nayroo2002 said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

maybe cos im someone who likes lo fi music but i think the black album benefitted from bootlegging. just made it seem grimier, dirtier, murkier, more fucked up sounding. when i got it in perfect sound, i still liked it but the intensity was removed. they should release a dirty mock bootleg version officially. lol

Actually, when I got the official repressing in 1994, I was disappointed that the sound wasn't that much better than the bootleg(s)!

It was still just as muddy

Agree on that one. It sounded too light for me as well.

I'm gonna spi that official CD again today, why not.

happyshopper said:

nayroo2002 said:

Actually, when I got the official repressing in 1994, I was disappointed that the sound wasn't that much better than the bootleg(s)!

It was still just as muddy

This is what made me think it was never actually mixed properly for a real release. It was always supposed to be low quality and "leaked".

The difference in effort between the Black album and Lovesexy is stark!

It was tho. The Grundman test pressing of it even has Prince's handwritten rejection notes to improve on the mastering of it, so if he cared that much about the mastering I would bet he would care enough especially because he was set to prove himself again with this album and spinned it at clubs at the time. Teh original 87 vinyl (and 94 vinyl) both sound the same and aren't much diferent from Parade or SOTT mixing and mastering

Slightly off topic, but related:

.

According to at least two sources, the original Old Friend 4 Sale (sans orchestra) was aired regularly on NY station 104 WDKX in late 1985/early 1986. Reportedly, the radio hosts suggested that they had obtained the cassette directly from Paisley Park, but it could also have been the result of an unintended leak.

.

Prince sent unreleased songs to local MPLS radio stations in Minneapolis a few times (Shockadelica, Glam Slam '91, Vavoom and Hot Summer come to mind), and possibly to a LA station once (Turn Me Loose, but it's still unconfirmed whether Prince agreed to this broadcast or not), but would he have sent a tape to a NY station specifically, and in 1985?

.

I still suspect thay just put their hands on a copy and decided to play it hoping that, in those pre-Internet days, neither WB nor Prince would notice, but I'd love to know more if anyone has behind the scenes info on how it played out (or even heard it back then and remembers how the DJ introduced it).