The estate has released posthumously 9 discs of recorded vault material excluding the concert discs. I realize that people listen to the releases in other formats than CD but for simplicity sake I chose to use the CD format so we would be comparing the same songs. One criterion I used to make my list is how often have i played or anticipate playing the whole disc. There are some discs I love a few of the songs but find the whole disc rather plodding to listen to repeatedly.

1. The Purple Rain vault disc - It is a bit uneven, but the excitement of finally getting this vault release as well as loving several songs on it makes this my top choice.

2. !999 - Disc 3 (Feel U Up to Why Don't You Call Me - Take 2) - I considered making this my#1. I love it and think it is the most consistently enjoyable one in terms of repeated listens. It also includes a few songs I really like that I hadn't heard before such as Vagina and Rearrange.

3. 1999 - Disc 4 (Possessed to Medley) - Another strong disc that is enjoyable all the way through. It just didn't include as many songs that I hadn't heard before as Disc 3.

4. The Originals - Love the concept and liked most of the songs but a flow to it that doesn't always work for me.

5. W2A - This was a pleasant surprise. While I don't like as many songs here as I do on the SOTT vault discs, it plays much better as an entire disc.

6. SOTT - Disc 5 (Train to It Be's Like That Sometimes) - I have always loved the original and now the remastered SOTT, and am glad to have all of the vault releases. However, the extended versions of some of the vault songs on SOTT have prevented me from putting them on a repeat cycle. I do love some of the songs/version on this particular disc and the new to me Blanche and It Be's Like That Sometimes are wonderful to have but there are only so many times I want to listen to the extended version of Soul Psychodelicide.

7. SOTT - Discs 4 (I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man to A Large Room With No Light) This one has some real highlights - especially this version of Power Fantastic - but the extended version of All of My Dreams and Can I Play With U? interrupt the flow. I like Can I Play With U? but I was already tired of it before this release. Love the edited version of All My Dreams.

8. SOTT - Disc 6 (Emotion Pump to Strange Relationship - Club Mix) - Again, glad to have this but too many extended mixes to fully get into on repeated listens.

9. Piano & A Microphone (1983) - This was really fun to listen to the first few times but I don't seem to keep going back to it since then.

[Edited 10/15/21 6:45am]

[Edited 10/15/21 15:26pm]

The PR disc, the first disc of 1999, and the first two SOTT discs probably get the most play from me. We Can Fuck, Electric Intercourse, Bold Generation, Can't Stop, Possessed, Adonis, All My Dreams, Strange Relationship.... These songs really baked into my brain and are at the top tier of my favorites of all time.

I reordered the Sign O The Times vault discs to make them fit more thematically according to recording period, musical style and/or lyrical content.

I tried to follow the stucture of the various planned tracklists for Dream Factory, Camille and Crystal Ball without repeating stuff that eventuallly made its way into the final Sign O The Times:

- Prince - Dream Factory

- Prince - Camille

- Prince - Crystal Ball '87

bonus playlists:

- Prince - P-Sides (exclusive tracks from the 1993 compilations)

- Prince - Strange Tales From The Rain (extended version)

It's something I plan to do with the 1999 vault discs in the future.

[Edited 10/15/21 7:38am]

fernandomachado said:

I reordered the Sign O The Times vault discs to make them fit more thematically according to recording period, musical style and/or lyrical content.

I tried to follow the stucture of the various planned tracklists for Dream Factory, Camille and Crystal Ball without repeating stuff that eventuallly made its way into the final Sign O The Times:

- Prince - Dream Factory

- Prince - Camille

- Prince - Crystal Ball '87

bonus playlists:

- Prince - P-Sides (exclusive tracks from the 1993 compilations)

- Prince - Strange Tales From The Rain (extended version)

It's something I plan to do with the 1999 vault discs in the future.

