You know how it goes...you keep hearing fan after fan rave over some unheard bootleg of Prince's, how it's a travesty that it was never released...how it's on par with his best released shtuff...and your mind and imagination goes wild thinking about how great a song it must be. You invest way too many hours and way too much energy trying to hunt down a bootlegged copy somewhere...all the file sharing programs seem to come up empty, and the closest you get to aquiring a copy is talking in orgnotes to someone who's cousin once played it for them back in '94.

Then suddenly...eureka!! You find a copy of the song on the internet!! Praise be, the holy grail of bootlegged songs is now at your fingertips! Hidden brilliance by your favorite artists is about to soak your eardrums and send you into blissful ecstacy. You double-click on the mp3, your RealPlayer starts up, you hear the first notes come from your speakers...and then...

You sit there...blinking...Is that it??

The song ends, and you quickly play it again...because the song you just listened to was beyond ordinary...it can't be the "unreleased brilliance" you've heard about for months...no, years. It can't be the "travesty" that everyone laments is sitting tucked away in Prince's vault. It just can't be...

But upon second listen...it is. This bland, ordinary, "Eh"-worthy song is what you've been seeking out for the last 5 years??...This is what everyone thinks is better than anything he's put out since 1991??



So, name the bootlegged song that didn't EVEN come close to living up to the hype once you heard it...lol ...For me, I can't list "All My Dreams" since I heard it well before I ever heard everyone gushing over it...but when I saw everyone praising it to the hilt on this site, I had to go back and make sure the bland song with the cheesy, nasely vocals was the same song everyone else seemed to be orgasming over. I swear, everytime I heard the pretentiousness in Wendy's voice saying "Lisa, I'm gonna give U the brush and U're gonna paint the side of the train", I wanted to throw something at my speakers.

Anyway..lol...mine would be "Others Here With Us"...I heard SOOO much about this song, how it's so haunting, how it actually "scared" some people to listen to... ...When I finally heard it, I just went "Eh", and haven't played it again since..lol. I just dunt get the fascination with it.

So what bootlegged song have you heard that fits this description??...
(and yes, Deja, this is me signing my death warrant..heh)

didn't see the hype on "crystal ball" (the song). Its pretentious which i can take, but meh, i think i would need to be high to enjoy that dud fest.
(i got a copy before the official boot)
[Edited 2/24/06 18:07pm]

thesexofit said:

"Dud fest"... (I actually like the song, but don't go gaga over it like some do...)

Byron said:

where do i send my condolences to...?

but uhh, your question's kinna hard for me to answer for the simple fact that most of the stuff i've got i didn't get because of the hype fans have given. all the boots that i've got are boots from different eras that i wanted to have, as opposed to thinking "ooh, that looks good and it gets lotsa kudos...maybe i should ask around for a copy..."

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Well, beyond the reason you got the bootleg song, is there any one song that didn't live up to what you had heard about it before aquiring it...even if the reason you got it had nothing to do with what you had heard??

Byron said:

not really, because i've always done my homework beforehand and i trust the insight/commentary/critiques/whatever of those who know more about bootleggage than i do, so i've never really been shafted by a musically less-than-stellar boot.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

So you're saying you've never heard "All My Dreams" then...lol (runs away quick)

Byron said:

i've got like 3 boots in my collection with the song on it.

I think "Extra Loveable" is completely over hyped. Its a run of the mill funk number and Prince made the right call leaving it out.

"Theres others here with us" - A b-side at best. Loved more for being one of the first boots and the fact that it was in such good quality.

SquirrelMeat said:

damn, speaking of the devil...i just got done listening to that track not too long ago (i just put the work, vol. 1 on). wasn't it just an outtake that wasn't aimed at being put on any album anyway? i do agree that it wouldnt've been good for an actual album.


that shit just gives me the creeps.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

You've got to love the knife sharpening noises from the synth!

SquirrelMeat said:

*reep! reep!*

I've always LOVED "All My Dreams." I know it's stupid, but it's just so damn Revolution. Prince meets the Beatles. Or something. I can go without painting the train, but the rest rocks. Love the ending...

