Ah, rudedog, bravo, bravo. Cecy honey, I have an enemy I'd gladly slap ONA upon.

Lets not forget, Chocolate is new music to a lot of people.

I've been thinking about this Chocolate Invasion cd and determinded I'm indifferent. If I buy it, I'll enjoy various aspects and catalogue it away like all my other cds, except for Verve Remixed and Remixed II.

I prefer it when an artist rehash old music they use the remix format (acid jazz, deep house, techno, rave, trip-hop, garage, etc). Hell, admit it, if Prince released a 12" collection, it would disappear out of stores. Why? Because at least 75% of us have been through hunts for complete, unreleased extended, obscure remix frenzies.

Yet, Prince does what Prince does. As a result, he has a fan base that is either cultist or resistants. Gone are the days where people actually discussed his music in the context of "I didn't like that song because the lyrics were nasty" or "the bass on that song is just genuis". His new world order has been his undoing. Where we once cared and stood beside him during his fights, is replaced with a malice empathy. Though the reasons vary, Prince has betrayed his fans.

So, let Prince do what he wants to do. He wants to rehash music and keep the vault locked, whatever. He wants to release substandard, cool. Remember in the end, he's only helping or hurting himself.

DavidEye said:

Huh? CB was CRAP. Less than 50 minutes per disc, awful seguing, bad selection, EDITED versions, crap remixes. It was an insult and proof that bootleggers are far more clued in to what fans want than Prince ever will.

What he should do is special editions of his regular albums, including 12"versions, unreleased tracks, unedited versions etc. Throw in DVDs of videos, live performances, etc. Make sure it all sounds incredible (remastered versions, SACD, DVD-Audio,...). Include extensive liner notes that don't contain lies. And ask a FAIR PRICE.

Do this in conjunction with a decent label -- i.e. WB -- and strike a deal that will give you ownership of those masters after a certain time, promote it decently, make things worthwhile. Think this isn't gonna be a sales success? Then how come record companies keep re-releasing these old records in extended versions? Elvis Costello has re-released his back catalogue TWICE in less than a decade, and each time it generates tons of publicity, plus these don't seem to harm his regular releases.

I'm just dreaming of course, because thanks to his conversion to a JW, most of Prince's back catalogue, including a lot of great outtakes, are a no-go area. Plus his post-1995 track record isn't exactly showing us that he cares much about his back catalogue beyond the yearly paycheck it generates. (Isn't it funny how he doesn't mind accepting the money generated by these records full of "filth" and "nasty words"? How he still pines for the rights to those records -- or is that to destroy them?)

CB was a disaster, yet another pointless exercise that barely sold and that only proved to plenty of critics that his legendary vault of outtakes isn't what it's cracked up to be (check Rudedog's list for proof of the opposite).

I agree. But I do suspect that if he did all that, many fans would become less fascinated with the guy and his music.

BartVanHemelen said:

well said rudedog,u r the MAN! short,purple-sex-jw cult
midget? laughing my ass off.

Although the outtakes are amazing, you must remember that its his work and you've no right to tell him what to do. Its like him telling you to go out more.

For once i have to say Bart Van Hemelen is right. But the 'tone' in which he puts it is always bothering me...

"Crystal Ball" should've been farmore better indeed with 'full' versions, and without thr crappy remixes. A double album would be far more better than the released one.

I made my own, and that's theonly 'CB-version' i listen to.

one mo' thing... I believe the release of the 7 CD set, when i have it in my hands.
Prince can always - and eventually will change his mind.
I don't care in fact. I won't buy it anyway, i will steal it or try to download it.

BartVanHemelen said:

Oh,for the most part,I agree with you.'Crystal Ball' was far from perfect.The remixes were less than thrilling,the editing on many tracks was sloppy,and the song selection leaves much to be desired.Still,the *idea* was admirable,and there are some great songs on there.It really should have been the first in a series of bootleg compilations from Prince,maybe a 3-CD set each year.

DavidEye said:

The idea was bad. A compilation like this is always frustrating and pointless, because it lacks context and is too much of a mixed bag.

hectim said:

Why? I'm sure it would increase the fascination, especially amongst those that don't know about the outtakes. Imagine being able to watch the First Avenue concert where Prince recorded those crucial Purple Rain songs on DVD, or imagine discovering that Prince didn't record just a great album at some time, but actually recorded several albums worth of songs, or imagine listening to a version of Parade without Clare Fisher's contribution, or to only that contribution (but all of it, not just the things Prince used), or imagine lsitening to the unedited, full-length versions of songs that were cut due to vinyl restrictions. Especially the 1984-1988 period would be a treasure trove of discoveries, even more so if some crusial associated artists albums are re-released alongside.

Well, take the first avenue tracks for instance. To me hearing them took away some of the mystique of the finished tracks. It was much more exciting to know that somewhere there was a longer version of PR than it is to actually listen to that "I don't want your money" chorus. I'm a Bowie fan as well, and the addition of demo versions and outtakes definitely took away some of the magic from the Ziggy Stardust album to me. On the other hand, I must be a masochist because I'll travel across the country to attend record fairs just to obtain stuff that ruins my favorite records for me (well a little anyway).
Come to think of it, in his book 13 songs, Nick Hornby quotes someone who says that listening to music is like solving a puzzle. You listen over and over again until you "get" what fascinated you about them. The great thing about artists like Prince is that they created "puzzles" that many listeners still don't feel they've solved 20 years after they first appeared. The Bowie demo's""solved" the Ziggy Stardust album for me. Now I rarely play it.

BartVanHemelen said: