Moonraker Catalog # 256/257/258 Release Year 1997 3CD Length 74:05 | 73:17 | 69:58 Date/Venue Studio Outakes 1985 -1997 Source Soundboard Recordings Quality EX- / EX+ |
Disc #1
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Disc
#2
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Disc
#3
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Comments
Deane's Comments (rates this release 4/5.0)
Although it is
nice to have all these tracks with good sound quality in a beautiful package, a
lot of these have been on many other releases. The inclusion of the Madhouse
tracks and the cuts from Promo 12" releases really piss me off. Much like
Fantasia, also from Moonraker, this could have been a great 2CD set if some of
the filler was removed. Anyway, it is nice to have listenable copies of Uh Huh
and God Is Alive.
Dale's Comments (rates this release
4/5.0)
One of Moonraker's best outtake releases.
Excellent sound quality on the whole, and jammed with great outtake selections.
This is a very popular outtake set and should be rather easy to track down. A
great choice if you are new to outtakes and want to see what the big deal is.
Disc one is truly superb and still gets played in my stereo on a frequent basis.
Mike's Comments (rates this release
4.5/5.0)
A classy compilation of outtakes
including several that had not been available before turning up on here. As
with the other sets in this series (Fantasia, H2O etc.)
one disc is devoted to Prince's side-projects, including the first version of
the unreleased Madhouse album 24 from 1989. Many of the tracks here
are now to be found on various volumes of The work but there are a
few tracks that are still unique to this set.
Fink's Comments (rates this release
4.5/5.0)
An excellent collection of mainly
studio outtakes dating from 1985-1997 with the majority of emphasis being on the
late 80's / early 90's period. The sound quality throughout is consistently high
and only a small handful of the tracks could realistically be described as being
EX-.
Disc 1 contains 2 of these in the form of 'What's My Name' (which is identical
to the released version - however it was unreleased at the time of this set) and
'The Grand Progression'. The quality of these two whilst being excellent is
slightly more gritty than the remainder of the tracks. Disc 1 also contains the
stunning 'I Wonder' and Prince's version of 'A Place In Heaven' (complete with
the outro to 'Movie Star').
Disc 2 is a strange mix of tracks dating from 1986 through to 1996 with very
little in common (aside from the remixes). The opening 'Come' is the extended
version of the 'Beautiful Experience' version of the song. 'Kiss' is the
acoustic demo version and seems slightly out of place on here as it pre-dates
everything on this particular disc by at least 3 years. The remainder of the
disc is made up of various remixes of both 'Face Down' and 'Gangster Glam'.
Whilst the quality of these tracks is exceptionally good, the content is
extremely repetitive. The only small highlight during these is the lyric
"Getting face down in them panties like I should" from the 'Face Down Money
Mix'. The remix tracks aside, the quality on Disc 2 consistently excellent
again. There are a few small dips during both Martika tracks, however it is very
minimal. Unfortunately Disc 3 doesn't begin so well and the opening 3 tracks
intended for the New Power Generation maxi-single run far too slowly due to
being pitched incorrectly. It is slightly obvious during 'Oobey Doop' but even
more so on both 'My Tree' and 'A Positive Place'. It's a real pity this appears
to have slipped past Moonraker's quality control and not been picked up on
before the set was released as it spoils what is otherwise an enjoyable third
disc. The packaging is amongst the best of any outtake set and includes a
mammoth 24 page booklet. It is lacking any detailed info on the tracks and is
evidently a triumph of style over substance - however there's no doubting it has
been beautifully done.
Even with the flaws on a number of tracks on Disc 3 this is still an
exceptionally good outtake set and has stood the test of time. Released in 1997
this could still be viewed as a very valid release nearly 10 years later and
that is an impressive achievement indeed.