“Inside The Vault”
About releasing Vault material or; To Edit Or Not To Edit
By Jeremy Faulkner

About collecting Prince music

Back in the day when I did not realize that acquiring Prince bootlegs was besides ripping him off also pissing him off, I did my very best to get my hands on as much material as I could. 1988 was a great year for European fans; multitudes of Prince music was being swapped and in this way I familiarized myself with unedited versions of Crystal Ball, Joy In Repetition and Sexual Suicide, amongst others. But also sublime demo versions of Irresistible Bitch, Databank and All Day, All Night. The difference between these two groups of songs of course being the first were released in the version I got used to, just edited versions and the second were re-recorded.

Most songs were new to me; I never collected bootleg records, but swapped tapes and when the CD won ground I bought the first released, bad quality bunch. After all these songs were re-released later on, re-mastered, but I did not buy them again and in this way most old stuff never gets played much anymore in the Faulkner household.

Also my collecting craze got tempered by realizing I was not as compatible with other Prince fans; they seemed to push the envelope on the boundaries of realism. I was willing to go along with the concept of Purple Rain, but I for sure was not going to raise my hand when Prince was playing the song. I do not believe and even though I like this man’s music way better than anyone else’s, but if someone says “Jump!” I for sure wanna know why and where I am going to end up.

About not collecting Prince music

And then there was the moment I realized I did not have to own everything ever done by Prince. First of all he has done a lot and second not all of it is good. So I started to leave things off my ”have to have”-list.
But still I remember the hours fondly spent listening to Prince’s up and down collection of unreleased songs. And where I used to be happy when a certain song finally saw the light of day, for instance when I got the playlist for the then to be released Graffity Bridge album, that contained earlier bootlegged favorite Joy In Repetition, I started to dread the releases of Vault material.

About my dread of editing; from Joy In Repetition to Crystal Ball

Joy In Repetition itself maybe the best example of my dread; I found out that not only the song should be played at a different speed, but also the original intro, this beautiful fitting, haunting computer beat, was gone. Simply mixed into oblivion so that it could fade out of a previous song. I never play the [i]Graffiti Bridge version of [i[Joy In Repetition[/i] at all, but cherish the memory of the bootleg version.
On Graffiti Bridge I understand the re-recordings of the two other songs of that album that I knew before. We Can Funk and Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got got re-recorded, I presume, because their previous versions included the disbanded Revolution.

What is harder to understand is to edit seemingly perfect songs into lesser beings. And the release I am obviously referring to is the rather disappointing Crystal Ball.
Some changes I might understand if I reason; the version I knew of Sexual Suicide might have been an unfinished version. The released version has multiple vocal tracks and an even longer outro. No problem. But other decisions were strange to me.

The version of Movie Star lacks a few seconds; why? I can not even imagine. The same with the song Crystal Ball itself; again a certain part of the song has disappeared; maybe because of Prince’s shifting religion.
And I can go on; Dream Factory lacks the Wendy & Lisa contribution. Why? Must we search the answer in the fact that of the many Prince collaborators, they are the ones left unmentioned in the credits?

We must respect other strange decisions; we do not know why Prince favors one version of Crucial over the other or why he decides to chop of minutes of a recording that could never be too long. Leaving the original versions of these songs on the shelf only plays into the cards of the bootleggers he so fervently dislikes.

Other decisions we can only frown at; finally releasing songs, but then the tracking of the songs sometimes leaves resonations of previous songs in another song’s intro, like the badly tracked intro of Last Heart. Put on disc 3 of Crystal Ball, press song 2 and hear the NPG operator of Days Of Wild mess up the intro of one of my fave unreleased songs.

In short; the musical decisions made on Crystal Ball are whimsical. Prince’s dislike of explaining his actions might leave his fans bewildered, but I am just wondering if there is anyone, I say anyone in Prince’s inner circle that might want to point out the following; "Never ever do that again.”

And then I am not even getting into the art design of this or other projects. Or the liner notes that just brush the surface of what the release could be; think Beatles Anthology liner notes and recording info (see my first post) and you know what I mean. Or the choices made when it comes to the songs featured. Or the lack of photography. Uhm. I am so Dutch now. Complain, complain, complain. To level; Crystal Ball had me bopping my head to PoomPoom and Hide The Bone. Among others.

About what this “Prince Music Admirer” wants

It was fun to read that at a former Celebration Prince asked fans which songs they wanted included on Crystal Ball 2. Even though it remains unreleased, including your fans is great. Björk (see my second post) actually let her fans compile her Greatest Hits album. Even though fans will never be satisfied; at least give them the idea of involvement.

