OK. Some of Prince’s best work is unavailable. Not officially, anyway. You can’t get The Family album, you can’t get the Madhouse albums, you can’t the Jill Jones album, you can’t get the Mavis Staples album... All the Paisley Park stuff.

If you try and share it on a music blog you’ll get squashed by Prince’s lawyers, I expect. It’s his to ‘protect’, but it’s curious, this. It’s a strange, fabulously wealthy man’s quest to make sure his best work doesn’t stay relevant. While everyone else is blogging obscure, deleted stuff by other artists left right and centre, rediscovering artists and music, keeping old stuff alive, Prince is doing his best to hide the depth of his own influence. And I think I know what the deal is. I worked out what’s pissing me off so much.

It’s not insecurity that keeps him from making these recordings available. It’s not the idea that they might not be good enough. It’s linked to the enormous failure of quality control that’s descended in the last decade.

He really, genuinely believes that his recent recordings are better and that he doesn’t want to be judged on this old stuff.

I disagree. you can get almost anything of Prince's if you know where to look

Dayclear said:

Oh yeah, you can get it. That's not the issue. The issue is why you have to go hunting in the first place.

Splanknasty said:

from someone who's been hunted, its a 2 way street. on the one hand, ur either on his wavelength or ur not. if u r, you'll find what ur looking for. if ur not, u keep on hunting and run the risk of becoming really annoying lol

sometimes its just easier to give people what they want, in that moment, for whatever its worth, but most of the rest of the time its far better for every1 if people reach a little deeper and get with the program.

if u dont already have it inside you, you wont find it.

In my opinion, and artist is carrying a cloud formation, that will rain onto a piece of paper...or into an instrument. Different mediums, for different avenues of art.
As we release these stormz...they become rocks that have been placed. Said and Done emotions.
The pleasure I had, burning diaries, and throwing away poetry inspired by a love gone wrong was just as artistic to me, as letting them reside as pebbles in my garden's harvest.
I believe that Prince understand's that each song identifies something He has gathered, rained, and placed. Stepping stones intended to move away from...as we walk toward another cloud, in another place. T

Something that I often think of that we can no longer get hold of is 70's porn and its abundance of pubic hair. Could it be that girls of the 70's were genuinely hairier or is it just down to pubic grooming? Either way I miss it. Sometimes.

Tame said:

Er… that’s nice.

It occurs to me that this isn’t a problem for any other great novelist, playwright, artist, composer or musician. Everyone else seems to be quite eager to guard their reputation and legacy by making sure their books are in print, their music or their plays performed or their art on display.

“No, prithee. Keep ‘Hamlet’ out of the playhouses! ‘Tis a stepping stone, a mere cloud formation, and I would prefer it forgotten! My new play ‘The Dogge’s Testickles’ is where I’m at these days, it’s much betterer.’

I’m suggesting that Prince’s enormous ego is to the detriment of his reputation.
[Edited 4/17/08 6:02am]

I think it has more to do with Prince not wanting to have to deal with Warners on re-pressings of obscure side projects. His Prince/Time album back catalog has just been re-released(old mastering), but I think that is the extent of the energy Purps wants to give to old projects under the WB umbrella.

Prince still obviously can't, or wont hash out his relationship with Warners.

It's sad.

squirrelgrease said:

Well, yes, this is the best explanation. But still, it doesn’t explain why he’ll prevent Jill Jones posting the Mia Bocca video on her own myspace page, or stomping on rapidshare links of the Madhouse albums...

Not that I care too much either way.
[Edited 4/17/08 6:47am]

I was day dreaming about some Prince reissues today.

Would love some re-mastered albums, b-sides, extended versions,etc.

But I doubt it would ever happen.

To work with Warner Bros, may mean extending the orignal contract. I thought Prince was getting closer to getting all his master recordings back.
( I thought someone posted it was a 35 year deal, so by 2013 he would start getting them back). So it may be a while or never to get a reissue.

I wonder if his becoming a JW has something to do with it too. He may want some of the "old Prince" to go away, forever.

It's really two separate issues.

The produced and related artist stuff is never going to be of that much interest to more than the hardcore. No-one besides fans would care about Madhouse or Ingrid Chavez albums. The record company can't see money it, because the general public wouldn't buy it.

Prince's own albums through the 80s are really the only thing the larger audience would care about, and so, it's the only thing the record company would really care about too - everything else is fluff and filler.

I still think it's too soon actually. Because the size of Prince's catalogue of released work (never mind unreleased), it will always be difficult for it to be all re-issued, remastered and re-released the way we might like it to be.

We might just have to be satisfied with remasters of the 80s Prince albums, a couple of the bigger related artist albums like The Glamorous Life, The Time and Vanity 6, and maybe a boxset or double CD of a selection of other produced tracks.

CDs are nice for convenience, but the original vinyl is nicer any way - And any way, it might all be a moot point eventually, what with digital distribution - Record companies might be more willing in the future to re-issue niche material because even though return on investment is smaller, investment is SO much smaller, with no pressing, distribution and retail - only bandwith.

RedKite said:

This is my feeling too, not so much that he thinks his current music is 'better' - it's just him NOW! and that's what he wants out there, and how he wants to be perceived.... "This is NOW"

(I also think, he wants his music to be accessible for young people, even children)