I want a pony!! And I'm going to hold my breath until I'm given one!!!!!!

databank said:

214 said:

I do not find the greatness of this album

A great part of it is structural: how it works as an ensemble vs. a mere collection of songs, it's quite perfectly balanced/paced in that regard.

Then there is a certain delicacy to the overall sound and arrangements that goes beyond Clare Fischer's contributions (even though they play a great part): certain tracks sound like each sound is a light brush stroke on a canvas. It's also in a constant hesitation between fragile minimalism and overcrowded mix, with songs displaying a very sparse sond while others are quite noisy. Similarly, the balance between very short and much longer tracks contributes to giving this feeling that we're listening to a suite.

Conceptually, it goes way beyond the usual limits of pop music: most songs are following their own musical logic with little or no submission to the classic backbone of pop song structure. It's nearly an experimental record.

It's at the same time extremely sophisticated and just as spontaneous as anything Prince was recording back then. It finds a perfect balance between joy and enthusiasm and a feeling of loneliness and nostalgia.

And on top of it all it hardly sounds dated at all after 30 years. Other Prince albums from the 80's are still as strong a work of art now as ever, but they are much more clearly (definitely for some) rooted in the 80's. Parade is totally out of time, virtually nothing else sounded like that in 1986 when everything was loaded with synths and/or electric guitars.

Is it my favorite Prince album? I don't know: there are too many that I love deeply and find mind blowing. I also am not too keen on listening to the old albums anymore because I know them by heart and find it hard to pay attention to what I'm listening anymore. But if I had to try and objectively say which is his greatest artistic achievement, I'd probably say Parade. It was a very ambitious project, very daring and very intimate altogether, and at the same time the fact that it's a short album makes it all the more impressive: no need for a double album, all is said in 40 minutes and still so much has been said!

What (s)he said!!

paisleypark4 said:

I think there is a foefur remaster out there. probably sounds amazing as usual

Yep! No need to pay Prince a damn dime.... not that he'd ever let us, but still.

Germanegro said:

JediMaster said:

Not a true Remaster, no. A remaster is actually going back to the tapes, in some cases baking them, and then literally going through the process of tweaking the sound levels on each instrument and track. The reason so many records sound better than early CDs is that, in the old days, they struck different masters for different formats. In the case of vinyl, it naturally had an increase in the bottom end, so the masters for the records were mixed with the bass and drum sounds in the back, while the treble was mixed louder. When CDs first hit the scene, the technology had far more applications than anyone was used to at the time, and most record companies simply used the vinyl masters when creating them. This resulted in many discs having a "tinny", weak sound that has aggravated many an audiophile over the years.

Most of the DJ "remasters" you hear, such as the series done by Foefur, are exactly what you're describing, but those aren't true remasters. It is to Foefur's credit that he's managed to mix incredible sounding collections from the material he has available to him. I've long ago resigned myself to the fact that those are going to be the best sounding versions of the albums we are likely to ever receive.

Thanks, JediMaster, for your careful description of the remastering process (without the snark)

My pleasure!

214 said:

I have the Sly and The Family Stone collection in mp3 the remastered versions, but anyone knows why they sound so low, the volume is so low, it seems they weren't remastered at all.

I haven't heard these, but it could be a variety of factors. Whoever worked on the remaster may have chosen to keep the volume low. One misconception about remasters is that the volume is just louder, but that isn't really the case. Usually, they are mixed louder than the previous CD incarnations, due to the fact that the original issues were ridiculously quiet in most cases. Still, an annoying trend in modern music is for discs to be mastered at incredibly high volumes, which often causes distortion. If everything is turned up to "10", then certain sounds naturally get drowned out by others. The best remasters find a happy medium between the overkill of modern discs and the low volume of older discs. It's possible the production team chose to keep these quieter, which is annoying. Best to compare these against the previous releases to hear if they have a deeper, richer sound. Listen for instrumentation that is inaudible or lacking in the older issues, or whether the lower end has been brought to the fore.

Also, be aware that mp3 is, by nature, a "lossy" format. You're going to lose some of the sound due to compression. In recent years, technology has gotten to the point that many mp3's sound pretty damned good, and I've heard a few where I had to listen back-to-back to even tell the difference (in a couple of cases, it was so minute it just sounded like a slightly different mix). I don't know when these were done, so I can't be sure what the deal is in this case

Yeah, as a newbie in Prince this album is absolute grower.

We should not forget contribution of Wendy & Lisa on this album, especially on songs like Mountains, Anotherloverholenyohead, I Wonder U and that breathtaking ballad Sometimes It Snows In April.I think the sound of this album is considerably their merit.

stpaisios said:

Yeah, as a newbie in Prince this album is absolute grower.

We should not forget contribution of Wendy & Lisa on this album, especially on songs like Mountains, Anotherloverholenyohead, I Wonder U and that breathtaking ballad Sometimes It Snows In April.I think the sound of this album is considerably their merit.

Absolutely. They definitely had a major hand in crafting the overall sound.

JediMaster said:

stpaisios said:

Yeah, as a newbie in Prince this album is absolute grower.

We should not forget contribution of Wendy & Lisa on this album, especially on songs like Mountains, Anotherloverholenyohead, I Wonder U and that breathtaking ballad Sometimes It Snows In April.I think the sound of this album is considerably their merit.

Absolutely. They definitely had a major hand in crafting the overall sound.

Yup. They co-wrote Mountains and Sometimes It Snows: Both very good song. Wendy sings lead on I Wonder U, which wasn't an improvement on the original vocals by Prince, but it didn't ruin the song. W&L's background vocals work well.

Krid said:

I love this album, both musically as well as sound-wise - that is, if I play my old vinyl. I skipped the CD, but listened to it on Tidal Hifi (and yes, I have a very good streamer + DAC...)

Why o why is every run-of-the-mill artist having his oeuvre remastered (some better than others), but for Prince soundwise you still need to put on the vinyls for his 70s/80s stuff...

Shutup already, damn

Is there a 180 g vinyl version of Parade available? I think not, but maybe in some markets?

Better of course would be a well remastered High Res re-issue...

Life could be so nice

paisleypark4 said:

I think there is a foefur remaster out there. probably sounds amazing as usual

Yes it is, and the track sequencing is impeccable.
It includes "4 The Tears In Your Eyes", and oddly, it fits perfectly.

There's also the "Homemade Deluxe" version, which is flac'd from vynil but needs a bit extra bass to reveal the extraordinary sound palette of Parade.

bonatoc said:

paisleypark4 said:

I think there is a foefur remaster out there. probably sounds amazing as usual

Yes it is, and the track sequencing is impeccable.
It includes "4 The Tears In Your Eyes", and oddly, it fits perfectly.

There's also the "Homemade Deluxe" version, which is flac'd from vynil but needs a bit extra bass to reveal the extraordinary sound palette of Parade.

I always felt Old Friends 4 Sale should've been on Parade... Man it would've made PARADE amazing jus that one little addition...

Germanegro said:

JediMaster said:

Not a true Remaster, no. A remaster is actually going back to the tapes, in some cases baking them, and then literally going through the process of tweaking the sound levels on each instrument and track. The reason so many records sound better than early CDs is that, in the old days, they struck different masters for different formats. In the case of vinyl, it naturally had an increase in the bottom end, so the masters for the records were mixed with the bass and drum sounds in the back, while the treble was mixed louder. When CDs first hit the scene, the technology had far more applications than anyone was used to at the time, and most record companies simply used the vinyl masters when creating them. This resulted in many discs having a "tinny", weak sound that has aggravated many an audiophile over the years.

Most of the DJ "remasters" you hear, such as the series done by Foefur, are exactly what you're describing, but those aren't true remasters. It is to Foefur's credit that he's managed to mix incredible sounding collections from the material he has available to him. I've long ago resigned myself to the fact that those are going to be the best sounding versions of the albums we are likely to ever receive.

Thanks, JediMaster, for your careful description of the remastering process (without the snark)

I'm sorry, but technically speaking that's remixing. Not the DJ term : re-mixing, as in laying down a new mix.

Mastering is the process of EQing and compressing an already finished stereo mix, not the individual tracks.

[Edited 12/4/15 16:29pm]

feeluupp said:

bonatoc said:

Yes it is, and the track sequencing is impeccable.
It includes "4 The Tears In Your Eyes", and oddly, it fits perfectly.

There's also the "Homemade Deluxe" version, which is flac'd from vynil but needs a bit extra bass to reveal the extraordinary sound palette of Parade.

I always felt Old Friends 4 Sale should've been on Parade... Man it would've made PARADE amazing jus that one little addition...

The original structure is of course untouchable, and perfect as it is.

