I remember when in 2001 Sting's 1996 Mercury Falling was rerelased and... remastered, I was really like WTF???! Had mastering technologies so evolved between 1996 and 2001 that Mercury Falling was already in dire need of a remaster???

.

Hence my question: whether we're talking proper remastering or loudness wars BS, which Prince albums are in need of a remaster, i.e. somthing that make sense in regard to the evolution of technologies since the time of recording and in regard to its "loudness" level (since obviously a "quiet" record is considered unattractive by artists and labels)?

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Is there a need for a remaster of Diamonds And Pearls? Is the a need for a remaster of The Gold Experience? Is there a need for a remaster of Musicology? Will there be in 10 years a need for a remaster of Art Official Age or have we reached the pinnacle of mastering technologies (and if so, when?)?

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I know there are several musicians and engineers among you, you opinion in particular interests me, but anyone with knowledge on the matter is welcome to share their opinion

.

Thx.

Short, imo.:

1978 (For You) to 1988 (Lovesexy) - including the Black Album:

I would love to buy this Cd-boxset.... remastered.

Never mind the 90s albums.. (although, it would be nice if they would have bonus material).

thedance said:

Short, imo.:

1978 (For You) to 1988 (Lovesexy) - including the Black Album:

I would love to buy this Cd-boxset.... remastered.

Never mind the 90s albums.. (although, it would be nice if they would have bonus material).

Thats my dream too

Sign'o'The times is in dire need of a remaster.

For You, Prince, Dirty Mind and Controversy would probably also benefit in terms of sound.

Definately the ones that thedance has just mentioned. These albums were all mastered for vinyl and not for CD. The album most in need would be SOTT as its volume is incredibly low compared to other CD's. Not that I would want them as loud as possible, au contraire! I'd like a good balance between more overall volume while maintaining a good portion of the original dynamics of the recording. Also most of the eighties albums suffer from a 'lack' of lowend, it would be nice if that would be addressed too.

Controversy,1999 and SOTT are the CDs that need remastering the most.

Dirty Mind,also.

Noodled24 said:

Sign'o'The times is in dire need of a remaster.

For You, Prince, Dirty Mind and Controversy would probably also benefit in terms of sound.

No, it isn't. The vinyl still sounds great.

Genesia said:

Noodled24 said:

Sign'o'The times is in dire need of a remaster.

For You, Prince, Dirty Mind and Controversy would probably also benefit in terms of sound.

No, it isn't. The vinyl still sounds great.

Agreed. My vinyl rip sounds bloody fantastic. The others Noodled mentioned i got from HDTracks. All this talk of remasters bores me. There are ways and means to have these sounding the best they can already.

AWTWIAD and LoveSexy for sure. I wouldnt want DM, 1999, PR or Parade to be messed with. A SOTT remaster wouldnt bother me but I'm not convinced its necessary.

ALL

Ha!!!! I can't believe somebody said that SOTT doesn't need the remaster treatment. It's the second worst sounding cd of them all...only the Black Album sounds worse, as that was mastered on volume ZERO or maybe volume 1.

From 1978-1992...all albums need some form of re-mastering. Yes, they need to be louder, but some minor glitches and things could be cleaned up. If they simply make them all as loud as Plectrum Electrum, no thanks. That would be worse than what we already have.

DB brought up Sting's Mercury Falling...and I laughed when that was remastered. I have the original cd, and it sounds rich, full, and properly mastered. If the new one is just a little louder, it makes no difference to me, I have a volume button. It maybe was just to attempt to get some people to buy it again...that's all it could be.

The Black Album and SOTT are the only ones that really sound bad, but the others could use a facelift. I just hope they don't sound too loud to the point of distortion.

as long as it takes for him to bother with even one ...looks like our generation wont hear these

I think 1980-88 at the very least.

Imagine a 4 or 5disc Dirty Mind with outtakes and the Paris show.

a 1999 beefed up with all the outtakes and b-sides in stellar sound.fulll triple threat shows.

a 7 disc Purple Rain boxset.

a 7 disc Sign with Crystall ball,a full show and the album re4mstered.

Sign O the times in particular is almost not representative on CD.

it's criminal that a generation of teens and twenty somethings never get the experience.

the muddy ,low often horrid sound stands in the way.

and there is so much going on live wise tha a few double live CDs would be fitting.

SignOthetimes1987 said:

I think 1980-88 at the very least.

