30 yr Of Funk and this copy both have the identical tapes distortion / chew around 5 minute mark
If it is an early gen tape you think it wouldnt sound so loud and distorted

Either way it not much of an improvment if you even want to call it that

Wow! Thats an amazing version. Crystal clear and perfect sounding. I just don't know how this stuff can't be somehow be not due to Prince's doing in some weird way? I can't wait for more stuff to come out. Thanks for sharing.

FragileUndertow said:

30 yr Of Funk and this copy both have the identical tapes distortion / chew around 5 minute mark
If it is an early gen tape you think it wouldnt sound so loud and distorted

Either way it not much of an improvment if you even want to call it that

30 years version sounds better IMO

SoulAlive said:

please Prince,put this on the Purple Rain remaster!

Release it, pleeeeaasee.

thedance said:

thedance said:

Excellent!! Bring on the Revolution!!

Hmmm, at work, can't wait to get home and hunt for this one... so exciting!

djThunderfunk said:

Hmmm, at work, can't wait to get home and hunt for this one... so exciting!

Trust me its nothing exciting.. same old same old

todesm said:

FragileUndertow said:

djThunderfunk said:

Hmmm, at work, can't wait to get home and hunt for this one... so exciting!

Trust me its nothing exciting.. same old same old

I haven't compared one-to-one--but I think FragileUndertow might be right on this. I actually like the loudness of it--but I think it's just pumped up rather than really any clearer.

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

Hearing this now it very much doesn't sound like it's from the remaster, it's better than what we've had, but definitely not pristine, nice to get it though.

This.

databank said:

My take is that either we'll get one of the 2 longest, 12 minutes versions of that one or possibly even the 7 minutes cut that was originally included on the album. Of course I'd rather have just every possible version on it but let's not dream:

Come on, I really want to dream.

How about along side a massive CD box set there's a Computer Blue CD Max-Single with every possible variation... that would be so sweet.


So... it won't happen.

See, dreaming is way better than reality.

EddieC said:

I haven't compared one-to-one--but I think FragileUndertow might be right on this. I actually like the loudness of it--but I think it's just pumped up rather than really any clearer.

This just my opinion, it sounds like its sourced from 30 yrs of funk but speed it up, eq'd

In fact i was able to reproduce it myself

i speeded up it up 2 clicks.. and the running time was just a second or 2 difference from the mp3
I ed'ed it with highs and it sounds about the same

Who knows it may very well be a lower gen copy, Maybe we will see some more leaks

I really hope this is not going to be the version if there is a Purple Rain remaster. Oh please no!

.

It sounds better than the previous releases but it's not what I consider the "real" long version.

.

Extended album version with the hallway speech is what I'm talking here.

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

Noodled24 said:

1) Why would this be a leak from the PR remaster? It seems unlikely any of the other recent leaks came directly from Prince. Why would he throw this out there? (Josh Welton would have been my guess but then we'd also likely have seen some newer songs leak too so they're likely as a result of a collector holding onto things or acquiring a new source)

2) WB Have released the song "Purple Rain" in the UK twice as a single since the turn of the millennium. First in 2009 and again in 2012. It reached #62 and #75 respectively. If that was them testing the water to see how much interest there would be in a PR Remaster then the outlook does not look good.

The Thriller remaster only sold about 3/4 million world wide - after it sold 60 million the first time round - and they had to drag in contemporary artists to remix the singles. Purple Rain sold 21 million first time round, and Prince doesn't have a million rabid fans who'll buy everything twice and bully their friends into buying it too.

Not to mention the fact that Purple Rain doesn't sound bad. It simply does not need a remaster. All the talk about extended versions and outtakes is wishful thinking.

Granted a PR remaster seems like the easiest way for WB to make some money off Prince. That or a greatest hits set that has focus on the 90's and consolidate the best songs people have likely never heard (VBO ).

[Edited 1/11/15 11:44am]

Thriller remastered didn't have unreleased classic songs though.

Prince could add an album worth of amazing unreleased songs to Purple Rain remastered and tour for it with the Revolution. Not sure if he would sell millions since cd sales have been generally low but he could make a solid release and something memorable out of it.. Prince got a lot of stuff to work with.. MJ didn't

[Edited 1/11/15 12:09pm]

Anybody thinking remasters of ANYTHING is selling in this climate are out of their minds. Like I keep telling everyone...just go to the bargain bin at Best Buy or Wal Mart. You will find all kinds of remasters for 4.99-6.99. Madonna, Van Halen, MJ...none of them really moved that much. Some of the U2 and Pink Floyd remasters did ok, but the only true revenue was with the gigantic box sets that sold for over $100, and even those were high end specialty items that only brought so much revenue.

