Prince’s ‘1999’ Album to Get Deluxe Reissue Treatment: Six-Disc Set Due in November
By Jem Aswad
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – One of the biggest challenges facing the Prince Estate is what to release from the Vault next: With literally thousands of hours of studio and live outtakes spanning 40 years, there’s no shortage of top-shelf material to choose from.
And after a deluxe edition of “Purple Rain ,” the solo “Piano & a Microphone 1983 ” and the “ Originals” collection , it’s hard to imagine a more exciting release than the one that’s coming next: a massive deluxe edition of the “1999” album, sprawled across 5CD/1DVD and 10LP/1DVD, containing dozens of B-sides, remixes and 35 previously unreleased outtakes — yes, thirty five unreleased tracks — along with two full concerts from the legendary tour in support of the album (both from 1982: Nov. 30 in Detroit and Dec. 29 in Houston, the latter show is the DVD and is from a multi-camera shoot). It also comes with a lavish booklet with liner notes, rare photos and several of ’s hand-written lyrics; the full tracklist appears below. It’s out on Rhino/Warner Records Nov. 29, 2019; there will also be 4LP and 2CD versions that include the original album, and the promo mixes and B-sides, all with 2019 remaster.
Looking at the deluxe edition, the first disc includes the original album, and the second features all of the single edits, extended remixes and B-sides from the album (including the fan favorites “Irresistible Bitch” — which was the first Prince release to feature Wendy Melvoin — “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore” and “Horny Toad”).
On discs three and four, things get really interesting, with mostly unreleased songs or versions recorded between Nov. 1981 and Jan. 1983 — many of which have long circulated on bootlegs, and many that haven’t. There are alternate versions of songs like “Something in the Water” and “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore”; songs that were re-recorded later (“Feel U Up,” “Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got,” “Irresistible Bitch”); one stone-cold classic (“Moonbeam Levels,” released on a compilation in 2017); and several songs unfamiliar even to die–hard fans.
Rounding out the set are the two concerts (one audio, another on DVD), which although recorded just a month apart, demonstrate just how much Prince and this early version of the Revolution mixed up setlists from one night to the next. The Detroit concert is actually the second the band played that night; a bootleg from the same date is from the evening’s earlier show.
CD1/LP1&2 (Original Album with 2019 Remaster)
01 1999
02 Little Red Corvette
03 Delirious
04 Let’s Pretend We’re Married
05 D.M.S.R.
06 Automatic
07 Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)
08 Free
09 Lady Cab Driver
10 All The Critics Love U In New York
11 International Lover
CD2/LP3&4 (Promo Mixes and B-sides, 2019 Remaster)
01 1999 (7″ Stereo Edit)
02 1999 (7″ Mono Promo-Only Edit)
03 Free (Promo Only Edit
04 How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore
05 Little Red Corvette (7″ Edit)
06 All The Critics Love U In New York (7″ Edit)
07 Lady Cab Driver (7″ Edit)
08 Little Red Corvette (Dance Remix Promo Only Edit)
09 Little Red Corvette (Special Dance Mix)
10 Delirious (7″ Edit)
11 Horny Toad
12 Automatic (7″ Edit)
13 Automatic (Video Version)
14 Let’s Pretend We’re Married (7″ Edit)
15 Let’s Pretend We’re Married (7″ Mono Promo Only Edit)
16 Irresistible Bitch
17 Let’s Pretend We’re Married (Video Version)
18 D.M.S.R. (Edit)
CD3/LP5&6 (Vault Tracks Pt 1, recorded between November 1981 and April 1982)
01 Feel U Up
02 Irresistible Bitch
03 Money Don’t Grow On Trees
04 Vagina
05 Rearrange
06 Bold Generation
07 Colleen
08 International Lover (Take 1) [Live In Studio]
09 Turn It Up
10 You’re All I Want
11 Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)
12 If It’ll Make U Happy
13 How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore? (Take 2)
CD4/LP7&8 (Vault Tracks Pt 2, recorded between April 1982 and January 1983)
01 Possessed (1982 Version)
02 Delirious (Full Length)
03 Purple Music
04 Yah, You Know
05 Moonbeam Levels (2019 Remaster)
06 No Call U
07 Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got
08 Do Yourself A Favor
09 Don’t Let Him Fool Ya
10 Teacher, Teacher
11 Lady Cab Driver / I Wanna Be Your Lover / Little Red Corvette (Tour Demo)
CD5/LP9&10 (Live In Detroit at Masonic Temple Theater, Masonic Hall (Late Show) – November 30, 1982, Previously Unreleased)
01 Controversy
02 Let’s Work
03 Little Red Corvette
04 Do Me, Baby
05 Head
06 Uptown
07 Lisa’s Keyboard Interlude
08 How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?
09 Automatic
10 International Lover
11 1999
12 D.M.S.R.
DVD (Live at The Summit, Houston, TX, – December 29, 1982, Previously Unreleased)
01 Controversy
02 Let’s Work
03 Do Me, Baby
04 D.M.S.R.
05 Keyboard Interlude
06 Piano Improvisation
07 How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?
08 Lady Cab Driver
09 Automatic
10 International Lover
11 1999
12 Head
