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Thread started 08/01/19 6:58pm

feeluupp

Prince Classic, 1999, Reissues In Remastered 5 CD/DVD, 10 LP/DVD Boxes - Release: November 29




Via Casey Rain aka Militant wink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axtKIsmhV5k



*******************

Purple Deluxe update: https://www.youtube.com/w...DpyU57bysM


It's now official !!!! [luv4u]

[Pre-order date unknown at this time. Watch for updates - luv4u]

https://www.musictap.com/...QsLcMPwGRE

Tracklisting included below!!


https://funkatopia.com/fu...e-reissue/

*******************

Prince Facebook page Announcement (including artwork): https://www.facebook.com/...7763136664

Covers:

70349575_1703297686470005_4856646673541103616_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_oc=AQlO2haonG9RooLTZT4400PH5KlDHUWTI_Jv0boYy4897iUHV5DJxJ2eBzlGjW4S888&_nc_ht=scontent.fphl2-4.fna&oh=9ebe4c6d6d5ce53ffe58e41ccf1c73f2&oe=5E05B7F7
70462983_1703297659803341_2622541120093028352_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_oc=AQlLICGGruAlIrGKzhgT9ta3KxxKY6O_6E8F9ZHSm35fY0dZGxWxg4UCRunUyFvjHso&_nc_ht=scontent.fphl2-4.fna&oh=bb8a0c0393d733b30bd44ea866a1d7f1&oe=5E107508


New artwork:

70349575_1703297686470005_4856646673541103616_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_oc=AQlO2haonG9RooLTZT4400PH5KlDHUWTI_Jv0boYy4897iUHV5DJxJ2eBzlGjW4S888&_nc_ht=scontent.fphl2-4.fna&oh=6b954c550ae248115f062bc8100e7c6b&oe=5DEF19F5

https://www.prince.com/article/1999




Former album artwork:

Prince-1999-reissue.jpg



On November 15, Warner Brothers Music will return to 1999 with a Super Deluxe package that will be reissued on 5CD/1DVD and 10LP/1DVD box sets. Both sets will feature new remastering for the classic album, as well as deliver a collection of vault tracks, promo mixes and B-sides, and a previously unreleased live performance set from a Detroit show on November 30, 1982. The DVD will provide video for his previously unreleased live set at The Summit in Houston, TX on December 29, 1982. The boxes are rounded out with a stuffed booklet of new liner notes, detailed Vault Tracks notes, rare photos, and copies of the lyrics in handwritten form.

Warner Brothers Records will also release 4LP and 2CD versions of 1999 that include the original album, and the promo mixes and B-sides, all with 2019 remaster.

1999 (Super Deluxe Box – 5CD/1DVD; 10LP/1DVD) – Prince


CD1/LP1&2 (Original Album with 2019 Remaster)
01 1999
02 Little Red Corvette
03 Delirious
04 Let’s Pretend We’re Married
05 D.M.S.R.
06 Automatic
07 Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)
08 Free
09 Lady Cab Driver
10 All The Critics Love U In New York
11 International Lover



CD2/LP3&4 (Promo Mixes and B-sides, 2019 Remaster)
01 1999 (7″ Stereo Edit)
02 1999 (7″ Mono Promo-Only Edit)
03 Free (Promo Only Edit
04 How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore
05 Little Red Corvette (7″ Edit)
06 All The Critics Love U In New York (7″ Edit)
07 Lady Cab Driver (7″ Edit)
08 Little Red Corvette (Dance Remix Promo Only Edit)
09 Little Red Corvette (Special Dance Mix)
10 Delirious (7″ Edit)
11 Horny Toad
12 Automatic (7″ Edit)
13 Automatic (Video Version)
14 Let’s Pretend We’re Married (7″ Edit)
15 Let’s Pretend We’re Married (7″ Mono Promo Only Edit)
16 Irresistible Bitch
17 Let’s Pretend We’re Married (Video Version)
18 D.M.S.R. (Edit)



