While I would have a few qualms, I am not really against this idea. I think the album format is the most enjoyable and digestible way to listen to music, and for that reason, the vault discs of the 1999/SOTT deluxes don't get as much play as they should from me. While songs are often lost in poorly sequenced bonus discs, a carefully constructed album sequence elevates the material, drawing attention to the music and the songs as an artistic experience.

However, this job would propose a few moral and artistic conundrums. Like, for one, it wouldn't be Prince's artistic statement. Whatever was put together could be a complete misjudgement of what Prince was trying to create and could even shape a narrative about that period that did not exist (for instance, what if an album of 'sad songs' was curated from material recorded between 81-82, packaged as a period of introspective Prince going through some personal termoil, when everything else he was recording during the period were lusty horn-dog songs?).

It could be done but would have to be done tactfully and transparently. Hopefully there are actually complete unheard albums in the vault (or album tracklists including songs we know and don't) - if so, they should release them first.

Interesting question, particularly for track listings that were sequenced by Prince like Camille or Playtime by Versace for example I think they would be most welcome. I would love to see what Prince`s version of the roadhouse garden album looked like, even though we likely have most or all of the material in some form...

I wrote about this some times ago. Yes, I would have preferred Prince albums to be released with functional tracklists, unreleased tracks, and to keep Prince's idea of ​​the "album concept" all along. The Vaults are big box sets, heavy to listen to, with alternate versions of songs heard millions of times by fans that should accompany the release of pseudo albums and not replace it.

Hard to say . . . I would welcome new Prince music, obviously . . . and I know that collections/compilations WILL happen eventually. Just not sure how it should be done.

As long as the music itself is not fake. I know Originals had some "Frankenstein" mixes, and lots of cassette- or CD-R-sourced material has made it to production . . .

no

Landonfunkmonkey said:

Do you remember the bootleg Crucial? For me the best bootleg ever.

Completely agree. It's such a shame that the sound quality was so ropey, because the tracks were top tier. It's also a shame that the Eric Leeds version of Crucial hasn't really seen a quality upgrade to this day.

I did have an idea along these lines the other day. What if the Prince estate took what was started with 'The Vault... Old Friends 4 Sale', and expanded the concept into a series of standalone albums?

For example...
'The Vault... She's Just A Baby' (a collection of Dirty Mind era outtakes)
'The Vault... Empty Room' (a collection of Parade era outtakes)
'The Vault... The Grand Progression' (a collection of early Graffiti Bridge era outtakes)
'The Vault... The Voice Inside' (a collection of Batman era outtakes)

I just found it strange that only one of Prince's albums has the 'The Vault...' prefix. Why not just call the album 'Old Friends For Sale'?

Personally, I would love to see the estate commit to two releases a year. A standalone release every summer around the time of Celebration and a more comprehensive box set every winter.

VaultCurator said:

I love this idea. A single release of just vault material? Not a box set...just a single album like in the old days.