FX3 said:

Handel said:

Do Yourself A Favor is a sleeping hit, I think Prince should have given this song to Sheryl Crow in the 90s-2000s.

"Rearrange" and "Bold Generation" are really, really good. I can't stop listening to them. I don't care about the familiarity between them and the released stuff. They're just as good as any of "the best" outtakes that have been circulating out there previously on bootlegs.

"Rearrange" is like a bit more melodic version of "Lady Cab Driver" and, Jesus, I had no idea "New Power Generation" had been such a great piece of music in its original form. It's definitely reminiscent of "One Nation Under A Groove" -era P-Funk, whereas the released version just sounds like late-80s chart pop.

I think putting sketchy stuff in the beginning unfortunately makes many of listeners overlook the better, more refined stuff on a disc. People are just impatient in that sense. There's nothing wrong with the "Feel U Up" / "Irresistible Bitch" combo, but they're demoish and just too joke-y for many. Start with "a banger" instead.

I post this here but I'm talking about the vault 1 & 2

I love the release. I loved Originals and I love this. I think it is better than the Purple Rain one.

Now we have 4 cds of unreleased songs, not counting the Piano & Microphone and the 1999 live cd.

.

I hope the Estate keep publishing 3/4 cd a year. Could be funny but, yes, I'm getting old and I do not know for how many years I could buy Prince's music.

.

About the vault: I naturally divided the song in three different playlist. I really enjoy the "new" songs with rock/pop/reaggae vibe and I sometime listen those as an "album":

.

Money Don’t Grow On Trees

Vagina

Rearrange

You’re All I Want

If It’ll Make U Happy

Yah, You Know

Moonbeam Levels

No Call U

Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got

Teacher, Teacher

.

In the same way I made a playlist for the funky-pop "album" songs, that I enjoy to listen together (and, YES, here I miss the songs censored by Estate (Extraloveable and Lust U Always):

.

Purple Music

Turn It Up

Do Yourself A Favor

Don’t Let Him Fool Ya

Possessed

Lady Cab Driver / I Wanna Be Your Lover / Little Red Corvette

Colleen

.

In the last playlist I put the alternate version of songs I had listened a lot of time:

.

Feel U Up

Irresistible Bitch

Bold Generation

International Lover

Something In The Water

How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?

.

To be honest I do not put Delirious anywhere.

.

It is not a rational division (Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got is in the wrong playlist and maybe Rearrange too), but in this way I enjoy differently pieces that give me the idea of ​​being collected according to a criterion.

.

What is your way to listen the vault's songs? Random, linear, playlist?

jn2 said:

Do Yourself A Favor is a sleeping hit, I think Prince should have given this song to Sheryl Crow in the 90s-2000s.

But this is Pepe Willie's song right?

[Edited 11/30/19 3:12am]

noobman said:

fredmagnus said:

FX3 said:

CD3 / CD4

Niko Bolas : Stop damaging the tracks with add of this funkin' reverb. And Why have you muted the beat at the end of irresistible bitch ?! (CD3)

My thoughts too. Michael, get Peggy back in the house PLEASE.

THANK YOU, I have said this many times here. What a shame, Originals suffered from this treatment as well. Slow songs, fast songs, it doesn't seem to matter, but funk tracks? Funk tracks are no place for dripping wet heavy reverb on the vocals. I just don't get it.


There is literally no time in Prince's past that he has done this with his vocals. They talk about respecting his process, etc, but this does not respect Prince's process.

[Edited 12/1/19 17:06pm]

FX3 said:

noobman said:

jn2 said:

Do Yourself A Favor is a sleeping hit, I think Prince should have given this song to Sheryl Crow in the 90s-2000s.

But this is Pepe Willie's song right?

[Edited 11/30/19 3:12am]

I confess I didn't know the original version, in fact I've just discovered this track.

leadline said:

fredmagnus said:

FX3 said: My thoughts too. Michael, get Peggy back in the house PLEASE.

