independent and unofficial
Prince fan community
Welcome! Sign up or enter username and password to remember me
Forum jump
Forums > Prince: Music and More > How many of you skipped on The Black Album when it came out officially in 1994 because you already had a boot?
« Previous topic  Next topic »
Page 1 of 3 123>
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
Author

Tweet     Share

Message
Thread started 09/05/18 11:30am

Cinny

avatar

How many of you skipped on The Black Album when it came out officially in 1994 because you already had a boot?

Probably none of y'all, unless you hated the album.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #1 posted 09/05/18 11:33am

mikeyaddict

avatar

Cinny said:

Probably none of y'all, unless you hated the album.



I did. Only picked it up maybe 6 years ago cheap on amazon. I was 18 in 1994, and didn’t really have cash to spend on something I already had (plus two extra tracks with old friends and all my dreams tagged on the end.
Comin str8 outta Preston...
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #2 posted 09/05/18 11:38am

TrivialPursuit

avatar

Cinny said:

Probably none of y'all, unless you hated the album.


Not me, because no one I ever knew had a great copy of it. So to have it on CD at the time was a blessing. There were only what - 500K copies pressed? So yeah, I jumped right on it to have a clean copy. The rub of that is that it's so deeply rooted in 80s analog, it sounds muddy anyway. But less muddy than the 4th or 5th generation tape I had.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #3 posted 09/05/18 11:46am

Cinny

avatar

I didn't have it before 1994. PM Dawn had sampled it in 1991, and I had known it existed but no way to get my hands on a boot.

I bought it in 1994 ON CASSETTE lol

I later ended up buying the 1994 CD a couple times AND an earlier bootleg sourced from tape which had a charm of its own.

I just copped a bootleg on clear vinyl because I can't find the 1994 pressing, and a reissue hasn't come out yet.

All so I can listen to something people stream for free. wink



(So peace! Stay off my back / or I will attack / and you don't want that)

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #4 posted 09/05/18 11:47am

Cinny

avatar

TrivialPursuit said:

Cinny said:

Probably none of y'all, unless you hated the album.


Not me, because no one I ever knew had a great copy of it. So to have it on CD at the time was a blessing. There were only what - 500K copies pressed? So yeah, I jumped right on it to have a clean copy. The rub of that is that it's so deeply rooted in 80s analog, it sounds muddy anyway. But less muddy than the 4th or 5th generation tape I had.


Interesting that "Bob George" started as a drum beat back in the Purple Rain era. That one sounds good clean or muddy! smile

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #5 posted 09/05/18 12:57pm

thedance

avatar

Nonsense thread (sorry) wink


Prince's The Black Album is a Prince classic, the little brother or even the cousin to Camille and the Sign O' The Times albums.

9.5/ out of 10 imho.. masterpiece no less.

No one in their right mind would prefer a 1988 TBA-bootleg to "the original" 1994 release.



TBA: So much nerve so very edgy and so very original..

music

Prince 4Ever. heart
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #6 posted 09/05/18 1:00pm

luvsexy4all

thedance said:

Nonsense thread (sorry) wink


Prince's The Black Album is a Prince classic, the little brother or even the cousin to Camille and the Sign O' The Times albums.

9.5/ out of 10 imho.. masterpiece no less.

No one in their right mind would prefer a 1988 TBA-bootleg to "the original" 1994 release.



TBA: So much nerve so very edgy and so very original..

music

true ..but still needs a remastering thing with bonus tracks

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #7 posted 09/05/18 1:01pm

Cinny

avatar

I think you know the point I am trying to make without hijacking the Eye Records lawsuit thread.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #8 posted 09/05/18 1:15pm

billymeade

avatar

I still bought it, hoping it would be an upgrade from the boots... it wasn't, but that's ok.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #9 posted 09/05/18 1:46pm

ufoclub

avatar

Of course I picked it up regardless of the many bootleg CD and vinyl versions I already had

... simply because you wanted pristine official quality.

What's funny is one of my boot CD's sounded better (it must havebeen off a clean vinyl and had more range of highs and lows)! But that same boot had a little digital blip in one song that ruined it.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #10 posted 09/05/18 1:54pm

mynameisnotsus
an

I seem to remember it being a free bonus when I bought The Gold Experience - so I didn't get until late '95. Pretty sure I had it on cd before it was officially released. The cover was a Batman era photo with about 8 extra tracks.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #11 posted 09/05/18 2:02pm

Genesia

avatar

If you heard the sound quality of the boot I had, you wouldn't even ask. lol

We don’t mourn artists because we knew them. We mourn them because they helped us know ourselves.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #12 posted 09/05/18 2:21pm

Vannormal

Bought it five times.

-

First (and second) as a very bad quality bootleg on vinyl, and a few days later on cassette. (paid way too much for both, and was dissapointed.) (still have 'm wink)

Third time a few weeks later, but this time an excellent copy again on vinyl.

(...and again, paid a lot; I remember it well; 5000 Belgian Francs, in 1988, or 125 EURO.

I worked hard as a student to be able to save and buy these releases.

The 'illegal-ness' of it all was unimportant and unaware to me, and as a 20 year old I was proud to have 'm.)

Fourth time an illegal CD version, bad quality too, paid a normal CD price back then.

Fifth time on CD release right when it came out in 1994. Normal price paid in 1994 (basically the same price as today).

-

Mind that back in time, it was not possible to listen to bootlegs when you wanted to buy them.

At least not where I found them.

It was a maater of take-it-or-leave-it.

-

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. And wiser people so full of doubts" (Bertrand Russell 1872-1972)
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #13 posted 09/05/18 2:45pm

airth

avatar

By that time, the boots were great quality. I just couldn't get excited about the release. I wasn't the only one. I was working for a major record company chain when it came it and it hardly sold at all. Even WB couldn't be bothered to promote it. I think I picked it up years later in a bargain bucket somewhere.



  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #14 posted 09/05/18 2:46pm

CherryMoon57

avatar

A (UK) penfriend had sent me a cassette copy of it circa 1988, which I played almost incessantly at the time, despite its very 'muffled' sound quality (to say the least). I still skipped the purchase in 1994, then having had my own doubts about the inspiration behind the album. In 2007, I was given a much better digital copy of it, which I was happy to have as it nicely completed my digital Prince collection. I must admit, I rarely listen to it nowadays, but whenever I do, it sure does bring back the magic.

Life Matters
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #15 posted 09/05/18 3:52pm

RODSERLING

I was only 8 years Old in 1994, So à fiend of mine copied it for me in 2002 from internet, with à black CD in à black crystal package.
.
Was there à booklet in the official 1994 release? I Always wondered.
.
It sounded extremely good in 2002 for a 1987 or 1994 release, just as if it were just released. Friends of mine Who didn t like Prince, really loved the Black album or Gold from the first listening. Too Bad thèse albums were never available and Will never be physically, they were good introduction to Prince in the 2000's.
.
Even I, as à fan, Couldn t have the chance to buy it new, which is a shame.
.
The Black album deserved to be in the usual top 500 lists of Rolling Stone etc. Because it was an incredible sound and in term of release/cancellation/ bootleg /marketing it is a milestone in the music industry
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #16 posted 09/05/18 6:11pm

dbpdexter

thedance said:

Nonsense thread (sorry) wink


Prince's The Black Album is a Prince classic, the little brother or even the cousin to Camille and the Sign O' The Times albums.

9.5/ out of 10 imho.. masterpiece no less.

No one in their right mind would prefer a 1988 TBA-bootleg to "the original" 1994 release.



TBA: So much nerve so very edgy and so very original..

music

THANK YOU!!! Who in their right mind wouldn't get a crystal clear copy of The Black Album as opposed to the muddy sounding audio of the boots. I'm not trying to be mean but this is kind of a dumb question. booty!

AKA PDEXTER
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #17 posted 09/06/18 5:58am

OldFriends4Sal
e

At the time, that it came out I was a bit iffy about Prince.

.

I had a boot, but my continuance in Prince music canon wasn't high at the time. I had a spark of excitement when I saw it, took me back to when I heard and received the Black album late 87

.

I had a rush, and then remembered where he was at currently and felt deflated and passed it over.I bought it a bit later though.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #18 posted 09/06/18 6:37am

GiggityGoo

avatar

I had a bootleg copy on vinyl that a friend had given me in 1990 or 1991. But I didn't have a turntable, so it sat on my shelf unplayed for 3 years. (Luckily, my friend had also made me a very VERY low-quality copy on cassette, so I did get to hear the music.)

.

But then, sometime later, at my local wrecka stow, I found a bootleg CD. So I paid a pretty penny for that gem, and was able to hear it a tad clearer.

.

When I heard about the official release in 1994, I was ecstatic. I went to the very same wrecka stow the day it came out and bought the first copy on the shelf. I then gave my bootleg CD to a very attractive young woman I was wooing at the time. (Spoiler alert: my musical gift worked like a charm... Thank you Prince!)

.

