christerfalck said:

is there a news report or press release about the halting of this album by prince's lawyers that can be read in english?

bertfuhr said:

Cheers - worked for me.

Not. Happy.

I have listened to the myspace-examples.

First impression, yes Prince is / was a great songwriter, his material lending to be played in so many different styles.

Second impression, very nice covers over Paisley Park and the Morning Papers. Great to hear I could never take the place of your man in such a Phil Spector / Motown-type of arrangement. And, the version of Cinnamon Girl is better then Princes own version.... lol

I'm trying to understand why Prince (or his lawyers) is trying to stop this release. Maybe it's the grand scale of the project (5 CDs) that makes him want to stop it, but whatever the reason is I don't get it because while the covers are a mixed bag to say the least, there have been far worse Prince covers released, even by established artists (Tina Turner's Let's Pretend We're Married, anyone? ). And do we want to discuss Prince's own covers of other people's songs, like his butchering of "Everyday is a Winding Road"?

But anyway, let's discuss the covers.
Judging by the samples, I think in general the covers that work best are the ones that have more "earthy", more stripped-down arrangements. Take for example the cover of "Eye Wish U Heaven". The original has a very cluttered and "busy" mix like the rest of the Lovesexy album, but this cover makes the beautiful vocal melody stand out clearly. I also liked the Motown version of "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man".... The electronic stuff or the stuff that changed the melody too much I didn't care for so much, especially when it came to the absolute "sacred-cows". I mean, who needs to hear a "bad 80s Leonard Cohen" version of "Purple Rain"?

It has to come down to two things right?

A) Doesn't think these versions protect/project the integrity of the songs (as he sees them)

or
B) Not getting a cut of the action.


Is he getting a cut? Shouldn't he be?

Of course he's geting a cut. 100% of the copyright-money goes to Prince.

Damn, Rock Hard In a Funky Place sounds good!!!

PC

Well aparently He hasn't stopped the release. Although HQ would like us to believe he has. What is it with misinformation folks?

According to a post by the guy behind the 5 cd set. It has not been canceled.
There are talks going on regarding what they are/are not allowed to do.

Incidentally I recommend checking out the band 'Minor Majority' who feature on the set. They are great!

Rorywan said:

You mean I talked all that shit last night, for nothing?

Oh well... I'll just use it as future credit for when Prince does something douchy and not say anything.

Or maybe not...

Rorywan said:

Man HQ is a big fucking mess right now. It doesn't shock me that they would put misinformation on there. They were the one who said he was having a hip operation and before you know it, Prince is all over L.A. and gonna be on Leno and Cochella later this week. So much for the few months break. Credibility is dropping fast over at Housequake.

Seems they have deleted the thread from their front news page. Yup it's getting pretty embarassing over there. Now lets hope this set gets released!



[Edited 4/24/08 5:28am]

Rorywan said:

Woo hoo!!! Received mine today through the post... just need to find the 4 or 5 hours required to listen to it
And I have to say it's very nicely done in a purple flip open box with a glossy gold-tone booklet with artist info... A big thumbs up!!!

As long as none of the words are changed Prince or anyone else for that matter can not stop it. You do not need permission to release cover songs as long as you do not change any lyrics. You just have the pay the publishing which is 9.1¢ per song for each album sold.

harveya said:

And having listened to 3 discs now... bloody hell! There are some really FANTASTIC re-workings on it... was very dubious at 1st but thought "oh what the...?", and now I'm very very very very impressed!!

This is GOOD. I will order tickets to their Prince celebration in Oslo on satrday right away.....
Lots of excellent songs with a different..... Order the album.....
Late for the tribute concert? Your choice.....

Now I will try to order tickets.....

Amarone said:

Not stopped in Norway, anyway. Bought it today and even my daughter thought this is good and for me, I think it's escellent

Amarone said:

Excellent job, Christer!
I will show up at the gig tomorrow.....

Just thought I'd share my love for this tribute album. Fantastic job guys Darling Nikki by White Lord Jesus, Do Me Baby by Sister Sonny and The Holy River by Bellman are awesome. Bellman almost brought me to tears as that song touched me in a completely different way than it did before. Thank you all
[Edited 6/10/08 5:52am]

Anyone else get a faulty Disk 2? They're sending me a replacement, but I hope it's the correct one, as I have the disk 2 tracks, as they are all on disk 3!

It's a worthwhile release though.

Listened to the first 3 discs - pretty good so far. Highlights:

Holy River
ICNTTPOYM
Paisley Park
SOTT

Are there any Norwegians out there who can tell me how well known any of these artists are.

My other half (a big fan of all things Norwegian) says that besides SurfaRosa they are all really obscure ( I think he's just jelous that there isn't a similar tribute to Cliff Richard).

2cd into the set and i'm very happy, prefer the 2nd cd to the 1st but am enjoying playing guess the song!!!