First time on vinyl • Limited PURPLE vinyl
The Prince Estate and Sony’s Legacy Recordings have announced reissues of a trio of Prince albums: Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth. All three will be reissued on CD and released for the first time on vinyl in February next year, with limited PURPLE vinyl pressings available.
These albums saw Prince re-establish himself as a creative and commercial force with 2004’s Musicology winning two Grammys and 2006’s 3121 debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. Both records saw Prince rein in his penchant for self-indulgence (no bloated triple-album sets!) and deliver tight 12-track studio outings. 3121 in particular harks back to the glory days in parts with some fine songs like the title track (echoing Sign ‘O’ The Times era), ‘Black Sweat’, and the funk workout of ‘Get On The Boat‘. The rather atypical ‘Te Amo Corazón’ was chosen as the first single.
Prince was restless and sometimes contradictory in his search for ways to market and sell his albums in the era of illegal downloading and declining sales. He initially embraced the internet but by 2007 wasn’t so keen and ended up giving away 2007’s ultimately disappointing Planet Earth album with The Mail on Sunday. Prince got his big bucks from the corporation but the sorry looking card wallet and the ‘free’ status was ultimately detrimental to the art.
All three albums will be released on vinyl and CD. Musicology and 3121 are both 2LP vinyl editions on limited PURPLE vinyl. Planet Earth is a single LP on purple vinyl and the CD and LP editions recreate the lenticular cover that was used on later pressings.
There are released on 8 February 2019. Purple vinyl editions can be pre-ordered from the SDE shop using this link or the buttons below.
Compare prices and pre-order
Prince
musicology vinyl LP
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compare prices and pre-order
Prince
3121 vinyl LP
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compare prices and pre-order
Prince
Planet Earth vinyl LP
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compare prices and pre-order
Prince
musicology CD reissue
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compare prices and pre-order
Prince
3121 CD reissue
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compare prices and pre-order
Prince
Planet Earth
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Musicology (2LP purple vinyl)
Side A
1. Musicology
2. Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance
3. A Million Days
Side B
4. Life ‘o’ the Party
5. Call My Name
6. Cinnamon Girl
Side C
7. What Do U Want Me 2 Do?
8. The Marrying Kind
9. If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life
Side D
10. On the Couch
11. Dear Mr. Man
12. Reflection
3121 vinyl (2LP)
Side A
1. 3121
2. Lolita
3. Te Amo Corazón
Side B
1. Black Sweat
2. Incense and Candles
3. Love
Side C
1. Satisfied
2. Fury
3. The Word
Side D
1. Beautiful, Loved and Blessed
2. The Dance
3. Get On the Boat
Planet Earth
Side A
1. Planet Earth
2. Guitar
3. Somewhere Here On Earth
4. The One U Wanna C
Side B
5. Future Baby Mama
6. Mr Goodnight
7. All The Midnights In The World
8. Chelsea Rogers
9. Lion Of Judah
10. Resolution
I want to know if these Legacy reissuses are remastered or sound better then the original releases? I have been a giant fan for many years and have all the cds from their original releases
Pingback:Prince / Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic / Vinyl and CD reissues | superdeluxeedition
I’d buy all three Prince vinyl reissues in a second if they were on black vinyl. Making these all purple gives them the feel of tacky post-death souvenirs. It’s a lazy choice.
Hi Paul,
do we know how limited these editions will be?
If it’s limited edition they always must tell how many will be released to make things clear for collectors.
Thanks
But they don’t (always tell).
Looks like 2021 for the Warner bros years. That’s the music I would like especially the first 10 albums. If the estate was to release a compilation of the post Warner Bros records I would be interested. But some real care would have to be given to song selection. Also may purchase Crystal Ball & The Truth if they reissued them.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthology:_1995–2010
ordered but was hoping for a cd release of rave into the joy fantastic they have made this alt version available as a mp3 but would love a physical copy. would be nice to see a cd release of the later years anthology that was made available as a mp3 also
Hi Paul,
Just a quick question regarding payment. With these being a pre-order, do you take the money straight away or do you take the money when you ship the items? The reason I ask is because I can’t afford to pay for them now, but I can in February when they are released. Many thanks.
Ps
I love you’re emails and site, I’ve bought so much stuff because of your good work!
Thanks Richard. Payment is taken now, so you may want to wait :)
Thanks Paul, I’ll hang on a bit then.
It will be very interesting to see where Song Legacy go next.
Those that follow Prince will know these three releases have leapfrogged three lesser known obscure releases; One Nite Alone (Piano), N.E.W.S and Expectation.
