Mod Edit: Thread title changed for clarity - langebleu - moderator

I've been reading a bit about the PURPLE MEDLEY. I didn't find out much on WHY he put out this single.

Prince has never been one to live in the past, and I'm betting that he was just finishing out his requirements with WB.

I'm no expert, and no moderater. I would love to discuss this single a bit and the back story behind it.

Could anyone enlighten us with what REALLY went down at that time?

thedoorkeeper said:

Check it out on Prince Vault: http://www.princevault.co...ple_Medley http://www.princevault.co...ple_Medley There is an explanation of its backstory

It only says it was associated with the tour and released alongside the 2 video albums but it doesn't really explain what went into P's head that he would decide to record and release it in the first place. The tour was totally centered aroud tracks from the Come/TGE/Exodus sessions, so it's not as if it had been a "best of" tour (in which case it'd have made sense). I don't think it had anything to do with contractual obligations either, so IDK, but I'd love to know why this single happened.

^It has to be noted that for some unknown reason Kirk remixed a lot of old songs at that time (the Kirky J's B-Sides Medley is made of some of those remixes, and some others have leaked on boots). I wonder if there could have been a project of a remix album or something floating at some point in P's mind and if this could have led him to record the medley as well. Pure speculation here but since the medley was connected to Kirk's mixes...

breakdown2k14 said:

Its a hott mix though .Both Purple medley and the b sides remix are great

At the time was re recording his WHOLE catalog to regain ownership of his masters. Eye don't know how far he got. But Kirky J did the mix for this EPIC single. Eye absolutely LOVED IT! It stayed in rotation on Kcool-fm that whole year..Eye just couldn't get enough of it. Eye would have love to hear each song he redid seperately. It sounded like a brilliant idea!

I think it was also his throwback to "Hooked on Classics"! I think part of him thought it was funny.

It's a fun project and kinda came out of nowhere. I remember just seeing it in the store one day, no notice or anything.

There's a video too.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

At the time was re recording his WHOLE catalog to regain ownership of his masters. Eye don't know how far he got. But Kirky J did the mix for this EPIC single. Eye absolutely LOVED IT! It stayed in rotation on Kcool-fm that whole year..Eye just couldn't get enough of it. Eye would have love to hear each song he redid seperately. It sounded like a brilliant idea!

I don't think the rerecording project had began in early 1995. Sessions are pretty well documented up until mid-1996 and there's no mention of that project (which was also announced much later, in 97 or 98 IIRC). I believe those rerecording sessions took place circa 97-01.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

NorthC said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

At the time was re recording his WHOLE catalog to regain ownership of his masters. Eye don't know how far he got. But Kirky J did the mix for this EPIC single. Eye absolutely LOVED IT! It stayed in rotation on Kcool-fm that whole year..Eye just couldn't get enough of it. Eye would have love to hear each song he redid seperately. It sounded like a brilliant idea!

That re-recording plan came a few years later, 1998 I think it was. The idea was to rerecord all his albums, so that this time he would own the master tapes and there would be two versions of every album, an original and a new one with TAFKAP hoping that everybody would buy the new ones. Doesn't sound like a brilliant idea to me and of course it was just another one of his short-lived ideas. H probably didn't get very far anyway. emay have started rerecording For You and gotten bored with it and then move on to something else. We did get 1999 The New Master though, which is all the more reason to be happy that this idea didn't materialize.

According to 2 different sources more or less the whole WB catalogue was indeed rerecorded (including b-sides!) over the course of several years, though it seems only certain parts were rerecorded and certain others were kept intact (something P probably couldn't legally have gotten away with had he released the whole thing). This project is among the great mysteries of P's career and I hope some light will eventually be shed on it. The problem seems to be that most of P's collaborators after 1996 signed very strict confidentiality agreements and/or hope to still work with him in the future, so they won't talk.

The absolute horror of the re-recordings that this release suggests really makes me want to hear them. I suspect they sound like those godawful soundalike albums on Spotify you come across now and then. One of his maddest 90's releases.

databank said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

At the time was re recording his WHOLE catalog to regain ownership of his masters. Eye don't know how far he got. But Kirky J did the mix for this EPIC single. Eye absolutely LOVED IT! It stayed in rotation on Kcool-fm that whole year..Eye just couldn't get enough of it. Eye would have love to hear each song he redid seperately. It sounded like a brilliant idea!

I don't think the rerecording project had began in early 1995. Sessions are pretty well documented up until mid-1996 and there's no mention of that project (which was also announced much later, in 97 or 98 IIRC). I believe those rerecording sessions took place circa 97-01.

Just because it was announced later. Doesn't mean the process wasn't started earlier. Listening to the Purple Medley verifies it to capacity. Those were definitely excerpts of remakes he had finished. U can't deny that. I listened to each note very carefully & know what I'm talking about..

