nayroo2002 said:

mattosgood said:

Prince - King of B-sides

I have counted a ‘B-side’ as a song that is a new song, one that first lived as a Prince B-side. This discounts any B-sides that were album tracks or mix derivatives of the A-side.

‘I Wish U Heaven’ (Parts 1, 2, & 3) (...&...) ‘The Scandalous Sex Suite’

These are the extended versions of said songs, not really what you explained as "new songs".

"Scarlet Pussy" & "Sex" are the B-Sides, respectively.

I don't mean to de-merit your literature, but "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" was, for me, Prince's first B-Side.

RE: Gotta Stop (Messin' About)

it was 1st released as the A-side of a one off UK single, so... didn't count as a B-side and thus didn't count in a book about songs first released as B-sides

Check here for further clarification

https://princevault.com/index.php?title=Single:_Gotta_Stop_(Messin%E2%80%99_About)

RE: ‘I Wish U Heaven’ (Parts 1, 2, & 3) (...&...) ‘The Scandalous Sex Suite’

That's what I've discussed and explained in the Reading Notes

and I have covered "Scarlet Pussy" & "Sex" as the B-Sides, respectively.

Correct, the PrinceVault link i also clearly imbedded in my last response, in which it states that the song was only released in the UK as promotion for the Dirty Mind Tour.

It was later the b-side to "Let's Work" from 'Controversy', then ultimately included on the 'B-SIDES' disc of "The Hits/B-Sides' compilation.

Apologies for being beside myself

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material.
Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song).
Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that.
Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to.
Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

nayroo2002 said:

Correct, the PrinceVault link i also clearly imbedded in my last response, in which it states that the song was only released in the UK as promotion for the Dirty Mind Tour.

It was later the b-side to "Let's Work" from 'Controversy', then ultimately included on the 'B-SIDES' disc of "The Hits/B-Sides' compilation.

Apologies for being beside myself

No apology needed.

I'm from the UK, so you know, it was the A-side of a one off, non album, standalone single

nayroo2002 said:

mattosgood said:

Prince - King of B-sides

I have counted a ‘B-side’ as a song that is a new song, one that first lived as a Prince B-side. This discounts any B-sides that were album tracks or mix derivatives of the A-side.

‘I Wish U Heaven’ (Parts 1, 2, & 3) (...&...) ‘The Scandalous Sex Suite’

These are the extended versions of said songs, not really what you explained as "new songs".

"Scarlet Pussy" & "Sex" are the B-Sides, respectively.

I don't mean to de-merit your literature, but "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" was, for me, Prince's first B-Side.

It wasn't really a B-side at all though - it was initially released as a single in the UK. It was only years later that it ended up as a B-side.

leecaldon said:

nayroo2002 said:

These are the extended versions of said songs, not really what you explained as "new songs".

"Scarlet Pussy" & "Sex" are the B-Sides, respectively.

I don't mean to de-merit your literature, but "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" was, for me, Prince's first B-Side.

It wasn't really a B-side at all though - it was initially released as a single in the UK. It was only years later that it ended up as a B-side.

Just saw your other response! This has been a lesson for me - I did not know it was released as a proper single in the UK (rather than just a promo). I wonder how disappointed management/PR were that it didn't make the top 75.

leecaldon said:

leecaldon said:

It wasn't really a B-side at all though - it was initially released as a single in the UK. It was only years later that it ended up as a B-side.

Just saw your other response! This has been a lesson for me - I did not know it was released as a proper single in the UK (rather than just a promo). I wonder how disappointed management/PR were that it didn't make the top 75.

now that's an interesting question!

or why they didn't try a release in the USA

it's a great song - so all quite bizarre

that said - there's a ton of great songs that ended up as B-sides (thus the book) or just sat in the vault collecting dust (Friction and original Extralovable) that now, probably only the record company execs that are still alive could answer

one of many missed opportunities, as they had just too much good material, they didn't know what to do with IHMO

mattosgood said:

leecaldon said:

Just saw your other response! This has been a lesson for me - I did not know it was released as a proper single in the UK (rather than just a promo). I wonder how disappointed management/PR were that it didn't make the top 75.

now that's an interesting question!

or why they didn't try a release in the USA

it's a great song - so all quite bizarre

that said - there's a ton of great songs that ended up as B-sides (thus the book) or just sat in the vault collecting dust (Friction and original Extralovable) that now, probably only the record company execs that are still alive could answer

one of many missed opportunities, as they had just too much good material, they didn't know what to do with IHMO

I wonder how it happened. I mean obviously the single was released to coincide with Prince's first London gig (which was in a club and only 2 days after the single's release, so rather confidential and nothing that justified the fanfare of releasing an exclusive single, but there has to have been a connection), and most likely to take advantage of UK's punk and new wave audiences, these two genres being much more popular there than in the US at the time (MTV and the Second British Invasion hadn't begun yet).

.

Yet, I wonder if Prince came to WB with "I heard they dig this in UK and I have a song that may...", or if WB US heard the song (since Prince apparently sent them a lot of cassettes) and thought "it may be a good idea to...", or if WB UK requested WB US a song "that would be in the vein of..." to coincide with the concert.

.

Unless maybe Duane gets to write a book about this era, we may never know...

databank said:

mattosgood said:

now that's an interesting question!

or why they didn't try a release in the USA

it's a great song - so all quite bizarre

that said - there's a ton of great songs that ended up as B-sides (thus the book) or just sat in the vault collecting dust (Friction and original Extralovable) that now, probably only the record company execs that are still alive could answer

one of many missed opportunities, as they had just too much good material, they didn't know what to do with IHMO

I wonder how it happened. I mean obviously the single was released to coincide with Prince's first London gig (which was in a club and only 2 days after the single's release, so rather confidential and nothing that justified the fanfare of releasing an exclusive single, but there has to have been a connection), and most likely to take advantage of UK's punk and new wave audiences, these two genres being much more popular there than in the US at the time (MTV and the Second British Invasion hadn't begun yet).

.

Yet, I wonder if Prince came to WB with "I heard they dig this in UK and I have a song that may...", or if WB US heard the song (since Prince apparently sent them a lot of cassettes) and thought "it may be a good idea to...", or if WB UK requested WB US a song "that would be in the vein of..." to coincide with the concert.

.

Unless maybe Duane gets to write a book about this era, we may never know...

the single was even promoted in the NME in tandem with the Lycium gig in the NME -but you're right unless WMs UK employee shares, we are unlikely to know..

databank said:

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material. Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song). Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that. Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to. Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

thank you

looks like you have a mega project of your own in the works, so good luck with that!

As I've been saying about the B-sides, they are all songs with stories to tell

mattosgood said:

leecaldon said:

Just saw your other response! This has been a lesson for me - I did not know it was released as a proper single in the UK (rather than just a promo). I wonder how disappointed management/PR were that it didn't make the top 75.

now that's an interesting question!

or why they didn't try a release in the USA

it's a great song - so all quite bizarre

that said - there's a ton of great songs that ended up as B-sides (thus the book) or just sat in the vault collecting dust (Friction and original Extralovable) that now, probably only the record company execs that are still alive could answer

one of many missed opportunities, as they had just too much good material, they didn't know what to do with IHMO

From what I can gather, it was specifically released to coincide with a UK gig. And only I Wanna Be Your Lover had cracked the Top 75 at that point.

.

But I can't really think of another example of a one-off single being released for a single gig.

databank said:

mattosgood said:

now that's an interesting question!

or why they didn't try a release in the USA

it's a great song - so all quite bizarre

that said - there's a ton of great songs that ended up as B-sides (thus the book) or just sat in the vault collecting dust (Friction and original Extralovable) that now, probably only the record company execs that are still alive could answer

one of many missed opportunities, as they had just too much good material, they didn't know what to do with IHMO

I wonder how it happened. I mean obviously the single was released to coincide with Prince's first London gig (which was in a club and only 2 days after the single's release, so rather confidential and nothing that justified the fanfare of releasing an exclusive single, but there has to have been a connection), and most likely to take advantage of UK's punk and new wave audiences, these two genres being much more popular there than in the US at the time (MTV and the Second British Invasion hadn't begun yet).

.

Yet, I wonder if Prince came to WB with "I heard they dig this in UK and I have a song that may...", or if WB US heard the song (since Prince apparently sent them a lot of cassettes) and thought "it may be a good idea to...", or if WB UK requested WB US a song "that would be in the vein of..." to coincide with the concert.

.

Unless maybe Duane gets to write a book about this era, we may never know...

Some days before when he played at Paradiso in Amsterdam they promoted the 12" Dutch pressing of Uptown (pink sleeve with black lettering as oposed to the normal black sleeve wit red or pink lettering 12" vinyl release)

leecaldon said:

mattosgood said:

now that's an interesting question!

or why they didn't try a release in the USA

it's a great song - so all quite bizarre

that said - there's a ton of great songs that ended up as B-sides (thus the book) or just sat in the vault collecting dust (Friction and original Extralovable) that now, probably only the record company execs that are still alive could answer

one of many missed opportunities, as they had just too much good material, they didn't know what to do with IHMO

From what I can gather, it was specifically released to coincide with a UK gig. And only I Wanna Be Your Lover had cracked the Top 75 at that point.

.

But I can't really think of another example of a one-off single being released for a single gig.

The 'reloaded' version of Extraloveable was a stand-alone digital single released on iTunes in Canada only, just before the 25th and 26th November 2011 gigs at the Air Canada Centre, Toronto - to promote the Welcome 2 Canada tour.

(It was made available in on iTunes platform in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan one day after the initial release in Canada, and in the USA the following week.)

mattosgood said:

leecaldon said:

From what I can gather, it was specifically released to coincide with a UK gig. And only I Wanna Be Your Lover had cracked the Top 75 at that point.

.

But I can't really think of another example of a one-off single being released for a single gig.

The 'reloaded' version of Extraloveable was a stand-alone digital single released on iTunes in Canada only, just before the 25th and 26th November 2011 gigs at the Air Canada Centre, Toronto - to promote the Welcome 2 Canada tour.

(It was made available in on iTunes platform in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan one day after the initial release in Canada, and in the USA the following week.)

Good point. A lot easier in the digital era.

mattosgood said:

databank said:

I wonder how it happened. I mean obviously the single was released to coincide with Prince's first London gig (which was in a club and only 2 days after the single's release, so rather confidential and nothing that justified the fanfare of releasing an exclusive single, but there has to have been a connection), and most likely to take advantage of UK's punk and new wave audiences, these two genres being much more popular there than in the US at the time (MTV and the Second British Invasion hadn't begun yet).

.

Yet, I wonder if Prince came to WB with "I heard they dig this in UK and I have a song that may...", or if WB US heard the song (since Prince apparently sent them a lot of cassettes) and thought "it may be a good idea to...", or if WB UK requested WB US a song "that would be in the vein of..." to coincide with the concert.

.

Unless maybe Duane gets to write a book about this era, we may never know...

the single was even promoted in the NME in tandem with the Lycium gig in the NME -but you're right unless WMs UK employee shares, we are unlikely to know..

The link for the photo is broken!

databank said:

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material. Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song). Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that. Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to. Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

I also thought that was odd. Although he took advantage with the maxi singles, exploring one song in many different ways, which I always found interesting.

leecaldon said:

databank said:

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material. Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song). Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that. Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to. Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

I also thought that was odd. Although he took advantage with the maxi singles, exploring one song in many different ways, which I always found interesting.

me too, I cover a few in the book like Loveleft, Loveright, The Lubricated Lady and Gangster Glam - where they are different enough to count as a song in their own right vs. just a mix e.g. Do Your dance or Housebangers IMHO

mattosgood said:

databank said:

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material. Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song). Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that. Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to. Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

thank you

looks like you have a mega project of your own in the works, so good luck with that!

As I've been saying about the B-sides, they are all songs with stories to tell

Thanks Matt

.

Yeah I just realized I began this chrnological discography project 15 years ago this month (lawd!). Still a LOT of work to do on it, but it's a one man job and I haven't gotten around updating it much in a long time, but I still hope to get back to workin on it a little more intensely soon

My guess toward your point here is that Prince's B-sides selections were an opportunity he took to alternately experiment with his audience, or as a vehicle to acquiesce to Warner Bros. bosses and make them feel good about their relationship, if it ever needed bolstering. With such proliferate output, how could he himself ever keep up on the massive compilation choices, save the album projects?

databank said:

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material. Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song). Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that. Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to. Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

Germanegro said:

My guess toward your point here is that Prince's B-sides selections were an opportunity he took to alternately experiment with his audience, or as a vehicle to acquiesce to Warner Bros. bosses and make them feel good about their relationship, if it ever needed bolstering. With such proliferate output, how could he himself ever keep up on the massive compilation choices, save the album projects?

databank said:

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material. Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song). Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that. Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to. Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

It all very much depended upon the artist or band. The generous ones ensured their B-sides were a source of fresh material, sans the pressure of seeking radio play, that was the job of the A-side. New songs and unexpected delights, exciting extras that served to build another dimension to the band or act. The wonder and USP of the B-side was this element of surprise – you never quite knew what sonic gem awaited you on the flipside. Thankfully, for the most part, we got lucky being Prince fans

mattosgood said:

nayroo2002 said:

Can anyone name the 31 b-sides?

