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Reply #30 posted 06/25/20 1:10pm

rusty1

TheFman said:

Brilliant, but i still prefer the real Verion 1.


i agree 100%
BOB4theFUNK
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Reply #31 posted 06/25/20 1:24pm

ForceofNature

mbdtyler said:

bluegangsta said:

In what fucking universe is the considered as "Version 1"?

I guess it at least it appears to be the original mix (being Wendy & Lisa's version).

I guess they're disregarding the various mixes with/without overdubs, and labeling this as Version 1 since it's distinctively different from Prince's later re-recording?

Yes for sure. And plus, it is possible the "version 1" we know was just a work in progress for the Version 1 that has W&L additions on it and Eric. I like it, but it definitely is a rougher mix and not as complete of a mix as this one to me giving an indication that this Version 1 was the intented finished mix and the "V1" we know of is just the bootlegged unofficial label (because if you have 3 audio files of the same song you have to differenciate them somehow)

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Reply #32 posted 06/25/20 1:31pm

ForceofNature

mushmackalenta said:

This is a Frankenstein mix.

It is not.

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Reply #33 posted 06/25/20 1:53pm

mbdtyler

I'm glad we finally have an official release of this song, although listening to it all day has reminded me how much I hate the horns in this version lol I dig the backing vocals, I dig the organ, I just don't know how anyone thought the horns sounded good.

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Reply #34 posted 06/25/20 2:47pm

AvocadosMax

mbdtyler said:

I'm glad we finally have an official release of this song, although listening to it all day has reminded me how much I hate the horns in this version lol I dig the backing vocals, I dig the organ, I just don't know how anyone thought the horns sounded good.


I love the horns! Especially the last 45 seconds or so!!
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Reply #35 posted 06/25/20 2:54pm

mbdtyler

AvocadosMax said:

mbdtyler said:

I'm glad we finally have an official release of this song, although listening to it all day has reminded me how much I hate the horns in this version lol I dig the backing vocals, I dig the organ, I just don't know how anyone thought the horns sounded good.


I love the horns! Especially the last 45 seconds or so!!

The horns toward the end are cool, I meant the horn stabs throughout the first half though. They're more distracting than anything, same with the horns harmonizing with the guitar during the prechoruses or whatever you want to call them
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Reply #36 posted 06/25/20 3:08pm

LoveGalore

mbdtyler said:

AvocadosMax said:


I love the horns! Especially the last 45 seconds or so!!

The horns toward the end are cool, I meant the horn stabs throughout the first half though. They're more distracting than anything, same with the horns harmonizing with the guitar during the prechoruses or whatever you want to call them


Cosign. When I first heard this version, I cringed. I still cringe. You can tell that Prince didn't produce that or the background vocals because it's the same overbearing, out of place crap they did to Wonderful Ass as well. It's not surprising he wasn't feeling the gig anymore. They started to encroach way too much with just nauseating choices every time production was in their hands.

Compare that to the horns he arranged for, say, Yah U Know which flow with the song rather than kick the song in the balls and smack it in the back of the head.
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Reply #37 posted 06/25/20 3:10pm

djdaffy1227

avatar

Is there a way to legally download an official file of this? I don't do streaming sites.

Making love and music are the only things worth fighting for.
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Reply #38 posted 06/25/20 3:16pm

222

djdaffy1227 said:

Is there a way to legally download an official file of this? I don't do streaming sites.

Amazon Digital Download $1.29

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Reply #39 posted 06/25/20 3:29pm

mbdtyler

LoveGalore said:

mbdtyler said:


The horns toward the end are cool, I meant the horn stabs throughout the first half though. They're more distracting than anything, same with the horns harmonizing with the guitar during the prechoruses or whatever you want to call them


Cosign. When I first heard this version, I cringed. I still cringe. You can tell that Prince didn't produce that or the background vocals because it's the same overbearing, out of place crap they did to Wonderful Ass as well. It's not surprising he wasn't feeling the gig anymore. They started to encroach way too much with just nauseating choices every time production was in their hands.