But foefurs is Parade "expanded", and the sequencing is great. It's still Parade, and not Dream Factory or Crystal Ball.

But including Old Friends, There's Other Here With Us, as much as I love them, it's not what Christopher Tracey would sing or play. They belong to another record, IMO.

Closing with "All My Dreams" is the icing on the cake.

Christopher Tracy`s Parade
New Position
I Wonder U
Under The Cherry Moon
Girls & Boys
Life Can Be So Nice
4 The Tears In Your Eyes
Venus De Milo
Mountains (full stroke)
Do U Lie
Kiss (extended version)
Anotherloverholenyohead (extended version)
Love Or Money (long stretch)
Sometimes It Snows In April
Alexa De Paris
All My Dreams

Parade is a masterpiece. From it's cover to it's songs to it's orchestration to it's attitude - Prince & the Revolution at the top of their game. I agree it still sounds great and doesnt necessarily require a re-master but a "deluxe edition" would be VERY welcome!

TheBigBang said:

databank said:

A great part of it is structural: how it works as an ensemble vs. a mere collection of songs, it's quite perfectly balanced/paced in that regard.

Then there is a certain delicacy to the overall sound and arrangements that goes beyond Clare Fischer's contributions (even though they play a great part): certain tracks sound like each sound is a light brush stroke on a canvas. It's also in a constant hesitation between fragile minimalism and overcrowded mix, with songs displaying a very sparse sond while others are quite noisy. Similarly, the balance between very short and much longer tracks contributes to giving this feeling that we're listening to a suite.

Conceptually, it goes way beyond the usual limits of pop music: most songs are following their own musical logic with little or no submission to the classic backbone of pop song structure. It's nearly an experimental record.

It's at the same time extremely sophisticated and just as spontaneous as anything Prince was recording back then. It finds a perfect balance between joy and enthusiasm and a feeling of loneliness and nostalgia.

And on top of it all it hardly sounds dated at all after 30 years. Other Prince albums from the 80's are still as strong a work of art now as ever, but they are much more clearly (definitely for some) rooted in the 80's. Parade is totally out of time, virtually nothing else sounded like that in 1986 when everything was loaded with synths and/or electric guitars.

Is it my favorite Prince album? I don't know: there are too many that I love deeply and find mind blowing. I also am not too keen on listening to the old albums anymore because I know them by heart and find it hard to pay attention to what I'm listening anymore. But if I had to try and objectively say which is his greatest artistic achievement, I'd probably say Parade. It was a very ambitious project, very daring and very intimate altogether, and at the same time the fact that it's a short album makes it all the more impressive: no need for a double album, all is said in 40 minutes and still so much has been said!

Well said. I agree with all of this.

Me too, great assessment of the Parade album, Databank! It is my favorite Prince album.

bonatoc said:

Germanegro said:

Thanks, JediMaster, for your careful description of the remastering process (without the snark)

I'm sorry, but technically speaking that's remixing. Not the DJ term : re-mixing, as in laying down a new mix.

Mastering is the process of EQing and compressing an already finished stereo mix, not the individual tracks.

[Edited 12/4/15 16:29pm]

I agree with Bonatoc here.

trax said:

I would rather have more new music than an old album remastered.

...Have ya heard Prince's albums lately?

DiscoBallz said:

trax said:

I would rather have more new music than an old album remastered.

...Have ya heard Prince's albums lately?

Sure did mate, songs like Freeurself, Clouds, The Breakdown, FunknRoll, Waybackhome, Anotherlove, Screwdriver. Hardrocklover, 1000s xs and os, Revelation are great and there's more that are quite good as well and others that aren't that great (most tracks on Planet Earth, MPLSound and 20TEN), so there's been some worthy material that some of us enjoy even though the safest, most conventional thing to say about his music is that it suddenly all went to shit after Lovesexy.

Aerogram said:

DiscoBallz said:

...Have ya heard Prince's albums lately?

Sure did mate, songs like Freeurself, Clouds, The Breakdown, FunknRoll, Waybackhome, Anotherlove, Screwdriver. Hardrocklover, 1000s xs and os, Revelation are great and there's more that are quite good as well and others that aren't that great (most tracks on Planet Earth, MPLSound and 20TEN), so there's been some worthy material that some of us enjoy even though the safest, most conventional thing to say about his music is that it suddenly all went to shit after Lovesexy.

Don't forget INDIFFERENCE... IMO one of his best tracks in a long long time, as well with Revelation like u stated.