I found this at the used cd store-1999 without DMSR on it.
It says on the back that it was cut to make it a single cd. (?)
Does anyone know more about this? How long was this available? And when did they release the correct version?
Also, in my opinion DMSR is one of the very best songs on the cd, so it seems odd that this is the one they cut.

Yeah, Cds had less space when they first came out. It was a few years before they could fit DSMR on there. Im not sure of the time frame, but I had 1999 without DSMR quite along time before I got the full.

Of course you could just get the vinyl and the full double album glory







[Edited 6/4/09 18:20pm]

dorianlord said:

CDs didn't hold as much data in the late 80's when they came out, compared to now. It's an official release, and kind of rare. Hang onto it.

mostbeautifulboy said:

AMEN BROTHA! I love my 1999 vinyl.

I have that non-DMSR CD, too.

ernestsewell said:

That's not true. A CD always held 74 minutes of data. Back when CDs came out, they were still competing with LPs, so record companies had to give you incentive to buy both (similar today to iTunes exclusives).

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...aying_time

Companies realized they could pack the data slightly more densely and get 80 minutes out of it, which today is the de-facto standard.
[Edited 6/4/09 21:36pm]

I called Warner Brothers directly when the "1999" cd came out officially onto the cd format and the answer that I got was because the cd's at that point could not hold 65 minutes of material. The record company did not want to press 2 cds for this release so they cut a track. This happened not only with "1999" but with lots of other bands too. They did tell me to hold on to it as it will be a rare item and it is. if you got it is worth a nice penny now as those copies are extinct.
[Edited 6/4/09 21:33pm]

tuztones said:

That's not true - a.) the CD spec was for 74 minutes, period. b.) You did NOT call Warner Brothers directly. c..) It is not rare.

WIKIPEDIA:


The 74-minute playing time of a CD, which was longer than the 20 minutes per side[21][22] typical of long-playing (LP) vinyl albums, was often used to the CD’s advantage during the early years when CDs and LPs vied for commercial sales. CDs would often be released with one or more bonus tracks, enticing consumers to buy the CD for the extra material. However, attempts to combine double LPs onto one CD occasionally resulted in an opposing situation in which the CD would actually offer fewer tracks than the LP equivalent. An example is the 1987 album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me by The Cure, which states in the CD liner notes: "The track Hey You!!! which appears on the double album and cassette has been omitted so as to facilitate a single compact disc." The 2006 re-release of this album saw the inclusion of the missing track.[23] Another example is the original late-1980s Warner Bros. Records reissue of Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album, which substituted the long album version of "Sara" with the shorter single version. Enough complaints were lodged to eventually convince Warner Bros. to remaster the album in the mid-1990s with the original contents intact.[24]

billymeade said:

CALLED OUT!

dorianlord said:

I remember reading an article way back in the day about how Warner asked Prince which track he'd like to cut, and he chose DMSR as the one to go. Boris or Langebleu could probably give the official answer, but my impression is that Prince didn't mind too much.

dorianlord said:

You must have not been born when this CD was released. Who doesnt know this?

Efan said:

DMSR was available on the Risky Business soundtrack CD while the original, shortened configuration of the 1999 CD was out. That's how I had to roll.

Brofie said:

A pretty childish statement.

I need to buy the newer version one of these days. I've always had the original CD without DMSR on it. I don't actually play any of my CD's anymore though, everything is on my computer. I'll get around to it sooner or later!

.
[Edited 12/19/12 17:17pm]

If I remember correctly 1999 was considered a double album by Warner Brothers simply beacuse of the length of the tracks. When they pressed cds they forund the whole album didn't fit so they dropped one track which turned out to be D.M.S.R.. While the general public didn't regard this as one of Prince's double albums it was considered one in that time period of 3 minute tracks.

You was robbed.