...or it could be like visiting the sistine chapel and seeing that michelangelo's masterpieces were restored with spray paint and crayons...

if they were going to take the time to remaster the artistry, they should have taken the time to ensure that it couldn't be improved upon.

And of course the complaint i have heard about "photos" all being from one shoot!! People get over it, WB did not have rights to every move this man made! They are limited they still have NO RIGHTS over his photos and like-ness so get a grip already they are working with what they have. Was it better to release nothing at all???Are you that disappointed that you want money back and wish it never came out??And also ENJOY THIS RELEASE because the next re-master might be eons away.

What Prince fans are really getting vs what they want

Some will be perfectly happy listening on their laptop speakers or their little white earbuds on their phone/iPod/whatever. The people who choose to listen on other equipment (for example a good set of headphones or a proper hi-fi will want a sound quality that can be enjoyed to the maximum on said equipment.

There is nothing wrong with either.

If you are enjoying "the song, the passion, the artistry!!!" then that's all that should matter.. no?

TrivialPursuit said:

soladeo1 said:

AM SORRY but you fail to recognise that 'good mastering' and sound quality go hand in hand with appreciating the song, passion and artistry.

There is a reason why Prince was a control freak and spent hours on sound checks before every live concert to ensure the sound was just right for every instrument up on that stage. He wanted to make sure everything he played and his band was being correctly heard by the crowd.

there is also a reason why he had his own recording studio in Paisley Park, he was sound engineer himself and wanted things just right....never underestimate the role good sound has on the emotional experience of a song.

I suggest you watch this:
BERNIE GRUNDMAN ON EMOTIO... MASTERING

[Edited 6/21/17 14:04pm]

TheDigitalGardener said:

Some will be perfectly happy listening on their laptop speakers or their little white earbuds on their phone/iPod/whatever. The people who choose to listen on other equipment (for example a good set of headphones or a proper hi-fi will want a sound quality that can be enjoyed to the maximum on said equipment.

There is nothing wrong with either.

If you are enjoying "the song, the passion, the artistry!!!" then that's all that should matter.. no?

Puh. Lemme strongly disagree.
Whoever has ears, let them hear.
(Matthew 11:11-15)

I think as long as there is a healthy balance, and respect for all viewpoints, opinions are fine no matter what direction they go in. Compression and high-gen tapes are definitely things that affect sound quality in a not-so subtle way, so while it may not matter to some, for others it can be a big deal

maceoparker007 said:

laurarichardson said:

Actually, it kinda infuriates me.
Here's a master musician that had an incredible ear, not only for finding new blends, new colors, but also for dimension.

A lot of music lovers probably passed on Prince in the nineties because of absence of dynamics on the CDs. I imagine the guy putting headphones on in the wrecka stow, and going: "Well, not bad, but not worth all the fuss".

Rather than the artistry? You deluded fruitcake.
Above all, sound is where Prince was the most audacious. What good are these countless days and hours if in the end, you're satisfied with some shitty 128ko mp3?
Go listen to ABBA or somethin'.
The original transient punches of the Erotic City kick drum will someday kick yo ass.

Apparently, it is now wrong to want the first big reissue of one of the greatest albums of all time to sound it's best. How can one enjoy the "song, passion, and artistry" of this reissue when said artistry's sonics is butchered like this:

Some of you guys need to educate yourselves on the "loudness war" and why modern music/reissues sound unpleasant to listen to outside of cheap headphones (even with that, exteneded listening to brickwalled, compressed music can be unpleasant or cause headaches). There is simply no reason why in this modern age my original 1984 CD of Purple Rain sounds better than this "state of the art, supervised by the artist himself" 2015 Remastered CD:

Please ask for better instead of being complicit.

[Edited 6/21/17 13:58pm]

bonatoc said:

Actually, it kinda infuriates me.
Here's a master musician that had an incredible ear, not only for finding new blends, new colors, but also for dimension.

A lot of music lovers probably passed on Prince in the nineties because of absence of dynamics on the CDs. I imagine the guy putting headphones on in the wrecka stow, and going: "Well, not bad, but not worth all the fuss".

Rather than the artistry? You deluded fruitcake.
Above all, sound is where Prince was the most audacious. What good are these countless days and hours if in the end, you're satisfied with some shitty 128ko mp3?
Go listen to ABBA or somethin'.
The original transient punches of the Erotic City kick drum will someday kick yo ass.

To the OP:

"The song, the passion, the artistry"? We've heard the bulk of these songs before, dude. What many of us were hoping for was to have them in perfect quality - which, with this release, we still don't.

I'm seriously questioning whether I even want to take the shrink wrap off this thing. I probably will - but to read the liner notes, not because I intend to play the CDs. Okay, except for one of them.

[Edited 6/21/17 14:14pm]

PurpleMedley122 said:

Apparently, it is now wrong to want the first big reissue of one of the greatest albums of all time to sound it's best. How can one enjoy the "song, passion, and artistry" of this reissue when said artistry's sonics is butchered like this:

Some of you guys need to educate yourselves on the "loudness war" and why modern music/reissues sound unpleasant to listen to outside of cheap headphones (even with that, exteneded listening to brickwalled, compressed music can be unpleasant or cause headaches). There is simply no reason why in this modern age my original 1984 CD of Purple Rain sounds better than this "state of the art, supervised by the artist himself" 2015 Remastered CD:

Please ask for better instead of being complicit.

[Edited 6/21/17 13:58pm]

FINALLY SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, PurpleMedley122: the track you insist on being 'butchered' probably has better dynamic range that the one with crazy levels of DBs

[Edited 6/21/17 14:10pm]

laurarichardson said:

maceoparker007 said:

AM SORRY but you fail to recognise that 'good mastering' and sound quality go hand in hand with appreciating the song, passion and artistry.

There is a reason why Prince was a control freak and spent hours on sound checks before every live concert to ensure the sound was just right for every instrument up on that stage. He wanted to make sure everything he played and his band was being correctly heard by the crowd.

there is also a reason why he had his own recording studio in Paisley Park, he was sound engineer himself and wanted things just right....never underestimate the role good sound has on the emotional experience of a song.

I suggest you watch this: BERNIE GRUNDMAN ON EMOTIO... MASTERING

--No one is saying it is not important but Prince is not around and therefore we do not have anyone else around who would put their foot in WB's ass. The days of doing things the right way are over.

Bernie Grundman is responsible for this remaster and he knows a thing of two about good quality mastering. WB are likely to just follow his lead so I am sure the quality will be just fine.

Poor ABBA

Sound Quality Vs Song/Passion/Artistry?

NO!

Sound Quality AND Song AND Passion AND artistry AND Presentation AND Preservation

It's ALL important.

And "Yeah That" to PurpleMedley122, RE: the wav forms & loudness war vid.

jaawwnn said:

Poor ABBA

"Super Trouper" was my first sing-a-long dance-along song.
What a great sonic paste they made, those two (and fours).
Still, I've come a long way, Baby.

djThunderfunk said:

JoeyCococo said:

Just because it sounds terrible does not mean I won't continue to love the musuc. I was just hoping to hear a brilliant revisit.

Understood and Agreed!!

Oh, I guess it's senseless agonizing over a music company remastering music right or wrong... What a world!

I'm partial to the Loudness Wars. On the whole, it's pathetic.
But "Gold" wouldn't sound that boombastic without it. It's part of the song.
Same goes for the whole Symbol album.
I would love to hear a toned down TRC. But for an über-compressed album, it's kinda state of the art.
AOA is fantastic for this: it plays with hard rock compression, it turns it around and make a great use of it (as a small example, "The Breakdown" digital distorsion at the end is intentional. Do you really think Prince would have let this pass unintentionally? It's just part of the song, even if some may find it too litteral).

