It's a shame, really, that Prince apparently has no interest in preserving his incredible musical legacy. The WB CDs for the most part all need re-mastering.

It strikes me as very odd that an artist of his stature would be so lackadaisical about his back catalog. Does he not care about the past? Does he want to distance himself from the naughty language and subject matter? Is it an issue with WB?

I'm not just saying this as a Prince fan, but if there is one major artist who has completely neglected his back work, it is Prince. Only a couple haphazard compilations, no special editions, no box set, no unreleased material (with the exception being the generally disappointing "Crystal Ball" set - disappointing because of what it COULD have been...).

It's not like the guy doesn't have time to get his stuff up to par. It's hard to listen to some of it, it sounds so bad. I've been working on a new compilation so I've been going back and listening and ripping a lot of the old stuff, and the volume levels on some of the old CDs - especially 1999 - are just awful.

When will Prince wake up and realize that his music is not being preserved in the best possible way, and that he could make tons of $$$ with a nice reissue project? His die-hard fans would go back and re-purchase CDs they already have in a heartbeat. I don't understand why he seems so nonchalant about all his classic material.

He always stated he doesn't look in2 the past. In this case he seems to be true to that.

he doesn't need the money, nor does he care to re-master stuff just for the money. I would like to see him release some of the "never released" stuff. He probably has hundreds of songs that have never been released! If he were to remaster it, it would have to be for the reason of re-mixing it to make something new. He doesn't believe in looking back, and most spiritual people don't. It's just not belived to be the right way to live, to reflect on the past. YOU MUST ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD, NOT BACK.

anyway the last try when he looked back birthed 1999 the new masters so I'm fine with that

A big reason is he doesn't own the masters. WB would have to be a part of the deal.

superspaceboy said:

That's right. Prince would make money out of re-mastered cds, but Warner's would make even more for doing very little. I'm sure I read somewhere where Prince pointed out that he made as much money from selling only a few million copies of Emancipation as he did from the millions of copies of Purple Rain, because his actual cut of that record was so low. Unless he cut a new deal with Warners, it would still operate at the original percentages.

Not knowing the details of WB's cut in any re-issue/re-mastered releases, MAYBE, Prince is holding on to his strongest card until the time is right.

Think about it. He's been recording and touring for almost 30 years and he's recently said that he wants to take time off to study The Bible.

He knows we all want re-masters. He knows we'd all buy re-mastered packages. Why WOULD he release them now when he's still releasing new material and still breaking records with live performances?

MAYBE ( *Please note, this is all speculation on my part, and would break my heart if even REMOTELY true) just MAYBE, he's saving the re-mastered music for when he stops recording new music and touring.

He wouldn't be the first to do it. Cat Stevens left the music business to live a more religious/spiritual life, but I know that in the past 7 years (don't remember exactly when) he was on VH1's "Behind the Music" because his music had been re-released.

Just a thought

This is where Prince and I clash. If there is a method 2 the madness.....I sure as hell DON'T know what it is.

RELEASE It already.....DAMN.

Nothinbutjoy said:

Excellent thought...