Hi everyone.

I’m curious to know more about unreleased albums, or previous configurations of released albums, that have leaked into circulation in their entirety.

For example, there is a popular bootleg circulating entitled “Come - Original Test Press” because that’s exactly what the source was. It was an early configuration of the Come album that was presented to Warner Brothers as a test press.

I’d also like to distinguish the albums that are all from one genuine source and segregate them from the “fan mixes” or “Frankenstein creation” as I believe they are refereed to.

e.g. Up until recently, many version of the Camille album have been bootlegged by taking a leak of ‘Rebirth of the Flesh’ and sequencing it along with all of the released tracks. I believe that was common practice up until 2016 after a legitimate vinyl of the album was sold at auction.

Update: It turns out that this may not be true. A version of the Camille album began circulating in 2016 and there is some confusion as to whether or not it was made from the test press. As such we can not confirm that Camille has ever leaked from a single source.

If we can pool our intelligences I’d like to create a comprehensive list of these leaks, and note down if possible…
1) What each album was? (A brief history on it)
2) In what form did it leak? (ie Test Press Vinyl or CD, mastering studio cassette, demo cassette etc.)
3) Which bootleg it commonly appears on? Either an individual album or as part of a set.

Like I’ve stated, I want to create a comprehensive list, but albums that I am particularly curious about include…
The original sequence for Parade (commonly refereed to as Charade)
The first known sequence of Diamonds and Pearls (Diamonds and Pearls Beginnings)
The version of with all the interludes (I believe this is refereed to as ‘Love Symbol as intended’ or something to this effect.)
Both early versions of the NPG Exodus albums. (I think the later one is fantastic)

I have no idea how many (if any) of the above examples have leaked in their entirety, or whether the individual tracks leaked and someone has manages to cobble them together. But I’d like to find out as much as possible.

Thanks in advance for any input you may have.

Edit to update

[Edited 8/18/19 17:37pm]

I'm also very curious about this subject--I've listened to and enjoyed the configurations you mentioned, and I've seen claims back and forth about their "authenticity"--fanmade reconstruction based on a tracklist versus an actual testpressing or the like. I can't contribute any real knowledge to the discussion, but I'm hoping some of those who do know things will come forward and contribute.

nelcp777 said:

I could have sworn there was a file I hard before my hard drive crashed that was Crystal Ball sequenced (3 lps). It was 2 files, and the tracks were not separate, but one long track similar to the concept of Lovesexy. I wish I could find that release. It was awesome.

.

Any idea when you received it?
.
There is a Japanese release (tracked, not just all one track) that was released in 2015 called ‘Crystal Ball (including The Flesh)’. It is believed to have been assembled in it’s entirety from master cassettes. https://prince.org/msg/7/414817 I say this because a spectral analysis shows that it was all from the same source. A few years after it was released, Eric Leeds auctioned off a set of master cassettes that were handed to band members as reference material. I’m not implying that it was Eric’s cassettes used to make the bootleg, but we know that Prince certainly made cassettes of the album from the mastering studio. Also there does appear to be some light cassette hiss on the bootleg. Although there is no way of knowing for certain that it came from master cassettes, it’s beyond a reasonable doubt at this point.

VaultCurator said:

e.g. Up until recently, many version of the Camille album have been bootlegged by taking a leak of ‘Rebirth of the Flesh’ and sequencing it along with all of the released tracks. I believe that was common practice up until 2016 after a legitimate vinyl of the album was sold at au

I mean, a clean version of "Rebirth of the Flesh" still hasn't been made available, so the clangy one out there has to do the trick for now. (Or the NPGMC take.) I don't know that any auction stopped people from sequencing their own Camille album. It's not like it's been leaked.

I was just listening to my Camille playlist today in the car. I used to have one with the longer versions of "Housequake", "Shockadelica", "Feel U Up". It's such a fun playlist, really. I wondered what it would have been like if that were just put out with no promotion whatsoever, and let it be found out, all while still releasing some version of Sign O The Times. Although, SOTT without the Camille tracks on it seems less-than.

TrivialPursuit said:

VaultCurator said:

e.g. Up until recently, many version of the Camille album have been bootlegged by taking a leak of ‘Rebirth of the Flesh’ and sequencing it along with all of the released tracks. I believe that was common practice up until 2016 after a legitimate vinyl of the album was sold at au

I mean, a clean version of "Rebirth of the Flesh" still hasn't been made available, so the clangy one out there has to do the trick for now. (Or the NPGMC take.) I don't know that any auction stopped people from sequencing their own Camille album. It's not like it's been leaked.

I was just listening to my Camille playlist today in the car. I used to have one with the longer versions of "Housequake", "Shockadelica", "Feel U Up". It's such a fun playlist, really. I wondered what it would have been like if that were just put out with no promotion whatsoever, and let it be found out, all while still releasing some version of Sign O The Times. Although, SOTT without the Camille tracks on it seems less-than.

.

The Camille vinyl hasn't leaked? DAMN!
.

I was going by this thread https://prince.org/msg/7/433819. I assumed that this version everyone is referring to from 2016 was a recording of the vinyl. Now I read more into it, it appears to be up for debate as to whether or not it's legit, with most users leaning towards fan made.

.

Damn! I guess all Camille albums are still fan made. I did buy a copy of the PGA Camille album that claimed to be from the test press, and I was convinced it was a fake. More than convinced as I found an inconsistancy between tracks that proves it wasn't legit. I figured I'd been duped, but maybe what I was listening to was the same 2016 leak that was alleged to be the test press version.

Edit due to broken link

[Edited 8/18/19 17:38pm]

VaultCurator said:

The Camille vinyl hasn't leaked? DAMN!

I've yet to see it anywhere.

I do not belive an acutal sequenced leak of "Camille" has been circulated. There is at least one "test printing" of the album that was acutioned for $29K in 2016. But what I have heard that was said to be the album seems to be fan sequenced.

( https://www.rollingstone....on-126736/ ) (https://prince.org/msg/7/432326 )

So far as I know whoever bought it did leak it.


There is what seems to a legit leak of one of the "Dream Factory" sequences out there. And over the years we've seen "Parade" and "Diamonds and Pearls" collections that claim to be early sequences... (as the songs are different versions is some cases it is possible that they are real and not fan sequences from seperate leak sources)

There was a single disc, early, version of Emancipation that leaked a long time back that everybody assumed was fake or fan compiled...until the source showed up on an auction site.

If I recall correctly, the Crystal Ball leak a few years back (this release) was legit, but the source was a tape at the end of the day, you have to be willing to deal with tape noise. As discussed in that thread it seems likely it was used as the source for the Camille release a few months later. No rip of any of the Camille test-pressings has been made public.

[Edited 8/19/19 6:22am]

Was Box O'Chocolates all from one tape as well?

This one:



1.Witness 4 The Prosecution 2.Movie Star 3.A Place In Heaven 4.The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker 5.Starfish And Coffee 6.Girl O' My Dreams 7.Can't Stop This Feeling I Got 8.We Can Funk 9.Data Bank 10.Wonderful Ass 11.All Day, All Night

If so I don't know what the source(s) for this one tape themselves were, I don't think it was anything planned for release.

Thanks for all the info so far everyone. So the list so far is as follows...
.
The master list
.
Album: Dream Factory (Configuration III - 18 July 1986)
Source: Master Cassettes (assumed - citation needed)
Released as: Dream Factory (Thunderball TB #135/136)
Note: Split second silences between tracks, likely due to software presets when inserting track marks. Cassette quality.
.
Album: Crystal Ball (30 November 1986)
Source: Master Cassettes (beyond reasonable doubt)
Released as: Crystal Ball (including The Flesh) (Irukandji Music Ltd. IRUK140377-78)
Note: Cassette quality.
.
Album: Come (19 March 1994 configuration)
Source: Test Press CD (beyond reasonable doubt)
Released as: Come Original Test Pressing (various)
.
Album: Emancipation (Configuration II 1995)
Source: Test Press CD (citation needed)
Released as: Emancipation - The Secret Chapter (Sabotage SAB #029)
.
.
Known Frankenstein creations
.
Album: Dream Factory (Configuration II - 3 June 1986 configuration)
Sources: Mixture of released and unreleased tracks
Released as part of: The 1986 Box Set
Note: Poor effort. Volume not normalised between tracks / sources.
.
Album: Camille (5 November 1986)
Sources: Mixture of released tracks along with Rebirth leak
Released as: Camille (various editions)
Note: Although a mastered vinyl is known to exist, only fan made versions are circulating .
.
.
Would like more info on...
Parade (1 May 1985 configuration)
Diamonds And Pearls (27 November 1990 configuration)
(Configuration II, 1992)

Strive said:

There was a single disc, early, version of Emancipation that leaked a long time back that everybody assumed was fake or fan compiled...until the source showed up on an auction site.

.

Thanks for this Strive. I was unaware of this one. I matched up the known configuration with the boot and although some of the tracks were mislabelled this appears to be authentic. The only thing I've not been able to corroborate is the source CD that was sold at auction. I can't find a record of the sale. I don't suppose you have a link as I'm struggling with Google on this one. Thanks again.

That Crystal Ball release also has The Flesh mini-album or EP or whatever you want to call it.

jaawwnn said:

Was Box O'Chocolates all from one tape as well?

This one:



1.Witness 4 The Prosecution 2.Movie Star 3.A Place In Heaven 4.The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker 5.Starfish And Coffee 6.Girl O' My Dreams 7.Can't Stop This Feeling I Got 8.We Can Funk 9.Data Bank 10.Wonderful Ass 11.All Day, All Night

If so I don't know what the source(s) for this one tape themselves were, I don't think it was anything planned for release.

I was told at the time that it was not the case, that it was sourced from various cassettes.

I was also told that none of the DF versions in circulations are genuine, that they are just reconstructions based on various sources, but that a real original cassette is in circulation among elite traders (as are several other uncirculating configurations).

TrivialPursuit said:

VaultCurator said:

e.g. Up until recently, many version of the Camille album have been bootlegged by taking a leak of ‘Rebirth of the Flesh’ and sequencing it along with all of the released tracks. I believe that was common practice up until 2016 after a legitimate vinyl of the album was sold at au

I mean, a clean version of "Rebirth of the Flesh" still hasn't been made available, so the clangy one out there has to do the trick for now. (Or the NPGMC take.) I don't know that any auction stopped people from sequencing their own Camille album. It's not like it's been leaked.

I was just listening to my Camille playlist today in the car. I used to have one with the longer versions of "Housequake", "Shockadelica", "Feel U Up". It's such a fun playlist, really. I wondered what it would have been like if that were just put out with no promotion whatsoever, and let it be found out, all while still releasing some version of Sign O The Times. Although, SOTT without the Camille tracks on it seems less-than.

I have a clean version of Rebirth of the Flesh, but I'm not sure where I got it. It clocks in at 4:55.

VaultCurator said:

TrivialPursuit said:

VaultCurator said:

nelcp777 said:

I could have sworn there was a file I hard before my hard drive crashed that was Crystal Ball sequenced (3 lps). It was 2 files, and the tracks were not separate, but one long track similar to the concept of Lovesexy. I wish I could find that release. It was awesome.

.

Any idea when you received it?
.
There is a Japanese release (tracked, not just all one track) that was released in 2015 called ‘Crystal Ball (including The Flesh)’. It is believed to have been assembled in it’s entirety from master cassettes. https://prince.org/msg/7/414817 I say this because a spectral analysis shows that it was all from the same source. A few years after it was released, Eric Leeds auctioned off a set of master cassettes that were handed to band members as reference material. I’m not implying that it was Eric’s cassettes used to make the bootleg, but we know that Prince certainly made cassettes of the album from the mastering studio. Also there does appear to be some light cassette hiss on the bootleg. Although there is no way of knowing for certain that it came from master cassettes, it’s beyond a reasonable doubt at this point.

After researching, the files I am talking about were torrents, I believe they were originally Pimpsandwhich Crystal Ball, from 2004? So, this may not have been proper sequenced or fan sequenced.

coldasice said:

That’s not what OP meant. The Diamonds and pearls songs are completely different versions except Strollin. Also you can get Rebirth in better quality than anything on Originals

I can read, and that was my reply.

Your last statement is hyperbole, so I'm ignoring it.

daatabank said:

jaawwnn said:

Was Box O'Chocolates all from one tape as well?

This one:


1.Witness 4 The Prosecution 2.Movie Star 3.A Place In Heaven 4.The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker 5.Starfish And Coffee 6.Girl O' My Dreams 7.Can't Stop This Feeling I Got 8.We Can Funk 9.Data Bank 10.Wonderful Ass 11.All Day, All Night

If so I don't know what the source(s) for this one tape themselves were, I don't think it was anything planned for release.

I was told at the time that it was not the case, that it was sourced from various cassettes.

I was also told that none of the DF versions in circulations are genuine, that they are just reconstructions based on various sources, but that a real original cassette is in circulation among elite traders (as are several other uncirculating configurations).

Oh really? Fair enough. I guess because it kept Dorothy Parker and Starfish and Coffee 99.9% the same as they are on the album I assumed this was to keep the source tape intact. If you're making a compilation why include released tracks? Especially since this was a good release, not Eye Records filler nonsense.

[Edited 8/20/19 2:48am]

jaawwnn said:

daatabank said:

I was told at the time that it was not the case, that it was sourced from various cassettes.

I was also told that none of the DF versions in circulations are genuine, that they are just reconstructions based on various sources, but that a real original cassette is in circulation among elite traders (as are several other uncirculating configurations).

Oh really? Fair enough. I guess because it kept Dorothy Parker and Starfish and Coffee 99.9% the same as they are on the album I assumed this was to keep the source tape intact. If you're making a compilation why include released tracks? Especially since this was a good release, not Eye Records filler nonsense.

Hi there.

Straying off topic slightly, what is the quality of Box O' Chocolates like? Is 'We Can Funk' better than say on the Eye releases? Also has 'All Day, All Night' impoved any from the Work It days? I don't see that track on many modern releases, and as much as I love the song the quality on the versions I own sound like ass.

Thanks for all the info everyone, and cheers for the link Strive. Keep the info coming if you have any. It'll be great to have a full list of unreleased albums for reference.

Hi PurpleMusic7689.

.
So you have heard a transfer of Rebirth from the vinyl? So does a complete transfer of the vinyl exist on the bootleg market?

.

Also, which version of Rebirth do you think sounds the clearest / closest to a master copy?

VaultCurator said:

jaawwnn said:

Oh really? Fair enough. I guess because it kept Dorothy Parker and Starfish and Coffee 99.9% the same as they are on the album I assumed this was to keep the source tape intact. If you're making a compilation why include released tracks? Especially since this was a good release, not Eye Records filler nonsense.

Hi there.

Straying off topic slightly, what is the quality of Box O' Chocolates like? Is 'We Can Funk' better than say on the Eye releases? Also has 'All Day, All Night' impoved any from the Work It days? I don't see that track on many modern releases, and as much as I love the song the quality on the versions I own sound like ass.

Thanks for all the info everyone, and cheers for the link Strive. Keep the info coming if you have any. It'll be great to have a full list of unreleased albums for reference.

Eh, I don't know my Eye releases off by heart but this would likely BE the source for some of them. The Girl O' my Dreams and Can't Stop on on Blast from the Part 4 are different, I think slightly later, mixes with some overdubs and mixing differences to what's on here. I think We Can Funk might have some slight differences as well, very minor. I'm hearing some odd kind of suction noises or something? edit: just listening to them back to back and I think the Blast version is a later mix with some reverb added to the vocals and other slight mix differences, not majorly different but it makes sense considering the similar changes to Girl O My Dreams and Can't Stop.

Don't forget that Eye smothers everything in plugins sometimes with dreadful, dreadful results. There were the anti-blast from the past leaks as well like Closer 2 God that tried to undercut Eye Records with untouched recordings (although some were mp3's I think, so you can argue about that quality).

Definitely worth seeking out anyway, 'All Day, All Night' is way better quality on this compared to Work It.

[Edited 8/20/19 3:51am]

VaultCurator said:

PurpleMusic7689 said:

Also "Diamond & Pearls Beginnings" is compiled from at least 2 sources... I've only checked out "Schoolyard" and it comes from an old trade tape from the 90's, NOT a tape of the Nov. 27th '90 config.

I'm just a bit confused by this: could you elaborate? (How do you know? Do you have both tapes?) Thx

I thought it was genuine hence why I'd like to know more

isnt the parade test pressing the one with all my dreams and old friends 4 sale?

databank said: