From: brode@icpsr.umich.edu (Jon Brode)
Newsgroups: rec.music.funky
Subject: Re: PRINCE BOOT REVIEW 2 - CRUCIAL!!!
Date: 21 Jan 1993 17:22:21 GMT
Organization: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: tdis.icpsr.umich.edu

In article <1993Jan19.211158.13835@bsu-ucs> 00bbharris@leo.bsuvc.bsu.edu writes:
>And here we are again, yet another review from Brandon Harris
>on Prince and his many bootleggs.

Don't get me wrong, Brandon, I like reading your interpretations of
various songs and so on, but your research leaves a lot to be desired.  I
know you have the appropriate reference material available, why don't you
use it?

>Previously, we examined CRYSTAL BALL, or at
>least the version that i have (the REAL ONE, folks... trust me.),

Folks, he has no clue, trust me.  Prince actually was planning on
releasing an 3 LP album called CRYSTAL BALL, but he wound up ditching it
in favor of SIGN OF THE TIMES (which had some CB tracks on it).

In any case, the CRYSTAL BALL album you reviewed the other day is a
bootlegger's compilation, not the album Prince was planning on releasing.
Prince did not put two virtually identical versions of "Witness" on his
album.  "All Day, All Night" is a 1984 outtake, not a CB outtake. "Strange
Relationship" probably would have been on CB, but the version on your
bootleg is from 1985.  He re-recorded it for CAMILLE in 1986, proir to the
CB sessions, and that's the version that wound up being released. He would
have used that version.

>Today's bootleg:  CRUCIAL  W. miles davis and the Crucial band.

There is no "Crucial band".  "Paris" (the proper name of "Crucial Love")
and "Power Fantastic" were recorded by Prince, Matt Blistan and Eric Leeds
in 1986. "Crucial" was done in 1987.  "Sexual Suicide" was done in 1985
with Eric Leeds and Clare Fisher.  "If U Break My Heart 1 More Time",
"Girl O' My Dreams", "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got", and "We Can Funk"
were done with the Revolution during the Dream Factory sessions in
mid-1986.  Miles Davis appears on only two songs on the CRUCIAL CD,
"H-Man" and "Can I Play With U?".  I don't know the details of "H-Man",
but the basic tracks of "Can I Play With U?" were done in December 1985 by
Prince and Eric Leeds.  Prince sent Miles the tape and he added his part
(as did Miles' keyboardist Adam Holzman).  At any rate, Prince's part was
done in 1985.

>In 1896/7, Prince hit the studios with a fervor yet matched by another
>other artist, including himself.  It spit out roughly 10 Lps, CRYSTAL
>BALL, the BLACK ALBUM, Sign O' the Times, the WHITE ALBUM, DREAM FACTORY,
>LISA...Your Love is so Hard, CAMILLE, PARADE, as well Parade's outtakes
>and SOTT's outtakes (which CRYSTAL BALL was not a part of..., and today's
>topic of discusion CRUCIAL.

First, you seem to have trouble differentiating between what Prince "spits
out" and what bootleggers package.  You should place no faith in what
bootleggers place on their wares.  They scrounge songs from all over the
place to put out new bootlegs.  They can't even get the titles right a lot
of the time  (Or be bothered to spell them correctly when they do).
Prince did an album called CRYSTAL BALL ('tho not the thing you posted
about).  He never did an album called CRUCIAL.

Second, your time line is plain wrong. PARADE, along with it's outtakes,
was recorded in the Spring and Summer of 1985. None of it was done in
86/87. THE WHITE ALBUM is a live show taped on September 9th, 1988.
LISA... YOU'RE LOVE IS SO HARD is a compilation of outtakes spanning the
years 1980 through 1989. Only 3 of the 13 tracks fall into your time
span.

>	1985 begat public viewing of Prince's embrace with the jazz artform,
>during both his PURPLE REIGN tour and  his dealings with Shiela E., who never
>seemed to venture far from Prince's protective wing.

In 1985, she put out ROMANCE 1600 that had only one track (co-)written by
Prince.  And for this you say she never ventured far from his protective
wing?  I guess this is a matter of opinion, but IMHO you're wrong.

>It was his working with Mr. Davis that spawned the Crucial band (which
>would evolve into the LoveSEXY band) and the CD boot of teh same name.

See above.  The band tracks on CRUCIAL were mostly done with The
Revolution.  And incidentally, why is it that you never talk about the
SOTT band?  Levi, Miko, Bonnie, Matt, Sheila, Atlanta, Erik, and Cat were
the SOTT band at least a year before they were the Lovesexy band.

>[ Good review of "Sexual Suicide" and "Power Fantastic" deleted ]
>Both are done by Levi Seacer Jr., who was actuially part of Shiela E.'s
>camp until her 1988 release, and was Prince's bassist for LoveSEXY  and
>subsequent concerts until he took the mantle of guitarist for Prince's
>DIAMONDS AND PEARLS and O-+>... unfortunately.

First, in all probability, Prince or Brown Mark played bass on those
tracks.  Unless you have some information I don't, Levi wasn't working
with Prince when those tracks were cut.  If he was, those are the only
examples of his work with Prince during that time period that I'm aware
of.  Second, Sheila didn't have a 1988 release.  Her final Paisley Park
album, SHEILA E, came out in 1987.  After that, she and Levi joined
Prince's band for SOTT.

>	But after all this, H-MAN bombs in, 

AKA, "Amandla" from the Miles Davis album of the same name.  The one here
is an exact copy of the one on Miles' album.  (or vice versa, the point is
that they're identical)

>CRUCIAL (From the CD foreign Import)
>Crucial (instr), Power Fantastic, Crucial (ext), Sexual Suicide,
>If U Break My Heart 1 More Time, Girl o' My Dreamz,
>Can't Stop This Feeling i Got, We Can Funk, Welcome 2 the Rat Race,
>Can i Play With U?, H-Man (instr.)

If you copied this off your CD then I have no argument with it, but the
CRUCIAL CD *usually* has 13 tracks, not 11.  The track listing with the
proper names (though not what the bootleggers usually print on the labels)
is:

Paris, Power Fantastic, Crucial (normal version), If U Break My Heart 1
More Time, Sexual Suicide, Girl of My Dreams, I Can't Stop This Feeling I
Got, We Can Funk, Welcome 2 the Rat Race, Witness, Can I Play With U?,
Crucial (extended version), and Amandla.

>THESE ARE SIMPLY MY OPINIONS ON THE SONGS.  ALL INFO REGARDING PRINCE ARE
>SUBJECT TO DISPUTE UNTIL PROVEN BY TEH P-MAN HIMSELF.... thanx

I have no qualms with your opinions. In fact, I enjoy reading them.
Although I know what relative minors and 7ths are, I'm not able to spot
them in songs so I appreciate that you pointed them out.

However, just because Prince hasn't personally verified each and every
single fact about his life and work doesn't mean that you can just make
things up and have them regarded as true.  There are people who have done
extensive research into his life and work, and their information
consistently contradicts what you are spewing.  I have no contention with
your opinions, but get your facts straight.

Jon