R.I.P Prince

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fljoe0

Cantre Member
Apr 5, 2008
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120 miles S of the Pancake/Waffle line
I have the remastered 1999 boxed set with all the bells and whistles and have listened to every disc except for the live concert recording. I even bought new headphones so I could just lay back on the floor and immerse myself in the music like I used to do up until anout 15 years ago. I am so amazed by this set!! My mind is totally blown by how great it sounds!! So much better than the Purple Rain remasters. My mouth was hanging open when I listened to Purple Musci. I had never heard this song before (along with most of the other vault tracks) and it is simply fantastic! I love how he mixed it- bass guitar on one side and rhythm guitar on the other. His voice sounds like he's floating above you and not at all part of the song. Crazy good!! There's so much music that is pulled from the background that I never heard before and trust me- I listened to this album hundreds of times over and over.


I'm going to get this. I'm glad to hear it sounds better than the Purple Rain remaster. The Purple Rain remaster hurts the ears when you turn it up. The extra material didn't sound as harsh as the Purple Rain proper album did.
 

fljoe0

Cantre Member
Apr 5, 2008
15,859
71,642
62
120 miles S of the Pancake/Waffle line
I have the remastered 1999 boxed set with all the bells and whistles and have listened to every disc except for the live concert recording. I even bought new headphones so I could just lay back on the floor and immerse myself in the music like I used to do up until anout 15 years ago. I am so amazed by this set!! My mind is totally blown by how great it sounds!! So much better than the Purple Rain remasters. My mouth was hanging open when I listened to Purple Musci. I had never heard this song before (along with most of the other vault tracks) and it is simply fantastic! I love how he mixed it- bass guitar on one side and rhythm guitar on the other. His voice sounds like he's floating above you and not at all part of the song. Crazy good!! There's so much music that is pulled from the background that I never heard before and trust me- I listened to this album hundreds of times over and over.


I got the 1999 set a few days ago and have only listened to the fist 2 discs so far (the original album and the b-sides disc). I had not listened to 1999 in it's entirety for a long time and I kind of forgot how different the hits are from the rest of the album. I don't think there is a weak track on this one. The sound on this 1999 re-issue is much better than the Purple Rain re-isuue. It's more compressed than I'd like but it sounds good. I listened to some of on headphones last night and it sounded very good with headphones. I really like the special dance mix of Little Red Corvette.

I'll be moving on to the Vault discs now. I can't wait.
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
Did anyone else hear a mistake on the fifth track of the second disc - Little Red Corvette 7" edit? There is a small irregularity at the exact 1 minute mark. There are seldom mistakes like that on cd's, but from time to time it happens.
Just wondering if this mistake is on a lot of them, to make sure it's worth replacing.
 

fljoe0

Cantre Member
Apr 5, 2008
15,859
71,642
62
120 miles S of the Pancake/Waffle line
Did anyone else hear a mistake on the fifth track of the second disc - Little Red Corvette 7" edit? There is a small irregularity at the exact 1 minute mark. There are seldom mistakes like that on cd's, but from time to time it happens.
Just wondering if this mistake is on a lot of them, to make sure it's worth replacing.


i didn't notice but I'll check it out. The single edits get a little repetitive, so I don't listen too close. I was really surprised there were mono edit singles. I didn't think they were doing mono singles in 1982.

There is some good stuff on those vault discs. Purple Music is awesome. I think you could pick the best 10 or 11 tracks and make another awesome album. They mentioned it in the liner notes and it's a real plus that almost all of Prince's outtakes are finished tracks. Most of these kinds of releases are tracks that were abandoned before they were completed but Prince's are ready to go. I think in the liner notes it said that he liked to complete everything.
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
i didn't notice but I'll check it out. The single edits get a little repetitive, so I don't listen too close. I was really surprised there were mono edit singles. I didn't think they were doing mono singles in 1982.

There is some good stuff on those vault discs. Purple Music is awesome. I think you could pick the best 10 or 11 tracks and make another awesome album. They mentioned it in the liner notes and it's a real plus that almost all of Prince's outtakes are finished tracks. Most of these kinds of releases are tracks that were abandoned before they were completed but Prince's are ready to go. I think in the liner notes it said that he liked to complete everything.

I have super hearing, I notice the tiniest things like this most people wouldn't notice. But would be great if you can check it for me.

