LOL!!! at the negativity.

The greatest hits ain't for us the diehards. It's for Mr. and Mrs. EverybodyElse, and it will help keep the cash coming so we the diehards can have things like a Prince museum, more releases down the line, etc.

I'll gladly get both releases as a matter of supporting the legacy, but of course the PR Deluxe is what I'm really looking forward to.

darkroman said:

laurarichardson said:

laurarichardson said:

fbueller said:

Where did you hear that rumor? Purple Rain Deluxe Remaster was in the works. Purple Rain Remaster was announced in around May 2014 - yet it's getting released 3 years later. Prince had been making comments before his death that clearly indicated that he and WB were not in a good place and weren't getting along.

/- Rumor has been around for a while and even if Prince said the remaster was ready but Warner Brothers was holding it up. Could have been true all along plus with revenue from streaming causing a decline in revenue he may have been more open to working with them.

Uh, yeah... WB was holding up the Purple Rain remaster, because WB wasn't getting along with Prince after they took on Art Official Age and Plectrum Electrum (which the label likely lost money on). Otherwise, the PR remaster would have been released in 2014 as originally announced.

Prince's primary source of revenue was concerts. Prince's focus typically was on releasing his new, current music. What WB didn't want was another of Prince's protege type projects that sold bricks. This I'm sure factored in WB and him being in a sort of stalemate.

fbueller said:

I'm glad we finally gets PR Remaster but the greatest hits feels unnecessary, who will buy it? Everyone already bought The hits, best of and ultimate back in April May

darkroman said:

BartVanHemelen said:

This does point to WBR "owning" outtakes recorded during their contract.

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Not necessarily.

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The role of NPG Publishing is to find commercial opportunities.

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NPG Publishing could have approached Warners or Warners could have approached NPG.

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Warners can't release anything without collaborating with NPG Publishing.

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After 25+ years Prince fans still don't know the difference between a record deal and a publishing deal.

That tracklist is annoying and oddly insulting to the man. LIke some on this thread said, he did not die 23 years ago. My pet peeve right there--no respect for his later work. Here is what throws me off--there is no way every single one of those 70/80/90's songs were actually "Hits". I imagine some of them are just fan favorites from popular albums. If a fan favorite from a well-selling album is all that is required (in order to be included), then way aren't songs from 3121 and musicology included? Is is because it is heavily influenced by Warner Brothers?

EmmaMcG said:

I'm quite sick at the moment and slightly delirious (no pun intended) but if I'm reading this right, it means there are actually 3 albums on the horizon, not 2. There's the Prince 4ever greatest hits collection, the purple rain remaster and a "second album of previously unreleased material". I'm more interested in that last part than the greatest hits or purple rain.

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No, the unreleased material is the bonus for PR. A collection of outtakes isn't an album.

KlyphIsBackAgain said:

Be great to have MB in good quality but somethng for the real fans would be nice...they know we're here.

purplerabbithole said:

That tracklist is annoying and oddly insulting to the man. LIke some on this thread said, he did not die 23 years ago. My pet peeve right there--no respect for his later work. Here is what throws me off--there is no way every single one of those 70/80/90's songs were actually "Hits". I imagine some of them are just fan favorites from popular albums. If a fan favorite from a well-selling album is all that is required (in order to be included), then way aren't songs from 3121 and musicology included? Is is because it is heavily influenced by Warner Brothers?

Because this is a Warner Bros. release, hence only songs from his Warner Bros. years. You can't just release stuff you don't have the rights to.

rogifan said:

KlyphIsBackAgain said:

As usual, whiny fans just don't get it. First, Prince had VERY FEW hits after he left WB. Yeah, WE may know he had some good songs after that, but big hits? Nah. Second, this is a WB release. Guess what? That means songs he recorded while under contract with WB. All the other stuff after was on various different labels or self released. Do you really think all the contracts/rights etc. would be worked out that quickly? No. Third. Both of these sets were more than likely in the works before P died, just like the vinyl reissues. Fourth. Welcome to the world of posthumous releases, where one or two songs are tacked on to greatest hits packages so uber-fans will buy them. Fifth. There are people in the world who don't know all these songs! This is also for them, not just YOU!! [Edited 10/21/16 3:04am]

Yep on every point. Though I hope this was something WB was already working on and not an estate thing. I get that Prince didn't have many 'hits' after TMBGITW but a compilation album doesn't have to be just about Billboard hits. Take what are generally considered the best tracks off his 1994-2015 albums and include them with his hits from the 1st WB era. If NPG owns all this stuff they should be able to license it to whomever they want. Why does it matter if the original album was released by WB or Columbia or whoever.

It matters because if something was released on Arista or Columbia or whoever there could be a contract that says "You can't release this on any other label for this number of years" or any other variation. It's a legal issue. NPG, if they are the owners and there are no restrictions could license it..... but who is NPG? The estate is not settled, there are no "owners" of NPG at this time.... so this is definitely NOT an estate thing.

[Edited 10/21/16 4:13am]

I'm just glad to see "Mountains" on a greatest hits comp.

So... Apparently we have to buy the whole album or nothing, is that correct?

A few interesting choices on here.

12. Gotta Stop (Messin' About)

I wonder why they picked that?

24. Batdance
I always thought this was verboten to be on a Prince album. i.e. strictly Batman soundtrack, etc.

33. Moonbeam Levels

The ONLY reason I'm gonna buy this. One of my favorite outtakes.

39. Peach

They put a song on a greatest hits album that was originally released on a greatest hits album.

Now let's get the info on that Purple Rain reissue!

My $0.02

Chas

A rehash greatest hits comp is the obvious first move. A just in time for Christmas cash in. Bowie's estate is releasing another unnecessary greatest comp as well. It happens to the best of them. But if the fans don't support it, then WB will be disinclined to pursure further Prince projects with music that they own. WB is clearly catering to the masses and not the hardcore here. This is just how it works. So, you can hold your nose and scoff at the audacity of WB to try to milk the cow again, or you can support Prince so that Prince lives on, even if that means you're lining the pockets of WB suits. The level of excitement shown for these two releases (4EVER + Purple Rain Deluxe) will set the stage for how WB approaches future endeavours.

Well this isn't great but let's hope that this is more intended for casual fans than reflective of what releases will be like going forward (although the fact that there will only be one bonus disc with the Purple Rain remaster doesn't fill me with confidence.) I'll probably just buy Moonbeam Levels seperately online, hopefully there'll a store where we can get it in lossless quality.

I do love that album cover. Prince has many a greatest hit collection already. They are just cashing in. Although it is nice they have Moonbeam Levels on it, that's a step in the right direction for future releases. I admittingly have Prince Ultimate, The Hits 123 (perhaps the best collection there is avail) and The Very Best Of. They also could make some extra making the B-Sides available as a single disc or re-released on vinyl.

BartVanHemelen said:

CrabalockerFishwife said: