Contempt

Winter Spring Summer or Fall

love is no good

unless it's felt by all

.

.

like the Camille project

How could/would this album be promoted?

Singles, Bsides, videos, shows and concert setlists?

There is a possibility that we were already seeing the 'fashion' style for bandmembers...

.

.

the Sheila E Birthday Music

the Funk Bible

Spooky Electric

Camille

Blue Tuesday

.

When did U 1st discover the Black album?

.

.

Tis nobody funkier...let the Black Album fly! - Spooky Electric

.

Sign O the Time movie concert

http://prince.org/msg/7/447838

Prince & his Madhouse 8

http://prince.org/msg/7/448090

the Camille era[aborted] ~1987

http://prince.org/msg/7/4...?&pg=1

Sign☮ the Times era ~ 1987

http://prince.org/msg/7/447837

OldFriends4Sale said:

like the Camille project

How could/would this album be promoted?

Singles, Bsides, videos, shows and concert setlists?

There is a possibility that we were already seeing the 'fashion' style for bandmembers...

the Sheila E Birthday Music

the Funk Bible

Spooky Electric

Camille

Blue Tuesday

Only two singles relase for this album would be:

When 2 R In Love

and

Le Grind ( radio edit)

Possible single release "Cindy C. (radio edit)

None of the songs really had any commercial appeal other than When 2 R In Love for R&B stations. I would have told Prince to quickly come up with a more marketable album in the next year or so. This was not one to go on tour with.

I know regular folks who once they got a hold of Bob George, kept on playing that track.

Le Grind

Cindy C

Dead On It

When 2 R In Love

Bob George

SuperfunkiCaliFragiSexy

2NigUnited4WestCompton

Rock Hard In A Funky Place

The counterfeit LP release of TBA was my first P bootleg (at time I was believing it was an original copy, not knowing well the story and quantities of the "escaped" pressed LP from Wea Germany).

Two years later I finally found it also on CD (a real nice sounding version with many 1986/1987 outtakes included as "Crystal Ball"), and in 1994 obviously I replaced it with the WEA official CD release.

On a side note, I have also the hilarious "Black Album" CD by "The Black Album Band", the entire album remade by obscure musician.

I first heard of the Black Album through a childhood friend who made a bootleg cassette for me.

I listened with wide eyes, a confused look, and a wrinkled brow. I kept thinking there must be some mistake because I didn't hear his signature sound/voice.

I kept wondering what type of space he had to be in to write some of the lyrics.

I chuckled at "Bob George" and jammed to "Cindy C."

I played When 2 R in Love over and over while I sketched and painted my original artwork in my bedroom. Superfunkycalifragisexy was also great background music for my creativity but I couldn't play any of it without a Walkman. My parents already didn't want me listening to Prince and "The Black Album" would've pushed them over the edge!

"Honey, you see these pumps..." became one of my new catchphrases from "2 Nigs United 4 West Compton." The line delivery came with all the attitude I could muster, and then I always laughed -partly because nobody but my fellow purple fam knew what the hell I was talking about.

I packed "The Black Album" away quickly as he released new material and I heard that he didn't support the album. However, I couldn't stop listening to "When 2 R in Love."

I wouldn't market "The Black Album." I'd throw live recordings & an extra track from the Vault on a re-release and drop breadcrumbs and rumors on social media and allow fans to find it organically as an exclusive sale on Tidal or overseas release only. People are always ravenous for an exclusive item they don't have access to and will go through hell and high water to get it.

Prince was very savvy about marketing and restricting access to drive demand. It didn't always work but when it did -it was explosive. Just look at his legacy and the ravenously loyal fams who will never let him go.

I purchased a bootleg vinyl a few months after it was announced that Prince pulled it from distribution. I think I paid $20 for it back then. It is obviously a crude recording from a tape source as there is a hiss throughout the entire thing (the later WB legitimate release that I bought also has a hiss to it but it's not as pronounced). I made tapes of it and passed them out to my friends that wanted them. 'Cause that's what Prince fans did for each other back in the day!!

OldFriends4Sale said:

NorthC said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Contempt

Winter Spring Summer or Fall

love is no good

unless it's felt by all

.

.

like the Camille project

How could/would this album be promoted?

Singles, Bsides, videos, shows and concert setlists?

There is a possibility that we were already seeing the 'fashion' style for bandmembers...

.

.

the Sheila E Birthday Music

the Funk Bible

Spooky Electric

Camille

Blue Tuesday

.

When did U 1st discover the Black album?

.

.

Tis nobody funkier...let the Black Album fly! - Spooky Electric

.

From what I've heard there was to be no promotion at all, it was just "Something" by "Somebody".

Right, but from what we know of Prince during the 1979-1988 period, what would promotion have been life if it was released?