Basically, besides wanting to be able to compile the next release myself, I wish Prince would;
Keep a low profile on editing. If a song gets edited, is there a way to let his adoring fans know why? Again; remember that changing songs only helps bootlegging stay alive.
Try to make a strong body of songs. Back in the day (1987) Prince could get away with compiling a record of disbanded projects and create a masterpiece, but at least they were recorded around the same period. Maybe next time he could release compiled remixes on one album, unreleased songs from the same year on another.
Be less flowery and mysterious. Give us hard data. I loved the accompanying liner notes to Cloreen Bacon Skin cuz it gave us a rare insight into Prince’s recording process.
Make an effort on the art design; when he releases a collection of older material; it might be fun to include some pictures from the same period.

And what about them remixes, demo’s and edits on certain songs? Imagine single releases of songs like the before mentioned Joy In Repetition, including that original cut, a live version and maybe that dope Gooey The Hamster remix.

Or an EP release of a song, tracking it from beginning to end. Imagine Soul Psychodelicide; first the jam with The Revolution, then the version with, then the version without George Clinton’s crew. I am sure fans would love to own the Mothership version of that song. I know I would. And just hearing Prince make the audience scant the title on the ONA live box gives me the idea he wants us to have it too. Don’t dangle it in front of us; give it to us. Share.

There is so much you can do with The Vault material besides having it gather dust. It is easy to find out if Vault releases can exist besides new Prince releases; the internet site assures Prince of a steady income if he does not alienates the people that love his music. We all know Prince has a tendency to do this. He challenges us, but what a boring universe if we do not challenge him back.

About raising one’s mind and how to achieve this goal

A challenge then; releasing songs from The Vault that contain certain words, like “motherfucker”. Even though I respect Prince’s decision not to perform certain songs (Sexy MF, anyone?) or to change certain lyrics (”4 letter words will not B heard; not upon this stage and nite” or The Christ), I frown at editing old songs to exclude these lyrics or words.
Were not these words part of the journey that Prince had to travel to get where he is now? Judging by his lyrical action towards his older material I think songs like Soul Psychodelicide cannot be released the way we know them and this hurts.

My question for now; Is it really necessary to edit one’s past? Can you thus undo the wrong?

To me personally, the mistakes I made previously might have hurt others, but it made me the person I am today. In many ways Prince’s music is related to matters of the heart. I grew up on it, on the romantic songs, the lewd songs, the rude songs.

Even though I know what Prince thinks on the subject (”That is old, we gotta do something new. Raise your mind!”), what do you think?

I love hearing from you. If not here, then at gooey_the_hamster@yahoo.com Be patient if I do not react immediately, I do not have a computer at home at the moment.

Thanks for reading!
Jay

To come back to The Beatles Anthology; three double albums were released in 1995/96 with vaulted material to accompany a detailed documentary. Six discs filled with demo’s, alternate takes and live recordings, tracking the rise and fall of the band that started it all. Well, pop and rock mainly.
When it comes to output, Prince’s resembles The Beatles’. And even though a lot of the Anthology tracks were edited; the liner notes inform us of them. Just look at the liner notes to Helter Skelter, one of my fave jams on this compilation, as featured on Anthology 3, which, by the way, sports a 44 page booklet with liner notes, recording info and great photography.

Helter Skelter
(John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
Recorded EMI Studios, London, 18 July 1968
Producer George Martin
Engineer Ken Scott

”A couple of months before recording The White Album version of Helter Skelter, the Beatles taped three extended performances of this new Paul McCartney number, which- because of their length and unreleased status- have assumed legendary standing. Take 2, which runs in excess of 12 minutes, has been respectfully pruned to under five here, preserving the essential elements of what was, fundamentally, an impromptu jam. Following balance engineer Ken Scott’s “Take 2” announcement the band immediately begins the slow, insistent groove on top of which Paul adds his compelling vocal; the mix is mono to compensate for the track configuration on the original tape; all the instruments appeared on one track, the vocal was isolated on a second and the two remaining were vacant.”

Just imagine a similar release by Prince, with liner notes detailing specifics on a song like the un-released version of Old Friends 4 Sale. I would use the DROOL emoticon if I did not think it resembled a puking emoticon.

And yes, Renner men; I know you do not like The Beatles. But as soon as you hit Amsterdam, you are invited to this awesome listening party after which you cannot possibly deny their supremacy over, ahem, people like Elvis Presley.

Björk; one of the few other artists I still collect (I for instance stopped collecting Tori Amos releases as they stopped touching me on a personal level.
If there is one other thing I wish (besides the key to The vault and Prince’s blessing to do anything I want to it’s contents) it would be that Prince would be as cool to his fans addictions as Björk.

Her site, for instance, is unbelievably extended when it comes to information about her music, upcoming releases, clips, art design, photography, her appearances, either performances or magazines, her involvement with the artists she stimulates to create blissfully beautiful clips and even bootlegs.

Beautiful. And even a forum. Right there, discussing bootlegs on her official site. Wonderful. ”If U can’t beat ‘m; join ‘m”. Practice what U preach. (If being superfunkycalifragisexy is still allowed, that is)
Go there;
www.bjork.com
And enjoy

im in love



and oh, gooey...i saw bjork here in SF..on the pier...


pure bliss!!!

You in love?
Awww.
Me too.
With life.

gooeythehamster said:

Yesss.

P.S. I'd love to have a copy of the Cloreen Baconskin liner notes. This is one of my favorite jams. (My copy of CB is dubbed, shh. )

gooeythehamster said:

it'd be wonderful if p did somethin similar to the aforementioned stuff, but he's too bull-headed to realize any of what he could be doin...

This is actually why I like boots so much.They show how a place was reached in an artists' development.I go back and look at stuff I've done over the years to see where I have grown and revisit myself and past mentalities.It's interesting to me.This is a great thing to see.It's nothing to be embarrassed about.It's not all good,but it is "all good"!

sosgemini said:

PURRR
Come here and gimme a hug!
We have some catching up to do, mate.

rockwilder said:

Me too!
I listen to all version of Soul Psychodelicide and hear them differences. You "hear" a song grow. He should release them cd-singles with different takes of songs.
Imagine all the version of U Got The Look he is sitting on. (read liner notes to the hits)

Exactly. I like Crystal Ball cause it finally gave us some
of those older unreleased tracks.

Yet, after listening to it closely, the songs are so edited
or butchered that they've lost more than half of their real
magic.

The "Moviestar" intro, which has "Jam Of The Year" in BG.

What the fuck is that all about??


The only way to make a real anthology would be to hand the
material over to someone else and let them compile the set
chronologically. Prince's only involvement should be makin
sure the soundquality was top notch.

IstenSzek said:

And providing nice info, like in that MAKING OF KISS thread.

gooeythehamster said:

paging per nilsen...if all this happened it'd be such a joy!!!

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

It won't happen. Prince is too worried about them cuzzing words.

My question for now; Is it really necessary to edit one’s past? Can you thus undo the wrong?


you cant edit
just learn from your expereinces and mistakes



oh wait ...but if your prince you "obviously" can edit
doh!

Christopher said:

I think I cried when I heard the version of Joy In Repetition that was on Graffity Bridge.

gooeythehamster said:

eh, fuck that...he sang "strange relationship" with 'hell' still intact within the lyrix on the vegas dvd...and i bet this no-cussin stuff with him is a bit of a sham.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

LoL
Listen to the lyrics of Joy on the ONA box.
Or to how he made us stop chanting NPG in da MF-in house in Paris.

gooeythehamster said:

if i were at the paris gig i woulda kept right on sayin it...woulda got me booted out or somethin, but still... like i keep sayin--if someone were to kick p in the nutsac he'd say sumfin.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Probably just UMPFFF!

gooeythehamster said:

what, he's losin feeling in his balls or what?

Prince is not interested in us.

Prince does not love us.

Prince will not give me the key to the vault.

Prince does not wear underwear.

Prince does not sing on his latest record.

Prince likes doves better than hamsters

Prince is not listening.

Prince does not want me to sit in the backseat of his car even though that's where he plays his music, according to the lyrics of Don't Play Me.

And that I find realy silly.
Can somebody at NPG tell him how to treat his own material with respect in a way that WE can enjoy it too.
We PAY for it, damnit.
NOW WE WANT CONTROL.

I can hear Janet. Janet, is that you girl?

gooeythehamster said:

I don't think you should feel too badly about that. Following TRC and its dreadful lyrics , I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't have anything nice to sing about anyone but JW's anyway.
Maybe his instrumental fad is a conscious choice? That way he avoids offending and estranging more fans.

gooeythehamster said:

huh?

you talk of a jam with the revolution.

but doesn't the first 'soul psychodelicide' recording date back to late 1989?

that means that the (extended) revolution had already broken up some time ago.

am i missing something here?

Interesting post, but Prince will continue to do it Prince's way. That is why the Beatles Anthology sold millions and Prince's releases are in the thousands. The reason why Anthology was so well documented was that they used the information from that Beatles in the studio book (the same way bootleggers use Uptown's work on dates in their booklets).

Personally, I'd love to see a detailed studio diary book, but I think I am the only one that would read it. Per Nilsen, Davideye, and Borisfishpaw need to get together and write one... soon!!!

Dippydippydope said:

not just you, me and a whole slew of other folks here would love to have a book like this in their collection!

yes!!!

gooeythehamster said:

JAY! what are you doing here? you're so... Levelheaded!!

Applause, applause. One of the best essays ever posted here, in the history of these boards.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Am I right in thinking that a book is being worked on at the moment? I'm sure somebody mentioned this in a post a few weeks back. I hope so !!!

Nonsense.

I will never feel GUILTY about acquiring unauthorized recordings by Prince.

NEVER.

I would have gladly given him all the money I spent on bootsover the years, but, apparently he doesn't want it. You would think that instead of suing his fans and the bootleggers, he would just clean up the sound and make the stuff available to HIS FANS- you know, the ones who MADE HIM RICH.