I only counted 29 from my foggy memory

I can!!

lol

spent all summer writing about them

30 Prince written songs and 1 cover

[Edited 9/15/24 2:43am]

Matt - just ordered the book - you can claim you have at least one reader in Germany now! Looking forward to this, I love all these songs (and got them all, mainly on vinyl...)

Krid said:

mattosgood said:

I can!!

lol

spent all summer writing about them

30 Prince written songs and 1 cover

[Edited 9/15/24 2:43am]

Matt - just ordered the book - you can claim you have at least one reader in Germany now! Looking forward to this, I love all these songs (and got them all, mainly on vinyl...)

thank you - enjoy, it was written as a fam, for fams, based on what I would enjoy reading in a Prince book and I have read many of them, good and not so good

The cover design is cool but was prince that brown? Idk.

databank said:

Less money in putting songs on b sides?
Maybe he thought those other songs would be used elsewhere or if he put them on singles they would get lost and forgotten about, as albums were still the big format for posterity
Or he just liked to complain that the system couldn't handle all his music but didnt actually want to telease it. If he really wanted to FREE THE MUSIC we all know he couldve done it,both for the archives and present day material but he also had his own (often random) ideas about what he thought 'good enough' to release.

IMO, Prince was too busy freeing the music that was flowing through his mind to keep up with the delivery of what he layed on record.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

databank said:

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material. Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song). Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that. Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to. Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

Less money in putting songs on b sides? Maybe he thought those other songs would be used elsewhere or if he put them on singles they would get lost and forgotten about, as albums were still the big format for posterity Or he just liked to complain that the system couldn't handle all his music but didnt actually want to telease it. If he really wanted to FREE THE MUSIC we all know he couldve done it,both for the archives and present day material but he also had his own (often random) ideas about what he thought 'good enough' to release.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

databank said:

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material. Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song). Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that. Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to. Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

Less money in putting songs on b sides? Maybe he thought those other songs would be used elsewhere or if he put them on singles they would get lost and forgotten about, as albums were still the big format for posterity Or he just liked to complain that the system couldn't handle all his music but didnt actually want to telease it. If he really wanted to FREE THE MUSIC we all know he couldve done it,both for the archives and present day material but he also had his own (often random) ideas about what he thought 'good enough' to release.

I don't think it was anything about less money - putting a B-side on a 7"single, especially a lead single and then an extended version for the 12", was a sure fire way to get more sales each release than just a 'lazy' album track. B-sides, enabled all artists, to share something less commercial or more avant garde or more experimental or what was their thing.

With Prince he was filling up LP and CD capacity every time, pushing for double albums and giving songs to other artisist, but as @databank highlights, he was sitting on so many songs, as we've seen with the Deluxe releases he could have easily put out 2 new B-sides every release!

(And, as I detail in the book re: Soft Cell, putting your own song on the B-side rather than a cover, safeguarded 50% extra revenue)

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

databank said:

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material. Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song). Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that. Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to. Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

Less money in putting songs on b sides? Maybe he thought those other songs would be used elsewhere or if he put them on singles they would get lost and forgotten about, as albums were still the big format for posterity

I don't think so since:

1/ He wouldn't make less or more money by putting a new song than by putting a remix or album track.

2/ His output was still too much for his own albums/side-projects and songs given to others to absorb (and strangely enough, he wasn't very much in demand for soundtracks).

.

That said, I'm sure he chose to keep certain songs for albums (or later vault collections) because he wanted them to matter and be remembered. For example, it appears he kept Moonbeam levels in mind for several albums thoughout the 80s, so this may explain why it didn't end-up as a 1999 b-side. Same thing with All My Dreams, that was saved for DF instead of being dumped as a Parade b-side, then most likely kept for an outtakes collection that, sadly, never materialized. Similarly, keeping Crystal Ball in the vault seems utterly insane when the song could have been, say, the SOTT single's b-side and made such a strong impression in 87, but I guess he thought "this is too good to be dumped as a b_side" and decided to keep it for a collection that, thankfully, did materialize a decade later. But even putting an amount of "special" gems aside, he still had enough good material to allow for a b-side for every single he ever released if he'd wanted to.

mattosgood said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

databank said: Less money in putting songs on b sides? Maybe he thought those other songs would be used elsewhere or if he put them on singles they would get lost and forgotten about, as albums were still the big format for posterity Or he just liked to complain that the system couldn't handle all his music but didnt actually want to telease it. If he really wanted to FREE THE MUSIC we all know he couldve done it,both for the archives and present day material but he also had his own (often random) ideas about what he thought 'good enough' to release.