Compare that to the horns he arranged for, say, Yah U Know which flow with the song rather than kick the song in the balls and smack it in the back of the head.

I actually like Wonderful Ass, though. And I like the organ and vocals they added to Witness, the horn stabs are just a mess lol
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Reply #40 posted 06/25/20 4:27pm

steakfinger
The BBC audio quality is amazing. Take the towels out of your ears. There’s nothing muddy about unless you’re listen on shitty speakers/headphones.
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Reply #41 posted 06/25/20 4:32pm

Poplife88

avatar

steakfinger said:

The BBC audio quality is amazing. Take the towels out of your ears. There’s nothing muddy about unless you’re listen on shitty speakers/headphones.


Totally agree. I’ve been rockin this out on the home speakers and it sounds amazing! Not getting where you guys are hearing anything “muddy”.
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Reply #42 posted 06/25/20 4:36pm

ForceofNature

steakfinger said:

The BBC audio quality is amazing. Take the towels out of your ears. There’s nothing muddy about unless you’re listen on shitty speakers/headphones.

Yes, the quality is fantastic on this track. But we already have people claiming it is a Franstein mix and stuff like that so I don't know where a lot of complains and claims come from to begin with lol
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Reply #43 posted 06/25/20 4:52pm

IstenSzek

avatar

Poplife88 said:

steakfinger said:
The BBC audio quality is amazing. Take the towels out of your ears. There’s nothing muddy about unless you’re listen on shitty speakers/headphones.
Totally agree. I’ve been rockin this out on the home speakers and it sounds amazing! Not getting where you guys are hearing anything “muddy”.


I have spotify premium and it sounds fantastic to me. Even better on my mid-price, decent headphones.

cool

and true love lives on lollipops and crisps
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Reply #44 posted 06/25/20 4:57pm

BoraBora



Being a P fan from Sign/Lovesexy era, I remember when I listened for the first time to "Witness".... it was the "Crystal Ball" BMA Music International bootleg CD.
It was a "guilty" delight, then and after.
For all these years I never really believed that it could be released.

So I find funny that now that finally "Witness" (and obviously all the fantastic tracks included in this SDE) is officially released in pristine quality there are claims for the sound quality, claims for the autenticity of the track (the "Frankenstein" drama), claims for the #1 or #2 to use, claims for the choice as a "single", etc.

Come on. It's Prince. It's "Witness". It's still a real delight. Enjoy it as it is, simply marvelous.

And for the prices, if I remember well I payed something like 30 Euro (converted) for that CD in 1990. So I can't see anything obscene to pay now what is requested for a box of audio jewels like this SDE.

Just my two cents.



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Reply #45 posted 06/25/20 5:23pm

funkman88

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The drummer is Killin on this.. If only he had taken Templeton's advice and worked with Quincy Jones and got a fire horn arrangement 🙏🙃
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Reply #46 posted 06/25/20 5:35pm

SchlomoThaHomo

avatar

funkman88 said:

The drummer is Killin on this.. If only he had taken Templeton's advice and worked with Quincy Jones and got a fire horn arrangement 🙏🙃


It's Prince.

"That's when stars collide. When there's space for what u want, and ur heart is open wide."
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Reply #47 posted 06/25/20 5:49pm

databank

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I don't hear anything that makes me think it's a Frankenstein mix. However it could still be a (faithfully) recreated mix and I could easily be fooled. The purist in me can only hope it's the original Susan Rogers mix (likely the same as the one on bootlegs), and I guess we'll know for sure when we have access to the full album credits (if not earlier with this Howe interview announced). However the credits on YT only mention Susan,good sign. What do the engineers and audiophiles here think?
A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/
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Reply #48 posted 06/25/20 5:54pm

databank

avatar

BoraBora said:



Being a P fan from Sign/Lovesexy era, I remember when I listened for the first time to "Witness".... it was the "Crystal Ball" BMA Music International bootleg CD.
It was a "guilty" delight, then and after.
For all these years I never really believed that it could be released.

