and no not...mommy and daddy bootlegs...

But I have wondered this for a long time. It’s not exactly an easy question to answer either..as I depends on the recording.

I know somethings that out there are out there because they were purposefully recorded but not distributed or sold but people got a hold of them. Examples of this would be Lovesexy Tour on video, Parade tour on video and Black Album. They were out there to begin with and they just circulated.

I imagine that much of the live stuff was from someone in the audience recording the concert or something similar. I have a few bootlegs from other artists, like the Cure that fall into this category. Someone got into the concert with a tape recorder.

My question revolves around the unreleased material. “Back in the day” my friend had a brown paper bag of tapes that he coveted and kept safe etc. Many of these tapes had things from boots that were around during the time. I remember one of the more famous collections was called the chocolate box vol 1…a few more came out after this. I can be wrong with the title here..but it was the first real collection of unreleased material. Most of it was bad quality really muffled stuff…but you could get a good feel for the songs. I had never questioned where these came from…I just enjoyed the music. I think most of the long time fans have experienced something similar. I really believe it was these recordings that clicked something in me to become the fan I am now. I had no idea there were songs that were never released to the general public. I remember hearing “there’s others here with us” and completely freaking over what I had just heard.

Around the time Crystal Ball was coming out…I had “crossed the line” was familiar with quite a few of the boots and even had my favorites hoped out for it’s release. Although I enjoyed CB immensely, I was quite let down with the track listing, as I am sure many were. I was also hip to his internet and distribution issues. So, me and my friends all got the crystal ball and liked it etc. One of my friends has some kind of connection to get the things he has. Right after CB…he got “Dreams” which had the track listing that we all wanted…great artwork etc. Placed side by side…it almost spit in CB’s eye! I was flabbergasted! I was like “why couldn’t THIS have been the CB? It was beautiful. As I was looking thru the booklet, I asked where is this stuff coming from? I mean crystal clear cuts of things that were muffled before.

Then he got a few more (Cosmos, Fantasia)…of the same quality. It seemed like the old boots were getting new life in CD form and also getting cleaned up. My friend pointed out a few pictures in these booklets as being originals and hinted at that P must have put them out. But this didn’t jive as P was shutting down sites that were offering reviews of them (actually he was starting to shut down all sites that he did not run). He was also known to be walking into record stores and grabbing all of the boots and walking out with them. So why would he be putting these out there and then doing things like asking for them back?

My question is where did the early stuff come from and how did it get out there? And what about alllll of the recent stuff. I got a hold of Dream Factory and was amazed at the quality of the music i.e All my dreams… Who are the Moonraker and Thunderball people and how in the heck do they get this stuff. Is there a friend of P’s that is doing this behind his back… I am an artist as well…and when I make something new, I give it to my friends etc. Of course I don’t have any kind of record deal etc…but if that were to happen, I imagine I’d be leery of who I would let listen or even have my material.

Long post I know. Again..I am just wondering how these come about and if anyone can shed light on this subject. Or even there is no right or wrong answers…I just want to know the general consensus amongst the fans. Hopefully this will not be a Taboo subject. I haven't seen anything recently...It seems as though all of it was put together in The Work boxed sets...it seems that if you have those..that's all you'll need, for the unreleased material.

Hmmm how's this for a topic?

Peace all

superspaceboy said:

I have no idea, i think it's one guy behind all of it.

superspaceboy said:

Tried, tested and answered numerous times...
Do a search, either here or google...

Neversin.

You are right with 'chocolate' that name has been banded around since the late '80's

I think they come from different source. 4 exemple a lotta songs given 2 other artists have surfaced, probably because the artists in question or people around 'em had 'em. Most of the rest probably came out thru friends, musician or sound engineers. The fact that Prince changed his whole staff thru the years might xplain that nothing recorded after 1996 has surfaced. But maybe P doesn't give as much sound 2 the people around him that he used 2.
As 4 the fact that songs were 1st released with poor quality then rereleased with good quality: it's probably only a money matter. I know from a sure source that a French fan i won't name was behind the "color" series way back in the early 90's (i don't talk about the live series but the studio color series (yellow, blue, platinum, red, & black which was from the Canal + rehearsal & some other boots from this era)). I never knew HOW the guy got the songs in the 1st place, but i know he had 'em with a good sound quality & trashed them on purpose. At the time we thought i was just 4 the fun of being one from an "elite" who had 'em with perfect quality.
Then, when "dreams", "fantasia" & "deposition" were released me & my friend thought that it was on the purpose of making $ with it TWICE by reselling it 2 the same people who bought 'em a few years b4. Stil we might have been wrong cuz we don't know if he was part of the making of these boots or if it was other people who had the same tapes as he did.
A rumour also said at the time (1995) that the "city nights"/"studio nights" series had been sold by Prince himself 2 bootleggers so he could release it without WB, but i think it's purely a legend. Probably some close associate 2 him between 1978 & 1986 had these tapes (there even was a video series, too) 4 a long time & needed $, so he eventually sold it 2 some bootlegger.
What i wonder more than where do the boots come from is HOW the people who had the tracks in the 1st place found people 2 sell'em? Imagine u happen 2 get some tapes from the Vault & wanna make $ with it, HOW do u contact those people from Thunderball, etc...?
(i know no one will tell THAT here, of course)
But whatever the truth, one thing is sure, we better b happy with what we got know cuz there is much chance that nothing ever gets out of the Vault in the future, xcept maybe a VERY few tracks.
There were the good old times...

Aaah... nostalgia...

Bootlegs come from the Bootleg Bunny. BOK BOK

Neversin said:

Crabby.

Anxiety said:

'cause nobunny knows bootleggage better than him.

superspaceboy said:

Ze tooth fairy, young lad.

xt1000 said:

i ain't do nuffin ossifuh..

awniss!!

i think boots come from the source of the music..which makes tha brutha a hypocrit..hypocrite..
don't put the music out there..and getcha drawlz in a twist when folks take an interest in it..

ben...where's my damn spellcheck!!


but that's just my opinion

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

If I break a bootleg album in two, will there be cream inside?

shaomi said:

These were rumored to be put out by Bobby Z., they were even known as "The Bobby Z. Tapes" when they were just circulating on tape not CD...

Neversin.

Anxiety said:

All hail the Bootleg Bunny
bringer of funky forbidden sounds
from the land beyond the Paisley Gates.

Neversin said:

You're exactly right! Most of the boots that are out there are because of Bobby Z. He has quite an archive of music he recorded w/Prince.

I'm just surprised there aren't more out there.

I mean - recent ones.

Anxiety said:

Cuuuuute !!!

BinaryJustin said:

That's another thing... Either it's kept really tight as mentioned...or he's putting out everything and there just not as much output as there was. Though I am sure there are a few here and there. TRC outakes???

Maybe his talent of creating music has tapered off to a "reasonable" level...or at least manageable. WHo knows, it seems like there is still quite a bit of output. He has been touring around a bit in the last few years. Maybe not enough time for recording.

HobbesLeCute said:

cream-filled bootleggs