I don't think it was anything about less money - putting a B-side on a 7"single, especially a lead single and then an extended version for the 12", was a sure fire way to get more sales each release than just a 'lazy' album track. B-sides, enabled all artists, to share something less commercial or more avant garde or more experimental or what was their thing.

With Prince he was filling up LP and CD capacity every time, pushing for double albums and giving songs to other artisist, but as @databank highlights, he was sitting on so many songs, as we've seen with the Deluxe releases he could have easily put out 2 new B-sides every release!

(And, as I detail in the book re: Soft Cell, putting your own song on the B-side rather than a cover, safeguarded 50% extra revenue)

I read about this and that story was crazy The poor babies must have regretted that mistake their whole life.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

databank said:

What I always thought was kinda odd is Prince wouldn't seize the opportunity to release more material. Some singles had album tracks for a b-side. Then in the 90s it was loads of (mostly unappealing) remixes when CD singles would have allowed for those... and a new song (that would have been a better incentive for us to buy the maxis. Because of budgetary limits, I often waited for a second hand copy of mixes only singles back then, when I would have jumped on any new song). Not to mention that there could have been two different b-sides on the 7'' and 12''. It's funny, it seems he never even though of doing that. Odd for someone who had so much great stuff in his vault and always complained he couldn't release as much music as he wanted to. Anyway, congratulations and good luck with the book Matt

he also had his own (often random) ideas about what he thought 'good enough' to release.

I think he was a much better curator of his own catalogue as he was given credit for in his lifetime, as demonstrated by the SDE collections IMHO (there wasn't so much great stuff left for the Estate to play with on the SOTT SDE, for example: Prince had already managed to release most of the best stuff from the Dream Factory/Camille/Crystal Ball sessions that couldn't make it into the SOTT album).

.

However, it's true some of his choices could be puzzling.

.

Why, for example, keep the 7'' edit instead of putting the extended version of 17 Days on the 12''? I think most of us would agree this extended cut is great, and it would have made fans have to buy both the 7'' and 12'', but for some reason Prince apparently didn't think the long version was good enough.

.

Another thing that baffles me entirely was why not release Computer Blue's Hallways Speech version on a PR 12''? I understand why it had to be edited for the album, but putting it on any PR 12'' as a b-side would likely have resulted in rock critics raving about Prince being an absolute genius even more than they did at the time. People would have been talking about it for years. But Prince obviously didn't realize this at all.

[Edited 9/27/24 6:16am]

databank said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

databank said: he also had his own (often random) ideas about what he thought 'good enough' to release.

I think he was a much better curator of his own catalogue as he was given credit for in his lifetime, as demonstrated by the SDE collections IMHO (there wasn't so much great stuff left for the Estate to play with on the SOTT SDE, for example: Prince had already managed to release most of the best stuff from the Dream Factory/Camille/Crystal Ball sessions that couldn't make it into the SOTT album).

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However, it's true some of his choices could be puzzling.

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Why, for example, keep the 7'' edit instead of putting the extended version of 17 Days on the 12''? I think most of us would agree this extended cut is great, and it would have made fans have to buy both the 7'' and 12'', but for some reason Prince apparently didn't think the long version was good enough.

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Another thing that baffles me entirely was why not release Computer Blue's Hallways Speech version on a PR 12''? I understand why it had to be edited for the album, but putting it on any PR 12'' as a b-side would likely have resulted in rock critics raving about Prince being an absolute genius even more than they did at the time. People would have been talking about it for years. But Prince obviously didn't realize this at all.

[Edited 9/27/24 6:16am]

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I don't think he regarded his unreleased stuff inferior to anything he released. Quite the opposite: remember when he told Morris Hayes that Purple Rain was only his B-roll and there was an even better album still in the can from the same period? He said that was for his children to inherit. I think he deliberately held back quite a lot of stuff he considered really great.