By 'BEAT' I'm talking exclusively about audio results, which is what mainly counts.

People from the free labels have showed they are much more proficient in audio treatment than, say, the deaf 'a-lot-of-treble-is-never-enough-treble' engineer from Sabotage.

If we throw the people from Eye into the package, then we can better start crying. These people do terrible work and cheat the fans.

But it's ok: let's leave the pressed discs and the printed booklets for you and give me the finest audio results.

vc40 said:

Ain't that normal for a product you have to PAY for?

I was more or less comparing 'free' versus 'paid'.

So: yes.

The "some" audio processing part made me laugh a little bit, but that's exactly what they do: "some" processing, don't expect major efforts because their product needs to be profitable.....

I wrote 'some' as an understatement. Obviously some of us have more insights in the process in this specific part of the industry than others and/or have better ears and audio setups to actually hear differences. I do think that if you read carefully and then listen and compare you can verify claims I don't think too lightly about the processing by certain sources.

The matter of hearing the effects: differences and/or appreciating these is less scientific...

On the "30 years..." does anyone know why there are some repeat tracks from Volumes 1 and 3 (The P for example)?

KeithyT said:

On the "30 years..." does anyone know why there are some repeat tracks from Volumes 1 and 3 (The P for example)?

.

[Edited 6/13/10 9:30am]

GoldTimer said:

Pimpin' Volume 1 by Pimpsandwich is pretty damn good. IMHO it is a good one to hear if you liked "Box O' Chocolates".

Have you or anyone else heard Crystal Ball by Pimpsandwich? It's really good in my opinion as well. One thing I've noticed about Pimpsandwich's stuff, though. Seems in many songs the vocals are made more prominent, or brought to the front, if you will, and the instrumentation is suppressed in the background a bit. I really noticed this on Pimp's Databank on Pimpin' Vol.1 versus the same song on BOC. Not that I dislike the way it was done, just different.

This is all too depressing to read. All I have is Dream Factory and The Dawn. I am feeling like shit right now

Poiple said:

GoldTimer said:

Pimpin' Volume 1 by Pimpsandwich is pretty damn good. IMHO it is a good one to hear if you liked "Box O' Chocolates".

Have you or anyone else heard Crystal Ball by Pimpsandwich? It's really good in my opinion as well. One thing I've noticed about Pimpsandwich's stuff, though. Seems in many songs the vocals are made more prominent, or brought to the front, if you will, and the instrumentation is suppressed in the background a bit. I really noticed this on Pimp's Databank on Pimpin' Vol.1 versus the same song on BOC. Not that I dislike the way it was done, just different.

If I remember correctly, many tracks that are floating around originated from tapes that had Prince's vocals more prominent in the mix - these were works in progress recordings. There was some reason that P did this during the recording process before eventually bringing the vox back down. I'm pretty sure Prince used his voice as a guide to know where to punch in.

Someone else can probably explain it better.

He normally asks for a special mix to listen to in the car with the vocals on top of everything else.

MikeyB71 said:

KeithyT said:

On the "30 years..." does anyone know why there are some repeat tracks from Volumes 1 and 3 (The P for example)?

.

[Edited 6/13/10 9:30am]

KeithyT said:

MikeyB71 said:

.

[Edited 6/13/10 9:30am]

Thanks Mikey ( I take it I missed your response before editing)

Hehe, i was trying to give you a link to a thread i posted a while back about the 30 yrs of funk collection, but it would not let me for some reason, kept comming up with a link for some computer thing.

MikeyB71 said:

KeithyT said:

Thanks Mikey ( I take it I missed your response before editing)

Hehe, i was trying to give you a link to a thread i posted a while back about the 30 yrs of funk collection, but it would not let me for some reason, kept comming up with a link for some computer thing.

KeithyT said:

MikeyB71 said:

Hehe, i was trying to give you a link to a thread i posted a while back about the 30 yrs of funk collection, but it would not let me for some reason, kept comming up with a link for some computer thing.