All of this butchering (and I'm not talking about Prince only here, it's a world plague) because one sad day, some kinda deaf and dumb A&R guy thought people were too lazy to get off their asses (or worse, raise their hands) and reach for the volume knob.

And the rest of the fuckos followed. It's like good photography in cinema. It's a rare, rare breed nowadays. People are so easily fooled, and few take the time to eat a lot of art. It's unproductive, and the ticking of the clock wins. How many amongst us take the time to listen to an album from start to finish, with no other activity whatsoever? Where has the capacity of immersion gone?
Is a second, third chance and more given to an album to make its way into your brain, until you finally get where the artist tries to go? Where are the stereo epiphanies?
To their defense, does this world give people enough time to take care of their souls, let alone their ears? It's just bad education. They give up so easily.
Few things match the cynicism of the bastards on the other side of the fence.

It makes me wonder if there's a single millenial out there who hasn't his.her perception deformed by a youth spent listening to stuff with a 20:1 compression rate. It's probable Jazz and Classical will die along with their audiences. The last aficionados of real sound will wander the earth, in desperate need for a soft, calm 10dB whisper.

[Edited 6/21/17 16:00pm]

bonatoc said:

I'm partial to the Loudness Wars. On the whole, it's pathetic.
But "Gold" wouldn't sound that boombastic without it. It's part of the song.
Same goes for the whole Symbol album.
I would love to hear a toned down TRC. But for an über-compressed album, it's kinda state of the art.
AOA is fantastic for this: it plays with hard rock compression, it turns it around and make a great use of it (as a small example, "The Breakdown" digital distorsion at the end is intentional. Do you really think Prince would have let this pass unintentionally? It's just part of the song, even if some may find it too litteral).

All of this butchering (and I'm not talking about Prince only here, it's a world plague) because one sad day, some kinda deaf and dumb A&R guy thought people were too lazy to get off their asses (or worse, raise their hands) and turn the volume up.

And the rest of the fuckos followed. It's like good photography in cinema. It's a rare, rare breed nowadays. People are so easily fooled, and few take the time to eat a lot of art.
To their defenses, does this world give them enough time to take care of their souls? Or their ears?
It's just bad education. They give up so easily.

It makes me wonder of there's a single millenial out there who hasn't his perception deformed by a youth spend listening to stuff with a 20:1 compression rate. It's probable Jazz and Classical will die along with their public. The aficionados of real sound will wander the earth, in desperate need for a 10dB whisper.

tishal said:

I'm thankful that we get new music period. Who else gets a brand new 1984 cd in 2017?? Only Prince fans.

Even the MJ estate hasn't released this sort of stuff, instead choosing to release some z-list, shitastic remixes with fucking Fergie & that goddamn will.i.am.

TrivialPursuit said:

tishal said:

I'm thankful that we get new music period. Who else gets a brand new 1984 cd in 2017?? Only Prince fans.

Even the MJ estate hasn't released this sort of stuff, instead choosing to release some z-list, shitastic remixes with fucking Fergie & that goddamn will.i.am.

MJ is far from having this kind of material under the belt.
I was excited to get my hands on the "Thriller" sessions.
What a disappointment. Horrible eighties music, sounds so dated.
As for "Thriller 25", the remixes are a crime against pop music, but Michael was alive and probably approved it. No wonder, he was already lost to himself.

New music, new music... One thing with Prince fans, is that they dig something severe.
Aside from "Love And Sex", nothing is really new here.
It's not that the bonus CD is bad. But the track listing has no fucking sense. Not only it's badly sequenced, but thematically it goes nowhere. Not bad for a first shot, but I'm sure a much more astounding PR Deluxe box will see the light of day.

Until now, it's still fans who make the better job when it comes to honor Prince's legacy and work (Foefur, Homemade Deluxe, One Year In The Life, Sabotage, Per Nilsen, iVault, 500 Songs and many more I don't have the patience to name-drop).