CD3/LP5&6 (Vault Tracks Pt 1, recorded between November 1981 and April 1982)
01 Feel U Up
02 Irresistible Bitch
03 Money Don’t Grow On Trees
04 Vagina
05 Rearrange
06 Bold Generation
07 Colleen
08 International Lover (Take 1) [Live In Studio]
09 Turn It Up
10 You’re All I Want
11 Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)
12 If It’ll Make U Happy
13 How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore? (Take 2)



CD4/LP7&8 (Vault Tracks Pt 2, recorded between April 1982 and January 1983)
01 Possessed (1982 Version)
02 Delirious (Full Length)
03 Purple Music
04 Yah, You Know
05 Moonbeam Levels (2019 Remaster)
06 No Call U
07 Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got
08 Do Yourself A Favor
09 Don’t Let Him Fool Ya
10 Teacher, Teacher
11 Lady Cab Driver / I Wanna Be Your Lover / Little Red Corvette (Tour Demo)



CD5/LP9&10 (Live In Detroit at Masonic Temple Theater, Masonic Hall (Late Show) – November 30, 1982, Previously Unreleased)
01 Controversy
02 Let’s Work
03 Little Red Corvette
04 Do Me, Baby
05 Head
06 Uptown
07 Lisa’s Keyboard Interlude
08 How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?
09 Automatic
10 International Lover
11 1999
12 D.M.S.R.



DVD (Live at The Summit, Houston, TX, – December 29, 1982, Previously Unreleased)
01 Controversy
02 Let’s Work
03 Do Me, Baby
04 D.M.S.R.
05 Keyboard Interlude
06 Piano Improvisation
07 How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?
08 Lady Cab Driver
09 Automatic
10 International Lover
11 1999
12 Head

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Reply #1 posted 08/01/19 7:12pm

sulls

avatar

Like to see the original Possessed on this one as well.
"I like to watch."
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Reply #2 posted 08/01/19 9:55pm

TrivialPursuit

avatar

sulls said:

Like to see the original Possessed on this one as well.


Unlikely that will happen. There's room for plenty of unreleased songs.

In general - I'm quite curious to see what they fill up on another CD with this release. I do believe it'll happen. And I believe, along with Militant, that Originals and PAAM 1983 sort of de-prioritized 1999 Deluxe - for now. If it doesn't come out later this year, 2020 spring would be perfect, around March or April. I am just surmising that.

Whatever comes out, we'll never be short on new Prince music.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
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Reply #3 posted 08/01/19 11:03pm

jstar69

They say October? A couple of months away? No year stated though! Fingers crossed
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Reply #4 posted 08/01/19 11:39pm

udo

avatar

I did not hear them say 'double', 'triple' or whatever...

Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill... If you don't believe me or don't get it, I don't have time to try to convince you, sorry.
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Reply #5 posted 08/02/19 12:49am

love2thenines2
003

udo said:

I did not hear them say 'double', 'triple' or whatever...

Maybe Militant might inlight us a little more about the format ?

[Edited 8/2/19 1:11am]

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Reply #6 posted 08/02/19 12:50am

jjam

If there's no press release about this by the end of this month, there's no way it'll be released this year.

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Reply #7 posted 08/02/19 1:15am

love2thenines2
003

jjam said:

If there's no press release about this by the end of this month, there's no way it'll be released this year.

Press release 4 originals was in April for a June release ...right ? ....so ?

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Reply #8 posted 08/02/19 1:56am

BartVanHemelen

avatar

love2thenines2003 said:

jjam said:

If there's no press release about this by the end of this month, there's no way it'll be released this year.

Press release 4 originals was in April for a June release ...right ? ....so ?

.

Last months of the year are extremely competitive WRT releases.

.

[Edited 8/2/19 1:57am]

© Bart Van Hemelen
This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties, and confers no rights.
It is not authorized by Prince or the NPG Music Club. You assume all risk for
your use. All rights reserved.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #9 posted 08/02/19 2:06am

Moonbeam

avatar

This gives me hope that it will happen as Militant has come through before.

Hope I don't get crapped on for this, but I recently re-did my all time favorite albums list and wrote about the personal impact each of the top 25 had on me. 1999 is my all-time favorite, so needless to say, I'd be incredibly excited if this came to be. Here's what I wrote:

#1: Prince - 1999 (1982)

Ordering this top 25 has been very difficult. I've actually changed the order of the remaining albums a few times, making this exercise feel a bit like Album Survivor. That said, there was never any doubt that 1999 would be my #1. The way it has imprinted itself on my soul blows everything else away.

When I first heard Prince in 1989, I encountered some of his earlier singles through music videos during days-long MTV video marathons where they would play several videos from tons of artists. In this way I discovered the magic of songs like "When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy", "Raspberry Beret", "Kiss", "U Got the Look", and "Alphabet St.". But it was "1999" that hooked me. The opening fanfare of the synths immediately grabbed my attention, soon joined by that first Earth-shattering rumble of the Linn 1 drum machine, and then exploded into a funk bonanza with the delectable bass and guitar licks. The way it wedded the neon of synths with the irresistible gravitational pull of funk left me completely mesmerised, connecting to the deepest part of me. It sounded so massive, an unconquerable force of nature that unleashed unfathomable joy and perpetual motion all at once, tapping into some unlocked quintessence of me later joined by The Gap Band's "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" and Stevie Wonder's "My Eyes Don't Cry".

I started to buy music that year after my parents bought me a cassette player. I quickly bought a BackTrax cassette single featuring "1999" and "Little Red Corvette", another herculean song which used its synths so differently, ebbing and flowing with cinematic warmth before kicking into pop/rock immortality. I played it over and over until I eventually bought a cassette of the whole album, and thus began my decades-long obsession with this album. Actually, the word "album" doesn't cut it, as 1999 feels like an entire world unto itself. Indeed, the songs felt like they were conceived or hatched or unearthed in an isolated lab, cracking open new dimensions that melded sounds and images and all sorts of emotions into a sort of primal omnipresence.

Every single song ingrained itself into my every fiber. I discovered with delight that "1999" offered even more thrills than the sub 4-minute single version I knew and loved, opening with a robotic god-like voice announcing its desire for the listener to have fun before the rumbles of the Linn 1 deliver just that, activating the galactic motion of the thing for over 6 minutes of extended revelry. "Little Red Corvette" was improved with its extended pyrotechnics as well, while "Delirious" was an immediate hit for me with its squeaking synths amplifying a delightful zaniness. "Let's Pretend We're Married" paired Hi-NRG relentlessness with wanton desire in pulsating bursts of megavoltage. "D.M.S.R." was a call to arms for revellers of all sorts, with sassy, brassy synths prancing atop lethal slap bass licks guaranteed to shake and quake a crowd. The synths in "Automatic" were so singularly captivating, transmitting an alien glow equal parts eerie and irresistible. Both "Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)", with its fractured nightmarish magma of scalding synths, frenzied Linn drum patterns, and primordial shrieks as well as "Free" with its anthemic fireworks ignited my emotions. "Lady Cab Driver" blended blistering rock volcanism with thumping funk rhythms, and "All the Critics Love U in New York" convulsed with such a galvanizing freakiness that my face contorted inexorably to the rhythm of its hyperfunkplasma. And the swansong ballad "International Lover" ended the voyage with decadent verve.

