I would lick my cat's ass CLEAN every day for a year for WB & Prince to settle their problems and put out his whole catalog (well, up through C & D) in SACD/CD hybrid remastered form...with new packaging...perhaps some bonus tracks (even live cuts!)...

I'm too fucking lazy to look up the specific legal background here...and I keep reading different accounts of how things lie...what I need is somebody "in the know" like good old Bart to show us a link to the complications behind such a project...how much time until this can be done?

Given Prince's pathetic showing on the sales charts (and his even lamer defense of "Oh, I could write a hit anyday...blah blah blah"), will this even be a profitable exercise? If not, what could he/WB/whothefuckever DO to get the public to (re)purchase these CDs???

remastered albums

I have a import of the Hits 2 Cd that is HDCD. It actually sounds better than my US and Japanese pressings.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Handclaps, for Prince remastered CDs, I would let you drool acid directly on my nutsack. I swear. Parade in good, clear, loud sound? SOTT???

KingSausage said:

daaayum!!!

For as I am concerned, jap pressings are remasters and one for almost all the Prince albums

LaMont said:

Can someone verify this one for us???

What exactly is Super Audio?

KingSausage said:

The one Japanese import I have sounds the exact same as the US version.


.
[This message was edited Thu Jun 19 17:49:52 PDT 2003 by lovemachine]

lovemachine said:

http://interprod5.imgusa....7/home.asp

lovemachine said:

Yeah, but they're Sugoi desu nei! Yosh!

lovemachine said:

My Japanese CD versions of Dirty Mind and For You don't sound any better than my US pressings. I was expecting SOME better fidelity.

some just have really bad hearing too even hear a difference why? CAUSE THERE IS NONE!!!

the japanese pressings sound identical to the us pressings.

There will NEVER be proper remasters of Prince's WB albums.

While WB still own the remasters, Prince won't allow it.

And when he gains control, any remasters will be edited and censored, if they appear at all.

I can't imagine any Prince SACDs coming out soon...

In the meantime vinyl provides better sound than the current CDs. Remastered or not, CDs 16-bits will always limit the achievable sound quality.

sabaisabai said:

SACD will likely NEVER happen, because Warner Brothers albums are not released in SACD, but in the competing DVD-Audio format.

And I agree with many of the above, Prince won't sign off on this so I doubt DVD Audio re-releases are likely either.

The legalities of this issue are complex and can not be verified (because the agreements between WB and Prince are secret). However one can assume that Prince is legally capable of releasing digitally remastered versions in mp3 format of his WB recordings without WB's permission, because Prince released digitally remastered mp3 versions of his WB recordings through the club during the first 2 years.

The most probable reason why Prince can do this without WB's permission is that WB does own the rights to release Prince's WB recordings on CD in the original sound, but not the rights to relase them digitally remastered and in mp3 format. WB doesn't own the latter rights because the agreements between WB and Prince were signed before the early 90's when new technologies like mp3 and current digital remaster technology weren't invented yet.

Their contracts therefore can not have covered the right to digitally re-master and re-release Prince's WB recordings using these new technologies. The rights to do that are owned by Prince and not WB. Therefore WB needs Prince's permission to release digital remasters and/or mp3's. And on the other hand, since the right to release Prince's recordings on CD with the original master sound was covered by their contracts, Prince may not re-release digital remasters on CD without WB's permission either.

$$$$$
[This message was edited Fri Jun 20 8:16:24 PDT 2003 by huggy]

DAMN !

huggy said:

Thanks for the insight. What do you think about the legalities of Prince releasing alternate versions of his songs on CD? I'm thinking of some of the tracks on Crystal Ball, which while different from the originals were still pretty much the same track (such as Dark). I wonder how different the versions would have to be to be legal?

Another example was when WB released TMBGITW on TGE. I'm sure the fact that WB ended up releasing a remix of the song was of some legal importance.

Electric2k said:

Fuck...I'm betting that SACD will win the upcoming format war, thus making it suck that Prince will be on DVD-Audio...

And if my prediction is wrong, I have a bunch of SACD/CD hybrids that will be outdated...

For Prince, I may just buy two machines though...hmm...

huggy said:

IIRC, the only mp3 downloands of his WB recording were songs that were either outtakes (of which WB has no rights) or non-album b-sides/remixes. It would be my guess that his WB contract gives WB ownership of all of his "album" masters, but leaves ownership of non-ablum songs that were included on 12" releases in Prince's hands. Hence, he could release the Horny Pony and TITT remix mp3s.

The only "album" tracks that were released through the club were in the Ahdio shows... and my guess is that the Ahdio shows are OK under "fair use" laws due to the fact that he only released them in lower 192 quality and they were advertised as a "monthly radio show" as opposed to a permanent download.

I would be willing to bet my life that there is no CD/download distinction with respect to his WB catalogue. Otherwise, he would release a remastered hits package through the club as a high quality mp3 download.

For you busters with cheap ass sound systems, you would not hear a difference betweeen the jap and US versions. Get Gold Experience or Chaos and Disorder and its obvious. Even Controversy is better oon jap pressing.

what happened to Prince re-recording all his old cds

BanishedBrian said:

I would totally agree with your argument on this except the Reflection Pool is playing album cuts from his years with Warner Bros. specifically there have been songs featured from:

• For You, Crazy you
  
• Prince, It's gonna be lonely
  
• Dirty Mind, Partyup
  
• (The Time) The Time, I don't wanna leave you
  
• (The Time) What Time Is It? Gigolos get lonely too
  
• Lovesexy, Anna Stesia, wish u heaven
  
• Graffiti Bridge, Still Would Stand All Time, Elephants And Flowers
  
• Come, Dark
  
• The Black Album, When 2 R In Love
  

Hundalasiliah edit
[This message was edited Fri Jun 20 13:14:19 PDT 2003 by kmc]

jthad1129 said:

He already did that, he just hasn't released them
(apart from 1999: The New Master)

BorisFishpaw said:

Really. All of them!

BorisFishpaw said:

oh, he's just sitting on those and giving us N.E.W.S. instead. Makes perfect sense

Rioub said:

Sad to say,I think you're right

jthad1129 said:

Yeah, what happened?