Recently I’ve been revisiting C-Note, NEWS, xpectations, and I’m really loving them. I always thought it would be awesome if there could be a big release of similar stuff as there must be loads in the vault; not likely this will ever happen though right?

Are there any more instrumental mixes, jams, soundboards etc out there? Not come across any... thoughts appreciated.

There's a Munich SOTT aftershow in great soundboard quality that has a Madhouse set that I really like.

Link for info purposes only. https://www.discogs.com/P...se/7185995

Also a Lovesexy rehearsal with a 30+ minute version of Alphabet Street that I really love

Link for info purposes only. https://www.discogs.com/P...se/2255519

damien2383 said:

Recently I’ve been revisiting C-Note, NEWS, xpectations, and I’m really loving them. I always thought it would be awesome if there could be a big release of similar stuff as there must be loads in the vault; not likely this will ever happen though right? Are there any more instrumental mixes, jams, soundboards etc out there? Not come across any... thoughts appreciated.

Would be tough to do with the Vault, only because there wouldn't always be a way to distinguish if it was meant to have lyrics and never got finished. He must have loads of jam sessions but then you get into the area of like Hendrix recordings where the archivists don't always know who is playing on the tracks with him, or what the intent was. You're also looking at his worst selling material that will take longer to get appreciated.

[Edited 4/28/20 16:32pm]

lavendardrummachine said:

damien2383 said:

Recently I’ve been revisiting C-Note, NEWS, xpectations, and I’m really loving them. I always thought it would be awesome if there could be a big release of similar stuff as there must be loads in the vault; not likely this will ever happen though right? Are there any more instrumental mixes, jams, soundboards etc out there? Not come across any... thoughts appreciated.

Would be tough to do with the Vault, only because there wouldn't always be a way to distinguish if it was meant to have lyrics and never got finished. He must have loads of jam sessions but then you get into the area of like Hendrix recordings where the archivists don't always know who is playing on the tracks with him, or what the intent was. You're also looking at his worst selling material that will take longer to get appreciated.

[Edited 4/28/20 16:32pm]

This is why they should really do an NPGMC-esque online subscription service vs. trying to hit Purple Rain sales figures in 2020.

You are right, though, people generally do not appreciate the instrumentals. "Colleen" was probably the best track on 1999 Deluxe, but only like 4 people give a shit. Even the YouTube views are abysmal compared to the rest of the set, and I imagine most of the viewers probably skipped ahead and then exited the page when they realized vocals weren't going to come in.

I put N.E.W.S. in my top 5.

I made a Princetrumentals playslist.

It runs at 15 hours.

lust said:

I made a Princetrumentals playslist. It runs at 15 hours.

I have a highly sought-after 4 hour Purple Rain rehearsal jam, which is basically the main track clocking in at 30 minutes and then Prince jamming on his guitar for 3.5 hours. You can hear Wendy and Lisa giving up and getting sandwiches, and the drummer at one time shouting "I can't do this no more" before he switches to a basic drum machine. Prince summs "Ladedadedade, we like to party" at one time. I have this on vinyl from back in the day, it is a 5 discs box set called The Purple Yoda Cloud

WhisperingDandelions said:

You are right, though, people generally do not appreciate the instrumentals. "Colleen" was probably the best track on 1999 Deluxe, but only like 4 people give a shit. Even the YouTube views are abysmal compared to the rest of the set, and I imagine most of the viewers probably skipped ahead and then exited the page when they realized vocals weren't going to come in.

I put N.E.W.S. in my top 5.

It has to be profitable enough to devote their time to the adminstrative work, and the engineering though. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the reissues aren't breaking even in that regard, and it would take resources away from a bigger release. I just don't know that the numbers on the reissues have justified a membership program. Plus curating that would take more work since it's not as cut and dry as the pop stuff, and the phillosphy doesn't seem to be "they want all of it, every time he pressed play". Same issue with the after shows, I think.

Thanks for the insight everyone. It’s a real shame we’ll probably not get to hear any of this stuff. We need to find a philanthropist with a passion for princestrumentals who wouldn’t mind fronting the funds to buy the rights

I’ll keep hunting around, seems harder to find instrumentals/soundboard jams than most other stuff.

damien2383 said:

My personal fav bootleg instrumental album is the Loring Park sessions from 1977. There is also The Flesh (and associated sessions). Madhouse 8 (official release) 16 (offical release), 24 (two versions). A few piano sessions. Plus hours upon hours of miscellaneous instrumentals. Hope this helps a lil.

lavendardrummachine said:

It has to be profitable enough to devote their time to the adminstrative work, and the engineering though. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the reissues aren't breaking even in that regard, and it would take resources away from a bigger release. I just don't know that the numbers on the reissues have justified a membership program. Plus curating that would take more work since it's not as cut and dry as the pop stuff, and the phillosphy doesn't seem to be "they want all of it, every time he pressed play". Same issue with the after shows, I think.

Feels like a service where members pay x amount every month would be more profitable than these boxes they produce in very limited quantities that are harder for fans to acquire than a thing of hand sanitizer... this is why virtually all forms of media have transitioned to an emphasis on subscription models versus physical media... Companies can essentially bank on x amount of users providing x amount of their income on the dot every single month instead of rolling the dice on manufacturing costs for premium one-shot purchases.

Physical media in general... look normally I'm like a standard member here who prefers physical media, but in 2020.... ehhhh, I don't know if I have enough isopropyl alcohol or paper towels to sit there for an hour soaking the thing down after it arrives on my doorstep. I'm finally going eBook over this state of the world.... I think these box sets might have gone the way of the lunch buffet or general admission moshpit at this stage.

Anyway you don't empty out the vault at once for the subscription service. Put some essential stuff on there to start, then entice users to maintain membership with the promise that more content is added with every passing month... like you said and like we all know, the current reissue models probably aren't even breaking even anyway. What's to lose at this point? But nah let's just keep hoping SOTT deluxe is going to be the one to hit PR numbers, or Parade deluxe, that'll be the one that captures the wallets of 2020 society.... k.

They need to focus on the audience they've already got instead of shooting to reach a clientele that permanently left the party in 1985.

[Edited 4/30/20 11:43am]

[Edited 4/30/20 11:43am]

WhisperingDandelions said:

What's to lose at this point? But nah let's just keep hoping SOTT deluxe is going to be the one to hit PR numbers, or Parade deluxe, that'll be the one that captures the wallets of 2020 society.... k.

[Edited 4/30/20 11:37am]

Well, repackaging hits is what the industry is doing right now. It's the whole investment made around giving Prince his masters back. It's tied to a publishing deal, and it's also what estate management teams do. Remastering, oversaturing the market...it's what they do. Plus it's more expensive to dig out a lost record, figure out the sequencing, or how it was supposed to be finished, then just polish up SOTT and slap on whatever extras are convenient.

I don't think individual subscriptions are going to work right now.

Ebooks are wonderful by the way. It's kind of like seeing a movie alone...sounds depressing until you try it.

9to5People said:

damien2383 said:

Recently I’ve been revisiting C-Note, NEWS, xpectations, and I’m really loving them. I always thought it would be awesome if there could be a big release of similar stuff as there must be loads in the vault; not likely this will ever happen though right? Are there any more instrumental mixes, jams, soundboards etc out there? Not come across any... thoughts appreciated.

My personal fav bootleg instrumental album is the Loring Park sessions from 1977. There is also The Flesh (and associated sessions). Madhouse 8 (official release) 16 (offical release), 24 (two versions). A few piano sessions. Plus hours upon hours of miscellaneous instrumentals. Hope this helps a lil.

The Madhouse series are among my favorite instrumentals.

mynameisnotsusan said:

I’ve got a copy of the alphabet street rehearsal, there are so many great jams like this from that period; love it all.

Most people I know consider prince to be a weird 80s pop/rnb guy. It’s such a shame these things aren’t more broadly accessible because they really highlight his artistry

Krid said:

Really like the Madhouse albums and the tracks by The Flesh. Also some good unreleased instrumental mixes of some released songs - Electric Chair, Ice Cream Castles and Love Song spring to mind.

Burned a princestrumentals cd for car use many years ago, featuring pretty much what you’d expect (God, Alexa De Paris, etc).