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Thread started 04/26/17 6:01pm

carmy

3121,PE,lotus sessions

I remember reading somewhere that all of the material for these albums were from the same sessions?? Is there any truth to this ?
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Reply #1 posted 04/26/17 7:28pm

TrivialPursuit

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Where did you read it?

And yes, some of the songs on an early configuration of Lotusflow3r that preceded Planet Earth included "Deliverance" and six other tracks. All the tracks, sans "Deliverance" ended up on Planet Earth. However, "Deliverance" was on one configuration of P.E. at some point.

I don't think Prince had "sessions" the way he did in earlier days before Paisley Park. He just recorded all the time. Prince said over and over that he just wants until the finds songs that sound similar or work well together, then that becomes the album. He doesn't set out to say "I'm going to make an album called 3121, and this, this, this, this, and this is going to be on it".

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #2 posted 04/26/17 9:03pm

MendesCity

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Blows my mind that Deliverance didn't end up on one of those - would've been the strongest thing on any of them.

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Reply #3 posted 04/26/17 9:46pm

carmy

Can't remember exactly where I saw that . But I'm aware that he constantly recorded and sometimes would have blocks of music from one particular "session" . I just thought it was really cool to know that so much good music was hand picked over the coarse of three/4 years to finally get to us . I see why he could move on from a project so fast . He had music bursting out at the seems. Damn I miss Prince .
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Reply #4 posted 04/27/17 3:35am

darkroman

I feel because of this, some Prince albums feel like compilations rather than a project.

.

Oddly, in an interview on Love4oneanother.com in January 1999 Prince described Roadhouse Garden as a 'compilation'.

.

I suppose as he could record whenever he wanted, maybe the concept of sessions didn't apply to him.

.

Just a thought.

.

lol

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Reply #5 posted 04/27/17 4:08am

highcalonic

I remember reading a Michael B. interview where he said that him and Sonny T. did two sessions with Prince during 2005/2007. And, i think those songs comes from these sessions :


-From The Lotus...
-3121

-Wall Of Berlin

-Planet Earth

-Guitar

-Colonized Mind

-Back To The Lotus...

And maybe the new Deliverance EP come from those sessions too....

"You can skate around the issue if you like,
But who's gonna get you high in the middle of the night?"
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Reply #6 posted 04/27/17 5:52am

Marco81

highcalonic said:

I remember reading a Michael B. interview where he said that him and Sonny T. did two sessions with Prince during 2005/2007. And, i think those songs comes from these sessions :


-From The Lotus...
-3121

-Wall Of Berlin

-Planet Earth

-Guitar

-Colonized Mind

-Back To The Lotus...

And maybe the new Deliverance EP come from those sessions too....

Add Love Like Jazz, and possibly something off Tamar's album, can't remember which one...

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Reply #7 posted 04/27/17 6:40am

andykeen

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3121,Plant Earth and Lotusflow3r have songs which come from the same sessions with Michael and Sonny. I would love to hear what else is on offer too

Keenmeister
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Reply #8 posted 04/27/17 6:53am

NouveauDance

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darkroman said:

I feel because of this, some Prince albums feel like compilations rather than a project.

.

Oddly, in an interview on Love4oneanother.com in January 1999 Prince described Roadhouse Garden as a 'compilation'.

That's not odd it was a compilation. Prince recorded all the time, he didn't specifically record, then stop, release a record, promote it, tour, write, go back in the studio - He was recording all the time.

.

A lot of albums contained songs recorded or updated from earlier recording sessions dating back years. Graffiti Bridge is a prime example, much of that record dates back way before 1989/90.

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Reply #9 posted 04/27/17 7:00am

RumAndRaisin

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Marco81 said:

highcalonic said:

I remember reading a Michael B. interview where he said that him and Sonny T. did two sessions with Prince during 2005/2007. And, i think those songs comes from these sessions :


-From The Lotus...
-3121

-Wall Of Berlin

-Planet Earth

-Guitar

-Colonized Mind

-Back To The Lotus...

And maybe the new Deliverance EP come from those sessions too....

Add Love Like Jazz, and possibly something off Tamar's album, can't remember which one...

Redhead Stepchild

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Reply #10 posted 04/27/17 7:02am

RumAndRaisin

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carmy said:

I remember reading somewhere that all of the material for these albums were from the same sessions?? Is there any truth to this ?

The 2005-6 period was incredibly fruitful for recordings, even a few things like Compassion from 20ten date from 2006.

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Reply #11 posted 04/27/17 9:29am

MIRvmn

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MendesCity said:

Blows my mind that Deliverance didn't end up on one of those - would've been the strongest thing on any of them.


Yes it would have fit well on the amazing Lotusflow3r smile
Welcome 2 The Dawn
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Reply #12 posted 04/27/17 9:52am

NoVideo

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TrivialPursuit said:

Where did you read it?

And yes, some of the songs on an early configuration of Lotusflow3r that preceded Planet Earth included "Deliverance" and six other tracks. All the tracks, sans "Deliverance" ended up on Planet Earth. However, "Deliverance" was on one configuration of P.E. at some point.

I don't think Prince had "sessions" the way he did in earlier days before Paisley Park. He just recorded all the time. Prince said over and over that he just wants until the finds songs that sound similar or work well together, then that becomes the album. He doesn't set out to say "I'm going to make an album called 3121, and this, this, this, this, and this is going to be on it".

I think you're exactly right, and I think that approach can be a mistake in that it can sometimes result in a less focused album, basically just a compilation of songs.

Of course, one could argue that SOTT is really just a compilation of a small percentage of the songs he recorded in 1986, so.... maybe it's not such a bad idea after all.

I like all 3 of those albums but I think Lotusflow3r and 3121 are both miles better than Planet Earth.

* * *

Prince's Classic Finally Expanded
The Deluxe 'Purple Rain' Reissue

http://www.popmatters.com...n-reissue/
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Reply #13 posted 04/27/17 10:17am

TrivialPursuit

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NoVideo said:

I think you're exactly right, and I think that approach can be a mistake in that it can sometimes result in a less focused album, basically just a compilation of songs.

Of course, one could argue that SOTT is really just a compilation of a small percentage of the songs he recorded in 1986, so.... maybe it's not such a bad idea after all.

I like all 3 of those albums but I think Lotusflow3r and 3121 are both miles better than Planet Earth.


True, but maybe you're using "compilation" in broad strokes there. Any album is a compilation of songs recorded. One hopes that those songs are cohesive, maybe tell a story, or take someone on a journey in some regard. I think the only real exception to an album being more pointed & purposeful would be Purple Rain and Under The Cherry Moon. Those were specific, didn't necessarily have older songs on them (like Graffiti Bridge), and they were meant to support something bigger.

You're right that SOTT was still a whittle down of a previous album; and even the previous incarnation wasn't more than left over tracks. Lovesexy definitely had a vibe to it and it was recorded in a quick manner. He had something on his mind during Lovesexy, so it's more purposeful.

Any Prince album is really just what Prince found to be the best of recent work that worked well together. "Raspberry Beret" dates back a few years, as does "ICNTTPOYM", yet can you hear those songs in the Controversy or Dirty Mind era? I can't. Hell, knowing the songs that were due to be on Rave, I can't hear "Moonbeam Levels" at the end of it, but it was there for a moment.

I think the 'focus' a lot of times comes in the production as well. A song can be old, but if it's worked on and tweaked a bit (like "Joy In Repetition"), it can fit elsewhere. Ultimately, Prince always just compiled 10 or 12 songs of work to put something out. He never went to Sunset or wherever to say "we're going to make a new record, and here's what I want on it". He might have been purposeful in sounds or production, but he'd just let loose in the studio to see what happened. Maybe all that is part of his genius.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #14 posted 04/27/17 10:34am

NoVideo

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TrivialPursuit said:

NoVideo said:

I think you're exactly right, and I think that approach can be a mistake in that it can sometimes result in a less focused album, basically just a compilation of songs.

Of course, one could argue that SOTT is really just a compilation of a small percentage of the songs he recorded in 1986, so.... maybe it's not such a bad idea after all.

I like all 3 of those albums but I think Lotusflow3r and 3121 are both miles better than Planet Earth.


True, but maybe you're using "compilation" in broad strokes there. Any album is a compilation of songs recorded. One hopes that those songs are cohesive, maybe tell a story, or take someone on a journey in some regard. I think the only real exception to an album being more pointed & purposeful would be Purple Rain and Under The Cherry Moon. Those were specific, didn't necessarily have older songs on them (like Graffiti Bridge), and they were meant to support something bigger.

You're right that SOTT was still a whittle down of a previous album; and even the previous incarnation wasn't more than left over tracks. Lovesexy definitely had a vibe to it and it was recorded in a quick manner. He had something on his mind during Lovesexy, so it's more purposeful.

Any Prince album is really just what Prince found to be the best of recent work that worked well together. "Raspberry Beret" dates back a few years, as does "ICNTTPOYM", yet can you hear those songs in the Controversy or Dirty Mind era? I can't. Hell, knowing the songs that were due to be on Rave, I can't hear "Moonbeam Levels" at the end of it, but it was there for a moment.

I think the 'focus' a lot of times comes in the production as well. A song can be old, but if it's worked on and tweaked a bit (like "Joy In Repetition"), it can fit elsewhere. Ultimately, Prince always just compiled 10 or 12 songs of work to put something out. He never went to Sunset or wherever to say "we're going to make a new record, and here's what I want on it". He might have been purposeful in sounds or production, but he'd just let loose in the studio to see what happened. Maybe all that is part of his genius.

Yeah, you definitely make some outstanding points. I would only say that just because he's ressurecting old material doesn't mean it's the same scenario as 3121/PE/LF. Say he's working on Crystal Ball or Dream Factor or whatever, and he remembers this song Strange Relationship from 1982 and he thinks it may work, so he dusts it off.

That's a little different than just perpetually recording non-stop and then occassionally halting to find a dozen songs that kinda go together and put them together as an album. At least, that's my sense of it. I think Musicology was probably the first time he took that approach. Of course, this is all speculation, but I think Musicology onward are all very similar to HitNRun 2 in that they are compilations of songs not intended for a particular project, but that go together well. In the case of HNR2, we just happened to have already heard many of them online, wheras that's not the case with the other Musciology - HNR work. I obviously think PE is an exception to that, and perhaps ATA.

* * *

Prince's Classic Finally Expanded
The Deluxe 'Purple Rain' Reissue

http://www.popmatters.com...n-reissue/
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