Hi everyone. I'm new here so please forgive me if this is a topic that's already come up. I've only recently gotten into the "unreleased" stuff and was delighted to come across "The Work" Volumes 1-5. I recently read somewhere that there's also volumes 6-9, but they're not as good (compiled by a different person, poor quality, etc.)? Do volumes 6-9 really exist and are they any good?

I am LOVING volumes 1-5. There's some forgettable stuff, but there's also some GEMS.

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There are other volumes.

Try to find 30 Years of Unreleased Funk. Those are some great sets.

The songs in those compilations appear in various other boots.

I like the Prince i-vault collection.


I'm weary of his boots though. There's just so many of them, and the vast majority of songs are low quality in sound and as songs. They're like sketches of ideas and not fully finished songs.

But there are a few gems in the mix that make me wish he'd release a Cyrstal Ball II, but without the disastrous distribution methods employed by the first release.

There are 9 Volumes of The Work series consisting of 39 CDs. The bootleg imprint Thunderball was responsible for the Silver-pressed Vol. 1-5, while Vol. 6-9 are CD-R issues. Volume 6-9 have some really good quality outtakes, and in some cases better source material.

Another quality set to look for would be the Work It series. This consists of 8 Volumes and 34 CDs.