"There's Others Here With Us" is amazing. Scares the shit out of me. I heard it for the first time immediately after coming home from seeing "The Blair Witch Project" (which I found frightening in the theater, not on home video). Prince scared the beejzus outta me!

I was going to post that "Extra Loveable" is overrated. Y'all beat me to it! It's not bad, but it's not the kickass lost masterpiece that I'd been led to believe.

Nor is "Moonbeam Levels/Better Place 2 Die."

I'm all about "Electric Intercourse," "Grand Progression," and "Do Yourself a Favor." And the original version of "Old Friends 4 Sale." Oh, and the extended version of "Crucial." And "In a Large Room With No Light." But fuck Extra Loveable!

Mine would definitely be Electic Intercourse and Splash
Both, get a whole lot of love among the
"Prince was a fool for leaving Wendy & Lisa"folks.
But both left me pretty underwhelmed.

I rarely even listen to them

Electric Intercourse...the song quality is so bad on the one version (Wake up, Wendy!!) that it makes listening to it really difficult. The other version I have on the Work is better, but I still find it underwhelming.
[Edited 2/24/06 20:27pm]

KingSausage said:

You disgust me...

Byron said:

I just recently created a Prince playlist for my wife's iPod. I made a special point of including All My Dreams on it! Love, love, love, love, love that song.

Still disgusted?

KingSausage said:

In both you AND your wife...

Byron said:

Hey, I don't think she likes it! (or any Prince, for that matter, aside from SOTT and an occasional track here and there)


Come on, you've gotta at least admit that All My Dreams is better than much, much of the plastic pap he produced during the 1999-2000 era..."My Medallion," "Rope of Silicon," etc. At least it was creative!

I understand what you're saying about "All My Dreams"...its really not that good...I could give or take "Witness 4 the Prosecution" and "Wonderful Ass" too...

KingSausage said:

Ok, the mrs. gets a pass...lol

And sorry...it's not really any better in my ears and mind than most of the 1999-2000 stuff, though it's better produced...it's as bad as the worst stuff at that time to me, and worse than 75% of everything else since "Jughead"...

For me, I'd have to say it was the 4-disc collection called The Work. There are really (for me) only about 12-13 songs on the collection that do anything for me, and at that, these songs would only make good additions on maxi-singles. Of particular blase is the song Player. I don't know exactly what he was tryna do witdat song, but it be flat.

This is probably the reason a lot of his work is still in the vault. It's maybe unfinished, or what Prince thought was a good idea at the time, but it didn't translate.

"There's Others Here With Us" is amazing. Scares the shit out of me. I heard it for the first time immediately after coming home from seeing "The Blair Witch Project" (which I found frightening in the theater, not on home video). Prince scared the beejzus outta me!

I like the song alot, and it makes me think of Prince being possessed, but I don't think it scares me.

Come on, you've gotta at least admit that All My Dreams is better than much, much of the plastic pap he produced during the 1999-2000 era..."My Medallion," "Rope of Silicon," etc. At least it was creative![/quote]
Ok, the mrs. gets a pass...lol

Them's fightin' words! Silicon (actual title, NOT Rope Of Silicon) is one of my favorite P songs!

ImYours said:

I agree...I think "Annie Christian" is one helluva creepy song...much more than "There's Others Here With Us".

Byron said:

I've always thought Empty Room was overrated, too.

KingSausage said:

Almost agree with you... . Almost. lol

Byron said:

The '95 version most definitely is I love the shit outta the other one, but it's not earth shattering...

Splash & All My Dreams definitely are...

Wonderful Ass is worthy, funky shit!

Byron said:

A lot of what you're talking about is because most bootlegs are bad quality. I happen to own a great version that song, simply through using my audio engineering skills and some mastering software.

All My Dreams is actually good if you ask me. Most of the songs claimed to be great actually are quite good, if not exactly worthy of the unremitting Fam praise.

All the best ones are worthy of a official release, in full mastered clarity.

In the meantime, I am working on my "Rare Prince Project", which as I was saying is remastering the best of my boots.



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[Edited 2/25/06 4:24am]