So I find funny that now that finally "Witness" (and obviously all the fantastic tracks included in this SDE) is officially released in pristine quality there are claims for the sound quality, claims for the autenticity of the track (the "Frankenstein" drama), claims for the #1 or #2 to use, claims for the choice as a "single", etc.

Come on. It's Prince. It's "Witness". It's still a real delight. Enjoy it as it is, simply marvelous.

And for the prices, if I remember well I payed something like 30 Euro (converted) for that CD in 1990. So I can't see anything obscene to pay now what is requested for a box of audio jewels like this SDE.

Just my two cents.




Yeah I don't understand the drama about the numbers. It's #1 in the context of this release not in the context of the track's whole recording history. This is perfectly acceptable.
A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/
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Reply #49 posted 06/25/20 5:54pm

cortez

avatar

I haven't posted on here in forever - so hello again - but this SOTT set coming out has got me really excited

Seeing this song on [my streaming service of choice] just upped the ante. Not even a favorite of mine but dang to hear it in (almost) full fidelity is beautiful.

(yeah the mix is a little weird but I think Prince has more than a couple weird mixes)

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Reply #50 posted 06/25/20 6:09pm

williamb610

I'm hoping the other version is the one with just guitar, drums, and bass guitar as instruments AND it plays a little faster!

Shit! I'm just glad that we got this Super Deluxe, at all!

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Reply #51 posted 06/25/20 8:50pm

Sydney

I think this track sounds amazing - the mastering is great imo. Bodes well for the forthcoming set.

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Reply #52 posted 06/25/20 8:57pm

Sydney

It also sounds like Prince's mix to me - wow this Super Deluxe is going to be special hearing these gems in this quality.

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Reply #53 posted 06/25/20 9:00pm

PurpleSullivan

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Yeah, this sounds terrific to my unsophisticated ears. I was never to huge on this song, but I must admit it is a hell of a banger. I also take no issue with Wendy & Lisa's contributions here (but I am also a stan, so there's that). Really excited for this release.

https://www.youtube.com/w...LXqz--Fjk0
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Reply #54 posted 06/25/20 11:46pm

grantevans

avatar

For all those, who find this muddy, make sure you set youtube to HD, as it improves the sound (and not just those things that are actually videos).

headphones are a must to get the feel of the track, with a very wide pan and interesting double vocals.

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Reply #55 posted 06/26/20 1:43am

love2thenines2
003

ForceofNature said:

steakfinger said:
The BBC audio quality is amazing. Take the towels out of your ears. There’s nothing muddy about unless you’re listen on shitty speakers/headphones.
Yes, the quality is fantastic on this track. But we already have people claiming it is a Franstein mix and stuff like that so I don't know where a lot of complains and claims come from to begin with lol

Source? for a legit download

thanx

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Reply #56 posted 06/26/20 2:26am

TheEnglishGent

avatar

databank said:

BoraBora said:



Being a P fan from Sign/Lovesexy era, I remember when I listened for the first time to "Witness".... it was the "Crystal Ball" BMA Music International bootleg CD.
It was a "guilty" delight, then and after.
For all these years I never really believed that it could be released.

So I find funny that now that finally "Witness" (and obviously all the fantastic tracks included in this SDE) is officially released in pristine quality there are claims for the sound quality, claims for the autenticity of the track (the "Frankenstein" drama), claims for the #1 or #2 to use, claims for the choice as a "single", etc.

Come on. It's Prince. It's "Witness". It's still a real delight. Enjoy it as it is, simply marvelous.

And for the prices, if I remember well I payed something like 30 Euro (converted) for that CD in 1990. So I can't see anything obscene to pay now what is requested for a box of audio jewels like this SDE.

Just my two cents.



Yeah I don't understand the drama about the numbers. It's #1 in the context of this release not in the context of the track's whole recording history. This is perfectly acceptable.


Yeah, I don't get it either. If it was always intended to have W&L on it, then the circulating version we have is unfinished and not something Prince ever intended for any kind of release. So now we have v1, prior to that we had v0.9 or whatever iteration it was.

We have to be careful when using bootlegs as a frame of reference.

RIP sad
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Reply #57 posted 06/26/20 2:41am

djdaffy1227

avatar

222 said:

djdaffy1227 said:

Is there a way to legally download an official file of this? I don't do streaming sites.

Amazon Digital Download $1.29

Thank you!

Making love and music are the only things worth fighting for.
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Reply #58 posted 06/26/20 2:57am

Neversin

avatar

Fucking hell, the stupidity here...
This is the finished version of the track...
Prince did his thing gave his "work in progress" (just to spell it out for you idiots...) tape to Wendy, Lisa and Eric and they recorded their parts; they gave the tape back (still "work in progress" and by no means finished, so NOT to be released...) and Prince finished it and that is this final version...

The "work in progress" tapes all were copied back in the 1980's (the unmixed Wendy, Lisa and Eric version has more to it than what is in the finished version...) and found their way in the hands of fans who sold them to bootleggers...

What some idiots in here claim to be "the real version 1" is just Prince's tape he didn't consider finished and made him mad as fuck when it leaked and found their way onto bootlegs...
When artists record something this is their biggest nightmare and Prince himself was too naive by the way he handled his (demo) recordings, it took him decades to wisen up...

The only way The prince Estate can satisfy everyone is by doing a "Beat the Boots" series or just a "Demo recordings" series and release everything in pristine quality of what is available on bootlegs and with traders...
This will probbaly never happen because they don't even use "Record Store Day" properly...
They could even do their own version of it called "Wrecka Stow Day" a week later or something and provide unreleased album configs with extensive liner notes and (un)finished artwork... They could even entice collectors and provide limited edition (coloured) 7" / 12" vinyl singles for tracks that were planned for single releases...

So many no-brainer options and they always keep choosing the laziest...

Neversin.

[Edited 6/26/20 3:06am]

O(+>NIИ<+)O

“Is man merely a mistake of God's? Or God merely a mistake of man's?”

- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
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Reply #59 posted 06/26/20 3:46am

LausOrg

Neversin said:

Fucking hell, the stupidity here...
This is the finished version of the track...
Prince did his thing gave his "work in progress" (just to spell it out for you idiots...) tape to Wendy, Lisa and Eric and they recorded their parts; they gave the tape back (still "work in progress" and by no means finished, so NOT to be released...) and Prince finished it and that is this final version...

The "work in progress" tapes all were copied back in the 1980's (the unmixed Wendy, Lisa and Eric version has more to it than what is in the finished version...) and found their way in the hands of fans who sold them to bootleggers...

What some idiots in here claim to be "the real version 1" is just Prince's tape he didn't consider finished and made him mad as fuck when it leaked and found their way onto bootlegs...
When artists record something this is their biggest nightmare and Prince himself was too naive by the way he handled his (demo) recordings, it took him decades to wisen up...

The only way The prince Estate can satisfy everyone is by doing a "Beat the Boots" series or just a "Demo recordings" series and release everything in pristine quality of what is available on bootlegs and with traders...
This will probbaly never happen because they don't even use "Record Store Day" properly...
They could even do their own version of it called "Wrecka Stow Day" a week later or something and provide unreleased album configs with extensive liner notes and (un)finished artwork... They could even entice collectors and provide limited edition (coloured) 7" / 12" vinyl singles for tracks that were planned for single releases...

So many no-brainer options and they always keep choosing the laziest...

Neversin.

[Edited 6/26/20 3:06am]

Neversin, did you have the chance to listen to Prince's own mix of this final version? If so, how different is it to the one we have here from Niko Bolas? I am asking because of the odd choice of panning Prince's vocal track to the left and leaving the Hammond organ track relatively loud in the mix (Prince would usually bury all Hammonds, e.g. "Interactive", etc.). Also, the credits shown in Tidal read "Guitar - Wendy Melvoin", but all the guitar work seems to be exactly the same as the one found in the work-in-progress/demo version featuring just drums, bass and guitar. Do you know if Prince's guitar was actually replaced in any way with Wendy's or is this just a mistake in the credits?

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