1999 engaged me on all levels - it sparked my imagination, burned deep within my soul, and willed me to dance as if by remote control. The purple neon futuresynth soundscape that ties the album together saw my awestruck wonder extend to seemingly limitless heights. Most of the songs stretched to 6, 7, 8, or 9 minutes, but I felt they could go on forever, drowning each corner of my being in succulent splashes of serotonin. More than that, 1999 emboldened me to remain true to myself. In Prince, I had found a hero - this 5'3" titan of a man raised his freak flag so unapologetically high for all to see. At 10 years old, I had begun to feel like I didn't quite fit in, but 1999 helped to instill within me an insistence that I would not, could not change who I was at my core. If Prince could overcome the family troubles that saw him leave home at 12 as well as God-knows-what harassment due to his race, height, and comfort with his feminine side to release something so unrelentingly badass, I could face my troubles headfirst as well. In this way I felt not only permission, but a DUTY to be myself when I played the album. I had a very strong sense of who I was, and with 1999 I had a reliable way to reconnect with my sense of self when times got hard. If I needed confidence, I could blast "1999" or "D.M.S.R." to pep myself up. When I felt heartbreak or loneliness, I could lose myself in the guttural wails of "Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)" to exorcise those demons. If I felt like I was too weird for the world, I could play "Automatic" or "All the Critics Love U in New York" and feel encouraged to not only accept, but celebrate the quirks that made me… me.

I became a bit of a "purple evangelist", unable to help myself from proselytising about the wonders of Prince and his music. I've bought dozens of copies of 1999 over the years, both for myself and as gifts to others, even strangers who overheard it playing at a drive-thru window. It became a part of my identity, and my resultant Prince fandom changed my life in major ways, introducing me to dozens of friends, and eventually, the love of my life. I wouldn't have met my wife Tracy without Prince. I wouldn't have moved to Australia and started my career as a university academic without Prince. I wouldn't have my son without Prince. In Prince, I found not only an identity to help guide me throughout my childhood and adolescence, but a unique map to my wife, my new home country, and an entirely new life for me. And it was the opening rumble of "1999" that opened the door.

As such, as an album 1999 is the Alpha and the Omega for me. It was on 1999 that the peak of Prince's hunger met the peak of his vision and the peak of his ambition, creating the most vibrant soundscape of any album ever made. It is a 70 minute symphony of neon purple lasers illuminating a pitch black sky that will thrill and amaze me until the day I die. The wails of "Something in the Water" still go right through my core, that drum machine rumble in "1999" still moves with seismic thunder, the alien synthscape of "Automatic" still leaves me breathless, the twisted funk of "All the Critics in New York" still ignites wild fits of dancing in me, the propulsion of "Let's Pretend We're Married" still inhabits me with each pulse, the punishing bass and sassy synth of "D.M.S.R." still get me moving thousands of listens later.

It creates the most vivid pictures in my mind. I mean look at those worlds on the cover art that he drew! Prince made those worlds come to life in such a visual, visceral way. The ladder in the E leading up to the red staircase that climbs into the clouds in particular is so striking. And the guy isn't climbing the stairs as much as he is GROOVING his way up them. If I could think of one image of what Prince's music can do, it would be this. If "everybody's looking for the ladder" as Prince would later sing, I found mine in 1999.

Top 3 songs:

"Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)"
"1999"
"All the Critics Love U in New York"

Full review here

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!
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Reply #10 posted 08/02/19 2:12am

BartVanHemelen

avatar

Sheesh, a 9 minute video which somehow still manages to fail to include that Peggy McReary said that the long/unedited version of "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore" is coming out soon: https://variety.com/2019/...203235532/

.

Also, why would Warners suddenly release another album this year?

.

Oh, and the interview with Michael Howe wasn't with a Dutch magazine, it was with Humo, a Belgian magazine.

© Bart Van Hemelen
This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties, and confers no rights.
It is not authorized by Prince or the NPG Music Club. You assume all risk for
your use. All rights reserved.
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Reply #11 posted 08/02/19 2:14am

BartVanHemelen

avatar

Moonbeam said:

This gives me hope that it will happen as Militant has come through before.

.

Baseless speculation is a whole other ballgame than getting actual evidence.

