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Thread started 03/17/20 3:55pm

AaronReturn200
5

What's your Very Best Of Symbol?

Unreleased "best of" mentioned in the One Nite Alone tour book. Source: http://www.princevault.co..._Of_Symbol

As-per the punny name it would've been an interesting release, compiling the best songs from the "symbol" era. Unfortunately it was left unreleased and I really want 2 imagine what a tracklist would've been like... The following are the obvious numbers:

The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (EP Version)

Pussy Control

Eye Hate U

Gold

Betcha By Golly Wow

The Holy River

Somebody's Somebody

Face Down

The Greatest Romance Ever Sold

Newpower Soul content wouldn't make the cut in Prince's opinion cause it was issued as an NPG album, not an "Artist" album. Well-known album cuts could make the cut, including Love Sign and Dolphin but who knows.

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Reply #1 posted 03/17/20 6:09pm

rnb

Great Question! My best of symbol album would consist of the following tracks:
The Most Beautiful Girl in the world
Letitgo
Dark
Dolphin
I hate you
Shhh
Shy
Gold
Chaos in Disorder
Dinner with Delores
Into the Light/I will
Had U
She spoke to me
Old friends for sale
Extraordinary
5 women
Somebody's Somebody
White Mansion
I can't make you love me**
In this bed I scream
Soul Sanctuary
Emale
Joint to Joint
Human Body
Facedown
My Computer
One of us**
The love we make
Days of Wild
Don't play me
Circle of Armour
The other side of the pillow
Comeback
The greatest Romance that ever been sold
Man O' War
Eye love u but I don't trust you anymore
Beautiful Strange
Silly Game
Come On
The One
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Reply #2 posted 03/17/20 7:29pm

VaultCurator

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Unfortunately, since Prince changed his name back for ‘The Rainbow Children’ the scope of prince credited material isn't very broad.

If we pool together all the albums that are both credited to prince and released on NPG records as opposed to W.B. all your left with is ‘The Gold Experience’, ‘Emancipation’, some of ‘Crystal Ball’, ‘The Truth’, and the ‘Rave’ albums.

Having said that here’s my attempt...


CD1

01) Jam Of The Year

02) Interactive

03) Acknowledge Me

04) The Most Beautiful Girl In The World

05) The Greatest Romance Ever Sold

06) Sleep Around

07) Love Sign

08) Days Of Wild

09) Cybersingle

10) Right Back Here In My Arms

11) Somebody's Somebody

12) U're Still The One

13) In This I Scream


CD2

01) Don't Play Me

02) Hot Wit U (Nasty Girl Remix)

03) Man'O'War (Remix)

04) Emale

05) Joint 2 Joint

06) Baby Knows

07) I Hate U

08) My Computer

09) One Song

10) The Truth

11) The Holy River

12) Gold

13) Welcome 2 The Dawn

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Reply #3 posted 03/21/20 2:56pm

thedoorkeeper

That's cool - now cut it down to one CD of 12 tracks.
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Reply #4 posted 03/21/20 11:57pm

WhisperingDand
elions

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I love how it's not enough material on one hand but two-discs worth on the other.

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Reply #5 posted 03/22/20 1:03am

BobGeorge4000

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Space

Loose

Dolphin

Billy Jack Bitch

I Like It There

Dinner With Delores

Jam of the Year

Right Back Here In My Arms

Face Down

Sleep Around

Crystal Ball

Acknowledge Me

The Truth

Dionne

The Rest of my Life

5 Women

Strange But True

Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do

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Reply #6 posted 03/22/20 5:34pm

RJOrion

1993 - 2000

Letitgo
Pheremone
Come
Shy
Dinner With Delores
White Mansion
My Computer
Sleep Around
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World

thats it for me...i always felt like this was the 1 period where my interest in his music started to fade...especially since i was so heavily into hiphop...it seemed like the albums in that period had more filler than any other time in his career...Chaos & Disorder was just as the name implies ...IMO his worst lp ever...1 good song, Dinner With Delores... Gold Experience had two or 3 good songs and a bunch of silly segues and filler...Emancipation had way too many mediocre songs... i can barely name the rest of his late 90s stuff.. he picked up steam again with The Rainbow Children/N.E.W.S./The Chocolate Invasion/The Slaughterhouse run he went on in the early 2000s
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Reply #7 posted 03/22/20 9:41pm

MattyJam

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1. Letitgo
2. Space
3. TMBGITW
4. Lovesign
5. Gold
6. Eye Hate U
7. Dinner With Delores
8. The Same December
9. Betcha By Golly Wow
10. Face Down
11. The Holy River
12. Somebody's Somebody
13. Come On
14. The One
15. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold
16. Hot Wit U (Nasty Girl Remix)
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Reply #8 posted 03/23/20 2:28am

VaultCurator

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WhisperingDandelions said:

I love how it's not enough material on one hand but two-discs worth on the other.



