This isn't a thread for bellyaching. But, there seems to be some consternation about folks who feel like Prince has broken promises to his fan base. Whether it's because he didn't really retire or didn't really stop touring or, honestly, about stuff folks shelled out money for but never received, list it here.

Mine is simple:

ROADHOUSE GARDEN.

Here's my side of things..

We can't hold prince accountable for mistakes, but what we can do is take each news piece from now on with a grain of salt. It's becoming more clear with every release prince is capable of making quality music, and quality decisions. However, the fact that those two don't come hand in hand, is part of being a prince fan I guess. I wasn't too happy about receiving a live set with the ONA disk back in 2002, when I was led to believe that we were getting something else (He even had it in prince what we were getting in the tour book that year).

All in all, He is only a part of my musical experience. I assume if he was the only thing i listened to I would be pretty upset about his ways, but that doesn't seem to be the case with me. I haven't enjoyed too terribly much recently from his latest catalog, but that doesn't mean i can't find something in his music. I am a fan so I enjoy the journey. I will point out when I don't think his musical path is right, but I will also give him the props when he is doing it right.
[Edited 3/14/09 23:34pm]

Paying for things never delivered would be my only issue. Everyone and their sister knows Prince a fickle little nutter, so no one should be surprised by now when he says one thing and does the opposite. But having people pay for things they never get? (internet releases, "lifetime" memberships and the like...)

ThreadBare said:

he promised you ROUDHOUSE GARDEN?

meow85 said:

the only thing I never received was when I sent in the postcard (prince wearing a yellow suit from the parade era playing a black cloud guitar) that came in my Sign O the Times LP to get posters and things they were never delivered. I read here on the org that it happened to many other fans back then in 1987.

PEJ said:

I know right? When did he promise us that? I know it was talked about but when was there a date for it to come out?

PEJ said:

Ouch.

I got suckered into the NPGMC membership, what with the promise of access to tickets and all. When he finally did get his happy ass on tour, there wasn't show one that wouldn't have taken a bloody plane trip for me to get to. I paid money for nothing. Never again.

And yet your still looking forward to him, right? Now what does that say about YOU?
[Edited 3/15/09 5:45am]

Dayclear said:

it says they are fans....

PEJ said:

In as much as an artist announcing a project is "promising" a project. From wiki:



And, Pej, I'm not saying I look upon a promise to do something from Prince the same way I might have treated one from my dad when I was a kid. But, I certainly think the folks who look upon the implied promises of this latest digital offering from him with a jaundiced eye have very valid reasons for doing so.

as far as i'm concerned, he announced roadhouse garden just like any other album.. so I do consider that a broken promise.

the very fact that he announced it without consent of the people who's input was as equally important as his reflects his business sense..

I even remember him on MTV talking about that album back in 99

The 7-CD sampling series...
Crystal Ball II...
Emancipation with 80 songs for $50...
Emancipation with 18 singles...
The Tora Tora experience...
The Chocolate Invasion box set...
The Best of O+>...
The Last December...

That's just in the last decade or so!

It was easier when he kept his mouth shut and everything was a surprise, kinda like he's doing now!

billymeade said:

I thought that was available at some point?


it must have been, cause most of it was circulating on p2p a few years back.

Man, the only broken promise I really care about is how he announces he'll play a concert at a certain time, like 8:00 p.m., and then he doesn't show up until two hours later. And my dumb ass knows he won't ever show up on time, but I still get there early just in case and wait and wait.

I'm fine with all the other stuff.

Prince has let his fans down over and over. His new site is a joke and a rip off. We will see just how great of a deal he offers up over the next year. Aint no way in hell I'm shelling out the money, but I will definitely be checking in to see what kind of heartache he dishes out this time around.

meow85 said:

well I hate to tell you this but when I joined the npgmc I had nothing but good experiences with them. I joined , I got excellent seating(like the first 5 rows for shows in LA, Vegas, and Arizona, I got all of my posters/cd's/merchandise that I ordered, and I got continuous email updates as to when Prince would be in town like performing on The Tonight Show and other events. I can't complain about the npgmc. Not only did I love their service that I received personally but I loved being a member and posting on their forums. Oh and btw I feel for the people that didn't get their Crystal Ball cd set cuz I got mine.

PEJ said:

The point is, that service we all paid for only amounted to anything if you lived in or near a big city, or happened to be on the tour route. Those of us who weren't lucky enough to live close to a TV studio or near where a show might be playing ended up giving him $25 and getting absolutely nothing in return.

ThreadBare said:

I hate to say it but Roadhouse, Crystal Ball II, or even Purple Rain Anniv edition (feat. alternate versions and outtakes) will never see the light of day - these are his trump card - he knows they are what people have wanted for many years - teases us with the possibility they may get released, generates hype, but then decides to shelve, adding to his now 'questionable' reputation of a vault full of classics dating back to 1980. These were albums announced that should've come to fruition.
[Edited 3/15/09 17:13pm]

jstar69 said:

I dont care what any1 says I think his vault with all these "mind-blowing" songs is a load of shit im sorry but I do, Crystal Ball was a very good album...but lets be honest there was nothing truly "amazing" on there apart from 1 or 2 songs

ThreadBare said:

whats roadhouse garden? i have a sound called roadhouse garden on my pc, it is quite good. was there meant to be an album?

optimus said:

there are songs like witness 4 the prosecution and rebirth of the flesh (2 of prince's best songs). there must be more like that. i have amazing versions of something in the water (that does not compute) and strange relationship long mix that are so much better than the released versions.

there are many better versions of songs in the vault than the album cuts at least.
[Edited 3/15/09 17:49pm]

jethrouk said:

yes there may be but out of suppossedly "thousands of songs" in that vault i bet theres only 20 of them that are truly that "great" if not good its just people seem 2 make out there all wonderfully mind blowing..well if they were that amazing why didnt he release them? surley it would have boosted his profile...dosent make a bit of sense 2 me

7 CD Sampler
Chocolate Box
Best of Symbol
Roadhouse Garden
Crystal Ball 2
The last december
That Music would be free
Lifetime membership to his website
Giving to his "charities"
That Crystal Ball was shipping
That he would return to make up for the cancelled London SOTT gigs
That he would return to make up for the cancelled Blenheim Palace gig
The 1999 "world tour"
The 2000 "world tour"
The 2001 "world tour"
That he was retiring and going looking for the ladder
That he was retiring from music making and looking at new mediums
Playing the hits for the last time!

SquirrelMeat said:

now let's talk about your avatar... have you ever changed it before and is it different than the sott album cover cuz it looks like p is missing



so sorry off topic

okay back on topic I can say that the 7CD sampler was to be released. why it didn't get released is beyond me but it was never promised

ThreadBare said:[quote]

PEJ said:

perhaps, but expecting past projects from an artist that hardly ever takes a step backwards but always has moved forward should make these people just accept him for how he is or move on. regardless I like this thread, Thread.

never received my crystal ball set ordered from 1-800-new-funk so to this day i don't have 'kamasutra' on cd. they did finally send me the 'the truth' cd single and 'kamasutra' on cassette.

PEJ said:

I understand the concept of moving forward but he appears to be stuck trying to recreate past glories, actually he's directly referenced new material that 'supposedly' revisits his glory days. To be honest his innovativity (is that a word) is not anywhere near as evident today. So instead of trying to reinvent today, maybe just release something from back in the day - just a thought

jstar69 said:

it would be nice to get the old stuff released but I just don't see that with Prince. maybe like Lennon or Elvis when he passes will this happen but so far not in his lifetime.

PEJ said:

oops I thought you were squirrelgrease not meat

my bad