To this day, "Le Grind" and "Bob George" are in my Top 20 favorite Prince tracks. I could listen to "Le Grind" all day long... what an awesome beat.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #19 posted 09/06/18 6:53am

partyup77

I didn't even know it was being released officially until I saw it in the record store and almost died. I bought one which was a definite upgrade from the bootleg LP I had owned for 5 or 6 years prior to the official release.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #20 posted 09/06/18 7:00am

Cinny

avatar

Genesia said:

If you heard the sound quality of the boot I had, you wouldn't even ask. lol

lol Ayyy my boot wasn't so bad.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #21 posted 09/06/18 7:15am

NorthC

I was lucky enough to find the LP and I'm still very happy with that.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #22 posted 09/06/18 7:50am

ufoclub

avatar

GiggityGoo said:

I had a bootleg copy on vinyl that a friend had given me in 1990 or 1991. But I didn't have a turntable, so it sat on my shelf unplayed for 3 years. (Luckily, my friend had also made me a very VERY low-quality copy on cassette, so I did get to hear the music.)


.


But then, sometime later, at my local wrecka stow, I found a bootleg CD. So I paid a pretty penny for that gem, and was able to hear it a tad clearer.


.


When I heard about the official release in 1994, I was ecstatic. I went to the very same wrecka stow the day it came out and bought the first copy on the shelf. I then gave my bootleg CD to a very attractive young woman I was wooing at the time. (Spoiler alert: my musical gift worked like a charm... Thank you Prince!)


.


To this day, "Le Grind" and "Bob George" are in my Top 20 favorite Prince tracks. I could listen to "Le Grind" all day long... what an awesome beat.



Le Grind is one of my all time most played tracks as well. I wish there were demos of the mixes as it developed!
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #23 posted 09/06/18 9:16am

scratchtasia

OldFriends4Sale said:

At the time, that it came out I was a bit iffy about Prince.

.

I had a boot, but my continuance in Prince music canon wasn't high at the time. I had a spark of excitement when I saw it, took me back to when I heard and received the Black album late 87

.

I had a rush, and then remembered where he was at currently and felt deflated and passed it over.I bought it a bit later though.


I was iffy on Prince's output of the early to mid-90s myself, but I ran right out and bought The Black Album on CD right away. It was definitely a sonic improvement over a copied cassette of a bootleg.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #24 posted 09/06/18 9:18am

Cinny

avatar

My bootleg CD sounds like it is TAPE sourced, but it isn't light and hissy, it fuckin' THUMPS! Some days I prefer it to the official Warner Brothers release - but make no mistake I would cop an authentic 1988 or 1994 vinyl pressing given the chance.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #25 posted 09/06/18 10:06am

sulls

avatar

Heck, I bought two!

"I like to watch."
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #26 posted 09/06/18 10:11am

andrewm7

I remember queuing up for it the day it was released in Sydney smile
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #27 posted 09/06/18 11:13am

djThunderfunk

avatar

After having purchased at least 1/2 dozen different bootlegs, including a near perfect sounding LP and a perfect sounding CD... yes I bought the official CD, and would have bought the official LP if I ever saw it in a wrecka stow. In fact I'll still buy an official viny if they ever get around to a reissue.

Liberty > Authority
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #28 posted 09/06/18 11:42am

Cinny

avatar

djThunderfunk said:

After having purchased at least 1/2 dozen different bootlegs, including a near perfect sounding LP and a perfect sounding CD... yes I bought the official CD, and would have bought the official LP if I ever saw it in a wrecka stow. In fact I'll still buy an official viny if they ever get around to a reissue.


I could have sworn I heard an official vinyl reissue was in the works, right after originals were selling for crazy on Discogs.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #29 posted 09/06/18 12:33pm

djThunderfunk

avatar

Cinny said:

djThunderfunk said:

After having purchased at least 1/2 dozen different bootlegs, including a near perfect sounding LP and a perfect sounding CD... yes I bought the official CD, and would have bought the official LP if I ever saw it in a wrecka stow. In fact I'll still buy an official viny if they ever get around to a reissue.


I could have sworn I heard an official vinyl reissue was in the works, right after originals were selling for crazy on Discogs.


They announced that one prematurely. I think they had a "one-time limited edition" deal to release the 94 version that prevents reissues.




[Edited 9/6/18 12:33pm]

Liberty > Authority
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Page 1 of 3 123>
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
« Previous topic  Next topic »
Forums > Prince: Music and More > How many of you skipped on The Black Album when it came out officially in 1994 because you already had a boot?