THANK YOU, I have said this many times here. What a freakin' shame, his destruction of Prince's music by throwing heavy reverb on anything and everything he comes in contact with is in full force.

Originals suffered from this treatment and so has this set. Slow songs, fast songs, it doesn't seem to matter, but funk tracks? Funk tracks are no place for dripping wet heavy reverb on the vocals. I just don't get it.


There is literally no time in Prince's past that he has done this with his vocals. They talk about respecting his process, etc, this is a slap in the face to his process.

[Edited 11/30/19 4:38am]

Come on, man. This just isn't true. Have you actually listened? I would say a large majority of the tracks do not have excessive reverb.

Thanks to Amazon I have not gotten mine yet (dispite ordering the day it was listed).

But I have heard it... some of the tracks seem to have muted vocals... but it is good to have these in better quality.

But this set make me believe all the more that we (the loony tune bootleg collectors:And I am not all an elite) have most of these songs...in some form. Makes me question how vast the studio work of the vault really is. Oh well, it was a deal I knew would come to bite me at some point.

This disc comes with no real surprise... maybe one gripe: "If it'll will make you happy" is great but the mix is just different enough that is lost some of its feelings and that the 2 min clip we have had was just done twice with no much more to it... But still a great song...

And In "Bold Generation" what is he saying? "New Generation" ??? I am old but I do not hear "Bold generation"

and "How Cone U Don't Call me Anymore?" I knew what to expext but I thought Peggy said that released version was originally longer? If that exists I want that too!

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Thanks to Amazon I have not gotten mine yet (dispite ordering the day it was listed).

But I have heard it... some of the tracks seem to have muted vocals... but it is good to have these in better quality.

But this set make me believe all the more that we (the loony tune bootleg collectors:And I am not all an elite) have most of these songs...in some form. Makes me question how vast the studio work of the vault really is. Oh well, it was a deal I knew would come to bite me at some point.

This disc comes with no real surprise... maybe one gripe: "If it'll will make you happy" is great but the mix is just different enough that is lost some of its feelings and that the 2 min clip we have had was just done twice with no much more to it... But still a great song...

And In "Bold Generation" what is he saying? "New Generation" ??? I am old but I do not hear "Bold generation"

and "How Cone U Don't Call me Anymore?" I knew what to expext but I thought Peggy said that released version was originally longer? If that exists I want that too!

It sounds like Bowled generation to me... I can hear that 'w'.

jn2 said:

Do Yourself A Favor is a sleeping hit, I think Prince should have given this song to Sheryl Crow in the 90s-2000s.

I've always liked this one

And the ending reminds me of the Bob George situation

OnlyNDaUsa said:

noobman said:

LoveGalore said:

kindofblue said:

Question to the bootleg experts: Are there any bootleg tracks we can get rid of now?

I guess the old Moonbeam Levels and the snippet of If It'll Make You happy are useless now? What about Do Yourself A Favour and Possessed? Any notable differences to the previously circulating bootleg recordings?

Thanks!

You can definitely get rid of: Do Yourself A Favor Possessed Moonbeam Levels Don't let him fool ya No Call U Turn It Up Feel U Up Irresistible Bitch Delirious (full) Purple Music I would keep: Something in the Water (no fade in) If It'll Make U Happy (if you like the minimal lead vocal) Yah U Know (1986 mix) Teacher Teacher (1986 mix) [Edited 11/29/19 7:18am]

Turn It Up - on Blast From The Past 4.0 the channels are flipped compared to this official release. Not a reason to keep it though, I suppose.

EDIT: The outtake is also about 10 seconds shorter?

[Edited 11/30/19 8:12am]

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Romeoblu said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Come on, man. This just isn't true. Have you actually listened? I would say a large majority of the tracks do not have excessive reverb.

Which tracks have massive reverb? Personally I love the sound of the mixes on originals. [Edited 11/30/19 8:40am]

"1999" the album has massive amounts of reverb on the vocals. Since it's original mixdown and release. So does Purple Rain.