© Bart Van Hemelen
This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties, and confers no rights.
It is not authorized by Prince or the NPG Music Club. You assume all risk for
your use. All rights reserved.
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Reply #12 posted 08/02/19 3:21am

VaultCurator

avatar

jjam said:

If there's no press release about this by the end of this month, there's no way it'll be released this year.

.

Warner seem to be releasing one album per year pretty consistently. 4Ever (2016), Purple Rain Deluxe (2017), Piano & A Microphone 1983 (2018), Originals (2019). I highly doubt their will be another Prince release before Christmas. It’s too close to Originals. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be extremely happy if they did.

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Reply #13 posted 08/02/19 3:23am

Moonbeam

avatar

BartVanHemelen said:



Moonbeam said:


This gives me hope that it will happen as Militant has come through before.



.


Baseless speculation is a whole other ballgame than getting actual evidence.



That’s true, but if the sources they have for this are the same as what they have had before, there is at least a track record of validity.

There has been a lot of speculation about 1999 Deluxe, and maybe this is as well, but I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!
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Reply #14 posted 08/02/19 5:01am

Romeoblu

That video is full of conjecture and there isn't any new information at all.


Needless to say if it does get released the Violet Reality will claim to have broken news.
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Reply #15 posted 08/02/19 5:03am

feeluupp

Romeoblu said:

That video is full of conjecture and there isn't any new information at all. Needless to say if it does get released the Violet Reality will claim to have broken news.

lol lol

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Reply #16 posted 08/02/19 7:43am

leadline

avatar

The 4 songs they say will be on it are:

1. Jerk Out 82 version

2. Lust U Always

3. Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) - Alternate version

4. Extraloveable original version

"You always get the dream that you deserve, from what you value the most" -Prince 2013
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Reply #17 posted 08/02/19 7:49am

love2thenines2
003

leadline said:

The 4 songs they say will be on it are:

1. Jerk Out 82 version


2. Lust U Always


3. Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) - Alternate version


4. Extraloveable original version



How come u don't call me anymore extended version cf Mc Creary Peggy Interview
[Edited 8/2/19 8:08am]
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Reply #18 posted 08/02/19 8:50am

yello1

love2thenines2003 said:

leadline said:

The 4 songs they say will be on it are:

1. Jerk Out 82 version

2. Lust U Always

3. Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) - Alternate version

4. Extraloveable original version

How come u don't call me anymore extended version cf Mc Creary Peggy Interview [Edited 8/2/19 8:08am]

I´ve lose all hope in listening to really new material if Sony in 2021 changes the way of doing things ... if there is going to be the same amount of songs as in PR DELUXE ...nothing to expect my predictions:
6. No Call U
7. Purple Music
8. Yah, U K now
9. Don´t Let Him Fool Ya
10. If It´ll Make U Happy
11. Little Red Corvette (Alternate Take)
what about those songs that nobody had heard talk ?
On the other hand I am tired of the material Prince gave to other artists sung by him (Originals it´s a disappointment to me) ... not to mention the frankestein mixes (outrageous)...
What more conservative minds resorting to things already edited or highly bootleged that the FANS have already heard ... there is no NEW material? I think this is quite far from the Prince mentality (regarding what Michael Howe says in the interviews) if he were alive ... because normally he was throwing unheard material.

[Edited 8/2/19 8:52am]

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Reply #19 posted 08/02/19 9:30am

soladeo1

A full-length version of IF IT'LL MAKE U HAPPY would be, by itself, worth the price of admission.

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Reply #20 posted 08/02/19 9:32am

leadline

avatar

yello1 said:

love2thenines2003 said:

leadline said: How come u don't call me anymore extended version cf Mc Creary Peggy Interview [Edited 8/2/19 8:08am]

I´ve lose all hope in listening to really new material if Sony in 2021 changes the way of doing things ... if there is going to be the same amount of songs as in PR DELUXE ...nothing to expect my predictions:
6. No Call U
7. Purple Music
8. Yah, U K now
9. Don´t Let Him Fool Ya
10. If It´ll Make U Happy
11. Little Red Corvette (Alternate Take)
what about those songs that nobody had heard talk ?
On the other hand I am tired of the material Prince gave to other artists sung by him (Originals it´s a disappointment to me) ... not to mention the frankestein mixes (outrageous)...
What more conservative minds resorting to things already edited or highly bootleged that the FANS have already heard ... there is no NEW material? I think this is quite far from the Prince mentality (regarding what Michael Howe says in the interviews) if he were alive ... because normally he was throwing unheard material.

[Edited 8/2/19 8:52am]


Not sure if the same guy that botched the Originals songs by drowning Prince's voice is a billion pounds of reverb did the mixes for 1900 Deluxe, probably, hopefully, it is a different person. Voilet reality was saying those are the only 4 confirmed, there will be more, so the ones you listed still have a shot.

I bet the estate is working through the bootlegged stuff first, it would allow them to hurt the market, at least for studio stuff.



[Edited 8/2/19 9:32am]

"You always get the dream that you deserve, from what you value the most" -Prince 2013
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Reply #21 posted 08/02/19 9:39am

yello1

leadline said:


Not sure if the same guy that botched the Originals songs by drowning Prince's voice is a billion pounds of reverb did the mixes for 1900 Deluxe, probably, hopefully, it is a different person. Voilet reality was saying those are the only 4 confirmed, there will be more, so the ones you listed still have a shot.

I bet the estate is working through the bootlegged stuff first, it would allow them to hurt the market, at least for studio stuff.



[Edited 8/2/19 9:32am]

Hopefully not...for both sad

wink

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Reply #22 posted 08/02/19 10:05am

yello1

soladeo1 said:

A full-length version of IF IT'LL MAKE U HAPPY would be, by itself, worth the price of admission.

I agree

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Reply #23 posted 08/02/19 10:13am

leadline

avatar

yello1 said:

leadline said:


Not sure if the same guy that botched the Originals songs by drowning Prince's voice is a billion pounds of reverb did the mixes for 1900 Deluxe, probably, hopefully, it is a different person. Voilet reality was saying those are the only 4 confirmed, there will be more, so the ones you listed still have a shot.

I bet the estate is working through the bootlegged stuff first, it would allow them to hurt the market, at least for studio stuff.



[Edited 8/2/19 9:32am]

Hopefully not...for both sad

wink


Definitely hopefully not on the cornering the bootleg market. but it would be smart on their part.

[Edited 8/2/19 10:51am]

"You always get the dream that you deserve, from what you value the most" -Prince 2013
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Reply #24 posted 08/02/19 10:43am

BartVanHemelen

avatar

yello1 said:

love2thenines2003 said:

leadline said: How come u don't call me anymore extended version cf Mc Creary Peggy Interview [Edited 8/2/19 8:08am]

I´ve lose all hope in listening to really new material if Sony in 2021 changes the way of doing things ...

.

Or you could read the press release about that deal and INFORM YOURSELF.

© Bart Van Hemelen
This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties, and confers no rights.
It is not authorized by Prince or the NPG Music Club. You assume all risk for
your use. All rights reserved.
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Reply #25 posted 08/02/19 12:30pm

Rev

avatar

Moonbeam said:

This gives me hope that it will happen as Militant has come through before.

Hope I don't get crapped on for this, but I recently re-did my all time favorite albums list and wrote about the personal impact each of the top 25 had on me. 1999 is my all-time favorite, so needless to say, I'd be incredibly excited if this came to be. Here's what I wrote:

#1: Prince - 1999 (1982)

Ordering this top 25 has been very difficult. I've actually changed the order of the remaining albums a few times, making this exercise feel a bit like Album Survivor. That said, there was never any doubt that 1999 would be my #1. The way it has imprinted itself on my soul blows everything else away.

