ElectricThighs said:

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]

They are two different masters and edits, perhaps for the 12" it just naturally runs a little bit faster by intention?

strawberryletter23 said:

nxx said:

FragileUndertow said:

strawberryletter23 said:

ElectricThighs said:

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]

They are two different masters and edits, perhaps for the 12" it just naturally runs a little bit faster by intention?

The 7" is a fade of the 12". They should play at the same speed.


EDIT: I tested this theory the following day and I was incorrect. See later posts in this thread.

[Edited 11/23/25 10:11am]

Just checked out 4 the Tears in Your Eyes (WATW version). Speed-wise, it's identical to the original compilation CD. To the digital bit. I do realise that it doesn't state that these remasters of all of these tracks were done from the original analogue tapes, but it seems that some of the tracks that were already available on CD have just been re-EQed.

It's a low-cost edition. They haven't even bothered to include any photos. Explanatory text. Nothing. Just take our money and little else.

ghostof82 said:

I've bought this to support Prince, NOT the Estate. If we fans don't buy these releases, how can we expect the general public to, who probably don't care about the Purple One? The Estate don't need more excuses to give up. I'd like to see all the back-catalogue released like this (album/b-sides, 12" versions) and then maybe vault releases to tie-in with them.

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That should have happened decades ago. There was a massive trend for remastered and expanded albums in the late 1990s. (Bowie of course was a decade ahead since the rights to his pre-1983 catalog had reverted to him by the end of the 1980s, and cut a deal with Rykodisc to re-release his albums and started of with the Sound + Vision box set which had numerous outtakes etc.)

.

Note that this was before the music industry imploded. There was tons of money to be earned, and bootleggers knew this all too well.

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But back then Prince of course was too busy badmouthing Warners. And what little hope we had of a reissue schedule back when he re-signed with Warners in 2014 quickly vanished when it became clear that the vague promise of a deluxe Purple Rain was almost immediately poo-poo'd by Prince who was more interested in releasing that awful 3rdEyeGirl record he couldn't get released by anyone in the year before.

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And now it's 2025, and apparently that back catalog is apparently mired in the contractual mess he left behind. Even the albums from the high point of his career only get remastered and expanded releases at a snail's pace. We don't even get liner notes about the recording sessions with previously unknown details, no podcast series with interviews with the people involved, no photos of tape reels and work orders.

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Nope. Just a perfunctory release. Oh, and a Dolby Atmos remix. They had two years and that's all the estate could muster.

ferlafran said:

ElectricThighs said:

ElectricThighs said:

databank said:

ElectricThighs said:

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]

Both versions of SAIMH were released on CD and before so I guess one could compare the B-Sides and Ultimate versions' speed. I really wonder if it's all accidental or if it could be that Prince tinkered with speed to make one version slightly more dynamic at the time. But idk maybe it's nonsense to assume that.

Girl 12 isn't just slower (77BPM vs 78BPM), it changes the key of the song compared to the version on 'Hits', Orignal vinyl rip and the 7 inch on the new set.

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'll stick with the unopened vinyl LP I bought in a used record store four years ago.

ElectricThighs said:

strawberryletter23 said:

They are two different masters and edits, perhaps for the 12" it just naturally runs a little bit faster by intention?

The 7" is a fade of the 12". They should play at the same speed.

Not neccesarily - just like the Mountains '12 where it plays a little sharper it is fully possible that Prince and co. decided to run the extended versions a little faster. Both are possible, ultimately it is one of those things that we can't say what happened for sure unless the engineers specifically remember and weigh in on this


AND not to mention, there is new reverb and treatment on the 12 inch. It is not just a 1:1 cut and release type of thing - it is entirely possible between the new edits AND the new tape transfer things were ever so slightly faster depending on context, treatment, and equipment

[Edited 11/22/25 23:15pm]

strawberryletter23 said:

ElectricThighs said:

The 7" is a fade of the 12". They should play at the same speed.

Not neccesarily - just like the Mountains '12 where it plays a little sharper it is fully possible that Prince and co. decided to run the extended versions a little faster. Both are possible, ultimately it is one of those things that we can't say what happened for sure unless the engineers specifically remember and weigh in on this


AND not to mention, there is new reverb and treatment on the 12 inch. It is not just a 1:1 cut and release type of thing - it is entirely possible between the new edits AND the new tape transfer things were ever so slightly faster depending on context, treatment, and equipment

[Edited 11/22/25 23:15pm]

I've tested your theory, with the assumption that I was going to disprove it, but in the case of She's Always in My Hair you are correct.

Comparing the 7" version from the UK Paisley Park 7", and the 12" version from the US Raspberry Beret. Both played on the same direct drive turntable at 45rpm. I can't vouch for other copies on different releases - this is what I have to hand.

To match the speed of the recordings, I had to speed up the 7" version by 1.32%.

Girl 12" is wildly out, compared to my original 12" copy, but the SAIMH 12"s on the new ATWIAD set is a match to my original 12". Thanks for making me check!