Yes, we might get a great PR Remaster, but it will just be a hit or miss here amongst us diehards. There will be no big payday for Prince or for Warners. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm probably not.

It sounds pretty bad. But with the way Plect Elect was mastered, I would not be shocked if this was how the entire Purple Rain remaster sounds. Ok, I lied. If the PR remaster sounds shit like this, I would be pretty pissed off...but it's not like Prince has not pissed me off a billion times, and as always, I'll be talking about how he's still my favorite no matter what stupid marketing thing or dumb medley he plays live.

bluegangsta said:

If this is from a deluxe edition of Purple Rain, god help us for what the rest of the set sounds like and where it's sourced from.

-

.

WTF?!

stillwaiting said:

I would not be shocked if this was how the entire Purple Rain remaster sounds. Ok, I lied. If the PR remaster sounds shit like this, I would be pretty pissed off...

.

.

In that case WB/Prince/etc would not show any understanding of context nor proper audio treatment.

It doesn't sound like a remaster. Although Prince generally favours a sound that's not as reverberated as the PR album is, so it's possible that he prefers a drier sounding version of the track on a bonus disc if there will be such a thing.

However, the tape problems on this one do not suggest it is official in any way. Sometimes you might end up having tape problems on source tapes too, but I think it would have been edited out for a "remaster" in any case.

blacknote said:

This recent leak prompted me to search my archives and I pulled out The Work, Volume 9. This edition contained an "enhanced" version of the "hallway speech" version (12:01 running time) and certain parts of the speech were crystal clear (by bootleg quality standards) while many parts were not. It was obviously a cut and paste job.

.

That's because it was. It was an attempt to create a "full" version using the best sources out there.

.

Always wondered, if certain portions of this version were crystal clear, why didn't a fully crystal clear version leak?

.

The clear "Hallway Speech" was leaked by T to show that he had a pristine copy of "Computer Blue". There's plenty still in the possession of elite collectors that has only leaked in severely downgraded form to the "general public", often tagged and edited, or at the wrong speed.

In other words, this is nothing new or special...

imprimis said:

I had the opportunity to speak with W&L after a performance some years ago. According to what they described to me, and I will say it was gracious of them spend the time answering my questions, but which may nevertheless be an oversimplified and colored version of the actual history, the album *that would end up* as SOTT (*not necessarily* any of the tracks specifically contained on that final album, however) was always for a number of years (since late 1984 or early 1985) the "collective vision" of what would be the first proper post-PR album (beginning with 'All Day, All Night', 'Our Destiny', 'Strange Relationship', etc. as some titles seriously considered at that very earliest stage of conception, and not intended for formal album release until after whatever the marketing and promotion for UTCM would entail, with late 1986 as the earliest presumed release date).

.

As they described it, the ATWIAD album was a essentially a lark (being a somewhat haphazard panoramic of then-unheard 1984 studio material, some of which *I* believe was recorded with a more direct post-PR project in mind than the one described here), and Parade was another film soundtrack (some tracks considered for this project redlettered for additional work for potential use on one or more of these pre/proto-SOTT concepts, including obviously DF).

.

Sounds possible.

.

My speculations are: that ultimately withdrawing the release of TBA in 1987, hot on the heels of SOTT, was less a matter of true 'spirtual reawakening' amounting in Lovesexy, and more a bargaining chip (this time from P's end) used to pave the way to WB permitting and arranging financing for another substantial film project (which became GB).

.

The cost of retracting TBA must have been enormous. I don't buy your theory. At that time Prince was already spending absurd amounts of money on videos and movies etc. that were almost immediately put into the vault.

.

And perhaps the SOTT Movie was partial appeasement to both sides;

.

WB didn't have anything to do with the SOTT movie.

imprimis said:

I had the opportunity to speak with W&L after a performance some years ago. According to what they described to me, and I will say it was gracious of them spend the time answering my questions, but which may nevertheless be an oversimplified and colored version of the actual history, the album *that would end up* as SOTT (*not necessarily* any of the tracks specifically contained on that final album, however) was always for a number of years (since late 1984 or early 1985) the "collective vision" of what would be the first proper post-PR album (beginning with 'All Day, All Night', 'Our Destiny', 'Strange Relationship', etc. as some titles seriously considered at that very earliest stage of conception, and not intended for formal album release until after whatever the marketing and promotion for UTCM would entail, with late 1986 as the earliest presumed release date).