One of this worst records. Thank god it was aborted

I was in the military. I had found a guy that loved Prince (he had Prince pictures hanging on his office walls). He had given me this tape of something called The Black Album. I had heard of it, sort of, but it wasn't that "OMG" moment to me, like we had something pretty rare and intriguing. We sat in his office and listened to it. I had, like many, a shitty copy of a copy of a copy. It was still fascinating. It was hard to hear a lot of the ambiance and details because of the degradation of the copy.

I became longtime friends with that guy. We had lost contact about 10 years ago (and the years prior). He actually found me on the Org and we reconnected again. He's my brotha from anotha motha. ANd it was Prince that got us connected to begin with.

the bit that confuses me is why cancel an album due to having a bad feeling, then a year later on tour for the next album playing 3 or 4 songs from it.

bigd74 said:

the bit that confuses me is why cancel an album due to having a bad feeling, then a year later on tour for the next album playing 3 or 4 songs from it.

First, we're talking about Prince. Nothing ever makes that much sense.

Second, the Lovesexy Tour was a story told in two acts. The first was dark. The costumes were mainly black and white with slight variances. The songs were about sex and conflict. It was Camille fighting Spooky Electric, it was Prince fighting his carnal nature. The whole act has him chasing after his muse, played by Cat. He bounced between "When You Were Mine" to "I Wanna Be Your Lover" to "Head", etc. He was chasing the flesh. Including dark songs like "Bob George" (a song laced with verbal, gun, and domestic violence), and "Superfunkycalifragisexy" were used to mirror the dark element in that first hour set. It ended with him having an epiphany.

Intermission. Then act two was a rebirth. He and the band came up out of the stage with smoke and much more colorful lights, almost like Adam and Eve being created in the garden of Eden. Flowers popped up along the edges of the stages. The lighting was more colorful, and all the songs were positive takes on life. "I Know", "Kiss", "Purple Rain", "The Cross", "I Wish U Heaven", "Lovesexy", "1999", etc. It was a celebration of his new found spirituality.

It was lust vs. love overall.

TrivialPursuit said:

bigd74 said:

the bit that confuses me is why cancel an album due to having a bad feeling, then a year later on tour for the next album playing 3 or 4 songs from it.

First, we're talking about Prince. Nothing ever makes that much sense.

i get all that, he can do all that without the 3 black album songs, why play songs from an album you cancelled and had a bad feelig about. my guess he wanted it to release without actually releasing it knowing it would get bootlegged and the fans would have it anyway.

bigd74 said:

TrivialPursuit said:

First, we're talking about Prince. Nothing ever makes that much sense.

i get all that, he can do all that without the 3 black album songs, why play songs from an album you cancelled and had a bad feelig about. my guess he wanted it to release without actually releasing it knowing it would get bootlegged and the fans would have it anyway.

I mean, I did sorta explain all that.

And the bootlegging wasn't quite as prominent, although it did exist, in 1987. Certainly no mp3 technology, no Napster for another decade, no real internet, and no idea about file trading that would shoot the bootlegging practice into the stratosphere.

He could have thought about the fans getting it anyway, but he was pretty adamant about it not being out. He didn't support it in 1994 either, really. He, at least on the surface, always put up a face about staying away from it, it was evil (having been made while he was in a very dark place in his life), etc. I sorta thing, eventually, he just got caught up in his own story with it. But a certain band member did tell me personally that it wasn't because Prince saw God (which was the official story), but rather because he was on X etc., and thought he saw the devil. It scared him and he aborted the record thinking it was an agent of the devil himself.

I first heard about the Black Album from an article in Rolling Stone. I was only about 10 years old but it peaked my curiosity and I was finally able to get my hands on a vinyl copy that I ordered from Wynnco enterprises. I loved it because it felt forbidden, like listening in on a secret and it was so, so funky.

I've never really considered the album as having singles but fantasized about hearing/seeing Prince perform music from the album in a dark, smoky nightclub - dark red lights around the club - tiny white spotlights on stage - basement vibe - the band dressed in black - mirrored heart / star / moon wrist bands - other mirrored jewlery. Black fringe, black lace. Black leather, black fur...

As much as I adore the Black Album as a whole and all of its mythology -- I cant stand 2 Nigs United 4 West Compton...It ALWAYS gets skipped. I've given it plenty of chances but it always gets on my nerves.

This is the album that got me hooked on bootlegs back in the day. Opened my whole world!

TrivialPursuit said:

bigd74 said:

i get all that, he can do all that without the 3 black album songs, why play songs from an album you cancelled and had a bad feelig about. my guess he wanted it to release without actually releasing it knowing it would get bootlegged and the fans would have it anyway.

I mean, I did sorta explain all that.

