Farfunknugin said:

Is there anything on here worth downloading that is different form the Closer 2 God batch?

Only If The Kid Can't Make U Come, Feel U Up (medium Edit), Bobbi Jo and Madhouse: 18 And over. Purple Rain is incomplete.

MrMoops said:

scififilmnerd said:

Farfunknugin said:

Is there anything on here worth downloading that is different form the Closer 2 God batch?

Only If The Kid Can't Make U Come, Feel U Up (medium Edit), Bobbi Jo and Madhouse: 18 And over. Purple Rain is incomplete.

Many are saying Feel U Up is nothing but a (poorly done) edit. Your thoughts?

olb99 said:

I few random thoughts:

.

1. databank, I don't often reply to you directly, but I enjoy reading your posts. Lots of foods for thoughts. So thank you for that. Yeah, it might be the wine talking, but anyway.

.

2. We need a "Work It 3.0"-like set real bad. I mean, it makes no sense for all of us, individually, to determine which version of each outtake sounds the best and to curate our own collections. I'm sure hundreds or even thousands of fans are doing that on their own. This should be a collaborative effort.

.

3. "What If". Is it me or is the end of the strings/horns version a bit... off? It sounds like somebody took the multitrack from the strings/horns sessions, unmuted all the tracks, and added the released version on top of the strings/horns. The mix is a bit weird.

[Edited 12/11/17 11:04am]

Thanks for the kind words

@MrMoops, many thanks again for taking the time to come here and contribute, this is really generous and deeply appreciated

.

Your posts are so informative!! Do you remember how many tracks were recorded/arranged for this guitar becomes orchestra "new Mplsound" project?

.

In any case all those arrangements on the new tracks are pretty awesome. Even if we don't have a proper mix to judge their quality, I can assure you we can feel the intent and appreciate the work: it's gorgeous, as everything else you've done for P since 1992

Is it just me or is P's lead vocal on Yo Mister very unusual?

databank said:

dodger said:

databank said:

Is it just me or is P's lead vocal on Yo Mister very unusual?

I thought that and if his version (according to PVault) wasn’t recorded 2 years earlier you’d think he was trying to mimmick Patti LaBelle in parts. As if he’d wrote it with her in mind

Maybe he did. According to Eric Leeds, P recorded The Sex Of It with Kid Creole in mind... 1 year before (according to Pvault) A. Darnell asked him for a song for Kid Creole!!! Either both stories don't add-up, or Prince had artists in mind when he wrote certain songs.

dodger said:

databank said:

Is it just me or is P's lead vocal on Yo Mister very unusual?

I thought that and if his version (according to PVault) wasn’t recorded 2 years earlier you’d think he was trying to mimmick Patti LaBelle in parts. As if he’d wrote it with her in mind

That was the impression I had, too. A lot of it sounded to me like him doing a Labelle impersonation.

And the same goes for "101", and "Come Home".
Not your typical Prince vocal delivery (if there was one. Let's say "more unusual than the rest").

The versions of the Lovesexy songs here and on the recent leaks are tremendous. I especially love the relative spareness of Positivity, never a favorite of mine when it was first released. It also reminds me just how unique the songs were on Lovesexy. Nothing like them anywhere!

scififilmnerd said:

Farfunknugin said:

Is there anything on here worth downloading that is different form the Closer 2 God batch?

Only If The Kid Can't Make U Come, Feel U Up (medium Edit), Bobbi Jo and Madhouse: 18 And over. Purple Rain is incomplete.

Purple Rain is not incomplete. This is the edit as it appeared on the September-October configuration. Chances are, the guitar intro was not yet recorded.

gandorb said:

The versions of the Lovesexy songs here and on the recent leaks are tremendous. I especially love the relative spareness of Positivity, never a favorite of mine when it was first released. It also reminds me just how unique the songs were on Lovesexy. Nothing like them anywhere!

"Lovesexy" is my favorite Prince album. I was 11 when I heard it one year after its release and it made a huge impression on me. All those demos/different versions are fantastic, especially "I No".

.

And we haven't heard everything from that album! There are other versions that were recorded (with more horns, according to Eric Leeds, IIRC). Also, the completely different version of "Lovesexy". And unreleased remixes. I don't remember if the remix of "I No" with bad sound quality is official or not, but it sounds cool.

Seriously, what's with this guy's obsession with noise reduction?

Did he buy some really expensive plugin and feels that he needs to use it so much that everybody can definitely hear it?

