...well i'm happy about it.

the remastering has punched it all up, it sounds great. i LOVE that all the 12" versions are now available in gorgeous quality. and i'm loving the 7" single set (i am not buying it but it's fun and a cool collectable)- and the amount of low-level buzz about this album seems appropriate to what it is in his catalog: a minor work.

not a minor work like "New Power Soul" or "20Ten" or "Slaughterhouse" or one of the zillion records he put out 1996-2016. but ATWIAD IS a minor work. It's brilliant in spots, it has some absolute killer singles, but it has always felt like filler to me; rushed out too soon after Purple Rain, and showing him navel-gazing, high on his new psychedlic affectations. It's not a BIG DEAL record like "Sign" or "1999" or "PR"- so WHY would they do anything but the bare minimum (which they surpass with the 12"and b-side versions in my opinion). we have seen this estate in action, how are you surprised?

I've not understood this gnashing of teeth and moaning about the lack of vault tracks. besides a small handful of tracks (and really i just want the title track extended with bass line, and that is in great sound on YouTube), we have seen with the other SDE releases that more is NOT necessarily more. the D&P vault tracks are meh and much of the Sign vault stuff could have stayed unreleased. I'd love a live show, sure. but even those get so repetitive with the same medleys and stage patter.

Listen: i LOVE to bitch about stuff. i love to bitch about ineptitude and laziness and stupidity and greed. but for some reason i am really thrilled with this release. perhaps as i approach 60 (like a lot of his core fandom) i just don't give a shit about this sort of thing anymore. or enough of a giving a shit.

should i be more "something" about this release? i just listened to the Paisley Park 12" version again on streaming and it sounds SO GOOD. I love this release. i'm grateful for this release.

why aren't you?

[Edited 11/20/25 21:05pm]

[Edited 11/21/25 3:55am]

How uninteresting.

I won't buy anything from the estate, until they release the netflix documentation unedited.

It's certainly nice to have the 12" versions in good quality. Other than that, it's a whole load of nothing much imho. Feels like a missed opportunity. Even just the tiniest of efforts to add a couple of new things for fans, outtakes, demos, live tracks, anything, would have made it more interesting.

I got my shipping notice & tracking number yesterday.

I'm enjoyng the Diamonds & Love leaks, thank you. I have no interest in a remaster of tracks I listened a million times in last 40 years. Maybe I could buy a copy of ATWIAD, before or late, for the b-sides, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm still here only for the Vault.

databank said:

Wow, it sounds so good and I'm only listening through my galaxy s22 speakers. Tomorrow after work I can listen on my stereo. Can't wait! Loving every song. Can't believe it's been 40 years since I bought this the first time on cd and all the maxi singles on vinyl. Hell, even 4 the tears in your eyes sounds much better. I'm very surprised and happy!

Very favourable review by Uncut magazine.

This is the first Prince release I haven't had on day of release since in 28 years. I may end up getting it - but it is such a missed opportunity, despite the lack of vault material in this era.

It sounds great, but it's about time they did a good remastered and expanded editon off all his early albums.

This should be the basics.

I just did a track by track comparison with my previous rip of ATWIAD. My older version sounds better.

The bass is slightly better on the remasters, but the overall sound is muddy in comparison.

ludwig said:

SquirrelMeat said:

I just did a track by track comparison with my previous rip of ATWIAD. My older version sounds better.

The bass is slightly better on the remasters, but the overall sound is muddy in comparison.

I actually found the bass is a bit too loud in parts of the remasters, like on the original Pop Life the bass sits in the mix very nicely, but in the remastered version it kinda stands out a bit too much.
I know some folk really like remasters, but imho this is one that didn't need to exist and my ears only really notice differences when it does something wrong, e.g. some noise gate artefacts etc.

Anyone also having a bent discs due to the tight wrapping? I learnt today this could be an issue.

2 of 3 discs occupy the same sleevepart with very thin paper used inside.

Less excited review by Allmusic.

SoulAlive said:

listening to it now on Spotify sounds good but I think this will be a “streaming only” release for me.It’s not an essential purchase for me.

The 12" of Girl on this set plays 1.74% slower than the 7". Which is the correct speed?

The Hits/The B-Sides version of 4 the Tears in Your Eyes here sounds like a real improvement, to my ears.

[Edited 11/21/25 18:14pm]

kindofblue said:

Less excited review by Allmusic.

Should a review review the album or the repackaging/remaster?

Obviously the latter IMHO.

Allmusic sucks anyway, most of their reviews are lazy, occasionally inaccurate, capsule reviews. Check this piece of junk for example, and try and figure out how the author deserved to get paid for it: https://www.allmusic.com/...0000652267

ElectricThighs said:

The 12" of Girl on this set plays 1.74% slower than the 7". Which is the correct speed?

Could it be it was already that way on the 7'' and 12""?

What about the 7'' version on The B-Sides? Is it like the 7'' here or the 12'' or yet something else?

spaceboy said:

databank said:

ElectricThighs said:

The 12" of Girl on this set plays 1.74% slower than the 7". Which is the correct speed?

Could it be it was already that way on the 7'' and 12""?

What about the 7'' version on The B-Sides? Is it like the 7'' here or the 12'' or yet something else?

I'll check...

...On The Hits/The B-Sides it plays at almost identical speed to the 7" on the new set - there's only about 0.026% difference between the two.

On my mint original US 12" of America, played on a Technics SL1210GR direct drive turntable, it actually plays slightly faster than any of the others - about 0.29% than the 7" versions. That makes the 12" version on the new set a little more than 2% too slow.

It's noticecable; the reason I compared in the first place was because as soon as I pressed play on the 12" version on the new CD, my reaction was to notice that it was slower than I'd ever heard it before.

[Edited 11/21/25 19:00pm]

FragileUndertow said:

When i played She's Always In My Hair 7" ver. It sounded a bit faster than the 12". I threw both in an audio editor. I was correct, the songs will not synch up. The 7" plays faster Same goes for Pop Life, lp and ext vers. I mean you think they would synch up. Maybe a hair off. But they do not. But then again i honestly didn't think they would I didn't think to check if America lp and 12" would synch up Now which tracks are the correct speed. Idk BTW didn't think to see if they match up with the b sides

Yes, I've just checked this for myself, but it's the 12" of SAIMH that plays faster... The 7" is extremely accurate when compared to TH/TBS. However, the 12" on the new set plays 1.18% too fast. Why would the versions that have previously been released on CD be accurate, but the new-to-CD tracks play at the incorrect speed?

[Edited 11/21/25 21:22pm]