Imagine a 4 or 5disc Dirty Mind with outtakes and the Paris show.

a 1999 beefed up with all the outtakes and b-sides in stellar sound.fulll triple threat shows.

a 7 disc Purple Rain boxset.

a 7 disc Sign with Crystall ball,a full show and the album re4mstered.

Sign O the times in particular is almost not representative on CD.

it's criminal that a generation of teens and twenty somethings never get the experience.

the muddy ,low often horrid sound stands in the way.

and there is so much going on live wise tha a few double live CDs would be fitting.

Plus it should all be delivered to our doorstep by a lady on a unicorn.

yes!

Parade & Sign 'O' The Times

SOTT the most.

But they should just release them all - perfectly remastered.

Of course there will be 'audiophiles' who will never like the new sound quality of it, or naysayers always hating for the sake of it. But Prince's 80's legacy deserves pristine and deluxe remasters, including loads of unreleased and live material.

It won't sell without it.

Genesia said:

Noodled24 said:

Sign'o'The times is in dire need of a remaster.

For You, Prince, Dirty Mind and Controversy would probably also benefit in terms of sound.

No, it isn't. The vinyl still sounds great.

Great. The CD still sounds shockingly bad though.

Noodled24 said:

Genesia said:

No, it isn't. The vinyl still sounds great.

Great. The CD still sounds shockingly bad though.

The needle keeps jumping on the record player I use in my car, and my ipod is much less portable when I also have to jam a record player and 12" vinyl in my pocket.

Dire need.

Aerogram said:

SignOthetimes1987 said:

I think 1980-88 at the very least.

Imagine a 4 or 5disc Dirty Mind with outtakes and the Paris show.

a 1999 beefed up with all the outtakes and b-sides in stellar sound.fulll triple threat shows.

a 7 disc Purple Rain boxset.

a 7 disc Sign with Crystall ball,a full show and the album re4mstered.

Sign O the times in particular is almost not representative on CD.

it's criminal that a generation of teens and twenty somethings never get the experience.

the muddy ,low often horrid sound stands in the way.

and there is so much going on live wise tha a few double live CDs would be fitting.

Plus it should all be delivered to our doorstep by a lady on a unicorn.

Excellent !

Lovesexy on vynil gives "Glam Slam" a Wall of Sound higher than the Niagara Falls.

The Sign Of The Times 12'' should be mandatory to calibrate any high-end full-analogic audio system.

Batman on cassette is an aural feast and elevates even Lemon Crush.
The list is endless.


I cannot praise enough Bernie Grundman or who the hell it was for understanding the visions of Prince. "1999", which is the album that probably makes thousand of hands reaching for the EQ, is perfectly somber. Don't U touch nothin'. It's dark, urban, electric blue and purple, and dirty. The sound, the sleeves and the pictures match perfectly. On the other end, same period, you have the sound of Thriller, which is translucent and coloured as 1999 is organic and garagey.

Mastering is all about enhancing, transfiguring, perfecting the original intent of a musical recording.


So, in the case of Prince's records, which master tapes needs to get out of The Vault and be properly converted to digital by a classical music grade mastering engineer?

All of them.

The ones before the Loudness Wars beginning (circa Come / TGE), because they have been handled to some deaf intern artistic supervisor, God only knows how an artist that has dynamics and kick punches as his main vocabulary gets such a treatment.
All the colors are missing.
AND ON EVERY GODDAM CD, the motherfuckin' butcher!
It's so unbelievably bad that you may think it's on some sick hidden purpose.


The ones after the Loudness Wars beginning, because they been handled to the intern's evil cousin, equally deaf but also blind as a bat, who is persuaded that a compressor knob's zero is in fact nine.

Aerogram said:

SignOthetimes1987 said:

I think 1980-88 at the very least.

Imagine a 4 or 5disc Dirty Mind with outtakes and the Paris show.

a 1999 beefed up with all the outtakes and b-sides in stellar sound.fulll triple threat shows.

a 7 disc Purple Rain boxset.

a 7 disc Sign with Crystall ball,a full show and the album re4mstered.

Sign O the times in particular is almost not representative on CD.

it's criminal that a generation of teens and twenty somethings never get the experience.

the muddy ,low often horrid sound stands in the way.

and there is so much going on live wise tha a few double live CDs would be fitting.

Plus it should all be delivered to our doorstep by a lady on a unicorn.

.

Yes, obviously, such remasters are nonsensical. No band ever attempted such a thing.

.

Oh wait: http://www.superdeluxeedi...-reissues/

.

And this http://www.recordstore.co...FKV02CP000

.

