What can I say, I've become sort of a collector....


whaddya think (besides those of you who find no redeemable value in his post revolution years)? any of you seen/own it?


[prob gonna buy it anyway, just to have/watch it and say ive seen it..still what are your thoughts]

and can someone tell me why the lowest prince for a SOTT dvd is $30?

I find much redeemable value in his post revolution years but, alas, not in '3 Chains O Gold'. I'd call it more or less the definition of a vanity project - very self indulgent even by P's standards - and though I've held on to my copy I never watch it.

That said there are a couple of funny moments (the Sexy MF video, Prince at the zoo wearing a nice jumper etc) but nothing you can't find knocking about on the web.

Still buy it though

djfine said:

more self indulgent than undertaker? or that vh1 gold experience special?

It's OK, it's just a bunch of promo videos, but some aren't available elsewhere (legally obv.) - Good promos from a good album.

The SOTT DVD is considered an import, if you live in the US, so it's going to be a bit more anyway.

As far as 3COG, it's just a long form music video, based around the first dozen or so songs on the album. There's a loose story line about Mayte's father being killed, and she runs to Minneapolis to save the family jewels - the 3 chains of gold, which just so happen to have Prince's symbol on them. She sends him a video of her when she was a child on the TV variety/talent show That's Incredible!, and he becomes infatuated with her. He also starts to drift away from his girlfriend Troy Beyer, and she lets him go. He has dreams of Mayte and damn near hallucinates about her. In the end, he changes his name to the symbols found on the chains.

It's generally a bunch of music videos back to back. The story probably sounds a lot more thrilling than it really is, be warned. There's some T&A in it too, as well as some fleeting bush shots. But, it's good for the sake of some music videos.
[Edited 6/5/09 13:03pm]

annnnd....its ordered.

ernestsewell said:

that sounds like something i was reading about in DMSR...didnt he waste a reel doing close ups of his crotch for "the second coming"?

i really want SOTT, i used to have it taped from when it came on TV and i love it, but.... i guess 30 is the lowest i can expect huh

SirPsycho said:

Well you didn't read about that in DMSR because it covers until 1987 or so, and 3 Chains was out in 1992/3.

But to clarify, it's FEMALE bush that makes the shot. Mayte's female attendants get out of the pool and are butt naked. Titties can be seen there, and in the "I Wanna Melt With U" video. Thank GOD Prince didn't let his little willie out.

ernestsewell said:

(:disblief: no..i know 3COG wasnt in DMSR)..anyway...should be interesting

SirPsycho said:

You gotta remember conversion from Canadian to American $$$ too. But yes, it'll be a tad more. I hear the CN DVD is well worth it, whereas the Brazilian DVD is trash.

I remember it coming out on TV in wide screen on the HD channels (about the same time PR and UTCM was out on DVD in widescreen). I thought I had DVR'd that and put it on DVD. I might have to dig to see if I have it or not. I remember the errors in "ICNTTPOYM" being corrected (like Miko clapping on the 1 and 3 instead of 2 and 4, which always bugged the fuckery outta me), and a few other hiccups here and there.

ernestsewell said:

do you know if there are special features on the canadian version (i'd be surprised)

SirPsycho said:

Definitely. Check this from Wikipedia:

The story begins with the assassination of Egyptian Princess Mayte's father by seven unknown assailants. Mayte believes that the assassins were after the sacred "3 Chains of Gold". She sets out to meet with Prince, as she believes he is the only one that can protect the chains from the seven assassins.

Yes Yes Oh Yes!

SirPsycho said:

I don't have it, so I'm not sure. However, I've not heard of any from people on here. I do hear the raves about how well it's put together, the sound, the picture, etc.

I don't even know who put this DVD together. Maybe someone can answer: Was it Cineplex Odeon films? MCA? Is it basically a bootleg, just very well done?

I'm really surprised Prince never put this back out, but then again, we'd have some big editing in certain songs if he did. I'll stick w/ the Canadian take if those are my choices.

ernestsewell said:

dammit e, you've convinced me...good thing this is payday

it's a very nice collection of promo videos, but interrupted with conversations/ talk with the NPG band,

afai-remember, My Name Is Prince is a great live take, but incomplete, unfortunately.

Sexy MF and 7 are incomplete as well, IIRC.

but some of the others are very nice,

my faves being Love 2 The 9's and Damn U.

It has many good videos on it. IMO, the best 1's R:

Sexy MotherFucker


Love 2 the 9's

Wanna Melt With U

and

7.

the whole "concept/story" behind that album and video are hilarious.

it's like graffity bridge and under the cherrymoon cheesefactor x 3.

the goofy silly stuff is a laugh tho. it sure beats the hell out of
the grumpy old man attitude he's been sporting a lot since that day.

SirPsycho said:

This one on Ebay has a BUy It Now price of $19.49

http://cgi.ebay.com/PRINC...tsupported

It's hilarious how he references the movie Barbarella throughout the Symbol Album and this video release. References to the tongue box are in the seques between songs as well as appearing in D&P's "Get Off". Hell, even D&P's live for love references sound bites from the film, Barbarella.
I literally busted out laughing during the Bararella cinema scene.

The irony (is it irony?) of the matter is that the video release is actually not too different from Barbarella. It's an odd plot, completely implausible, VERY loosely presented, serving only as a weak glue to combine all the videos he shot for this project. Some of the individual videos themselves are better than the overall project--in other words, this is not a convincing display of synergy.

I liked "Melt With U" because of how tacky and silly it is, but also because it makes Madonna's "Justify My Love" video look like a squeaky clean Menudo video. "Damn U" has the same vibe, though not as beautifully rendered, as Prince's live performance of "Somewhere Here on Earth", and the energy of "Continental" is really cool. All the videos are kind of fun, and some of them not half bad. But the overall story line that attempts to pull them together feels silly and forced. Dick Cheney had an easier time trying to tie Saddam Hussein to Al Queda.


What was with his Barbarella obsession? I mean, I've seen the movie, and Jane Fonda is fine as all hell in it, but it's really kind of stupid.

Imago said:

It's just like anything else Prince had/has an obsession with at any given time. Same goes for the pyramids, etc during that time. It could as simple as removing the bass from the music, being enamored w/ a drum machine, or ditching all that to play with a real band. Who can tell what the F he's thinking half the time?

ernestsewell said:

i think probably a few of the concepts he used back then were actually born
from material we have not heard yet. like songtitles being referenced in an
unreleased track or whatever.

he used to be throwing up so many balls in those days and in the end only a
selection of 10-13 tracks would be released. but i guess if he liked some
kind of concept he would stick with it.

the diamonds and pearls demos sound horrible to me, but they also sound like
they could be a score to barbarella, lol.

the end result of the album was much more polished, rounded and melodic but
he stuck with the concept, i'm sure. probably because it seemed hip enough
or different enough at the time.

when everyone was going forward for inspiration and looks prince, naturally,
had to be the one who would dip his fingers into the hollywood legacies of
the godfather and further back barbarella.

the whole thing became totally unhinged (well from my perspective anyway) at
the time of the album which wants to be an oriental tale of 1001 nights
mashed with a bouquet novel but it's also still rooted in the gangster glam.

it just ended up being far too much. the video proves that imo. it's like
the video depicts the ideas and visions of 17 different artists for 17 new
and individual projects.

and then there's tony m.

IstenSzek said:

I dislike how T slowed a lot of those early versions down from D&P, to distort and ruin them. That original version of "Live 4 Love" is SO superior to the album version