I'll be interested to see what the sales for this will be by the general buyers... Prince 4EVER sold modest, it went Gold in U.K. with over 100,000 sales... PR DELUXE also sold modest, didn't sell great but didn't sell bad either...

With this release I have a feeling it really will not do great at all in the charts...

feeluupp said:

OperatingThetan said:

feeluupp said:

I'll be interested to see what the sales for this will be by the general buyers... Prince 4EVER sold modest, it went Gold in U.K. with over 100,000 sales... PR DELUXE also sold modest, didn't sell great but didn't sell bad either...

With this release I have a feeling it really will not do great at all in the charts...

I'm not sure who the Estate thinks the target audience is for this release, but the fragmentary and incomplete nature of the material likely prohibits many commercial sales. Just how interested is the average casual listener going to be in Prince reciting the same verse over and over in different tones and registers as he works out a song?

That's why I'm really baffled by this obscure release... Do they not expect it to make a profit?

Marco81 said:

Just saw an "unboxing" video featuring all 3 releases. The CD only has a folded 3-page booklet with not much on it. All stories and details are to be found on the deluxe edition. Not happy.

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I really don't get why this is a surprise to people. The promo has been clear from the beginning that only the deluxe would get the extended booklet.

feeluupp said:

BartVanHemelen said:

RODSERLING said:

BartVanHemelen said:

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I really don't get why this is a surprise to people. The promo has been clear from the beginning that only the deluxe would get the extended booklet.

The promo? What promo?

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I dunno, the kazilliona rticles when this was announced? https://www.rollingstone....83-629886/

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will be released digitally alongside CD and vinyl. A deluxe edition, featuring both a CD and LP, will come with a booklet featuring new liner notes from Prince’s then-engineer Don Batts, who presided over the original sessions. The booklet will also include never-before-seen images of Prince.

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Oh look, as announced on 7 June.

The Star Tribune reports on the upcoming listening party at Paisley Park: http://www.startribune.co...493515811/

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Paisley Park to re-open 'After Dark' to celebrate new Prince album Friday

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By Chris Riemenschneider

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SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 — 3:35PM

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The dormant “Paisley Park After Dark” brand will be revived again this week. Prince’s studio palace in Chanhassen will host a listening party on Friday night to celebrate that day's release of “Piano & a Microphone 1983," hopefully the first of many releases from his legendary vault.

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Tickets to Friday’s party are on sale now for $60 via OfficialPaisleyPark.com, a price that includes the standard Paisley Park tour (even though probably 95% of the people interested in this event have already done the tour). To find tickets on the site, go to the calendar and click on Sept. 21, then scroll down to the “After Dark” tag.

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Scheduled 7-11 p.m., the shindig will also include a dance party with a DJ and a listening session for the new album, which might be the least-danceable record in Prince’s canon.

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A fairly long review from Kleine Zeitung, the largest regional newspaper in Austria):: https://www.kleinezeitung...e-von-1983

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[...] Auf "Piano & A Microphone 1983", der ersten unveröffentlichten Aufnahmen seit seinem Tod im April 2016, ist Prince einfach nur ein unfassbar begabter Songschreiber, Sänger und Instrumentalist.

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Die Akustik-Session von 1983 kommt wärmer und intimer daher als das meiste, was Prince zu Lebzeiten auf 39 (!) Alben in die Welt setzte. Man hört Prince Rogers Nelson in Rohfassung. [...]

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35 Minuten lang gießt Prince seine Stücke in die Klaviatur, ununterbrochen. Nur zum Umdrehen der Kassette setzt er ab. Er singt inbrünstig ins Mikrofon, driftet ab in kurze Beatbox-Variationen und in Scat-Gesang. Spätere Erfolgstitel wie "Purple Rain" (1984), "Strange Relationship" (1987) und "International Lover" (1990) spielt er hier noch stark verkürzt, andere wie "17 Days" (1984) baut er mit freier Improvisation deutlich aus. Es ist ein butterweiches Medley auch für diejenigen, die mit Prince sonst nicht so viel anfangen konnten. Fans dürften ihn nach dieser Platte nur noch mehr verehren.

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[...]

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In diesen Fragmenten klingt bereits der Zauber durch, den Prince später bei Albumaufnahmen perfektionieren und auf der Bühne live umsetzen sollte. Auf "Piano & A Microphone 1983" scheint er noch laut nachzudenken und ahnt offenbar, dass er nicht nur auf Gold gestoßen ist, sondern dass dort, wo diese Melodien und Texte herkommen, noch mehr erstklassiger Stoff verborgen liegt. Mit "kompletter Autorität hämmert" er die Stücke heraus, wie Howe sagt.