The three titles being re-issued represent Prince’s first commercial output of the new millennium post NPG Music Club.
So where next as Sony Legacy is supposed to be concentrating on Prince’s post Warners output?
The LotusFlow3r ‘ MPLSound double has already been issued TWICE on vinyl, 20Ten deserved a re-issue yet releases after this are still quite new and already on vinyl other than HITNRUN parts 1 and 2. Maybe the Rainbow Children will be a future re-issue but it’s not commercial at all and wouldn’t have broad appeal, yet the original vinyl issue is very beautiful!
So there isn’t a clear path.
Maybe Sony Legacy could dip into the Virgin, Arista and BMG eras with Emancipation, Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic and New Power Soul, yet that would seem very odd indeed!
Time will tell!!!
Not only was the Planet Earth CD rather mediocre but it sounded bloody awful, far too loud. I’m glad it was a freebie.
Not sure about your comment ‘Both records saw Prince rein in his penchant for self-indulgence (no bloated triple-album sets!)’ because if you refer to Imancipation he put out a triple album specifically to get out of a record deal where he had to deliver three further albums. Means to an end quite literally.
Incorrect, Jim. Emancipation was the first record áfter leaving Warner Bros. The title refers to the freedom from his contract. It was followed by another triple set Crystal Ball.
Yep, as others have stated once again, completely underwhelming unless you are a ‘completist’. I like a bit of coloured vinyl myself, but not at these prices. Will wait it out once more for further in depth releases.
I agree with Your positive comments about 3121 Paul. That is one of his best!
All 3 ordered from the SDE shop !
Thanks very much Richard!
Although anything new Prince related is most welcome, I personally would have been overjoyed if it was “The Rainbow Children” that had been chosen!!. Probably will have to wait till 2025 before that sees the light of day?.
@Ryk
Thank your for your hint at ‘Piano & A Microphone 1983 Deluxe Vinyl’ – European buyers can order at amazon.de for 20.99 EUR which converts to the same amount as 29.99 CAN$.
Just to be clear…so the initial ones on Amazon are purple vinyl as well?
Just asking because the desription there doesn’t mention the purple vinyl. It is shown in the picture though.
Yes, should be.
I heard the ‘proper’ deluxe treatment for the classic albums was due to start in 2021. I can resist these LPs, as for me, the CD is enough, none of them are essential enough for me to repurchase right now. I can’t remember the last time I played any of them. This is also partly based on the knowledge that I will one day own them in a box set – surely at some point the labels will go for Bowie style sets for each era. No way is this the last time they’ll be reissued.
I’ll try posting again, as the last 2 “deal” posts I’ve sent in never appeared. The deluxe version of Prince’s “Piano & a Microphone” (containing vinyl, a CD, and a hardcover book) is on sale at amazon.ca for CA$29.99. Not the best price (as I got it for under $20 last month – one of the posts I attempted to put up), but still good. Check it out at https://www.amazon.ca/Piano-Microphone-1983-Deluxe-CD/dp/B07DKGDX9P/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1544482585&sr=1-3&keywords=prince+vinyl&refinements=p_n_binding_browse-bin%3A9284568011
Definitely a fan of ‘Musicology’ and especially ‘3121’; ‘Planet Earth’, outside of the EXCELLENT “Chelsea Rogers”, is largely forgettable…but I suppose I’ll end up with it anyways.
Fingers crossed for ‘20Ten’ to get a similar re-release; it’s my favorite of the post-‘Musicology’ rebirth albums and needs a proper release.
You don’t love your Guitar? ;)
“Prince got his big bucks for the corporation”
Should that not be cooperation?
No, it should be “from the corporation” :) Fixed.
A couple of albums aside, these are like every other album Prince released post Lovesexy – average / below average. The expanded Purple Rain aside, the releases by his estate since his passing have been underwhelming.
I like 3121 a lot, it is one of the best “modern Era” Prince album (along with Art Official Age).
As for Musicology, the title track is a classic, and a few numbers are worth the purchase. Planet Earth is way behind the two others, while being an enjoyable listen.
What I want, no what I crave for is the re issue of Love sexy on plain heavy weight black vinyl, using the original master on pristine lacquer (like it was done for all albums until Sign O The Time). Please make it happen..
Also on blu-spec cd for Japan.
Shouldn’t the release date be 8 February 2019?
Yes
Shut up and take my money!
Prince news = good news.
Paul, can you please be an official Prince dealer? Trust you more than many of the ‘official’ channels!
