Prince remasters - will we ever get them?

According to AMG, Warner has rereleased all of Prince's 80s albums in Japan last year. However, I can't find any info on whether these are remasters or the same old CDs. Would anyone happen to know anything about them? Anyway, this information together with the Ultimate collection would seem to suggest that any possible feud between Prince and Warner isn't really stopping them from remastering the albums if they so choose. So why aren't they doing it? There are lots of more obscure albums that have gotten remastered, and I think most Prince fans would agree that the CD versions actually would benefit from remastering, or at least the albums from Purple Rain to Lovesexy would.

Lovesexy needs to be remastered, and presented as seperate tracks.

current versions of lovesexy are seperate tracks.or did i just get lucky ?

My copy has only one track too, but according to Wikipedia newer CD printings separate it to 9 tracks.

ah, we had a thread about that before, right ?
In the meantime I've bought ultime and the remastering really makes the tracks better. still, there are too few tracks from the 1999/lovesexy era on it... I would still buy all these albums again were they properly remastered (if someone from warner reads ilx !).

I tried to search for "Prince" and "remaster", but didn't find anything. Maybe this was discussed in some general Prince thread?

yeah, I guess it wasn't a specific prince remasters thread.
I seem to remember you were in it since I think I was discussing it with you, though !

i would love a lovesexy with separate tracks and a remaster of 1999 (this is the only one that bothers me sound-wise, although a new dirty mind would probably sound good).

all the albums between 1999 and lovesexy (including the black) need a good remastering badly. they're all so flat and lack... I dunno, power. It's particularly obvious when one of these tracks play randomly on my ipod, following more recent or better mastered tracks.

We also need a comprehensive 12" version w/ b-sides compilation. But we all know this.

the remix disc on ultimate is not really good (not 12" or b-sides only though).

Check out the reissue schedule on Allmusic:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=23::839~T2

The Japanese branches of Universal, WEA, Epic, JVC, BMG, Virgin and EMI are going nuts reissuing stuff. A lot of it is remastered, but it's hard to get proper information on them, let alone decent prices. Stop taunting me, Japan!

i've never understood how japan has the sales & tours of all musicians ever

Can someone explain the incredible complicated world of Prince's labels and albums and related hoo haa?

There was a thread on this.

Yeah, but on that thread people seemed to assume some legal dispute between Prince and Warner seems to be stopping Warner from remastering the albums they own the rights to. But the Ultimate collection seems to have proven that assumption wrong, so I can't really see what's stopping them from reissuing the albums? Surely most Prince fans belong to the exact age group record companies are going after these days, i.e. people who still buy albums instead of downloading them.

japan's getting all this because japan still has a music economy

So... which came first, the chicken or the egg?

That is, does a healthy music economy lead to more reissues? Or do more reissues result in a healthy music economy?

the former

and the latter too, but if you don't have anything to start with, you can't reissue anything by definition

all the albums between 1999 and lovesexy (including the black) need a good remastering badly

Why not the first four?

true. don't know why I forgot to include dirty mind and controversy. the first two, the reason is that I only have them on vinyl so I never listen to them on my ipod so I never noticed a sound problem (plus I don't like them as much as the other ones).

The first two are obviously not as good as his later output (particularly not the debut) but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be natural to include them in a remaster series.

Sorry but the first two are as good as the rest and a million times better than anything he's released for 20 odd years...why does "For You" get such a bad rep...

It has a few jams, but its not all that.

YAHHH!

^^^

...

why does "For You" get such a bad rep...

Well it does have "Soft And Wet" and maybe a couple of other great tracks, but it was from "Dirty Mind" onwards that his genius really started to shine. Not claiming it kept on shining all the time although I would at least rank his most recent three albums as slightly better than the first two. "3121" is in fact not only slightly better either.

Musicology was great, 3121 better... Planet Earth, not so much. At least the couple times I've listened so far.

No way are his two first albums "better than anything he's released for 20 odd years"! He could do tight jams back then, but he hadn't yet properly developed his knack for beautiful melodies and sonic experimentation. Albums like The Love Symbol, Emancipation, Gold Experience or 3121 beat those first two 1-0.

well, I like 3121 but there's nothing on it or since alphabet street that is better than "I wanna be your lover", "why you wanna treat me so bad" or "i feel for you", so...

He's got a new book out

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-05-31-books-expo_N.htm

Rumor had it that the very private star would play, but few could have predicted the hour-and-15 minute set, with a band and backup singers, free to those with invitations.

uh, i would have been pretty surprised if he threw a party and didn't play for at least an hour and 15 minutes

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-09-25-prince-21-nights_N.htm

A different USA Today writer talked to him---

Behind closed doors, they'll tell you it's over," he says. Record companies can't profit unless they retain ownership of artists' work, "and that's why labels are in a bad situation. People with content are going to win."

And yet Prince is sitting on loads of content in search of a platform. After blazing a trail online as an independent distributor, he grew disenchanted with the Internet and in 2006 shut down his 5-year-old New Power Generation Music Club. No official Prince sites remain (3121.com consists of a blank screen). Posting Prince content draws cease-and-desist orders.

Cyberspace "is a black hole to me," he says. "YouTube is the hippest network, and they abuse copyright right and left. You see a song like Purple Rain turned into Pure Cocaine; what should my response be? I chase the money to find out who's behind it. It's a matter of principle. I don't want my music bastardized."

He's not impressed by iTunes' terms or sales projections ("They give you a figure that's embarrassing").

Shouldn't Amazon.jp have english info on most of this stuff

"I'm single, celibate and sexy," he says with a laugh. "I feel free."

He declines to play The Divine, a song so "mind-blowing" he doubts he'll ever release it.

lol

haha, i love prince's 'this is too genius to ever let anyone hear it' statements.

If it was recorded before 1988, I bet he's right.

Not that they sound paricularly great. But for whatever reason, I've never been pining for these records to be reissued.

id like remasters/deluxe editions if they come with some unreleased tracks and for the 80s albums, the full 12" versions of the songs too.

http://prince.org/msg/7/314399

so they exist ! but only in japan...
seems great.
I may order them right now...

don't think they're actual remasters though.

following this, it seems they are :

http://cgi.ebay.fr/PRINCE-Japan-LTD-Mini-LP-SHM-CD-x-11-FREE-SHIPPING_W0QQitemZ170367766995QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_CDs?hash=item27aab5d1d3&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177

those look great.

i wouldnt mind remasters with remixes and b-sides though.

hmm, i'm pretty sure they're just reissues on shm cds. nice that they come with all the posters and stuff though. if you get one be sure to let us know what they sound like.

i used to read pr1nce.0rg years ago and they're a bunch of nutjobs, i wouldn't trust much of what is said on there.

the records sound much nicer than the cds with 80s warner stuff imo. esp the 12s, controversy and erotic city both sound amazing.

Waiting for the real deal, I guess. First generation Warner CDs sound better than other CDs. And also, Warner remasters tend to be the best sounding remasters. So just waiting for them to appear before or since then.

First generation Warner CDs sound better than other CDs.

That other first generation CDs, I mean.

i think my original cds are absolutely fine. plus i have the lps too. i dont really care about remasters so much.

remasters will probably just mean = louder/more compressed/cleaner, but that doesnt necessarily mean better.