Hi Whisper. In my defence I didn't say there wasn't enough. I said the range wasn't very broad. If you were to ask me to make a 'best of' his Warner Bros era albums it would represent a larger cross section of his career. wink
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Reply #9 posted 03/27/20 12:55am

ChickenMcNugge
ts

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I'm not sure why so many people are using Come material when that was officially the "last" Prince (not symbol) album until he changed back.

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Reply #10 posted 03/27/20 1:51am

WhisperingDand
elions

avatar

VaultCurator said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

I love how it's not enough material on one hand but two-discs worth on the other.

Hi Whisper. In my defence I didn't say there wasn't enough. I said the range wasn't very broad. If you were to ask me to make a 'best of' his Warner Bros era albums it would represent a larger cross section of his career. wink

so 9 discs then?

I'm just saying, in accordance with the prompt, the Very Best Of.... you kind of gotta edit down at a certain point. I've never seen one of those particularly labeled comps go over one disc...

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Reply #11 posted 03/27/20 7:14am

dodger

MattyJam said:

1. Letitgo
2. Space
3. TMBGITW
4. Lovesign
5. Gold
6. Eye Hate U
7. Dinner With Delores
8. The Same December
9. Betcha By Golly Wow
10. Face Down
11. The Holy River
12. Somebody's Somebody
13. Come On
14. The One
15. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold
16. Hot Wit U (Nasty Girl Remix)


I'd go for something like this but take out the 2 Prince tracks (Letitgo and Space) and replace them with Days Of Wild and Acknowledge Me.
.
Days Of Wild would be the opener and Gold the closer
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Reply #12 posted 03/27/20 7:21am

jaawwnn

ChickenMcNuggets said:

I'm not sure why so many people are using Come material when that was officially the "last" Prince (not symbol) album until he changed back.

I suppose because it's a post-Hits/B-sides album and was recorded at the same time as the Gold Experience. The difference is pretty artificial.

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Reply #13 posted 03/27/20 10:57am

WhisperingDand
elions

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jaawwnn said:

ChickenMcNuggets said:

I'm not sure why so many people are using Come material when that was officially the "last" Prince (not symbol) album until he changed back.

I suppose because it's a post-Hits/B-sides album and was recorded at the same time as the Gold Experience. The difference is pretty artificial.

Isn't the difference between all "Symbol" vs. "Prince" music pretty artificial, though? There's still a set of parameters, arbitrary as they may be...

[Edited 3/27/20 10:58am]

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Reply #14 posted 03/27/20 2:03pm

Poplife88

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Is When The Lights Go Down considered Symbol or Prince? Not sure...but its become on of my fave songs of the era.

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Reply #15 posted 03/27/20 2:31pm

WhisperingDand
elions

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Prince produced Symbol on Rave so I really don't think that should count either. We all know Prince micromanaged anything he produced, however a domineering an artistic force Symbol might have been.

[Edited 3/27/20 14:32pm]

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Reply #16 posted 03/27/20 2:42pm

AaronReturn200
5

ChickenMcNuggets said:

I'm not sure why so many people are using Come material when that was officially the "last" Prince (not symbol) album until he changed back.

What about content from The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1996/1999, released under the Prince name)?

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Reply #17 posted 03/27/20 2:49pm

WhisperingDand
elions

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I saw some New Power Soul trax on some lists as well... pretty sure that was the Artist Formerly Known as Tora Tora, not Symbol and definitely not Prince.

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Reply #18 posted 03/29/20 3:21am

dodger

WhisperingDandelions said:

I saw some New Power Soul trax on some lists as well... pretty sure that was the Artist Formerly Known as Tora Tora, not Symbol and definitely not Prince.



Of course NPS was an NPG album but he was Symbol at the time. And was on the cover and in the videos, undisguised unlike Exodus
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Reply #19 posted 03/29/20 5:24am

VaultCurator

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WhisperingDandelions said:

VaultCurator said:

WhisperingDandelions said: Hi Whisper. In my defence I didn't say there wasn't enough. I said the range wasn't very broad. If you were to ask me to make a 'best of' his Warner Bros era albums it would represent a larger cross section of his career. wink

so 9 discs then?

I'm just saying, in accordance with the prompt, the Very Best Of.... you kind of gotta edit down at a certain point. I've never seen one of those particularly labeled comps go over one disc...


Fair point. I'll have another stab at it...


01) Jam Of The Year
02) Interactive
03) Acknowledge Me
04) The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
05) Sleep Around
06) Love Sign
07) Hot Wit U (Nasty Girl Remix)
08) Man'O'War (Remix)
09) Emale
10) Days Of Wild
11) Joint 2 Joint
12) Right Back Here In My Arms
13) Somebody's Somebody
14) U're Still The One
15) Gold

wink

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Reply #20 posted 03/31/20 3:14pm

jaawwnn

WhisperingDandelions said:

jaawwnn said:

I suppose because it's a post-Hits/B-sides album and was recorded at the same time as the Gold Experience. The difference is pretty artificial.

Isn't the difference between all "Symbol" vs. "Prince" music pretty artificial, though? There's still a set of parameters, arbitrary as they may be...

[Edited 3/27/20 10:58am]

Yes of course, I suppose the other bit of my thinking is that the Come material is already left off all the Prince best ofs so far and tracks would end up unfairly orphaned.

If they ever get around to releasing some proper well-thought out compilations then you'd expect LetitGo and Space to make any Prince best of.

Also, while we're complicating matters, lets not forget Newpower Soul a) has the Symbol on the cover as himself's tattoo, b) has a big picture of Prince and only Prince on the cover and c) had those promo posters and cds for the album which made it very clear who it was by. Hey, it's an NPG release "officially" for sure, but any best of Symbol that doesn't have The One on it isn't a best of Symbol in my book.



[Edited 3/31/20 15:17pm]

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Reply #21 posted 03/31/20 7:07pm

homesquid

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1. Gold

2. I Hate U

3. TMBGITW

4. Come (edit)

5. Letitgo

6. Chaos And Disorder

7. Dinner With Delores

8. Jam Of The Year

9. The Holy River

10. Face Down

11. Joint 2 Joint

12. Somebnody's Somebody

13. Come On

14. The One

15. Greatest Romance

16. So Far So Pleased

17. Man O' War

18. Hot With You

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Reply #22 posted 04/01/20 1:56pm

AaronReturn200
5

jaawwnn said:

Also, while we're complicating matters, lets not forget Newpower Soul a) has the Symbol on the cover as himself's tattoo, b) has a big picture of Prince and only Prince on the cover and c) had those promo posters and cds for the album which made it very clear who it was by. Hey, it's an NPG release "officially" for sure, but any best of Symbol that doesn't have The One on it isn't a best of Symbol in my book.



[Edited 3/31/20 15:17pm]

There as an advert that once said "The Artist - Brand New Album", are you referring to that?

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Reply #23 posted 04/02/20 3:48am

jaawwnn

AaronReturn2005 said:

jaawwnn said:

Also, while we're complicating matters, lets not forget Newpower Soul a) has the Symbol on the cover as himself's tattoo, b) has a big picture of Prince and only Prince on the cover and c) had those promo posters and cds for the album which made it very clear who it was by. Hey, it's an NPG release "officially" for sure, but any best of Symbol that doesn't have The One on it isn't a best of Symbol in my book.



[Edited 3/31/20 15:17pm]

There as an advert that once said "The Artist - Brand New Album", are you referring to that?

Am I referring to the advert i'm linking to? Yes I suppose I am.

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Reply #24 posted 04/02/20 4:11am

BlueShakooo

WhisperingDandelions said:

I saw some New Power Soul trax on some lists as well... pretty sure that was the Artist Formerly Known as Tora Tora, not Symbol and definitely not Prince.

Good one!

biggrin

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Reply #25 posted 04/03/20 10:47pm

AaronReturn200
5

BlueShakooo said:

WhisperingDandelions said:

I saw some New Power Soul trax on some lists as well... pretty sure that was the Artist Formerly Known as Tora Tora, not Symbol and definitely not Prince.

Good one!

biggrin

bUt It'S nOt LoW-pItChEd!!!

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