Nice compliment, thanks! Probably got enough ‘jobs’ to be honest, but will keep doing what I’m doing as best I can :)
Haha, that’s all we ask. Merry Christmas, Paul and SDE.
I should add that no one is in a rush to offer me that particular job, anyway!! :)
Their loss and our gain, I think!
These albums have a splattering of great tracks but I don’t expect any of these albums to have broad appeal but as a collector it is great to see these releases on vinyl for the first time. I hope they don’t go the lazy route and use the CD master for the vinyl which we know does happen. Sadly the Prince Estate isn’t about quality so time will tell.
I am sure the black vinyl releases will look great, but I’m rather bored of the cliched purple being used time and time again – even Prince left behind purple and so should we!
I hope they do something nice with the CD editions. Two of these were originally issued in a card slipcase and given away fro FREE, the commercial releases were digipaks and a few territories had jewel cases – Planet Earth even had a lenticular edition.
Personally I would have released these just as back vinyl to fill gaps in vinyl collections and then just concentrated on a proper deluxe release programme – which will happen next millennia!
I hope they don’t re-issue literally every album as that isn’t what collectors want – we already have them :-)
Ha, Prince himself was never about quality either. The Estate are remaining faithful to that at least.
The Rainbow Children would be nice to own as an LP as currently it’s fetching £400+ and I’m not prepared to spend that much.
So you all won’t sell these to us in the U.S. even though I have bought from you all before. So where can we buy the purple vinyls from who can ship them to us? Very disapointed.
They are for sale to everyone. There was a slight issue but all should be fine.
@Alex
It’s hard to look past the official Prince store for anyone in the USA who wants them.
There’s an excellent deal on the bundle with all 3 together for only $76.49 with free USA shipping as well, it’s pretty much a no-brainier for you.
https://store.princeestate.com/product/5QPR05COMBO/legacy-reissue-vinyl-bundle-20042007?cp=103229_103233
I was trying to help this place. BUT since you are so adamant about it I will just give my money to them. No problem. And thanks.
Alex, you can spend your money how and where you wish :)
Hmm, I’d have thought Prince’s website would be the first place to look. Based in America the postage costs would be preferable for yourself. Postage to the UK from the site is horrific when you consider import charges.
So really you’re quite lucky, Alex, if you’re a fan of Prince.
Paul the Prince estate have some nice packages available for the die hard fans if you’re into t-shirts , lithographs and slipmats
http://mgtrk.musictoday.com/m/1/17126418/02-b18344-d0689a191c2d4f6d8970c2db7f48b6f7/14/245/791582a0-72e7-4e3e-bb9e-ba668dc09b66
Excellent news!
Personally, I can’t muster any enthusiasm for these. I am not one to dismiss all of Prince’s post-commercial-peak output, but I consider all 3 of these to be mediocre albums. What I REALLY want are deluxe, multi-disc reissues of Prince’s 80’s catalog (Dirty Mind through Lovesexy), with tons of vault material, along the lines of last year’s excellent Purple Rain reissue. Wonder if it will ever happen.
Spot on, Brian! You nailed it exactly. That era deserved the expanded editions. Prince was clearly declining already after the early 90’s artistically, apart of wonderful vault picks over the years (really underrated, highly musical -99 collection Old Friends 4 Sale).
Unfortunately the new millennium was continuous disappointments, like these three reissues. Paling in comparison to his 80’s achievements in particular.
Hopefully the Prince estate is just growing momentum, but hardly not. Of course there can be legal or profit sharing issues with Warner Corp as obstacles to proper deluxe sets.
3121 is a REALLY good Prince album for me. Short, tight, some great variety (funk, pop, ballads, R&B etc.) and lots of good-to-great songs. I didn’t think Planet Earth was at the same level myself and never really ‘got into’ Musicology, which was much more successful in America, I think.
You got that, Paul. 3121 can be considered as master’s last flame. Really! LOL
Spot on here Paul!
Did Prince compose pretty much all of his own material, or did he sometimes collaborate with other musicians/lyricists?
George Glazener–he was pretty much a one-man show when it came to controlling his music; he had collaborators in his various bands, of course, but he didn’t go outside his immediate circle very often at all. The first time he used an outside producer was for the very late-period HitNRun Phase One (2015), which Prince did in conjunction with Joshua Welton, who also co-wrote most of the tracks. Very unusual for Prince to have a co-writer.
And he was bloomin’ awful. Clueless. Worse than his wife’s grating voice even :)
What Brian said!
Hi paul
will it be both purple and black vinyl or just Purple? thanks
Purple and black, but purple intially!