OldFriends4Sale said:

Hmm thinking from that stand point I guess it could work. Lovesexy was still a good album just the worst singles choices. Actually SOTT had bad single choices
why housequake was released as a b side with as much radio play as it was getting is beyond my scope.

DecaturStone said:

There are no singles off Lovesexy that could have hit in the U.S. in 1988.

ufoclub said:

"Alphabet St." would like a word with you.

Its too bad Crystal Ball was not released but Prince has no one to blame but himself. After Purple Rain he had an enormous amout of clout with Warner Brothers. And what does he do with it? He releases a movie so bad that the words "Cherry Moon" become a punchline. He turned himself into a joke. It wasn't just a bad movie - it was comically horrendous. And this was coming on the heels of the letdown that was ATWIAD. Prince blew ALL of that record company clout and as such we didn't get Crystal Ball.

LinnLM1 said:

Yeah, but usually, don't we celebrate the leftfield choices that some artists do? Bowie's "Low", Radiohead's "Kid A", Talk Talk's "The Colour of Spring", Dylan's "Bringing It All Back Home", Beatles "Sgt Pepper" ect. ect. ? (Yeah, [I know, somebody will say: "___ shouldn't be there on that list")

So isn't it also a question of "luck", or lack thereof, when it comes to how well Prince's records fared? Granted, he might have had more "luck" with Around the World.. and Parade and the rest of his post-Purple output if his audience had time to get excited about his next move, to "simmer" a bit, before something new hit them. If they were still high on his latest record, how could they digest his next? To paraphrase: "Baby your much to fast /.../ you got to slow down".

BorisFishpaw said:

That is just awesome. Not one dud track. I always thought that 'IT'S GONNA BE A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT' was the only flaw on SOTT. What if Prince had put Rebirth of the Flesh, Rockhard in a funky place or Crystal Ball in its place....

Dazza said:

I actually like It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night. However, the live versions
from the SOTT tour are SO much better than version used on the album. Out of
all the tracks on the album, the two that would've really benefitted from a
studio re-recording based on their subsequent live incarnations are It's Gonna
Be A Beautiful Night and I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man. Maybe Play
In The Sunshine too. The only other track which could've done with a slight
reworking IMO was If I Was Your Girlfriend, as I prefer the soaring vocals and
more prominant hammond organ sound on the live versions to the more muted and
claustrophobic Camille original.

billymeade said:

It didn't really hit, I was paying close attention to the videos and songs that people around me liked at the time in 1988 and would listen to on their own. It didn't hit like "Push It" or "Pump Up the Volume" or whatever INX song was hitting...

billymeade said:

Agreed! It was a top 10 hit in both US and UK, if it wasn't for that single that album would have been a no hit wonder. Although, it is one of my personal favorites.

Dazza said:

I find it hard to understand why Prince Fans give WB Any Credit ... ask yourself the question what has WB done with his CD's since he left ....what have they done but produce sub standard "Best of" CD's ...

Remasters etc... anyone seen anything?

WB gave Prince "contract" money and they made it all back and then some ....

LondonStyle said:

They can't do anything without Prince's say-so.

The 2001 Best Of was part of the contract (along with 1999 release of 'The Vault OF4S), and the Ultimate set from 2006 had Prince's involvement.

NouveauDance said:

Really .... the Ultimate had his involvement..... WTF ?

LondonStyle said:

Prince chose not to release the original tracklist,

the Purple Medley, Erotic City and Sexy MF Remix were deleted from the released version....


Unreleased version:

Disc one

"Purple Medley"
"I Wanna Be Your Lover"
"Uptown"
"Controversy"
"1999"
"Little Red Corvette" (Dance Mix)
"Let's Go Crazy" (Special Dance Mix)
"Erotic City" (12" Version)
"Purple Rain"
"When Doves Cry"
"I Would Die 4 U"
"Pop Life" (12" Fresh Dance Mix)
"She's Always in My Hair" (12" Version)
"Raspberry Beret" (12" Version)


Disc two

"Kiss" (Extended Version)
"Sign 'O' the Times"
"U Got the Look" (Long Look)
"I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
"Hot Thing" (Extended Remix)
"Alphabet St."
"Thieves in the Temple" (Remix)
"Diamonds and Pearls"
"Gett Off"
"Money Don't Matter 2 Night"
"Cream" (N.P.G. Mix)
"7" (Acoustic Version)
"Sexy Mutha"
"Nothing Compares 2 U"
"My Name Is Prince"



Instead this set was chosen:

Released version:


Disc one

"I Wanna Be Your Lover" (single edit) – 2:57
"Uptown" (single edit) – 4:09
"Controversy" – 7:15
"1999" (single edit) – 3:37
"Delirious" (single edit) – 2:38
"When Doves Cry" (single edit) – 3:47
"I Would Die 4 U" (single version) – 2:56
"Purple Rain" – 8:40
"Sign o' the Times" (single edit) – 3:42
"I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (single edit) – 3:39
"Alphabet St." – 5:38
"Diamonds and Pearls" (single edit) – 4:19
"Gett Off" – 4:31
"Money Don't Matter 2 Night" – 4:47
"7" – 5:08
"Nothing Compares 2 U" (Live) – 4:57
"My Name Is Prince" (single edit) – 4:03


Disc two

"Let's Go Crazy" (Special Dance Mix) – 7:36
"Little Red Corvette" (Dance Remix) – 8:22
"Let's Work" (Dance Remix) – 8:02
"Pop Life" (Fresh Dance Mix) – 6:18
"She's Always In My Hair" (12" Version) – 6:31
"Raspberry Beret" (12" Version) – 6:34
"Kiss" (Extended Version) – 7:16
"U Got the Look" (Long Look) – 6:40
"Hot Thing" (Extended Remix) – 8:30
"Thieves in the Temple" (Remix) – 8:08
"Cream" (N.P.G. Mix) – 4:50

credits: from wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/w...disc_promo
[Edited 1/21/10 8:47am]
[Edited 1/21/10 8:51am]

LondonStyle said:

That's why it has improved sound and contains no cursing.

squirrelgrease said:

Is there a boot of the unreleased version?

ufoclub said:

I don't think it ever made it past the planning stage. That is, there are probably no sonically tweaked versions of the previously released songs mentioned in the first Ultimate configuration.

OldFriends4Sale said:

I love this picture. Does anyone know where it was taken? I always thought he was sitting in front of a window, but here it looks more like a big room divider with a light behind it? Or am I blind?

Efan said:

I have always loved this picture too-Prince looks so comfortable and the glasses make him look even better. Great picture!

Cravens said:

All those left-field albums are great so I do celebrate them. They're not at all commercial but they are great. Under The Cherry Moon was horrible. ATWIAD was a major letdown - a few great tracks and the rest not so good. Even Parade had too many wtf songs on it. SoTT (and Crystal Ball) was not (and would not have been) a commercial release - but the artistry is certainly there.