And the bootlegging wasn't quite as prominent, although it did exist, in 1987. Certainly no mp3 technology, no Napster for another decade, no real internet, and no idea about file trading that would shoot the bootlegging practice into the stratosphere.

He could have thought about the fans getting it anyway, but he was pretty adamant about it not being out. He didn't support it in 1994 either, really. He, at least on the surface, always put up a face about staying away from it, it was evil (having been made while he was in a very dark place in his life), etc. I sorta thing, eventually, he just got caught up in his own story with it. But a certain band member did tell me personally that it wasn't because Prince saw God (which was the official story), but rather because he was on X etc., and thought he saw the devil. It scared him and he aborted the record thinking it was an agent of the devil himself.

He totally sings about doing X. All the way into "the Future". Spooky electric it was.

My first studio songs bootleg. I went to NYC for Thanksgiving and spent a day in an out of record stores asking around. Walked into a store in the village and the guy Russ (later to be nicknamed Russ Weed 'cause he always sounded stoned) says I just had two of them!

I left $40 and my phone # with a complete stranger. Two copies showed up at my door on Christmas Eve. We had gotten the Eye wish U heaven that day too. It was a funky Christmas for Chewymusic and myself.

The album is twisted, nasty and funky. Two Nigs doesn't always get played, but there are some cool transitions in that song. Beautiful interplay with Lovesexy on Tour.

Found the cd in a second hand record shop while searching everywhere 4 the Batman soundtrack (which was also there, both brand new) . 20 bucks. Loved it immensely from jump (TBA of course, Batman not so much, which I've grown to love as well ). It's like SOTT's naughtier cousin. All o the songs r classic, weird P. Super or Rockhard would b my favorites (the former would b my choice for a single), but as I said, all classic, all dope. 1 o my favorites, 4 sure.

Am I the only one who thought about promotion lol

The myth surrounding the album is greater than the album itself, which is not very good.

214 said:

The myth surrounding the album is greater than the album itself, which is not very good.

Controversial!

Explain yourself!

214 said:

The myth surrounding the album is greater than the album itself, which is not very good.

From an art point of view, I tend to agree.

To be clear, I strongly love TBA as it is but I think it musically appeals only to P's fans knowing his artistic tricks and following his musical evolution in that years.

The fact it is more or less a compilation of outtakes e/o fun songs is explicative of the project itself.

Come on, it came after SOTT and before Lovesexy..... it is a nice appendix to the two, but musically talkin' it can't compete.

PROMOTION

I could see Prince doing shows in a lot of shadow and darker stage settings and clothing. For some reason I always thought of it easily being 'underground' even in black n white sometimes.

Loved it when I got it on cassette in '88. My purple friends and I played it like it was a heavily suppressed government secret. It was so damn funky and the perfect bridge between SOTT and Lovesexy. Prince was clearly the baddest mofo on the planet, and I didn’t need to waste my time talkin’ to fools who thought otherwise.

BoraBora said:

I was approached in high school, end of 1988. Literally a dealer.
But he instead of pot, he sold me my first TBA on a TDK K7: probably a 7th generation copy.
No matter how much hiss and lack of dynamics (it really sounded awful), I was hooked.

So of course I went back and bought him a strange compilation made of Crystall Ball, Dream Factory, and other gems of 86,

but we're talking about the very first bootlegs, I mean most of the time it sounded like the engineer had stuffed the tape in his pants not to get caught.
Then Charade, Wembley '86, and there I was, a junkie for P's audio notebooks. I mean, one time I even stole from my mom's purse, man!

I must say, discovering the pristine versions later on brought (and still brings) mixed feelings.
Like you know, when you have listened over and over a vynil that skips at some point, get used to it,
and then you hear the normal version that doesn't skip and your brain goes: "that's not the original!".

I have found memories of my terrible, terrible "Moonbeam Levels". The only thing leveled was hiss and noise.
And it was a little sped up, too. You really felt like you weren't supposed to listen to this shit,
and boy it felt great, just like the first time. But I'd rather not count the times Prince deverginized me, cuz we'll be here till next september.

databank said:

I beg to disagree, it's a very strong and cohesive artistic statement, with lyrics that were highly provocative for 1987. Musically it's just as daring and sophisticated as SOTT or Lovesexy, I've rediscovered the album and tripped on it a lot 3 years ago: to me it stood the test of time, I find it even more impressive now than when I first heard it circa 1993. And it's bloody hilarious, too, a masterpiece of pop dark humor.

The lyrics are less provocative than "Dirty Mind" that was released 7 years before TBA, so I can't see the point.

I agree with you on the definition "Bloody hilarious" and "Masterpiece of Pop Dark Humor", but it is nowhere the accomplished level of SOTT and Lovesexy.
It's a great sketch-show, and I'm not sayin' this with negative meanings.