ATWIAD will arrive with the local merchant.

SOTT: Amazon lists a release date of September 20.

The Black Album: Amazon has only used listings for the vinyl.

Lovesexy, Batman, Graffiti Bridge, Love Symbol, Come: February 24

[Edited 8/17/16 14:38pm]

djThunderfunk said:

Yeah I have 12 of the original tapes & 8 still play. Not good odds.

I was born in '70 and grew up with vinyl & cassette. I preferred tapes as a kid for the obvious reason that they were portable, they never made a vinyl walkman.

I also loved making my own mix-tapes. Even as I made the switch to CD in '88 I still usually made tapes of my favorites because it was years before I would have a CD player in the car. By the mid-90s I began to wish I had purchased more vinyl than tapes in the 80s as I began collecting the Prince albums that I already had on cassette & CD.

Tapes were great, I get it. I just can't get behind the idea that they sound better than vinyl or CD and it's always been obvious that they didn't last as long. They had other problems too. Does nobody remember what it was like for a tape deck to "eat" a tape? Or, how fun was it to REW/FF to your favorite song? Or maybe you played a bad tape, the heads on your deck got gunked up, and before you realized it you played a new tape and the gunk got on that tape and ruined it?

Yeah, nostalgia will only take you so far...

Precisely. The cassette's essential strength and greatest weakness was that it was portable. You could take it everywhere, but at the same time, it was far more fragile and prone to wear than vinyl or CDs. Few cassette players had a reliable "skip track" function.

Like you, I came full circle, from vinyl & 8-tracks, to cassettes, to CDs, to MP3/iPods, then back to vinyl. For me it's vinyl in the house, iPod/stream everywhere else.

namepeace said:

I've got the For You reissue, but not the Prince reissue. It's not showing a listing on Amazon.

As far as I can tell:

Prince -- Has this reissue actually dropped?

I've seen the Prince reissue in stores. The cover has a slight blueish tint when compared to the original release. I don't think it's 180 gram.

Yes, the For You and Prince reissues have BOTH come out, but neither are 180gram releases like Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999 & Purple Rain were when they came out several years ago. Also, the previously reissued 180gram titles have NOW been reissued on cassette.

Prince is on Amazon HERE

All reissues in 2016 (2LPs and 4 cassettes) carry "Warner Brothers/NPG Records" branding on them due to the licensing agreement that was reached in 2014 (Billboard)

We, obviously, did not see the "deluxe" reissue of PR that was much-touted in the press at the time and, given that Prince seemed to deny that the vinyls were even happening via Twitter just before For You was on shelves...

it seems that perhpas he and WB had some disagreement over what the 2014 deal involved. Perhaps, once Prince got what he wanted (masters & distribution for Plectrumelectrum and ArtOfficialAge), he saw no need for further communicaiton with WB, which made their desire to put out appealing reissues (i.e., expanded or deluxe editions) impossible. They decided to proceed with bare bones releases, so as to not require any participation from Prince.

A buyer at a local music store, in duscussing the upcoming 12" single reissues, said that WB "aren't allowed to change anything-art or music" with the reissues.

My hope is that the delays in the schedule indicate that WB is putting things on hold pending negotiations with the estate to put out more "interesting" reissues, going forward.

[Edited 8/17/16 19:02pm]

My car only has cassette

I just got another email from Amazon. SOTT has been pushed back to October 7. This is practically comical at this point.

KingSausage said:

I just got another email from Amazon. SOTT has been pushed back to October 7. This is practically comical at this point.

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Total joke indeed. With this latest delay, I just went ahead and canceled my preorder with Amazon. I'll wait for the eventual deluxe editions. Plus, there's a big 27-disc Pink Floyd release coming out in November that will keep me happy for a long while.

$700 for this... big cash and makes it around $25 per disc

injuredpinky said:

KingSausage said:

I just got another email from Amazon. SOTT has been pushed back to October 7. This is practically comical at this point.

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Total joke indeed. With this latest delay, I just went ahead and canceled my preorder with Amazon. I'll wait for the eventual deluxe editions. Plus, there's a big 27-disc Pink Floyd release coming out in November that will keep me happy for a long while.

injuredpinky said:

KingSausage said:

I just got another email from Amazon. SOTT has been pushed back to October 7. This is practically comical at this point.

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Total joke indeed. With this latest delay, I just went ahead and canceled my preorder with Amazon. I'll wait for the eventual deluxe editions. Plus, there's a big 27-disc Pink Floyd release coming out in November that will keep me happy for a long while.

.

UPDATE: So I thought I canceled my order, only to go back and see it really didn't cancel it (due to that fact I ordered it concurrently with several other unrelated items that were already shipped) and that I needed to contact Amazon (U.S.) support to cancel.

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So I contacted them via chat. They guy on the other end said that although the release date was pushed back to 10/7, I should still receive it on 9/27. I told him that doesn't make sense. He assured that in the system I am scheduled to receive it on 9/27, and not 10/7. I said I still wanted to cancel anyways. So he offered a $10 refund (orig price was $27) if I was willing to wait until 9/27. I said sure, but if it doesn't arrive on 9/27 I'm going to come back and cancel. He again assured I would get it on 9/27.

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If I look at the SOTT product page in Amazon.com, it says 10/7. But if I look at my order history, it says "Arriving 9/27". All the other times it was delayed, my order history date would change as well immediately. But not this time. In other words, I have no freaking idea what is going on with these releases. So I'll wait until 9/27. If it arrives, great and I just saved $10. If it doesn't, I cancel.

Kobe said:

$700 for this... big cash and makes it around $25 per disc

injuredpinky said:

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Total joke indeed. With this latest delay, I just went ahead and canceled my preorder with Amazon. I'll wait for the eventual deluxe editions. Plus, there's a big 27-disc Pink Floyd release coming out in November that will keep me happy for a long while.

.

Yeah, so don't order it from Amazon (US). I ordered mine from Amazon.co.UK for 313 pounds. Original price is higher, but they reduce the price for shipments outside of the UK. (No idea why, but not complaining either.) So it works out to $408 US bucks. Still expensive, but no longer unreasonable.

I wonder if Parade will actually be delivered this coming Tuesday, 8/23. I kept my pre-order from Amazon even though I bought a near-mint original pressing. I would like to have a totally pristine copy with great condition artwork.

I got tired of waiting and also bought original pressings of Lovesexy and ATWIAD. I might do the same for SOTT very soon.

KingSausage said:

I just got another email from Amazon. SOTT has been pushed back to October 7. This is practically comical at this point.

I got the same email. Given the estate mess, this is not completely surprising, especially since Parade got moved back to September.

No less frustrating, though.

I actually have vinyl versions of these albums already. I was hoping for 180-gram reissues, so on second thought I may skip these re-releases.