I'm not sure why they put out those mono singles. Also when you look at the pictures of other sleeves on the sleeve of the second disc, there is a 1999 extended dance mix (top left if you fold the sleeve open, priced $3,98) that's nowhere in the set. Could it have been lost, or was it simply the album version? Really strange...
 

fljoe0

Cantre Member
Apr 5, 2008
15,859
71,642
62
120 miles S of the Pancake/Waffle line
I have super hearing, I notice the tiniest things like this most people wouldn't notice. But would be great if you can check it for me.

I'm not sure why they put out those mono singles. Also when you look at the pictures of other sleeves on the sleeve of the second disc, there is a 1999 extended dance mix (top left if you fold the sleeve open, priced $3,98) that's nowhere in the set. Could it have been lost, or was it simply the album version? Really strange...

Mono single mixes were done for radio because they could sound punchier but I thought they stopped doing those in the 70s.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
I got the 1999 set a few days ago and have only listened to the fist 2 discs so far (the original album and the b-sides disc). I had not listened to 1999 in it's entirety for a long time and I kind of forgot how different the hits are from the rest of the album. I don't think there is a weak track on this one. The sound on this 1999 re-issue is much better than the Purple Rain re-isuue. It's more compressed than I'd like but it sounds good. I listened to some of on headphones last night and it sounded very good with headphones. I really like the special dance mix of Little Red Corvette.

I'll be moving on to the Vault discs now. I can't wait.
I used to wait and wait for one of the urban stations in Houston (where I lived at the time) to play the 'dance' mix of Little Red Corvette'! It always brought a smile to my face when I got to hear Prince scream 'So you never forget!' at the end. Let me know what you think of 'Purple Music'! <- Nevermind. I just read your post up above and saw that you already answered the question.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
Did anyone else hear a mistake on the fifth track of the second disc - Little Red Corvette 7" edit? There is a small irregularity at the exact 1 minute mark. There are seldom mistakes like that on cd's, but from time to time it happens.
Just wondering if this mistake is on a lot of them, to make sure it's worth replacing.
I didn't even listen to this disc. I really didn't want to waste my time hearing three different 'edits' of each hit from this album.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
I really like how they made the look of the box silver with those white dots. 1999 was never my favourite sleeve of Prince (Purple Rain probably is), but there is something about those crude little drawings you keep searching meaning for, they're kind of cryptic in a way.
Look close enough and you'll see a ladder, 'and the revolution' written backwards and also the humble beginnings of the 'Love' symbol' Even back then he knew where he was going and what he was doing.
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
I didn't even listen to this disc. I really didn't want to waste my time hearing three different 'edits' of each hit from this album.

Do you know what's up with that sleeve of a 1999 extended dance mix I mentioned? Does that mix exist and why was it not included?

The shorter edits are usually not that interesting, but it makes me appreciate the longer versions more. I'm also not totally sure what they mean with the video versions, but I suppose that's the exact version that goes along with the music video? Often it's difficult to hear any real difference in these versions.
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
Look close enough and you'll see a ladder, 'and the revolution' written backwards and also the humble beginnings of the 'Love' symbol' Even back then he knew where he was going and what he was doing.

Yes, it's all already there. Not to mention the sleeve colour of 1999 was purple. Everyone immediately sees the phallic 1 of 1999, but the other drawings are more elusive. The N in Prince always looked like pants to me.
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
I even bought new headphones so I could just lay back on the floor and immerse myself in the music like I used to do up until about 15 years ago.

Which did you buy?

I find it really hard to find headphones that satisfy me for hi-fi. The problem is that nearly all of them nowadays make the volume much louder, they don't reproduce the sound exactly as they get it - they make it louder. It makes the music more exciting, but it can also be more tiresome.

I have headphones I use for the pc and consoles like Playstation which are perfect, but they don't work well for hi-fi somehow - I think mainly because the impedance is too low.
I just got new ones (from JVC) for hi-fi to listen to cd's, but it's a lot louder and I can't turn it up too high.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
Yes, it's all already there. Not to mention the sleeve colour of 1999 was purple. Everyone immediately sees the phallic 1 of 1999, but the other drawings are more elusive. The N in Prince always looked like pants to me.
The 'N' is indeed a pair of pants. It shows the buttons all the way up the side and the 'V' shaped flap that comes across from the center to the side of the hip. That's how he was wearing the pants back then.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
Which did you buy?

