Tag Archives: Warner Bros.

Prince – 1999 Super Deluxe Edition

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Title: 1999 Super Deluxe Edition
Artist: Prince
Label: Warner Bros.
Formats: 5CD or 10LP + DVD box set
Release date: November 29, 2019

 

This new box set is the latest release from the Prince Estate and Warner Brothers. On the plus side, there’s the first remastered edition of Prince’s 1982 breakthrough album, 1999, in addition to a CD of remastered promo mixes and B-sides, plus a CD/DVD of a previously unreleased live concert performance in Detroit on November 30, 1982 (which allegedly will not be released separately). Somewhat more controversial are the two additional CDs of tracks culled from the vast vault at Paisley Park. While some hardcore fans will welcome this glimpse into the inner workings of Prince’s compositional process, others may consider it a travesty that the estate is releasing material that the artist would have keep private.

Prince – Piano & A Microphone 1983

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Title: Piano & A Microphone 1983
Artist: Prince
Label: NPG/Rhino/Warner Bros.
Release Date: September 21, 2018
Formats: CD, LP, Digital

 

In what is among the first of presumably many collections of previously unreleased material discovered in Prince’s vault after his death, Piano & a Microphone 1983 contains 34 minutes of demos and rehearsals he recorded in the early 1980s. Following on the heels of April’s release of Prince’s stirring original recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U” and the digital-only Anthology: 1995-2010 of previously released material released in August, Piano & a Microphone 1983 is a set of what sounds like single-take live demos, complete with mixing chatter, improvisations, and vocalized arrangement details. While it is certainly not a set of polished recordings, this compilation is a snapshot of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists in the midst of the creative process.  Continue reading →