And this http://achtungbaby.u2.com/

.

And this http://www.superdeluxeedi...k-listing/

.

And this http://finance.yahoo.com/...00552.html

.

Yes, how dare Prince fans be so "demanding" when no artist has ever done such a thing.

.

[Edited 10/26/14 1:05am]

bonatoc said:

So, in the case of Prince's records, which master tapes needs to get out of The Vault and be properly converted to digital by a classical music grade mastering engineer?

All of them.

The ones before the Loudness Wars beginning (circa Come / TGE), because they have been handled to some deaf intern artistic supervisor, God only knows how an artist that has dynamics and kick punches as his main vocabulary gets such a treatment.
All the colors are missing.
AND ON EVERY GODDAM CD, the motherfuckin' butcher!
It's so unbelievably bad that you may think it's on some sick hidden purpose.


The ones after the Loudness Wars beginning, because they been handled to the intern's evil cousin, equally deaf but also blind as a bat, who is persuaded that a compressor knob's zero is in fact nine.

.

Exactly.

Aerogram said:

SignOthetimes1987 said:

I think 1980-88 at the very least.

Imagine a 4 or 5disc Dirty Mind with outtakes and the Paris show.

a 1999 beefed up with all the outtakes and b-sides in stellar sound.fulll triple threat shows.

a 7 disc Purple Rain boxset.

a 7 disc Sign with Crystall ball,a full show and the album re4mstered.

Sign O the times in particular is almost not representative on CD.

it's criminal that a generation of teens and twenty somethings never get the experience.

the muddy ,low often horrid sound stands in the way.

and there is so much going on live wise tha a few double live CDs would be fitting.

Plus it should all be delivered to our doorstep by a lady on a unicorn.

Ha ha Where does this image comes from, a movie???

I think all of them from 1979-1988 could use a shiny new remaster. Purple Rain has no bass, 1999 sounds like a bootleg, SOTT sounds like it was rocorded underwater. The Black Album should sound terrible, though. The fuzzier, weirder and more abrasive the better. It amplifies the bad vibes.

[Edited 10/26/14 11:07am]

Help, my text shrunk!

[Edited 10/26/14 11:07am]

Being that I am never ever ever going to buy a vinyl player again, my choices are:

1. Sign 'o' The Times

2. Parade

3. The Gold Experience (that shit is cranked up to a million--tone it down)

4. all the NPGMC trax need higher quality versions.

bonatoc said:

Aerogram said:

Plus it should all be delivered to our doorstep by a lady on a unicorn.

Excellent !

Lovesexy on vynil gives "Glam Slam" a Wall of Sound higher than the Niagara Falls.

The Sign Of The Times 12'' should be mandatory to calibrate any high-end full-analogic audio system.

Batman on cassette is an aural feast and elevates even Lemon Crush.
The list is endless.


I cannot praise enough Bernie Grundman or who the hell it was for understanding the visions of Prince. "1999", which is the album that probably makes thousand of hands reaching for the EQ, is perfectly somber. Don't U touch nothin'. It's dark, urban, electric blue and purple, and dirty. The sound, the sleeves and the pictures match perfectly. On the other end, same period, you have the sound of Thriller, which is translucent and coloured as 1999 is organic and garagey.

Mastering is all about enhancing, transfiguring, perfecting the original intent of a musical recording.


So, in the case of Prince's records, which master tapes needs to get out of The Vault and be properly converted to digital by a classical music grade mastering engineer?

All of them.

The ones before the Loudness Wars beginning (circa Come / TGE), because they have been handled to some deaf intern artistic supervisor, God only knows how an artist that has dynamics and kick punches as his main vocabulary gets such a treatment.
All the colors are missing.
AND ON EVERY GODDAM CD, the motherfuckin' butcher!
It's so unbelievably bad that you may think it's on some sick hidden purpose.


The ones after the Loudness Wars beginning, because they been handled to the intern's evil cousin, equally deaf but also blind as a bat, who is persuaded that a compressor knob's zero is in fact nine.

This post has finally ended the Internet. There's no point in posting anything else.

The Black Album is the most tonally poor CD in the entire Prince catalog. (Is tonally even a word?) Compare it to any other. It is actualiy very dull on the official vinyl as well.

and its my favorite single album by him.

His albums from 1978 to 1992 (at least) sound like ass on CD. They need remastering. Full-on professional remastering. Don't turn the volume up to 11. Just put the bass back where they should be bass. Add space where there's supposed to be space. And take my fucking money. I'm waiting to hand it over.