I find it really hard to find headphones that satisfy me for hi-fi. The problem is that nearly all of them nowadays make the volume much louder, they don't reproduce the sound exactly as they get it - they make it louder. It makes the music more exciting, but it can also be more tiresome.

I have headphones I use for the pc and consoles like Playstation which are perfect, but they don't work well for hi-fi somehow - I think mainly because the impedance is too low.
I just got new ones (from JVC) for hi-fi to listen to cd's, but it's a lot louder and I can't turn it up too high.
I bought Koss ones. I don't know what the style number is. Possibly UR 20 as that is printed on the inside above the ear pads. They weren't expensive- less than $20 on Amazon. I don't need to spend a couple hundred dollars on something like headphones. These work great.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
I have super hearing, I notice the tiniest things like this most people wouldn't notice. But would be great if you can check it for me.

I'm not sure why they put out those mono singles. Also when you look at the pictures of other sleeves on the sleeve of the second disc, there is a 1999 extended dance mix (top left if you fold the sleeve open, priced $3,98) that's nowhere in the set. Could it have been lost, or was it simply the album version? Really strange...
As far as I know there has never been an 'extended' dance mix of 1999. If there is I have never heard of it and back in the day I was always haunting Tower Records to get the newest Prince records. They carried imports and that's how I got the extended mix of Little Red Corvette. I think by 'extended' it just means the full album version. I just checked princevault.com and all released times are tracked at 6:22, so it's just the album version in full.
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
I bought Koss ones. I don't know what the style number is. Possibly UR 20 as that is printed on the inside above the ear pads. They weren't expensive- less than $20 on Amazon. I don't need to spend a couple hundred dollars on something like headphones. These work great.

Have never tried these. I'm not sure you need all the extras they put on headphones nowadays, like noise cancelling and things like that. It's hard to say which have the best sound though. I know I'm rather particular: once tried a whole lot in a store and very few I liked. This new JVC is okay, apart from that I find it's a little too loud. I have the treble all the way high on my amplifier and the bass quite down, but the headphones give a strong volume to the music.

I haven't played the dvd of 1999 deluxe yet, but the concert on the fifth disc has a great clarity to it, I like a lot. In general clarity in music is way more important to me, but the focus with equipment is often on the bass. I'm particular with sound equipment in general. I spent an afternoon in a specialized store recently and it was only the most expensive equipment that really satisfied me. I think it's because my hearing is that good, I just hear the tiniest imperfections.
I generally like a warm, clear sound.
Also with concerts I'm seldom satisfied with the sound itself (apart from the obvious general excitement): I find it either too loud or I don't like the acoustics of the venue. The best concerts in terms of sound were in actual theatres (which are traditionally for plays and things like that): the acoustics for music in those are great, but they never actually make venues for music in a similar way to those.
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
As far as I know there has never been an 'extended' dance mix of 1999. If there is I have never heard of it and back in the day I was always haunting Tower Records to get the newest Prince records. They carried imports and that's how I got the extended mix of Little Red Corvette. I think by 'extended' it just means the full album version. I just checked princevault.com and all released times are tracked at 6:22, so it's just the album version in full.

It's strangely, unusually misleading to put the album version out as an extended dance mix. I doubt that was Prince's decision. But it will probably sell better if you put it out as a special mix.
 

Gerald

Well-Known Member
Sep 8, 2011
2,201
7,168
The Netherlands
The dvd in the 1999 set is disappointing. I'm quite sure I hadn't seen this concert yet, but quality is a big step down from the Purple Rain live dvd. For one, the concert is short, as his concerts usually were I think before the Purple Rain tour. 1 hour and 8 minutes.
Also the aspect ratio is small. Don't know what you call this particular aspect ratio, but it uses just the middle of the screen, with bars on all sides.
It is fairly poor videoquality, although it is well visible what's happening on stage. On occasion this kind of videoquality does make for fun, likely unintentional visuals though.
Audio is not great either, but fairly okay.
It's not unwatchable, but considering the price of the set disappointing. There probably just wasn't anything better from that era. And he plays songs from the 1999 album he wouldn't play often later anymore. And once again, like with the Purple Rain dvd, there don't seem overdubs: you get it exactly as it was if you were there. And of course, as he always seems to have been, especially early in his career, he is in top form and the rest of the band too.
I will try it on my surround later. I think it has a zoom function, so maybe I can enhance the image.