[Edited 11/23/25 10:28am]

databank said:

ElectricThighs said:

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]

Odd. I wouldn't know what to say.

I was relieved to see this thread about the 12-inch version of "Girl" being too slow on the new CD because I don't see much talk about this problem online. Just like you, as soon as I played it, I knew from 40 years of listening that the speed was very noticeably slower. It's sad to see the estate harm Prince's art in such a careless manner.

thegreatsongtraveler said:

I was relieved to see this thread about the 12-inch version of "Girl" being too slow on the new CD because I don't see much talk about this problem online. Just like you, as soon as I played it, I knew from 40 years of listening that the speed was very noticeably slower. It's sad to see the estate harm Prince's art in such a careless manner.

The final beat and note seems to have come from a different source, which plays at the correct speed. If anyone's planning on fixing their digital copy then it will involve speeding up the whole song (around 2%) but leaving the last note in tact. The vinyl pressing, obviously, is irredeemably fucked.

Kinda amazing that they had months to prepare this release and almost immediately after getting copies fans point out extremely obvious errors.

thegreatsongtraveler said:

MIRvmn1 said:

thegreatsongtraveler said:

I was relieved to see this thread about the 12-inch version of "Girl" being too slow on the new CD because I don't see much talk about this problem online. Just like you, as soon as I played it, I knew from 40 years of listening that the speed was very noticeably slower. It's sad to see the estate harm Prince's art in such a careless manner.

Another reason people should ignore this release.

Oh my God. Yet ANOTHER reason to ignore this release: I was just listening to CD 1 (the remastered album) on my home stereo, and the first kick drum beat of "Raspberry Beret" is ENTIRELY MISSING! All you hear is the residual echo of the first kick. So now there are problems on CD 1 ("Raspberry Beret") AND CD 2 (12-inch "Girl" too slow. And these are only the mistakes that I noticed. Are there more? WHO IS HANDLING QUALITY CONTROL?

KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL PRESSINGS EVERYONE!

bizzie said:

There are tonnes of little glitches in there, it's a genuinely careless remaster. It amazes me how so many fans are easily pleased, like "oh wow the bass is louder and the instruments are more separated" and walk away happy.

I got the 2CD & the 3LP versions.

To anyone that owns the original album & 12" singles on vinyl, the 3LP is a complete waste of money. This material was perfectly mastered for vinyl 40 years ago. These revisionist tweaks are completely unnecessary for this format and are inferior to the originals in every way. If you want the material on vinyl and don't have access to the originals, here is an easy way to get it all in one package, but they won't sound as good.

The 2CD is worth it just to get all the 12" tracks on CD. But the remaster is not some great improvement even if you put the issues mentioned by others aside. Perhaps this will sound better for those that stream music or those that listen on cheap equipment, these tweaks might add some punch and sound like an improvement in those cases. For the rest of us, not so much.

I wasn't down on the release over it's lack of vault material, I'm in the camp that feels there was very little to add here and was satisfied with having the single tracks in one package and on CD. However, this feels like a fail even with those low expectactions.

The estate could open the vault and let fans literally take master tapes home and they'd still bitch because they had to bring their own shopping bag.

TrivialPursuit said:

The estate could open the vault and let fans literally take master tapes home and they'd still bitch because they had to bring their own shopping bag.

I'm calling bullshit on this statement.

Some here aren't even giving this release a chance because it's not what they want, how they want it. However, some of us bought it, I bought 2 versions, and are simply stating our opinions of the good and the bad of the release.

If you disagree with a specific criticism make your case, your opinion is as valid as anyone here. Otherwise it just comes across like you don't have an argument against the criticisms so you're just being dismissive of them.

djThunderfunk said:

TrivialPursuit said:

The estate could open the vault and let fans literally take master tapes home and they'd still bitch because they had to bring their own shopping bag.

I'm calling bullshit on this statement.

Some here aren't even giving this release a chance because it's not what they want, how they want it. However, some of us bought it, I bought 2 versions, and are simply stating our opinions of the good and the bad of the release.

If you disagree with a specific criticism make your case, your opinion is as valid as anyone here. Otherwise it just comes across like you don't have an argument against the criticisms so you're just being dismissive of them.

In another ATMOS thread, I fully questioned the mastering of the ATMOS mix and Chris James' ability to accomplish something worthwhile.

My statement was more toward how some Prince fans are never happy, no matter what. I bought 2 versions as well. The cynicism of it, rather than just good critique (whether for or against the release) is what I was going after. That's all.

jazzz said:

spaceboy said:

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.

Don't complain, this is one of the "joys" of vinyl 🤣

How rude of you, 'cold CD lover'.

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I'm also not bying this so calle SDE, which it obviously isn't.

I'll wait a year or so to find it for half the price, or get it from someone who wants to get rid of it.

How promissing this all is for the next release(s).

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What a year by the way, and, not to mention the musical.

I wish someone leaked that 9h documentary.

That would be a great Xmas gift.

[Edited 11/24/25 6:27am]