.

As they described it, the ATWIAD album was a essentially a lark (being a somewhat haphazard panoramic of then-unheard 1984 studio material, some of which *I* believe was recorded with a more direct post-PR project in mind than the one described here), and Parade was another film soundtrack (some tracks considered for this project redlettered for additional work for potential use on one or more of these pre/proto-SOTT concepts, including obviously DF).

.

Around Spring/Summer 1986, that notion temporarily developed into approximately 'two double-albums' worth' of *viable* material, which *might have* materialized as *two* double-album P&TR releases, in ~late 1986 and ~1988, *had* the Revolution not disbanded in a theoretical alternate universe. [This alluded-to material, most of which I believe we have heard in official release or bootleg in one form or another by now, would of course *not* all necessarily be actual P/Revolution collaborations any more than some tracks given that attribution on earlier album efforts were]

.

Some of that unused 1985/86 material appeared in further-reworked form on GB (ICSTFIG and WCF, both initially tracked 1983, but revisited in 1985/86) and elsewhere. JIR obviously directly from CB, and QOY a 1987-overdubbed 1985 outtake that stands on its own. The 1983 WCF that appeared in further reworked form on GB (which appears to have still been 'We Can Fuck' until 1988/1989 when it was considered for use by George Clinton) was always the version that was seriously considered for official release at the time.

.

WB gave P the concession of releasing, if he had so happened to act on the opportunity, a second album (TBA) in 1987, in place of a triple album CB (after worries of its commercial prospects in light of the prior two years). Even if P's artistic muse was compromised in rendering CB, with some additional work, into a double album, being given the opportunity to have another major commercial release (with what may be another concession in having no artist attribution to limit interference with the main product, SOTT, but accomplished in a brilliant marketing way consistent with P's penchant for mystique) is a *major* privilege that goes overlooked by those attacking WB on CB.

-----

Tangents from my thoughts on how W&L answered some of my questions:

.

My speculations are: that ultimately withdrawing the release of TBA in 1987, hot on the heels of SOTT, was less a matter of true 'spirtual reawakening' amounting in Lovesexy, and more a bargaining chip (this time from P's end) used to pave the way to WB permitting and arranging financing for another substantial film project (which became GB).

.

[That isn't to say that he didn't intentionally pattern Lovesexy around more positive material that might contrast with the heavily bootlegged aborted album]

.

And perhaps the SOTT Movie was partial appeasement to both sides; to fill in for a lack of US-side touring promotion for WB, and for Prince an opportunity to further bask in the European comfort zone he established with their more positive reception of Parade, and mutually as a stand-in feature for an unrealized (and most likely shot-down) Coco Boys/The Dawn/etc. film project that may have been commercially hazardous in the same way the GB film proved to be (just as a triple-album release after ATWIAD/negative-1985 publicity/Parade/UTCM was feared to be too risky).

.

P seems to have been given a [tentative] promise of a parallel film career of 3 or 4 more films, in the height of the PR phenomenon (with UTCM promised to him perhaps even before the full 'lab results' on the PR film itself came back), but the nitty-gritty details are mostly absent in the limited rumor and innuendo we have been privy to.

.

Perhaps also the suggestion that allowing a second major commercial album release in the same year as SOTT as a 'concession' for abridging CB is false, and that perhaps TBA became the ultimate product filling the album-release-schedule spot previously set aside much earlier for 'Camille' (which isn't necessarily incompatible with the a less charitable theory to why TBA was later withdrawn), and CB really did simply 'get the axe' by overbearing Warner management.

.

(Or maybe WB or P's own management were never fully comfortable with Camille as a free-standing product, and that is *part* of how CB inflated to a singular triple-album in the first place)

.

Noodled24 said:

I didn't mean to imply there actually was a PR2. He implys in the quote he has enough commercial songs to compile another album in the vein of Purple Rain. - I'd love to hear that as much as anyone. But other than being recorded around the same era there are few songs that have any known link to the film.

Compared to SOTT. Where Prince was forced to strip down Crystal Ball. - Here there is a legitimate need for an improvement in sound on the CD. Also a legitimate call to add the outtakes.

[Edited 1/11/15 17:58pm]

Interesting insights, thanks

BartVanHemelen said:

imprimis said:

I had the opportunity to speak with W&L after a performance some years ago. According to what they described to me, and I will say it was gracious of them spend the time answering my questions, but which may nevertheless be an oversimplified and colored version of the actual history, the album *that would end up* as SOTT (*not necessarily* any of the tracks specifically contained on that final album, however) was always for a number of years (since late 1984 or early 1985) the "collective vision" of what would be the first proper post-PR album (beginning with 'All Day, All Night', 'Our Destiny', 'Strange Relationship', etc. as some titles seriously considered at that very earliest stage of conception, and not intended for formal album release until after whatever the marketing and promotion for UTCM would entail, with late 1986 as the earliest presumed release date).

