Great reissue... can we get some more please?!
Finally, a Prince remaster. Most say its the disc of "vault" rarities that makes this Expanded Edition essential... but I disagree. Prince was a great editor and all of his songs were deleted and/or abandoned for good reason. The much vaunted "vault" is not the goldmine many dream it is... while there are undoubtedly gems there and hours of solid entertainment... he most likely released the vast majority of his true masterworks so don't hold your breath to be blown away by this disc.
Instead the reason to buy this is the original album itself. You already knew it was brilliant, and to hear it finally mastered properly for CD is a revelation. Clear, crisp, and with slightly modern sheen it escapes from your speakers and takes over the area with all the force and majesty it possessed in 1984 renewed and expanded. It is simply glorious.
The next best feature is the B-Sides disc. This is where Prince put his greatest tracks that didn't make the albums and having them in pristine digital format is aural heaven. After listening to this you could well put the other two discs on the shelf and leave them there.
So what of the DVD? That is the biggest disappointment and the reason I can't give this set five stars. I had this concert on VHS back in the day and pretty much wore it out. I've been dreaming of an updated release for years... well put simply it reveals the limitations of the original source material in a big way and does not hold up well. Its still enjoyable, but you'll find yourself hitting the skip button more than you wish you had to.
After having recently picked up Purple Rain, Under the Cherry Moon and even Graffiti Bridge on Blu Ray and having experienced high definition Prince the lackluster DVD of the 1984 Syracuse show paled in comparison.
So this is a good set, a must for all Prince fans, and totally worth the cost. Now we just need similar sets for (at least) 1999, Around the World In A Day, Parade and Sign O The Times. =)
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