Oh yeah, just found it again (I posted on that thread too ) so it's just to sort of fill up discs. There's me listening intently to the same tracks trying to work out the subtle differences

Looks to be the reason why they put duplicate tracks on, some find it annoying, but if you are getting it for free (which i hope most of us are) what is there to complain about?

I just carefully listened to the duplicate tracks and deleted the ones i did not want.

vitriol said:

He normally asks for a special mix to listen to in the car with the vocals on top of everything else.

Ahhhh... that must be what I read then. Thanks for the lowdown. The appearance of these tapes also jibes with what Chronic Freeze said recently about Prince misplacing his own personal copies (in the case of Freeze's tenure, it was CD-Rs).

But of course, he blames everyone else for letting his music get bootlegged. And even fired CF for wrongly thinking he was somehow leaking stuff out of Paisley.

squirrelgrease said:

vitriol said:

^Especially the versions by 4DaFunk (Atlanta 80, Columbia 81, Saginaw 82, Detroit 82 and Providence 83) are way better than Superhero's originals.

In fact, they are the ones Sabotage is snatching for "their" remastered versions.

[Edited 6/9/10 2:13am]

What does 4DaFunk call their City Lights reworks?

Can't speak on the 4DaFunk series, but I'm just now listening to the Sabotage Citylights Remastered version...and whereever it came from the sound quality is crystal clear!

Again, folks... better listen twice before you misinform the people on this forum.

ALL SHOWS originally released on Superhero's 1994/95 CITY LIGHTS 11CD box set

have been remastered meticulously by Sabotage FROM THOSE ORIGINAL CDs...

which makes sense, as Sabotage (a label not known to many by that name at the

time) actually helped Superhero release the 11CD set back in the day.

The new remasters were NOT made from any "tweaked" versions circulated by

fan/ CD-R "labels". If you should come to a different assumption, then that is your

problem; it simply doesn't change the FACTS at all, though.

What IS being used from fan-made source recordings are some of the additional

gigs, such as the opening set for the Stones in L.A. 1981 (on CL-R Remastered,

Vol. 1, Disc 4). But that was never part of the original CITY LIGHTS box to start

with.

Please try sticking to the truth & criticise a label for where it REALLY may have

failed... although I find it hard to imagine how you'd want to do that with such

excellent product as a box set of the best live material from what arguably was

Prince's best decade so far. To my mind, you simply won't find a live compilation

superior to this particular set when it comes to the 1980s. Or do you?!

And if I remember it correctly, then the "treble frequencies problem" has already

been addressed & discussed by the fans AND solved by the label... back in 2005.

(SAB didn't release any new titles between 2005 and 2007 and they made their

impressive "comeback" with THE INDIGO CHRONICLES 24CD box set in late 2007.)

I'm not aware of any major justified criticism brought up by anyone ever since.

Is the song 200 Balloons a bootleg or what?

OzlemUcucu said:

Is the song 200 Balloons a bootleg or what?

It was the B-side of Batdance.

I just don't get the point of having gig recordings bootlegged unless it's freakingly amazing or a new or different song performed by the man. Why would I wanna have them otherwise? I really don't get the point...what's the point?

OzlemUcucu said:

I just don't get the point of having gig recordings bootlegged unless it's freakingly amazing or a new or different song performed by the man. Why would I wanna have them otherwise? I really don't get the point...what's the point?

Some people, for example, will enjoy listening to a recording because it is their favourite song, so they want to hear it, regardless of whether it is a very similar recording to one they already have. Others like to hear different solos or arrangements. Others still might have specific memories associated with a concert they attended. Some collectors are completists and seek out every single recording regardless of the quality of recording. Just some examples ...

[Edited 7/4/10 0:50am]

langebleu said:

OzlemUcucu said:

I just don't get the point of having gig recordings bootlegged unless it's freakingly amazing or a new or different song performed by the man. Why would I wanna have them otherwise? I really don't get the point...what's the point?