[Edited 10/15/21 7:38am]

Interesting idea. I do plan to arrange my favorotes of the SOTT tracks in a few different playlists, so I will need to consider something like this.

gandorb said:

The estate has released posthumously 8 discs of recorded vault material excluding the concert discs. I realize that people listen to the releases in other formats than CD but for simplicity sake I chose to use the CD format so we would be comparing the same songs. One criterion I used to make my list is how often have i played or anticipate playing the whole disc. There are some discs I love a few of the songs but find the whole disc rather plodding to listen to repeatedly.

1. The Purple Rain vault disc - It is a bit uneven, but the excitement of finally getting this vault release as well as loving several songs on it makes this my top choice.

2. !999 - Disc 3 (Feel U Up to Why Don't You Call Me - Take 2) - I considered making this my#1. I love it and think it is the most consistently enjoyable one in terms of repeated listens. It also includes a few songs I really like that I hadn't heard before such as Vagina and Rearrange.

3. 1999 - Disc 4 (Possessed to Medley) - Another strong disc that is enjoyable all the way through. It just didn't include as many songs that I hadn't heard before as Disc 3.

4. W2A - This was a pleasant surprise. While I don't like as many songs here as I do on the SOTT vault discs, it plays much better as an entire disc.

5. SOTT - Disc 5 (Train to It Be's Like That Sometimes) - I have always loved the original and now the remastered SOTT, and am glad to have all of the vault releases. However, the extended versions of some of the vault songs on SOTT have prevented me from putting them on a repeat cycle. I do love some of the songs/version on this particular disc and the new to me Blanche and It Be's Like That Sometimes are wonderful to have but there are only so many times I want to listen to the extended version of Soul Psychodelicide.

6. SOTT - Discs 4 (I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man to A Large Room With No Light) This one has some real highlights - especially this version of Power Fantastic - but the extended version of All of My Dreams and Can I Play With U? interrupt the flow. I like Can I Play With U? but I was already tired of it before this release. Love the edited version of All My Dreams.

7. SOTT - Disc 6 (Emotion Pump to Strange Relationship - Club Mix) - Again, glad to have this but too many extended mixes to fully get into on repeated listens.

8. Piano & A Microphone (1983) - This was really fun to listen to the first few times but I don't seem to keep going back to it since then.

[Edited 10/15/21 6:45am]

Yeah I agree that PR deluxe disc felt really special when it came out, definitely feel like that has been my favourite. Stuff like Father's Song, Electric Intercourse, that weird slightly melancholic version of Posssessed etc felt like they were revealing new facets of Prince's artistry I'd never really heard before, and even though there were a few things I didn't really go back to (annoyed in particular they put the version of The Dance Electric without the awesome guitar in the second half) overall that disc was really something. The others I haven't gone back to as much, partly because I've had issues with ear sensitivity to noise in the years since, but there's still a lot of great material on those I need to explore more fully.

Curious you didn't include Originals actually, would you not count that as Vault material since the songs had all previously been released? I can understand that reasoning but I enjoyed that once a fair bit as well, would definitely put it above the fairly extraneous release of the Piano & Microphone set, and have probably listened to it more than, say, the 1999 bonus material.

They all worth it.
Mostly good tracks, a few great ones, and some clunkers here and there.

The most surprising songs to me in a good way were A Place In Heaven, Everybody Wants What They Don't Got, Roadhouse Garden//My Destiny, Welcome 2 America and Rearrange ( even if it s a rehash of Lady Cab Driver)

The worst to me were the two versions of Posessed and Katrina Doves Papers

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

gandorb said:

The estate has released posthumously 8 discs of recorded vault material excluding the concert discs. I realize that people listen to the releases in other formats than CD but for simplicity sake I chose to use the CD format so we would be comparing the same songs. One criterion I used to make my list is how often have i played or anticipate playing the whole disc. There are some discs I love a few of the songs but find the whole disc rather plodding to listen to repeatedly.

1. The Purple Rain vault disc - It is a bit uneven, but the excitement of finally getting this vault release as well as loving several songs on it makes this my top choice.

2. !999 - Disc 3 (Feel U Up to Why Don't You Call Me - Take 2) - I considered making this my#1. I love it and think it is the most consistently enjoyable one in terms of repeated listens. It also includes a few songs I really like that I hadn't heard before such as Vagina and Rearrange.

3. 1999 - Disc 4 (Possessed to Medley) - Another strong disc that is enjoyable all the way through. It just didn't include as many songs that I hadn't heard before as Disc 3.

4. W2A - This was a pleasant surprise. While I don't like as many songs here as I do on the SOTT vault discs, it plays much better as an entire disc.

5. SOTT - Disc 5 (Train to It Be's Like That Sometimes) - I have always loved the original and now the remastered SOTT, and am glad to have all of the vault releases. However, the extended versions of some of the vault songs on SOTT have prevented me from putting them on a repeat cycle. I do love some of the songs/version on this particular disc and the new to me Blanche and It Be's Like That Sometimes are wonderful to have but there are only so many times I want to listen to the extended version of Soul Psychodelicide.

6. SOTT - Discs 4 (I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man to A Large Room With No Light) This one has some real highlights - especially this version of Power Fantastic - but the extended version of All of My Dreams and Can I Play With U? interrupt the flow. I like Can I Play With U? but I was already tired of it before this release. Love the edited version of All My Dreams.

7. SOTT - Disc 6 (Emotion Pump to Strange Relationship - Club Mix) - Again, glad to have this but too many extended mixes to fully get into on repeated listens.

8. Piano & A Microphone (1983) - This was really fun to listen to the first few times but I don't seem to keep going back to it since then.

[Edited 10/15/21 6:45am]

Yeah I agree that PR deluxe disc felt really special when it came out, definitely feel like that has been my favourite. Stuff like Father's Song, Electric Intercourse, that weird slightly melancholic version of Posssessed etc felt like they were revealing new facets of Prince's artistry I'd never really heard before, and even though there were a few things I didn't really go back to (annoyed in particular they put the version of The Dance Electric without the awesome guitar in the second half) overall that disc was really something. The others I haven't gone back to as much, partly because I've had issues with ear sensitivity to noise in the years since, but there's still a lot of great material on those I need to explore more fully.

Curious you didn't include Originals actually, would you not count that as Vault material since the songs had all previously been released? I can understand that reasoning but I enjoyed that once a fair bit as well, would definitely put it above the fairly extraneous release of the Piano & Microphone set, and have probably listened to it more than, say, the 1999 bonus material.

Yes, what was I thinking. I actually really like the Originals. Will edit my OP to reflect this.

1. Sign Vault disk 2.

2. 1999 Vault disk 2

3. Sign Vault disk 1

4. Sign Vault disk 3

5. 1999 Vault disc 1

6. Purple Rain Vault disc

7. Welcome 2 America

8. Originals

9. Piano and a mic

Not a lot in it though. I think they are all great.

The only thing from the Vault that I found underwhelming was I Feel For You demo.

RODSERLING said:

Are you high?

Katrina Doves Papers??? LMFAO

as a cassette nut i make my own mixtape albums often sorted by what feels like production themes .. for example .. there are many songs on sott sde that sound very black album in production but end up having a gospel theme .. a lot of 1999 sde and originals go well together in that period .. of course the dream factory outtakes go well together .. and i will edit out trash like our destiny and keep the nice sounding roadhouse garden as they differ in sound quality so much .. current new albums the estate didn't compile but i did are

bold generation (1999 outtakes + some pnm 83)

purple music (1999 outtakes + some orignals from around that era leading into pr)

roadhouse garden (pr outtakes minus poor fidelity songs lke our destiny + velvet)

all my dreams (sott outtakes)

when the dawn of the morning comes (sott sde gospel flavor)

i certainly enjoy the "disks" much more when they have a theme sonically and thematically and i dont have some random poor quality demo or whatever order they throw in that just does not flow or work well

how w2a was listed anywhere but last is beyond me .. that shit hasn't even made it to a mixtape yet .. maybe i can widdle something down if they realease a few more box sets from that period