Does he have some sort of a weird fetish for it?

There's so much noise reduction applied on some songs that they seem to have 50% less reverb on them than the versions we got on Closer 2 God. The hihats sound completely unnatural, are quieter than what they should be in the mixes and many of the tracks do not groove as a result (hell, "18 Over" seems to lack high end content altogether). The snare of the Linn sounds just terrible on these versions.

It's hilarious. Prince's classic albums always had hiss on them. It's there on the CDs too. Now we're getting all these outtakes from the same era, sourced from tapes in questionable condition and there's no hiss whatsoever!

novabrkr said:

novabrkr said:

Seriously, what's with this guy's obsession with noise reduction?

Did he buy some really expensive plugin and feels that he needs to use it so much that everybody can definitely hear it?

Does he have some sort of a weird fetish for it?

There's so much noise reduction applied on some songs that they seem to have 50% less reverb on them than the versions we got on Closer 2 God. The hihats sound completely unnatural, are quieter than what they should be in the mixes and many of the tracks do not groove as a result (hell, "18 Over" seems to lack high end content altogether). The snare of the Linn sounds just terrible on these versions.

It's hilarious. Prince's classic albums always had hiss on them. It's there on the CDs too. Now we're getting all these outtakes from the same era, sourced from tapes in questionable condition and there's no hiss whatsoever!

That's one of my beefs with Eye. He can't leave shit alone. It would be different if dude has any skill, but he overdoes it every time and wrecks the material.

After the Dolby B, the Dolby C, here comes the Dolby D (note: the D stands for Dolby). A Dolby square if you will.
Bravo, on n'arrête pas le progrès.

Foefur is a bit obsessed with compressors, but at least with the right EQ nudges,
his shit keeps the organic quality of SKipper's.

Prince is the master of the pristine lo-fi (amongst other things).
AAA (like an Andouillette winning at a fair). Analog's tasty.
Liike, say, "Shockadelica", digital?
Are you crazy? Are you nuts?

And Bernie G. himself is pissed off with the Deluxe.
Here's the result of twenty years of Pro-Tools. Wannabee engineers.
A needle goes in the red because the amp's hot,
not because of an algorithm that says it's hot.
It's Automatic.

Ironically rightfully so, it does not "blast" at all.
"Shhh! Not so loud, Baby! Yaaaay-yay! Shhh! Shhh!".
I demand to hear the slight machinery humming before the kick drum kicks in.
"High Fashion" calliope has hiss. The guitar amp is hissing.

I have a page to say on the details heard in the back and the front of "4 The Tears In Your Eyes",
but it's like, I don't want to deflour it, it's a sensorial experience.
Just pay fucking extra attention at all the tiny noises everywhere.

Eye, it's like they get scared realizing Prince does sound as loud as he does,
when it's exactly what Jessie Johnson says about his recording technique of choice,
make everything sound so damn loud. You gotta shape the air.

Consider "God (Vocal)". I need the distorsions, the hisses, the K7 quality, because they're intentional.
It's humble, it's christian, it fits what the song is about.
When SKipper presses REC or says "final!", I trust his ears because he knows how to make a sound paste.
He knows spice. 1987, the year of "Sign O’ The Times" and "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life".

The electric dirt coming from the Fairlight syncopated stabs in the second bridge (cf. "Sign O’ The Times (instrumental)"),
the fake dead tamborine ("man I'm so depressed I don't even feel like shaking mine"),
Hippie is dead anyway, the computer blipped octaves as his new hearbeat,
the gummy pitch black dark bass octaves mocking them, the minor key, the Telecaster dry, as the shakers.
Electronic snakes, Delta Blues, and a Gospel bridge.
It's sheer perfection. And if you don't get it, you're EQing wrong and.or have a bad source, simple as that.
It sounds dirty, but it's completely the point: they must have spent quite some time on the snare's reverb tail.
This is the apocalypse, not Hollywood not getting near the crouch of Apollonia like in 1984.

"Dirty" dancing OST: sleek, pristine SSL sound, all the way.
Lexicons invariably set on preset 11: "WhiteCeramicTiledBathroom" — Ha!

Fuck, this is serious shit, Let's throw mushy vegetables at the amateurs. Getouttahere.
Know your shit first. Not the knobs, man. Your ears.
You gotta stop when there's resistance.

[Edited 12/16/17 13:54pm]

bonatoc said:

After the Dolby B, the Dolby C, here comes the Dolby D (note: the D stands for Dolby). A Dolby square if you will.
Bravo, on n'arrête pas le progrès.

Foefur is a bit obsessed with compressors, but at least with the right EQ nudges,
his shit keeps the organic quality of SKipper's.

Prince is the master of the pristine lo-fi (amongst other things).
AAA (like an Andouillette winning at a fair). Analog's tasty.
Liike, say, "Shockadelica", digital?
Are you crazy? Are you nuts?

And Bernie G. himself is pissed off with the Deluxe.
Here's the result of twenty years of Pro-Tools. Wannabee engineers.
A needle goes in the red because the amp's hot,
not because of an algorithm that says it's hot.
It's Automatic.

Ironically rightfully so, it does not "blast" at all.
"Shhh! Not so loud, Baby! Yaaaay-yay! Shhh! Shhh!".
I demand to hear the slight machinery humming before the kick drum kicks in.
"High Fashion" calliope has hiss. The guitar amp is hissing.

I have a page to say on the details heard in the back and the front of "4 The Tears In Your Eyes",
but it's like, I don't want to deflour it, it's a sensorial experience.
Just pay fucking extra attention at all the tiny noises everywhere.

Eye, it's like they get scared realizing Prince does sound as loud as he does,
when it's exactly what Jessie Johnson says about his recording technique of choice,
make everything sound so damn loud. You gotta shape the air.

Consider "God (Vocal)". I need the distorsions, the hisses, the K7 quality, because they're intentional.
It's humble, it's christian, it fits what the song is about.
When SKipper presses REC or says "final!", I trust his ears because he knows how to make a sound paste.
He knows spice. 1987, the year of "Sign O’ The Times" and "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life".

The electric dirt coming from the Fairlight syncopated stabs in the second bridge (cf. "Sign O’ The Times (instrumental)"),
the fake dead tamborine ("man I'm so depressed I don't even feel like shaking mine"),
Hippie is dead anyway, the computer blipped octaves as his new hearbeat,
the gummy pitch black dark bass octaves mocking them, the minor key, the Telecaster dry, as the shakers.
Electronic snakes, Delta Blues, and a Gospel bridge.
It's sheer perfection. And if you don't get it, you're EQing wrong and.or have a bad source, simple as that.
It sounds dirty, but it's completely the point: they must have spent quite some time on the snare's reverb tail.
This is the apocalypse, not Hollywood not getting near the crouch of Apollonia like in 1984.

"Dirty" dancing OST: sleek, pristine SSL sound, all the way.
Lexicons invariably set on preset 11: "WhiteCeramicTiledBathroom" — Ha!

Fuck, this is serious shit, Let's throw mushy vegetables at the amateurs. Getouttahere.
Know your shit first. Not the knobs, man. Your ears.
You gotta stop when there's resistance.

[Edited 12/16/17 13:54pm]

Are you high or somethin?

214 said:

Are you high or somethin?

High? You mean like this?



Wut, it's just my average audiophile rant. I ain't even started yet.
Don't encourage my loggorhea.
I got a job to do.

Did everyone already have this good a version of Desire? Cuz I'm dying. It's so good, one of my favorite P songs. ever.

bluegangsta said:

scififilmnerd said:

Only If The Kid Can't Make U Come, Feel U Up (medium Edit), Bobbi Jo and Madhouse: 18 And over. Purple Rain is incomplete.

Purple Rain is not incomplete. This is the edit as it appeared on the September-October configuration. Chances are, the guitar intro was not yet recorded.

Oh. Okay.

djThunderfunk said:

scififilmnerd said:

Only If The Kid Can't Make U Come, Feel U Up (medium Edit), Bobbi Jo and Madhouse: 18 And over. Purple Rain is incomplete.

Many are saying Feel U Up is nothing but a (poorly done) edit. Your thoughts?

What, they think it's a fan edit? I've only heard it once and didn't pay that much attention. Must hear it again.

MendesCity said:

Did everyone already have this good a version of Desire? Cuz I'm dying. It's so good, one of my favorite P songs. ever.

It sure is.

databank said:

@MrMoops, many thanks again for taking the time to come here and contribute, this is really generous and deeply appreciated

.

Your posts are so informative!! Do you remember how many tracks were recorded/arranged for this guitar becomes orchestra "new Mplsound" project?

.

In any case all those arrangements on the new tracks are pretty awesome. Even if we don't have a proper mix to judge their quality, I can assure you we can feel the intent and appreciate the work: it's gorgeous, as everything else you've done for P since 1992

-

Thank you, that's very kind.

really only 4 songs fit that specific guitar orchestration description,

and while I don't have any specific information,

I wouldn't make the assumption they were all for the same project.

-M

MrMoops said:

Daveoooo said:

So, back to the music....

Some thoughts/comments as I'm listening to this collection (on random), while I'm working;
*Sister demos are cool, solo guitar funky complicated strumming - reminds me in a way (in a confusing past/future tense) of Girl Thing.
*Million $ Show, to me rather than an "alternative mix" it sounds more the original pre over dub version with synth string and horn parts that were later overdubbed.
*Positivity with Cats rep is cool, I'm sure I heard different guitar licks, or is it due to not being mastered in the same way? also Prince Vault does not list the other demos, so what are these?
*My Name Is Prince and Sexy MF Remixes are pointless additions.

*Purple Rain, extra verse at approx 2-3 min mark, doesn't work in my opinion.

*Pangaea, nice to have but nothing to get excited about it's the non Prince instrumental part of a track.

*It Ain't Ovder Till The Fat Lady Sings is a cool instrumental.

-

That's not quite accurate. The section at the end is orchestrated along with, and based on Prince's guitar solo.

So, much of the melodic content of the orchestra in that section are Prince's ideas.

If you were to hear it in context, it still might not change your opinion,

but I will say that after I sent P the finished tracks,

I got one of the strongest positive responses from him that I'd ever received in our 25 year association.

I'll give it another listen (concentrating on the end).

Maybe I was a little harsh, but it's not a full track, mostly overdubs with out the basic track.

Cool, as I fully know positive comment's are very rare (in my line of work you only get infomed f the negitives and problems, never a job well done!).

MrMoops said:

OperatingThetan said:

MrMoops said: Fascinating! Thanks for sharing. So Prince was envisioning the new MPLS sound album as a mixed vocal project? Very interesting.

-

I wouldn't necessarily say that. He always had his hand in a bunch of stuff.

non-stop creativity.

I think maybe the new MPLS sound was more likely about the real music, real musicians thing,

but who knows.

Over the last few years (Lotusflow3r/MPLSound onwards) there have been 2 (or more) simultaiuos sides happening at the same time - the "real music" be that the horn filled funk or the rockyer band stuff and - the more experimantal (mostly) solo stuff. Mybe this was bridging this gap in someway?

MrMoops said:

3. "What If". Is it me or is the end of the strings/horns version a bit... off? It sounds like somebody took the multitrack from the strings/horns sessions, unmuted all the tracks, and added the released version on top of the strings/horns. The mix is a bit weird.

[Edited 12/11/17 11:04am]

-

I produced this session and collaborated on the orchestration and can probably shed some light on it.

You are correct that it is a mess.

problem 1 is that the strings and horns are not lined up correctly, making them out of sync with the original track.

problem 2 is that the whole song would need to be remixed to properly fit the 60 or so added tracks of the orchestra instead of just dropping it on top of the stereo mix of the original version.

It also bums me out that Rumeta got released the way it did.

The horns and string were written as an ensemble and not intended to be heard seperately.

It takes away from the intent of the orchestration.

I don't know how these things got released this way, but it certainly doesn't do any justice to the work we did on the tracks,

and I think it is disrespectful to music and the musicians that worked on them. But I guess since it's just in the small bootleg community, it is what it is.

-MBN

I'd love to hear the correct version of this, adds more punch to the track (even in this off timed sync). Reminded me some what of the Metallica S&M album recorded with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

databank said:

Is it just me or is P's lead vocal on Yo Mister very unusual?

He sings these guide songs as if he were the artist he is giving them to, taking into account their vocal strengths and weaknesses. That is why he sounds different on a lot of these.

[Edited 12/18/17 5:57am]

leadline said:

databank said:

Is it just me or is P's lead vocal on Yo Mister very unusual?

He sings these guide songs as if he were the artist he is giving them to, taking into account their vocal strengths and weaknesses. That is why he sounds different on a lot of these.

[Edited 12/18/17 5:57am]

Is there any info that suggests he wrote the song for Patti LaBelle or anyone else to perform? Quite often he simply gave away the songs to others later when he didn't feel that they were suitable for an inclusion on his own albums.