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

databank said:

I don't think the rerecording project had began in early 1995. Sessions are pretty well documented up until mid-1996 and there's no mention of that project (which was also announced much later, in 97 or 98 IIRC). I believe those rerecording sessions took place circa 97-01.

Just because it was announced later. Doesn't mean the process wasn't started earlier. Listening to the Purple Medley verifies it to capacity. Those were definitely excerpts of remakes he had finished. U can't deny that. I listened to each note very carefully & know what I'm talking about..

Just because Purple Medley was released in 1995 doesn't prove the remasters project was already ongoing either.

Just because you have listened to every note carefully (whatever that means) doesn't mean u have an audio time machine in your brain that allows you to date recordings.

And don't use "are" and "definitely" when you are 100% speculating, since you are and the very few infos from insiders we have, as well as reports on recording sessions in 94-96 tend to indicate the opposite.

Pull yourself together, mate!

The project may indeed have already started by early 1995, but it's unlikely.

NOBODY knows absolutely when recorded something. could be hiding a whole other vault in California somewhere nobody knows about. U can read The Vault book or PrinceVault till your eyes popped out. Doesn't mean every single song he's done is detailed in there.Please use commom sense...

This is exactly what I was hoping for. A dialog about the back story surrounding this single. I was so excited to see that Kirky J's mix had Shockadelica, but disappointed that the mix wasn't as solid as the full mix on side A.

I love that the org has so much knowledge and opinions about anything and everything in the Prince world.

Sometimes, if I'm looking for a greatest snippets song, I'll put this on, and eventually settle on something I heard in the mix.

Kcool, like a presidential bunker, how awesome would it be that there would be a SECOND vault of music somewhere. After all, wasn't there talk about a second Purple Medley?

If Prince was in the process of re-recording everything, I flashed back to Buckner and Garcia. It just never turned out to be the same sound.

Video was alsao recorded and played during the Love 4 One Another film on VH1

A trip through alt.music.prince brought up some fun rumors from that time (no concrete information, but at least some of what we knew then!

"Form[sic] what I've heard the PM was considered as an album to help fufill the contract but upon doing this he had to give WB the GOLD masters."

https://groups.google.com...discussion

"According to The Prince Family (via their recorded message line/phone #
508/921-8013), a new single will be released on Tuesday, Feb. 28 in the
U.S. But, it's not a GE track -- supposedly, it will be the "Purple
Medley" that was played on the AMAs.

I just got off of the phone with Publicity at WB in New York and they say
nothing about this is posted on their information, so who knows?

*IF* this was true, and the "Purple Medley" was released, I have a strong
feeling that it would die an equally painful death in the marketplace as
"Space" (which never even cracked the Hot 100 on Billboard). So why would
anyone bother?

Also, it is fairly evident that TGE is NOT coming out in March. I was told
that *no* releases were scheduled -- and if a lead single isn't lined up
by now, there's no way the album will be ready to ship by the 15th of next
month.

I guess Beat@bitstream is still our best bet: 2nd quarter of the year
(April, May or June -- if at all) I'm really beginning to wonder about
this as time passes though. It feels like TGE is becoming more of an
apparition every day "
https://groups.google.com...discussion

I always assumed that it was just a quick medley that he threw together for his appearance on the American Music Awards....and then later decided to release it as a single.

heymistermusic said:

This is exactly what I was hoping for. A dialog about the back story surrounding this single. I was so excited to see that Kirky J's mix had Shockadelica, but disappointed that the mix wasn't as solid as the full mix on side A.

I love that the org has so much knowledge and opinions about anything and everything in the Prince world.

Sometimes, if I'm looking for a greatest snippets song, I'll put this on, and eventually settle on something I heard in the mix.

Kcool, like a presidential bunker, how awesome would it be that there would be a SECOND vault of music somewhere. After all, wasn't there talk about a second Purple Medley?

If Prince was in the process of re-recording everything, I flashed back to Buckner and Garcia. It just never turned out to be the same sound.

[img:$uid]http://i62.tinypic.com/kd31y0.jpg[/img:$uid]

NorthC said:

The Purple Medley was also used as an intro to his 1995 live shows. The recorded version was played over the PA. (Can't remember if it was with or without video. We also saw videos of 18 & Over and Same December before the show.) And then shouted:"HOLLAND! (or: LONDON! or: BELGIUM!) PRINCE IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE NEW POWER GENERATION! And then the band started Endorphinmachine. So that was probably his way of saying, that was then, this is Now!
[Edited 2/3/16 11:56am]

I don't think I've listened to "Purple Medley" for well over a decade. I almost forgot it even existed. Might check it out later this evening. Thanks for reminding me about this obscure track