LoveGalore said:

Bold Generation has just floored me. An absolute killer track - I simply can't understand how it g

Great to hear Feel U Up and Irresistible Bitch in such great quality though Feel U Up is a head-scratcher. The fact his vocal is buried in the mix, the fact it is not a seamless transition between the two, and the fact the fidelity changes dramatically when it switches over. Michael Howe made it clear they were two independent songs from independent sources (ie. not tracked together on the 2"), but I would think they could've worked on these two a bit more.

I can bearly here the vocals in Feel U Up. Were they also buried in the mix in the bootleg that had been circulating prior to this release?

Romeoblu said:

lurker316 said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

gandorb said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Feel U Up/Irresistable Bitch - I love what he was doing with drum machines by then. He was crafting some very fine beats and rhythm tracks here, and was already far ahead of what anyone was doing in that realm. He could have done an entire album in this vein, and with this sound, yet the album he released sounds nothing like this. Crazy. And how amazing to have the suave, composed but funky, b-side version of Irresistable Bitch to contrast with this utterly manic, on-the-verge-of-a-psychotic-break version he left sitting in the vault. I love when it breaks down with just the bass and rhythm guitar lines, like he's taking a moment to check the pulse of the groove or something. Sick.

Money Don't Grow On Trees - It kind of gives me Sarah vibes. If you told me this was recorded in the 2000s, or the 90s, or the 2010s, I might have believed you. It has none of the 1999 era hallmarks, and not really even any 80s hallmarks. He could have recorded an album with this sort of timeless sound, already at age 23, and his career would have had completely different trajectory. Madness! It's like he already had all of these skills ready to go early on, but just took his time to execute them publicly.

Vagina - Completely fun jam that's way less dirty than the title might imply. Kind of like how Sister was way MORE dirty than the title implied. People infer that because he wanted to name Vanity Vagina, that the song was meant for her, but I can't imagine anyone other than Prince singing this.

Rearrange - An absolute highlight for me. Maybe THE highlight. Such an awesome funky-punk kind of anthem, that recalls other songs of the era, yet also has it's own special vibe not present in those songs. And the guitar soloing is just manic and mental, containing some of his finest shredding, with rhythm guitar lines that are razer sharp. I had to go old school and get the lyics down by pausing and jotting. I can't remember the last time I was inspired to do that by any song. "Ain't nothin' funky about a waltz or rhumba!"

Bold Generation - How is this sourced from a cassette?! The sound is fantastic! I always enjoyed New Power Generation, and it's a real treat to hear this early rendering. One of the best things about it for me is the band rehearsal vibe. The second time he comes in with, "Ain't got time for politics. We'll never fight no war," I'm fully committed and singing along.

Colleen - I'm not really an instrumentals guy, especially ones from this era, but this one is really cool! I love how the groove kind of starts and stops all the way through, with that unique purple drum programming. When I hear it, I get images of the band using it as a warm up track for rehearsals. It seems perfect for that.

International Lover (Take 1) - This version actually made me appreciate the album version, which I never really cared for beyond its novelty appeal, and the 'tee-hee' moment of that classic monologue. I love how much open space is in this version, and the hard thump of Morris' drums, with Prince's fluid piano playing and soulful vocal, create sheer perfection to these ears. And how is the sound so good?! The sound on some of these unreleased songs seems better than the album at times. "Did you like that? You wanna do it again?"

Turn It Up - I never really cared much about this one because it doesn't seem to go anywhere special, and has too few changes for me, but it benefits from finally being released in such high quality. The details (like the water sounds, for example) are appealing, and the energy is infectious. People often compare it to Delirious in reviews, but I don't hear it at all. This gives me Dirty Mind/Controversy era vibes all the way. He was right to shelve it, if for no other reason than to wait for new songs that would carve new ground, rather than rely too heavily on what he'd already done. It must have been a key track with how many times he mentions the phrase in other songs from this era.

You're All I Want - This might be my least favorite, falling into the "he's already been there, and done it better," category for me. I find myself wanting to sing lines from both Horny Toad and Jack U Off when I listen, both of which are more enjoyable to me. Rumors of another version of this song featuring a vocal in his lower register have me wondering if this isn't a guide vocal version for Kim Upsher who also recorded it.

Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) [Original Version] - It's necessary to have this version on the set, and there are unique things about it that are very nice (the piano playing, and bass licks for example), but I GREATLY prefer the album version. This version feels undercooked comparatively speaking.

If It'll Make U Happy - When the 2 minute sample of this leaked a few years ago, I had forgotten which era it was from, and assumed it was from the early 90s, because that's when I remembered him flirting with reggae sounds (Blue Light). When I checked PrinceVault.com and found out it was from the 1999 sessions, I was completely in awe. He was already doing that shit 10 years before he let the public know about it. Imagine being so overly talented and brimming with ideas, you had to hold it back a decade. His vocal on this is a highlight for me as well.

How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore (Take 2) - FUCK! Utterly arresting, enchanting and intoxicating. Imagine if his Piano and Vocal album sounded like this (no shade). It would have been a heralded masterpiece. In fact, I'd happily take a piano based record from the vault if they have more where this came from. Wow.

[Edited 11/28/19 17:32pm]

Nice review!!! I haven't heard it enough to crystallize my opinion, but mostly am leaning towards your reactions. I especially love this version of Irresistible Bitch: Whipped, desparate, and transfixed.

Bold Generation actually sounds like it is a rehearsal with the band, with Prince on keys. I don't know, it just has that live feel to it.

I'm not feeling either of the two vault discs. To me it doesn't belong on the same album as it's 1999. It has mostly not whatever connection. Most new songs are 'meh'.

LoveGalore said:

lurker316 said:

I can bearly here the vocals in Feel U Up. Were they also buried in the mix in the bootleg that had been circulating prior to this release?

They are buried in the bootleg mix as well, but not nearly as much to my ears. And that is saying something given the bootleg is in grimey quality. I expected a clear vocal with this one, but alas. I am also a little confused by the mix for Can't Stop. The signature falsetto hook is buried in the mix as well as his lead vocal being a bit subdued. I think some work could have been done to bring those both to the fore a bit as we are all well aware now that the falsetto hook is meant to be a centerpiece of the song's melodic profile.

I found a bootleg version of Feel U Up that's a different mix. The first three-and-a-half minutes is basically just vocals and percussion. Synths eventually come in around 3:30, but not fully realized. There are some vocal overdubs trough out (Prince on background vocals). It basically sounds like a very early version before most instrumentation was added.

Anyone know the version I'm talking about?

lurker316 said:

I found a bootleg version of Feel U Up that's a different mix. The first three-and-a-half minutes is basically just vocals and percussion. Synths eventually come in around 3:30, but not fully realized. There are some vocal overdubs trough out (Prince on background vocals). It basically sounds like a very early version before most instrumentation was added.

Anyone know the version I'm talking about?

if its this one - https://www.youtube.com/w...xVROoCu3Cg I think its a fake. just some guy playing around with software to strip some of the synths away , not a real mix..

[Edited 11/30/19 20:24pm]

FunkyStrange said:

lurker316 said:

I found a bootleg version of Feel U Up that's a different mix. The first three-and-a-half minutes is basically just vocals and percussion. Synths eventually come in around 3:30, but not fully realized. There are some vocal overdubs trough out (Prince on background vocals). It basically sounds like a very early version before most instrumentation was added.

Anyone know the version I'm talking about?

if its this one - https://www.youtube.com/w...xVROoCu3Cg I think its a fake. just some guy playing around with oftware to strip some of the synths away , not a real mix..

Yes, that's the one I was talking about. Thanks for letting me know it's fake.