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Rough translation, courtesy of Google Translate:

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[...] On "Piano & A Microphone 1983", the first unpublished recording since his death in April 2016, Prince is just an incredibly gifted songwriter, singer and instrumentalist.

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The acoustic session of 1983 is warmer and more intimate than most of what Prince put on 39 (!) Albums during his lifetime. One hears Prince Rogers Nelson in raw version. [...]

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For 35 minutes, Prince pours his pieces into the keyboard, uninterrupted. Only to turn the cassette he sets off. He sings fervently into the microphone, drifts off into short beatbox variations and scat vocals. Later success songs such as "Purple Rain" (1984), "Strange Relationship" (1987) and "International Lover" (1990), he plays here greatly shortened, others, such as "17 Days" (1984), he expands significantly with free improvisation. It's a buttery medley even for those who could not do much with Prince. Fans may only worship him more after this record.

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[...]

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In these fragments, the magic already sounds through which Prince later perfected on recordings and live on the stage should implement. On "Piano & A Microphone 1983" he still seems to think aloud and apparently suspects that he has not only encountered gold, but that where these melodies and lyrics come from, even more first-class material is hidden. With "complete authority," he pokes out the pieces, as Howe says.

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Romeoblu said:

The fact they left out the booklet from the standard edition is a disgrace. I have no need for the CD, the vinyl is already fairly highly priced for one disc. As an archival release a detailed booklet should be standard.

The fact the estate is releasing this is a disgrace... Why could'nt they have made a huge box set and include this as a bonus like the Bowie estate has been doing... But no release a poor quality boot that's been around for over 20 years and don't even include a proper booklet in the cd version.

When this release really bombs on the charts what next... I bet they will release Box O' Chocolates for the next one

AP (The Associated Press) article by Jeff Baenen, available through numerous sources, including https://www.reviewjournal...-basement/ . Here are some excerpts:

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“It was just mind-blowing listening to this raw, simplistic performance,” Carter recalled. “It just felt like the right next move to let the world hear this version of it.” He calls it “a jam session” intended for music lovers, not super fans.

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[...]

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The tape had been heavily bootlegged for years, but with substandard sound. Michael Howe, Prince’s final artists-and-repertoire person at Warner Bros. Records while the musician was alive, was a fan of the tape and wanted to find the master copy. He found it in Prince’s vault, home to thousands of unreleased Prince recordings and live performances.

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“It was in remarkably good condition,” Howe said of the consumer-grade cassette. The tape is presented as it was recorded, with Prince stomping his feet, coughing and asking someone to flip the cassette over.

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[...]

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Keyboardist and singer Lisa Coleman, who backed Prince as part of The Revolution, said Prince would spend time exploring songs “until he felt he could really do them justice.”

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“This particular cassette of Prince is such a great little slice of history,” said Coleman, who wrote liner notes to “Piano & A Microphone 1983.” She calls the tape “invaluable to the scholarship approach” to Prince’s music.

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“You could literally teach a class from this tape if you went into it and deconstructed it,” Coleman said.

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Review in Nettavisen, a Norwegian publication: https://www.nettavisen.no...37923.html

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Google Translate says (I'm only including the actual review part:

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Prince at his most vulnerable

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Musical macramé on a high level. But way too short.

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By Petter Aagaard and Christer Falck

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(Petter Aagaard and Christer Falck are the authors of the critically acclaimed Prince "Shockadelica" Prince, released on Falck Publishing in 2014.)

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Piano & A Microphone 1983 is Prince on the most vulnerable. Absolutely mutter alone he tests old and new material. " 1999 International Lover" from 1999 was the only one officially out there when he lay behind the piano, but in turn, several of Prince's big future hits were hatched this January-day. "Strange Relationship" (from Sign O The Times), "17 Days" (b-side of "When Doves Cry"), but most importantly, here became the first seed of what would turn out to be the signature of his sow, "Purple Rain". But just 88 seconds, but just enough to turn you on ... In addition, he makes a very unique version of the old gospel / negro spiritual song "Mary Do not You Weep". Only Aretha Franklin's 1972 version has made the hair curl in the same way. Joni Mitchell's A Case of You, he does here too, a song that has been fixed fixtures in Prince's piano set since before he entered puberty. The three undecided songs from the album "Wednesday", "Cold Coffee & Cocaine" (funky talkin blues) and "Why The Butterflies" (jazz-ish) are among the album's least important tracks, but it's the mix as is important here. It almost seems like Prince has recorded a thoughtful curated concert for himself, given the release 35 years later. It seems like Prince has fallen into a deep musical tune and that the songs weave perfectly in each other. Musical macramé on a high level.

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Review (in German) by SüdTirol News: https://www.suedtirolnews...-als-album Well, more of an article than a review. It also might be sourced from a press agency, since at the bottom there is a credit to APA / DPA.

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The acoustic session of 1983 is warmer and more intimate than most of what Prince put on 39 (!) Albums during his lifetime.

[...]

For 35 minutes, Prince pours his pieces into the keyboard, uninterrupted. Only to turn the cassette he sets off. He sings fervently into the microphone, drifts off into short beatbox variations and scat vocals.

[...]

In these fragments, the magic already sounds through which Prince later perfected on recordings and live on the stage should implement. On "Piano & A Microphone 1983" he still seems to think aloud and apparently suspects that he has not only encountered gold, but that where these melodies and lyrics come from, even more first-class material is hidden.

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I have an update on ordering the 7 inch from Rolling Stone Germany from anotehr country.

So a few weeeks ago I tried to order the 7 inch online. The entire website is in German so I kinda didn't know what I was doing but tried my best with Google Translate. It turns out I couldn't give a credit card over the internet but I would have to make a wire transfer once they sent me an invoice. They sent me an invoice via email but it's hella confusing so I didn't bother. Somewhere in the process I may have tried a second time to order but I also added the Bruce Springsteen 7 inch, David Bowie 7 inch and the SOTT dvd. Then I recieved another email saying that RS Germany could not fulfill the order because it's illigal to send the magazine to any country other than Germany, Austria and Switzerland. So then I really abandoned it. Needless to say, I still haven't paid for anything at this point.

Cut to this week and I get a notice to come to the post office and collect some stuff from Germany and lo and behold, I have three German Rolling Stone magazines with the two cover mount 7 inchs and SOTT dvd but no 17 Days 7 inch. Had to pay customs duty on the cover mounts however. I suspect (and HOPE) I will get a duplicate order soon with the 17 Days 7 inch included.

Just thought I'd update you guys on that.

feeluupp said:

Billboard review: https://www.billboard.com...1983-album -- ah, scrap that, it's jus a reprint of the AP article/review listed above

[Edited 9/18/18 23:27pm]

Review in Télérama (in French) by Laurent Rigoulet: https://www.telerama.fr/m...811934.php

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Google Translate gives this:

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It is heard as history has frozen forever: crazy, extravagant, frenetic genius, locked in his vast palace that only music lives. From the first chords of 17 Days, song of jealousy and loss where the tearful lover calls for divine rain, the body of Prince is stretched by pleasure and pleasure. His play is of a versatility which crosses the genres at a gallop and sublimates the sadness of the words. His voice never arises, man, woman, serious or mischievous. Gospel fumes inhabit the first song, we will find them again the time of a detour by the sacred repertoire ( Mary do not you weep, heard at the closing of the last film of Spike Lee).

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In thirty intense minutes, Piano and a microphone provides a rare document about the composer at work, acrobat without filter, without net, transported, tormented by desire and inspiration. Some songs begin in a bazaar where clash rhythms and onomatopoeia (Strange Relationship), others seem to arise from the moment to faint immediately, in the simple flame of improvisation ( Cold Coffee and cocaine , piano shaken, chipped voice of late night). Seized in the essence of his genius, Prince has rarely seemed so close. Piano and a microphone is a game disc, a disc of joy that rejects the very idea of ​​death.

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I think there's a rating at the top: the four "f"-like characters, followed by "On aime passionnément" ("We love passionately").

Review in Belgian weekly magazine Humo (in Dutch) by Serge Simonart (who's always been a massive Prince fan and has interviewed him): https://www.humo.be/cd-re...microphone

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4/5

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Fascinerend, funky en een must voor fans. En dit komt niet eens uit de legendarische Vault, maar is slechts privégepiel waarvan Prince nooit gewild zou hebben dat het verscheen, wegens wel goed naar onze normen, maar niet naar de zijne.

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Google translate:

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'Piano and a Microphone' is also the title of Prince's last (and only) solo tour, but this record has nothing to do with it. Recordings of the tour have long been available via bootleggers.

On the record, a recording of a rehearsal at Prince's home in 1983, the first seven songs form a demomedley. 'Purple Rain' can be heard on the piano in embryonic form as a bluesy ballad, not yet the bigger than life-hymn. Also what '17 Days' would become, could never be heard solo on piano. There are three jams that are not even known for Überfans: 'Wednesday', 'Cold Coffee & Cocaine' and 'Why the Butterflies'. He would save 'Strange Relationship' for another six years. There is a patch of Joni Mitchells 'A Case of You', and a start to the sensual ballad 'International Lover'.

Fascinating, funky and a must for fans. And this does not even come from the legendary Vault, but is only a private spike that Prince would never have liked to have appeared, due to our standards, but not to his.

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As per usual, it cannot be a Serge Simonart article about Prince without some major BS (example: he complained in the review for D&P or that Prince had never released "Still Would Stand All Time", which is on Graffiti Bridge, which he had actually reviewed):

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There are three jams that are not even known for Überfans: 'Wednesday', 'Cold Coffee & Cocaine' and 'Why the Butterflies'.

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Yeah sure, buddy, this recording has been available on numerous bootlegs for decades.

Thx Bart for posting all the reviews, keep up the good work!

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As I anticipated, we're getting positive to rave reviews. Let's see what happens as they'll keep coming but I doubt there will be many, if any, negative reviews. Those reviews comfort me in thinking that the Estate made the right decision by releasing this: while some fans dream of a release that could rival the popular success of the likes of Bruno Mars or Kendrick Lamar, there's no such thing in the vault and it was a smarter move to target critics as well as an older, more sophisticated audience in order to establish Prince as a serious musician as opposed to a mere entertainer.

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I have no doubt that this record will meet its audience.

I've actually come around to the idea that this is a decent enough choice for casuals to get a glimps of what've had for decades & likewsie for us to have it in better sound & with decent packaging.

Overall since P's passing the output is building steadily with:

P.Rain deluxe

Nothing Compares 2 U single & Video

Anthology [even though it was sequenced by a 5 yr old!]

Piano & Microphone 1983

+ New Tidal album due Jan 2019

Not bad BUT obviously a mountain yet to be unleashed.

[Edited 9/19/18 6:45am]

Surprised its not leaked yet. The official release i mean. Maybe the demand just aint there.

antonb said:

Surprised its not leaked yet. The official release i mean. Maybe the demand just aint there.

Leaks are not really related to demand. Those leaking sites put everything they can put their hands on without thinking much about what it is (I guess they make dough out of ads, I'm not sure why else they'd go thru the hassle of uploading 15 albums a day and risking severe legal backlash). Then as soon as something's out regular folks share the stuff on P2P networks. P&AM83 will be available illegally within days now.

[Edited 9/19/18 7:12am]

UK music monthly Classic Rock, issue 254, October 2018:

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Quiet please, genius at work.

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In 1983, the year he turned 25, Prince was reaching a peak. As the monumental double album 1999 became his major breakthrough, he was already plotting his blockbuster masterpiece Purple Rain. It was in this period that, working solo at his home studio in Minnesota, he recorded the material that now forms the first posthumous album drawn from the huge vault of unreleased music he left behind.

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Piano & A Microphone 1983 presents an intimate portrait of the artist alone, shut off from the madness of the life he was creating for himself, the creativity flowing out of him. It was a loose session, taped on a humble cassette, the hiss audible, along with the creaks from the piano pedals. And it was performed without interruption, each song blending into the next. A very brief, playful snippet of Purple Rain proves tantalizing. Most potent of all is the jazzy, bluesy, jive-talking Cold Coffee And Cocaine.

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For serious fans – and them only – this album is a revelation.

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7/10

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Paul Elliott

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PURPLEIZED3121 said:

+ New Tidal album due Jan 2019

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Oh look, more made up nonsense. Amazing how you guys take the announcement "will be released in 2019" and immediately morph this into "that's obviously going to be 1 January 2019 at one minute past midnight".

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Go on, try to find one source that pinpoints that release down to a month. Hell, if you read https://variety.com/2018/...202807371/ even 2019 is tentative.

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STICK. TO. THE. FACTS.

BartVanHemelen said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

+ New Tidal album due Jan 2019

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Oh look, more made up nonsense. Amazing how you guys take the announcement "will be released in 2019" and immediately morph this into "that's obviously going to be 1 January 2019 at one minute past midnight".

Article/review in Twin Cities / Pioneer Press: https://www.twincities.co...superstar/

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"A guide to every track" on The Boombox: http://theboombox.com/pri...983-songs/

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