When I first heard Prince in 1989, I encountered some of his earlier singles through music videos during days-long MTV video marathons where they would play several videos from tons of artists. In this way I discovered the magic of songs like "When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy", "Raspberry Beret", "Kiss", "U Got the Look", and "Alphabet St.". But it was "1999" that hooked me. The opening fanfare of the synths immediately grabbed my attention, soon joined by that first Earth-shattering rumble of the Linn 1 drum machine, and then exploded into a funk bonanza with the delectable bass and guitar licks. The way it wedded the neon of synths with the irresistible gravitational pull of funk left me completely mesmerised, connecting to the deepest part of me. It sounded so massive, an unconquerable force of nature that unleashed unfathomable joy and perpetual motion all at once, tapping into some unlocked quintessence of me later joined by The Gap Band's "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" and Stevie Wonder's "My Eyes Don't Cry".

I started to buy music that year after my parents bought me a cassette player. I quickly bought a BackTrax cassette single featuring "1999" and "Little Red Corvette", another herculean song which used its synths so differently, ebbing and flowing with cinematic warmth before kicking into pop/rock immortality. I played it over and over until I eventually bought a cassette of the whole album, and thus began my decades-long obsession with this album. Actually, the word "album" doesn't cut it, as 1999 feels like an entire world unto itself. Indeed, the songs felt like they were conceived or hatched or unearthed in an isolated lab, cracking open new dimensions that melded sounds and images and all sorts of emotions into a sort of primal omnipresence.

Every single song ingrained itself into my every fiber. I discovered with delight that "1999" offered even more thrills than the sub 4-minute single version I knew and loved, opening with a robotic god-like voice announcing its desire for the listener to have fun before the rumbles of the Linn 1 deliver just that, activating the galactic motion of the thing for over 6 minutes of extended revelry. "Little Red Corvette" was improved with its extended pyrotechnics as well, while "Delirious" was an immediate hit for me with its squeaking synths amplifying a delightful zaniness. "Let's Pretend We're Married" paired Hi-NRG relentlessness with wanton desire in pulsating bursts of megavoltage. "D.M.S.R." was a call to arms for revellers of all sorts, with sassy, brassy synths prancing atop lethal slap bass licks guaranteed to shake and quake a crowd. The synths in "Automatic" were so singularly captivating, transmitting an alien glow equal parts eerie and irresistible. Both "Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)", with its fractured nightmarish magma of scalding synths, frenzied Linn drum patterns, and primordial shrieks as well as "Free" with its anthemic fireworks ignited my emotions. "Lady Cab Driver" blended blistering rock volcanism with thumping funk rhythms, and "All the Critics Love U in New York" convulsed with such a galvanizing freakiness that my face contorted inexorably to the rhythm of its hyperfunkplasma. And the swansong ballad "International Lover" ended the voyage with decadent verve.

1999 engaged me on all levels - it sparked my imagination, burned deep within my soul, and willed me to dance as if by remote control. The purple neon futuresynth soundscape that ties the album together saw my awestruck wonder extend to seemingly limitless heights. Most of the songs stretched to 6, 7, 8, or 9 minutes, but I felt they could go on forever, drowning each corner of my being in succulent splashes of serotonin. More than that, 1999 emboldened me to remain true to myself. In Prince, I had found a hero - this 5'3" titan of a man raised his freak flag so unapologetically high for all to see. At 10 years old, I had begun to feel like I didn't quite fit in, but 1999 helped to instill within me an insistence that I would not, could not change who I was at my core. If Prince could overcome the family troubles that saw him leave home at 12 as well as God-knows-what harassment due to his race, height, and comfort with his feminine side to release something so unrelentingly badass, I could face my troubles headfirst as well. In this way I felt not only permission, but a DUTY to be myself when I played the album. I had a very strong sense of who I was, and with 1999 I had a reliable way to reconnect with my sense of self when times got hard. If I needed confidence, I could blast "1999" or "D.M.S.R." to pep myself up. When I felt heartbreak or loneliness, I could lose myself in the guttural wails of "Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)" to exorcise those demons. If I felt like I was too weird for the world, I could play "Automatic" or "All the Critics Love U in New York" and feel encouraged to not only accept, but celebrate the quirks that made me… me.

