So members got the instrumental Xpectation and some instrumental songs (plus empty room).. well, some of them did.

What do u prefer? the album Xpectation or the downloads?

honestly, I am more fond of the Soundchecks cause they sound more like Prince.. his style. So far

The soundchecks are very interesting sounding, they have a lot goin on.. I also think they are half-way makin those jams up as they go along, so it makes it even more interesting to listen too, kindof a magic there;-)

I really enjoy Tokyo and Osaka, the blend nicely and it sounds like he took those back to the studio with him, but added nice, nice touches..
I really dig the backwards sample in Tokyo and the rain in Both..

I really like Tokyo the best so far.

I have 2 agree with u...just a little, the Soundchecks are incredible. I'm stuck on Nagoya...I love the wierd guitar sounds...great joint.Don't count the Xpectation trax out, there are some great funky-ass-joints on this album, give i another listenin withan pen mind and open ears.My faves r every song with an X, esp Xpand & Xpetation.

Tokyo and Osaka are beautiful instrumentals.. these could have lasted another 10 minutes... just feelin that vibe it gives off

I think the Xpectation album is great. I've listened to it
in my car for the last week and it sounds very nice.

But yes, "Tokyo" and "Osaka" [back2back] sound absolutely
amazing. First of all, they do sound like Prince but in a
very different way than the Xpectation songs.

I wouldn't have known this was Prince if I hadn't dwnlded
the songs from his own website.

That whole 'open pavillion' [pagoda, if you will] sound in
them makes them very filmic and spacy. Whilst the sampled
monsoon gives them an earthy and mysterious tone. As do the
exotic birds.

But by far the best thing about them, I think, are those
weird instrument noises he put in both songs, most notably
in the beginning and especially in the end of both. A lot
of them do remind me of sounds I heard scattered through
Bitches Brew -something true Jazz snobs will bite off my
head for saying no doubt.

Argh. I'm ranting again. Well hey, I think these songs ARE
something to rant about.

"Nagoya" is nice and breezy funk. But the only thing that
threw me off balance there [and keeps buggin me] are those
'ibiza' party whistles on it. They make it sound a bit too
cheep for my taste. Without those it'd very likely sound
much much better. But that's just nitpicking [?] since the
rest of the song [like Copenhagen] is something I'd been
waiting for Prince to release for a long long time now.

Since 1988 in fact.

.
[This message was edited Thu Jan 9 23:34:42 PST 2003 by IstenSzek]

From what song did Prince steal the vocal part of the Tokyo download?

I have been trying to remember, but it is not forthcoming...

From what song did Prince steal the vocal part of the Tokyo download?

I have been trying to remember, but it is not forthcoming...

gooeythehamster said:

Thank you Gooey, I won't be able to do anything now for the
rest of the day but sit on a chair and try to figure out
what song it's from. Aaaargh.

Osaka & Tokyo should have been on X i reckon,in replacement for a couple of Xemplify,my least fave so far on X. . . .but yeah Osaka & Tokyo r 2 of my favourite pieces ever from Prince , , , ,just love that sexy sound.

both X & the D/L's have their own good things goin' on.

The instrumental pieces from Tokyo and Osaka remind me of some stuff on Massive Attack's 2nd album, 'Protection'. The slow beats, heavy bass and the smooth, dreamy piano...

Added bonuses in the Prince tracks are his vocal (Tokyo) and the beautiful way the guitar sets in (Osaka)!

I think Xpectation is better, but only cause it's an experiment in something new for Prince.

Some interesting trivia:

The "Copenhagen" track is really similar to a track called "The Senate" which Miles Davis played in his live shows during the late 80s. The track is officially credited to bassist Markus Miller. However I have a live Miles bootleg titled "Perfect Way" which credits the song to Prince. I always thought it was just a sham to get Prince fans to buy the album, but now hearing "Copenhagen", I'm not too sure - maybe he wrote it afterall!

OK - so how come I get Empty Room and don't get Tokyo or Osaka?

And don't tell me to read alt. - I don't have the time!

Cheers.

meejaboy said:

go to http://www.itaintover.org...hfdfrm.htm, you'll find the download-links there. However, you have to be an NPGMC-member.

Question: How long is the Copenhagen soundcheck-download supposed to be?

really love Osaka and Tokyo especially, they sort of remind me a little of the "Bladerunner" soundtrack . The version of Empty Room is a way better arrangement than either of the two circulating studio takes methinks.
[This message was edited Fri Jan 10 4:40:01 PST 2003 by andrewm7]

Dumb question here. How do I burn Empyty Room and the soundchecks? I use EasyCD Creator to burn CDs. Empty Room and the soundchecks are mpeg audio files instead of mp3 files and the software will not recognize them. Ideas?

abierman said:

thanks v. much indeed - much appreciated.

jsb23nc said:

Try changing the extension to MP3. I heard that works for a lot of people.

Jestyr,

Thanks for the suggestion but I've tried that and it didn't work.

Other ideas anyone?

You need to convert the file to WAV before your CD creator will recognise the file.

I got my MP3 converter (CD to WAV/MP3 Ripper 1.6) free from:


www.mthreedev.com

where its supposed to be a free trial but if you keep the download file on your desktop (or other secret place) you can reinstall when the free trial ends!!!

Happy listening

soundchecks, definitely.

bkw said:

Yeah I like this one too and Empty Room as well

I'm greedy. I want/like both.

I'm really digging Xpectation, and even the tracks I considered weaker are sounding great to me now. I adore Osaka and Tokyo.

I don't think Tokyo is a soundcheck recording? It sounds more like a studio track to me, and besides, it's the only one title by 'Prince' rather than Prince & NPG. Can anybody confirm this?

When I listen to Osaka I can't help hear Metallica's 'Wherever I may roam' in my head!

Speaking of MP3s, can anybody give me tips on converting MP3s to music CD wav files to make an audio CD? What software do you recommend?