Some people, for example, will enjoy listening to a recording because it is their favourite song, so they want to hear it, regardless of whether it is a very similar recording to one they already have. Others like to hear different solos or arrangements. Others still might have specific memories associated with a concert they attended. Some collectors are completists and seek out every single recording regardless of the quality of recording. Just some examples ...

[Edited 7/4/10 0:50am]

For me, I love "Swiss Castle Magic" boot because I love hearing Prince sing "Elixer" and "All This Love". I enjoy hearing Prince sing songs that he has written for other artist. Very nice....

OzlemUcucu said:

I just don't get the point of having gig recordings bootlegged unless it's freakingly amazing or a new or different song performed by the man. Why would I wanna have them otherwise? I really don't get the point...what's the point?

Well, that's a bug that if it stings you, you cannot help wanting to get any note the man recorded and is circulating.

I'm lacking less than 80 shows to have all the circulating Prince dates. From some tours, like SOTT, many of the boots sound muffled, distant and with no kind of brightness. Still they are BRILLIANT, it's... 1987.

And there starts the second part: when you try and try to stumble on better (or improved) versions till you end up with 3 or 4 sources for the same gig.

We could say that every concert from 1980 to 1995 (+ 2002) was amazing, so why don't get them all if you can get them for free and just with a little willingness to do some work? It's a fun hobby and you normally get to know some very cool people along the ride.

vitriol said:

OzlemUcucu said:

I just don't get the point of having gig recordings bootlegged unless it's freakingly amazing or a new or different song performed by the man. Why would I wanna have them otherwise? I really don't get the point...what's the point?

Well, that's a bug that if it stings you, you cannot help wanting to get any note the man recorded and is circulating.

I'm lacking less than 80 shows to have all the circulating Prince dates. From some tours, like SOTT, many of the boots sound muffled, distant and with no kind of brightness. Still they are BRILLIANT, it's... 1987.

And there starts the second part: when you try and try to stumble on better (or improved) versions till you end up with 3 or 4 sources for the same gig.

We could say that every concert from 1980 to 1995 (+ 2002) was amazing, so why don't get them all if you can get them for free and just with a little willingness to do some work? It's a fun hobby and you normally get to know some very cool people along the ride.

It is a bug, i agree, and it is fun, and most of the time it is very rewarding.

And so long as we can trade for free, all the better.

Listening to boots takes up more than half of my Prince listening time, i think it is so much more interesting than listening to the studio albums.

^You're very wright. If it wasn't for boots I might have forgotten about Prince in 2000 (thus missing a masterpiece like TRC!).

Prince owes SO MUCH to their existence.

vitriol said:

^You're very wright. If it wasn't for boots I might have forgotten about Prince in 2000 (thus missing a masterpiece like TRC!).

Prince owes SO MUCH to their existence.

Yes, even very mediocre albums can be given new life when you hear those tracks live, or in some cases, even alternate studio versions can be a breath of fresh air.

vitriol said:

^You're very wright. If it wasn't for boots I might have forgotten about Prince in 2000 (thus missing a masterpiece like TRC!).

Prince owes SO MUCH to their existence.

Definitely!! I wouldn't be half the fan that I am today if I only had to rely on his legit releases. I would've more than likely forgotten all about him by now. The fact that I have a lot of live stuff and outtakes to listen to makes things a LOT less boring and reminds me that this shell they're calling on stage now Prince used to be able to kill on stage and in the studio.

MikeyB71 said:

It is a bug, i agree, and it is fun, and most of the time it is very rewarding. And so long as we can trade for free, all the better.

Listening to boots takes up more than half of my Prince listening time, i think it is so much more interesting than listening to the studio albums.

I'm the same way. When I want to put new music on the iPod, the studio albums are the first to be deleted off, replaced with a boot. Strange, but I almost feel like I'm "cheating" when I listen to a studio album (it's too easy to get!). I think the time it takes looking for and downloading a boot makes me appreciate the music more.