I became a fan right after "When Doves Cry" was released ...
and started collecting a year later.

There were no bootlegs, so there were three excitements:
a new album
a new B-side / extended version
an old B-side or extended version found in a secondhand store.

Especially the last ones gave excitement ...
at last you get to hear that song! (can you imagine ... you really didn't have a clue how it would sound)

What a feeling when I found "sexy dancer" and "Let's Work / Gotta Stop".

So, those B-sides / extended versions have a very special place.

But if you're relatively new ... and bought the B-sides cd and some bootlegs with B-sides and extended version ... there should be nothing special about them I guess.

No searching for years, or spending lots of money ...
no excitement???
So what do you new guys think?

I think the internet more than anything else changed all this. No more searching, almost instantly you can listnen to any song.

i miss the excitement that came on the eve of a new release and the look on the dudes face behind the counter when u walked up with a Prince record.

ah...those were the days!!