Someone recently posted a claim that the Black Album had an hidden track between 1 and 2 -- any truth to that folks? Bart where are U ? (smile)

nope

Heavenly said:

So I take it that you have an original pressing of The Black Album?

The original Black albums were mainly on vinyl(i've read about 300,000 were pressed)--which were shipped to Europe first, just before he decided to pull the album.

I think there were about 8 or 9 original CD's pressed, but never heard any info about any hidden tracks.

I also read somewhere one of the original CD's was sold for $15,000 in the early 90's.

Can anyone tell me how I would know if I have an original copy of the black album? A friend of mine bought it for me at a record show. It's a plain black cd with a picture of Prince and others on the back. It doesn't have the greatest sound quality, so I have always wondered if it is an original. Thanks!

ITS A BOOT

I have one of the supposed 3000 vinyl ...

3000

three hundred thousand

kmc said:

Well, FWIW, I got the original '87 Vinyl and CD and none of 'em have an extra hidden track...

Neversin.

Neversin said:

Wow -- I'm jealous... I thought that somebody was pullin' my leg. Thanks.

Neversin said:

noone likes a braggart

markos said:

I think i do too...the sound is near perfect on my vinyl record(for 1987).

What was on the front cover, is it a picture of Prince(black on black glare) that can only be seen up close, with his hair slicked back and a goatee?

I've got an original '87 vinyl copy
and there definitely ain't no hidden tracks.

A lot of the bootleg versions missed off
the fade-back bit at the end of Rockhard In A Funky Place
but that's all.

mrchristian said:

That is a bootleg. The original pressings look the same as the '94 pressings. No art. Peach type. That's it.

I have that vinyl boot too.

kmc said:

There was no hidden track. I was fuckin' witcha on that last thread. Sorry for the confusion.

squirrelgrease said:

Not a prob, Squirrel, I loved the Black Album, and I also love questioning knowledgeable Prince fan(atics) like myself... there is a whole world inside this dude's music and I don't mind exploring where others have gone... I've been groovin' to the Black Album since '87 and believe it or not I had never knew that the distorted voice at the start was sayin' "welcome to the funk bible..." I'd only made out the part where Prince said:

So U found me
Good, I'm glad
This is Prince

thanks 4 starting up a good thread, my friend

squirrelgrease said:

Thanks for the info SG.

I also have one of the original Black Albums,an old friend of mine used to have her own record store and gave me the album before it was re-called.
Only identifying features are a tiny cat# on the spine in peach WX147 and the WB indentations on the back of the sleeve,thats all,nothing else.

Much love Pochacco

I am embarassed to admit this,but in 1989 I paid $200 for what I thought was an original vinyl copy of 'The Black Album'.It looked like the real thing,but the sound quality was less than perfect,so I'm pretty sure it was just a bootleg.

In 1990,I went into a small record store and found several vinyl copies for $25 each.I bought two of them.It's on a record label called Erotic City Records,and the cover is from the 1986 'Parade/Cherry Moon' period.Did any of you buy this same pressing? Although it's a bootleg,the sound quality is fantastic.

The whole saga of 'The Black Album' was alot of fun,huh? Those days were filled with alot of confusion,frustration and excitement.

I got an original vinylversion of the black album. it is pressed in alsdorf, germany with the original black cover with the album number printed in peach on the side. the song titles are only shown on the record. its the same layout as the 1994 official release. i bought it for around $15 in 1990 and thought it was a bootleg at the time. but the sound quality was too good for a bootleg. there are no hidden tracks by the way. according to an article i read there are only around a few hundred vinyl versions circulating around of the 300 000 that were pressed. the cd version is even harder to get hold of with less than 50 copies circulating around.

Do you guys remember in 1994,Warner Bros. were having this "Black Album amnesty" thing? All you had to do was send in your bootleg copy of 'The Black Album' and they would send you a fresh,new copy? Did any of you do this?

I'm holding on to my bootleg copies.They might be worth something one day.

I bought a cd in 88-89. The cd itself did not say it was Prince, but the cover showed a rather well-known concert pic. The cd concluded with a live version of 1999

Around that time, I read somewhere that one boot of the Black Album was actually a cover band with a Prince sound-alike. I wonder if there,s any truth to that.

Not that I absolutely need to know...

i got the cd boot of black album with the prince "sound-alike". it sucks cuz it doesnt sound like prince at all. the production sounds like music from a computer game around 1984. the album also contained a sticker that says "i own the black album".

tommysoul said:

It is possible that this is a boot, since some of them have fantastic sound quality, and a few even went to the lenghts to reproduce the packaging set by Warners. The aforementioned Erotic City Records release had near-perfect sound, but you can ultimately tell that is a boot by the packaging. It would probably be a good idea to do some research and get this appraised, as you might have a real gem on your hands

JediMaster said:

One question...now that the 'Black Album' has been officially released,I wonder if the bootleg copies will be worth something one day?