I became a bit of a "purple evangelist", unable to help myself from proselytising about the wonders of Prince and his music. I've bought dozens of copies of 1999 over the years, both for myself and as gifts to others, even strangers who overheard it playing at a drive-thru window. It became a part of my identity, and my resultant Prince fandom changed my life in major ways, introducing me to dozens of friends, and eventually, the love of my life. I wouldn't have met my wife Tracy without Prince. I wouldn't have moved to Australia and started my career as a university academic without Prince. I wouldn't have my son without Prince. In Prince, I found not only an identity to help guide me throughout my childhood and adolescence, but a unique map to my wife, my new home country, and an entirely new life for me. And it was the opening rumble of "1999" that opened the door.

As such, as an album 1999 is the Alpha and the Omega for me. It was on 1999 that the peak of Prince's hunger met the peak of his vision and the peak of his ambition, creating the most vibrant soundscape of any album ever made. It is a 70 minute symphony of neon purple lasers illuminating a pitch black sky that will thrill and amaze me until the day I die. The wails of "Something in the Water" still go right through my core, that drum machine rumble in "1999" still moves with seismic thunder, the alien synthscape of "Automatic" still leaves me breathless, the twisted funk of "All the Critics in New York" still ignites wild fits of dancing in me, the propulsion of "Let's Pretend We're Married" still inhabits me with each pulse, the punishing bass and sassy synth of "D.M.S.R." still get me moving thousands of listens later.

It creates the most vivid pictures in my mind. I mean look at those worlds on the cover art that he drew! Prince made those worlds come to life in such a visual, visceral way. The ladder in the E leading up to the red staircase that climbs into the clouds in particular is so striking. And the guy isn't climbing the stairs as much as he is GROOVING his way up them. If I could think of one image of what Prince's music can do, it would be this. If "everybody's looking for the ladder" as Prince would later sing, I found mine in 1999.

Top 3 songs:

"Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)"
"1999"
"All the Critics Love U in New York"

Full review here

WOW.

I was 14 in NYC and there were commercials on the radio for the album coming. "Music from the year 2000" with 1999 playing behind it. It was banned in my house, because of the Controersy album. So, I had to buy it on cassette to hide it. lol

I was in my own Prince world with 1999, What time is and the Vanity 6 albums playing on my boom box cool I had my first girlfriend. I was kicking purple ass !


Game changer

"All the critics Love U" was my year book signature.

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Reply #26 posted 08/02/19 12:52pm

pricetag

BartVanHemelen said:

Sheesh, a 9 minute video which somehow still manages to fail to include that Peggy McReary said that the long/unedited version of "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore" is coming out soon: https://variety.com/2019/...203235532/

.

Also, why would Warners suddenly release another album this year?

.

Oh, and the interview with Michael Howe wasn't with a Dutch magazine, it was with Humo, a Belgian magazine.

Haha. Belgian not Dutch. We're fucked. Ingrate.

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Reply #27 posted 08/02/19 1:02pm

Ugot2shakesumt
hin

Love the piano demo for Something In The Water. Glad to see it officially being released.

Love the Prince version of Jerk Out as well. His version of Chocolate is awesome too, i wonder if it could be there as well?

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Reply #28 posted 08/02/19 2:13pm

SoulAlive

I was hoping that this week's "big announcement" would be the 1999 Deluxe Edition.I'm ready to pre-order this thing! biggrin This project excites me much more than what has already been released.

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Reply #29 posted 08/02/19 2:14pm

SoulAlive

leadline said:

3. Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) - Alternate version

4. Extraloveable original version

love they need to BRING IT ON!!

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Forums > Prince: Music and More > Prince Classic, 1999, Reissues In Remastered 5 CD/DVD, 10 LP/DVD Boxes - Release: November 29