jaawwnn said:

Well, I mean, Closer by Joy Division is a masterpiece isn't it?

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Yeah, but is "Closer" a true posthumous release? Obvioulsy, yes, it is; but the thing was entirely finished, designed, packaged while Curtis was still alive. He had complete say in the album. The thing just didn't get released till after his death.

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And as far as posthumous Joy Division releases -- "Still," "Substance," "Heart And Soul" -- yes, they are probably the best examples of great posthumous releases. If we can get the care that went into those releases from the Prince estate, we'd all be glad.

Nirvana's MTV unplugged disc was posthumous. I also really liked their song "You Know You're Right", which was also posthumous. I also agree with the posters above that 2Pac and Biggie both had very solid posthumous releases. I have high hopes that Prince will set the new gold standard for posthumous releases though.

jayspud said:

Thizz said:

Yes

Michael Jackson's Xscape is a good example

as for Tupac

R U Still Down? (Remember Me), Until the End of Time, Better Dayz . . were all great double disc releases. All of those albums were great

The reaosn Prince's work can't be compared is because his work is going to in a much more completed form than all of these guys who are mostly just recording artists/lyricists . . Prince was a musician and making a song for Prince is more than just recording vocals

That's a very good point. It does however also worry me in that as Prince was primarily a muscian, anyone else producing his work is simply going to have a different sound and is unlikely to be at Prince's level. The concern I have is for the tracks that are not very completed and have to be redone a great deal.

Given the sheer number of Prince songs said to be in the vault... I'm not sure there would EVER be a need for anyone to "produce" him. I'm sure there are plenty of albums "ready to go". Lot's more "essentially" finished songs, and a lot of demos. I've never had a problem with the quality on most bootlegs, even the ones with tape hiss never really bothered me.

Personally I'd rather hear things as they are. Rather than having people come in and put their own spin on a Prince recording.

It's absolutely not my place to say... but I do hope his family don't confuse Prince's career with their own... or, start deciding that they need to get people in to turn Prince's unreleased work into "hits". I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

Cloreen said:

jaawwnn said:

Well, I mean, Closer by Joy Division is a masterpiece isn't it?

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Yeah, but is "Closer" a true posthumous release? Obvioulsy, yes, it is; but the thing was entirely finished, designed, packaged while Curtis was still alive. He had complete say in the album. The thing just didn't get released till after his death.

I think in the case of Prince, he was easily making 3 albums a year. At least. There are multiple aborted album projects. By all accounts the ones we know of, are only the tip of the iceberg.

And as far as posthumous Joy Division releases -- "Still," "Substance," "Heart And Soul" -- yes, they are probably the best examples of great posthumous releases. If we can get the care that went into those releases from the Prince estate, we'd all be glad.

I agree that it all comes down to how it's released.

But again with Prince, because he recorded so much there are multiple options. I'd like to see "sessions" recordings. I think hearing him interact with his band is interesting. But equally I'd suppose there is also a school of thought that since he also recorded a lot of music videos... perhaps an album should be compiled because there are videos available in order to facilitate singles.

A lot of Arthur Russell's stuff released after his death has been great.

ludwig said:

dereksl said:

Nirvana's MTV unplugged disc was posthumous.

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Yeah, but they performed that when Kurt was alive. (Boy, that sounds like a Yogi Berra-ism.)

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My point, Nirvana performed that live show and it was broadcast while Cobain was alive. All the company did was press it to CD and release it after he had died.

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The two true posthumous Nirvana releases were the compilation of old songs "Incesticide" and the live album "Muddy Banks..." Those were released without Kurt's contribution. Both are actually quite good.

Cloreen said:

dereksl said:

Nirvana's MTV unplugged disc was posthumous.

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Yeah, but they performed that when Kurt was alive. (Boy, that sounds like a Yogi Berra-ism.)

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My point, Nirvana performed that live show and it was broadcast while Cobain was alive. All the company did was press it to CD and release it after he had died.

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The two true posthumous Nirvana releases were the compilation of old songs "Incesticide" and the live album "Muddy Banks..." Those were released without Kurt's contribution. Both are actually quite good.