.

As they described it, the ATWIAD album was a essentially a lark (being a somewhat haphazard panoramic of then-unheard 1984 studio material, some of which *I* believe was recorded with a more direct post-PR project in mind than the one described here), and Parade was another film soundtrack (some tracks considered for this project redlettered for additional work for potential use on one or more of these pre/proto-SOTT concepts, including obviously DF).

.

Sounds possible.

.

.

The cost of retracting TBA must have been enormous. I don't buy your theory. At that time Prince was already spending absurd amounts of money on videos and movies etc. that were almost immediately put into the vault.

.

And perhaps the SOTT Movie was partial appeasement to both sides;

.

WB didn't have anything to do with the SOTT movie.

No but it nevertheless acted as a promo tool for the album the way tours do.

databank said:

BartVanHemelen said:

.

WB didn't have anything to do with the SOTT movie.

No but it nevertheless acted as a promo tool for the album the way tours do.

.

But did it? The final single from the album was released weeks before the movie (3 Nov vs 20 Nov), TBA was about to be released (8 Dec). Hell, even that speedy release of the movie was a bit of a miracle (which was one of the reasons WB passed on it).

djThunderfunk said:

databank said:

My take is that either we'll get one of the 2 longest, 12 minutes versions of that one or possibly even the 7 minutes cut that was originally included on the album. Of course I'd rather have just every possible version on it but let's not dream:

Come on, I really want to dream.

How about along side a massive CD box set there's a Computer Blue CD Max-Single with every possible variation... that would be so sweet.


So... it won't happen.

See, dreaming is way better than reality.

IDK what, in WB's eyes, is the best project in terms of optimal sales but usually too many versions of a single song is something that is avoided for it's really of interest to the hardcore base of the hardcore base if u see what I mean. I'd love, for example, to see all the various single edits of PR (the song) to be included but I'm pretty sure even among us there would be some to shout "rip-off" if the final release did contain 5 or 6 different single, live and unreleased edits of the song + the album cut. The sensible approach would probably be a physical release with only the most essential edits (album + extended) and a shitload of outtakes AND a digital release of all the "redundant" material to be purchased track by track by the hardcore fans or possibly available with a code to those who purchase the physical or digital release of the main product, that kind of stuff. If there was a proper online NPG Store then all those alternates of Computer Blue could also be offered for download on a pay-per-song basis and it would be a win-win for everyone: casual and moderate hardcore fans wouldn't have to pay for them while truly hadcore fans could spend their money on as many versions as they want. But obviously there is no such thing as a sensible approach to those things in the purple world It's also possible that Prince, as an artist, isn't so eager to have us hear some work in progress that he considers unfinished. For example IDK, if his vision of The Line is the overdubbed version and if he had it in mind from day 1, would he be willing to officially release the barebone, original cut of it? In my opinion it is superior and essential, but maybe he considers it irrelevant the same way he may consider any pre-Clare Fischer version of the tracks from Parade "unifinished" and not appropriate for an official release, or any pre-horns version of a song with Eric Leeds just as irrelevant. I mean for example every track with horns or strings was first recorded without them, the same way every track intended from the beginning for a side-project exists with Prince on vocals, but would he be willing for us to hear his own, pre-sax version of 8 or his own vocals on the Time songs? I can't answer that.

databank said:

djThunderfunk said:

Come on, I really want to dream.

How about along side a massive CD box set there's a Computer Blue CD Max-Single with every possible variation... that would be so sweet.


So... it won't happen.

See, dreaming is way better than reality.

IDK what, in WB's eyes, is the best project in terms of optimal sales but usually too many versions of a single song is something that is avoided for it's really of interest to the hardcore base of the hardcore base if u see what I mean.

.

That's why record companies do different versions: one "super" set for the hardcore fans, one "normal" set for regular fans.

.

Alternatively, have you never seen this? Or this? Or this? Or this? It is perfectly possible to release box sets that are "insane"; and it is happening for far smaller acts than Prince.

It is definitely NOT an official remaster – it's still as crap as the previous boots, it's just have been put through yet another very drastic noise-reduction process and you can hear all the side-effects of noise-reduction here. You only have to listen to 5 seconds and it should be obvious.