Just saw this on eBay,
Somebody's selling a genuine 1987 Black Album on CD (no longbox).
Probably the rarest Prince release ever!
(I heard there were less than 10 in existance)

Check it out...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eB...=874947670

Oooooo.....

I wonder if this guy's ever dared actually play it?

Wouldn't it be funny if it was only a print test, and it actually plays Barry Manilow!



(that's got everyone who was gonna bid for it worried)

$500?????!!!!!

Diantre!!!

purpleleaf7 said:

yeah...that's just the starting bid.
The last one went for $13,500!!!!!

I wonder what kind of other stuff he has?

Who in their RIGHT MIND WOULD PAY $13,500 or EVEN $500.00 FOR A CD THAT IS RARE FOR 1987, BUT WHICH STILL HAS THE IDENTICAL STUFF ON THE RE=RELEASED ALBUM IN 1994. IS THIS ENJOYING HIS MUSIC, OR BEING OBSESSIVE?!?!

'Original Black Album CD'




ooohhhh cyber space or'gasm!

kaylef said:

Sorry if this is a silly question:
How can you tell it is authenic?

The original BOOTLEG! I bought that on vinyl back in 1988 or thereabouts and paid $100 bucks for it!

Prince has learned alot over the last 20 years or so of having bootleggers take it to him, hasn't he? These days he creates his own BOOTLEGS and markets them to use via UPS -- case in point "One Nite Alone."

Nice way to talk up the sale. Proof that that is an original? hmmm

What a scam. The letter of authenticiy is from an unemployed art director from Wbros. the seller is probably giving him a few bucks to make up some lame letter, and what does an art director care anyway? I saw this for $17 bucks in a used store the other day, and I thought that was steep.

Would there have been a paisley park logo on the original cd? Its on The Sign O The Times cd as well as the Lovesexy cd. Just curious if its authentic. What proof is there?

It could be authentic given the catalog number. The number looks familair but I'm not 4 certain. I do remember that the original catalog number was printed in a book or magazine about Prince but I can't remember which 1, I tried looking 4 it.
The absense of the Paisley Park logo is a good catch, but then again this album was originally 2 be released without mention 2 Prince so who knows.

Im not an expert on authenticity but looking at the SOTT cd the catalog number is 25577-2 and the number on this black album cd is 25677-2. Was the black album the immediate next release on the warner schedule? That seems highly unlikely.

The original was printed in Germany, not the USA. This is not an original.

doesn't the original have the number WX 147? I remember reading that somewhere (think its the right number).

savoirfaire said:

I would...but then again u asked 'people in their right mind'...hmm, no i think that's not me

greetz
kev1n

OK, I'll just clear a few points up here.
I'm not the one selling it (nor do I know the guy), I have no vested interest in the sale of this item.
Unless this is an extremely accurate conterfeit,
This IS an original.


Here's a few facts about the black album to set things straight...

The catalogue number is correct.
WX147 / 925677-1 was the catalogue number for the Vinyl version, which were pressed in Germany. ALL genuine Black Albums on vinyl came from this first batch made at the Alsdorf pressing plant.
There were NO CD's pressed in Germany (or anywhere else in Europe).

ALL genuine CD copies were manufactured in the USA. The catalogue number is 925677-2, which makes it exactly the 100th item after Sign O' The Times to be given a Warner Bros catalogue number. Also genuine copies did NOT have the Paisley Park logo on them, this was to (thinly) disguise any clue to the actual artist, in fact the album does not have a title either.

There is no record of how many CD's escaped being destroyed. Only about 9 have been officialy been confirmed to exist, though it is possible that anything up to 50 may exist. This one is only about the 3rd or 4th ever to have been sold by it's owner.

When the black album appeared on WB's release schedule in late 1987, the artist was listed as 'Somebody' and the album's title was listed as 'Something'. The idea being that the album would appear in record stores with no promotion or explanation. Prince didn't want the album to be viewed as the next proper 'Prince' album, he wanted it to be a suprise, a kind of side-project much like the NPG albums.

The main reason for the album's non-release was the fact that Prince's cover was blown about the project. There was no way to release it in secret, and the critics had started reviewing it already. It was clear that the public would percieve it as Prince's new album, and Prince didn't want it viewed in that way. The album was fine as a 'fuck-you' to all the people that had accused him of losing the funk, and as a no-brainer party album, but Prince didn't want the album to be considered a 'proper' Prince release, he was already planning his next proper move. As legend has it, it was though a meeting with Ingrid Chavez that Prince finally decided to pull the release of the black album (Warner's were always in favour of releaseing it). He realized that if he died tomorrow, the black album would be his last artistic statement, and he definitely did not want that.

classic77 said:

I think you'll find 25677 - 25577 = 100 not 1

but it seems equally spooky that it happened to be exactly the 100th album after Sign O The Times to be released.

BorisFishpaw said:

OOPS! math never was my favorite subject.

I sent an email to him and this was his reply

"I don't think your black album is an original
The original was printed in Germany, not the USA. This is not an original. Also, the original has the catalogue number WX 147. Please remove this item or I will ask ebay to remove it for you."

His reply

"Thank you for your opinion. However, I would like to know on what grounds you are justifying your information. I have no doubts as to the genuineness of this item. Furthermore, Don't threaten me with E-bay. My reputation and feedback rating is flawless..too bad you can't say the same. Finally, if you persist with harassing me, your the one that will find yourself dealing with E-Bay & my attorney. PFA


I see that you took the libery of sending me the same message ...twice. Thus, I will respond as I have found some information that I think you should review before you continue to put your foot in your mouth. This links
not only substantiates mine as an original but ironically list "your" WX 147 as the wannabe fake !!! Take a look at the credit's for the research..I think you'll be surprised at what you find there.
site #1 http://www.unik.no/~mariu..._cd_b.html
site #2 http://www.unik.no/~mariu...plete.html



so there !

Didn't you read my earlier post...?

THIS IS THE GENUINE THING.

The WX147 catalogue number people seem so hung up on ONLY applies to European VINYL.
CD's DO NOT have a WX number (European or American)

There is NO SUCH THING as a genuine German Black Album on CD,
There were NO Black albums made on CD in Europe.

ALL (without exception) genuine Black Albums on CD were made in the USA,
and had the catalogue number 925677-2.

If for some bizarre reason anyone doesn't believe me...
DO SOME RESEARCH, it's not difficult to find out the facts.

Oh shit...I think I'm turning into Bart!

kaylef said:

Just add a few to links to previous threads to back up your argument, and your journey to the dark-side will be complete.

(But you do have to strike down Bart with all of your hatred to truly take his place at the Emperor's side)

I see that you took the libery of sending me the same message ...twice. Thus, I will respond as I have found some information that I think you should review before you continue to put your foot in your mouth. This links
not only substantiates mine as an original but ironically list "your" WX 147 as the wannabe fake !!! Take a look at the credit's for the research..I think you'll be surprised at what you find there.
site #1 http://www.unik.no/~mariu..._cd_b.html
site #2 http://www.unik.no/~mariu...plete.html



so there ![/quote]

Gr8 links Funky, 2 bad it states that my BA is a copy of "a" vinyl release... However i'm glad 2 HAVE a BA and basically i don't care where it comes from or what catalogue # is on it. It's the music that counts 4 me.

Peace 2 all.