What about With The Lights Out or the abortion otherwise known as the Montage of Heck: Home Recordings? If Kurt was alive, I'd highly doubt he'd have put his terrible home recordings out.

Nirvana Unplugged

The last album from the King of Pop; the unaltered disc was better than some of his released CDs.

for the most part,I don't like posthumous albums The idea of an album being thrown together using tracks that the artist never intended to release....it just seems so...wrong.I have yet to hear a posthumous album that I really like.

SoulAlive said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

SoulAlive said:

for the most part,I don't like posthumous albums The idea of an album being thrown together using tracks that the artist never intended to release....it just seems so...wrong.I have yet to hear a posthumous album that I really like.

Music ia saved for that reason, IMO. If I'm not gonna use something I'll throw it away or give it someone I know who will use it. Some stuff, I may actually save for later because I know I'll come back for it.

Yeah, the fact he hasn't shared plans with fans doesn't mean he didn't have plans. It was in a (literal) vault for a reason.

MMJas said:

emesem said:

No not a good track record.

I do think the Jeff Buckley stuff that was releaseed after he passed has been pretty good.

I disagree. In fact I doubt he would have liked most of the stuff on MSTD to be released, but that's just my impression...

Interesting! I like Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk more than Grace!

For posthumous Hendrix studio albums you need to look no further than the Dead Hendrix Blog:

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deadhendrix.blogspot.com

I don't like posthumous "albums", like, look, it's "All My Dreams", by Prince! It's bullshit, and feels like we're all supposed to make believe it's a real album.

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I hope vault tracks get more of a catalogue feel, akin to Dylan's bootleg series, different volumes of a curated ongoing collection. Essentially what FBG and 4DaFunk already do: "The Bird Rehearsal", or "Dream Factory"; songs linked by session, project, or era.

jesme1999 said:

Queens entire" Made in Heaven" album.Freds voice was recorded on tape and the instruments and back up vocals were added later , after his death. He told them to keep giving him stuff to sing and after he was gone to do what they wish with it . His one request ...." Just don't ever make me boring" Quite sure there was a darling at the end of that request . He recorded vocals for "Mother Love " having to sometimes prop himself up on the mixing board and fortify himself with a shot of vodka . He sang all but one verse and told Brian he just couldn't do anymore that day and would come back and finish when he felt better......that was the last day he ever Recorded in the studio and it's incredibly sad when Brian takes over and sings the last verse of the song. I actually think that other than being a bit weaker and not the big voice that Freddie had , that some of his best vocals are on that album.

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Absolutely not. Even though Freddie wanted it...the idea of taking a bunch of random adlibs, scraps, and throwaway lines and coalescing it into a song is terrible. Even though it was only one song that they "created" that way ("You Don't Fool Me"), it was still wrong.

eyewishuheaven said:

MMJas said:

I disagree. In fact I doubt he would have liked most of the stuff on MSTD to be released, but that's just my impression...

Interesting! I like Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk more than Grace!

Wow! Really? Music touches people different ways, that much is true. I thought MSTD was too raw and not at all how Jeff's music felt to me. Not to say I don't like it, but it was nothing like Grace was for me.
That was another tragic loss for me. Fortunately I had seen him live in London and actually spoken to him for 15 minutes. At least I have that to cherish. And an autograph.

h4rm0ny said:

Cloreen said:

dereksl said:

Nirvana's MTV unplugged disc was posthumous.

.

Yeah, but they performed that when Kurt was alive. (Boy, that sounds like a Yogi Berra-ism.)

.

My point, Nirvana performed that live show and it was broadcast while Cobain was alive. All the company did was press it to CD and release it after he had died.

.

The two true posthumous Nirvana releases were the compilation of old songs "Incesticide" and the live album "Muddy Banks..." Those were released without Kurt's contribution. Both are actually quite good.

Incesticide came out in 1992. Cobain died in 1994. The only posthumous release for Nirvana I find worthwhile is "You Know You're Right."

Michael's Xscape was a joyous album!!!

The Bad 25th Anniversary album was great addition too

The Michael album would have been good too if it was not for those fake Cascio tracks in there