https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8517755/prince-collaborators-originals
https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/recording/princes-originals-mastered-by-grundman
https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8517576/prince-originals-album-covers
https://afropunk.com/2019/06/purple-music-thinking-about-princes-originals/
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/21/734176868/how-prince-worked-his-magic-on-the-bangles-manic-monday
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/06/prince-originals-review.html
http://www.muziq.fr/coulisses-de-prince-originals-michael-howe/
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/prince-engineer-peggy-mccreary-interview-originals/
http://mixdownmag.com.au/engineering-prince-dive-archives
https://wordsbywatts.com.au/2019/06/07/interview-peggy-mccreary-on-recording-prince/
https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/prince-prince-originals-review
https://slate.com/culture/2019/06/prince-originals-album-review-nothing-compares-2-u.html
https://themuse.jezebel.com/princes-originals-captures-a-genius-at-work-and-an-arti-1835379614
http://www.writteninmusic.com/pop/prince-originals/
https://www.nme.com/blogs/11-things-we-learned-at-playback-new-prince-album-2506506
https://nypost.com/2019/06/06/princes-originals-review-nothing-compares-2-new/
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/prince-originals/
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"Prince Giving It All Away" by John Earls - Classic Pop - June 2019 (Issue 53):
Last November, the Prince estate released his original version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" as a standalone single: the video, of Prince dancing in the studio, notched up eight million views almost immediately. Expanding the idea into a full album of the songs Prince wrote for others seemed an obvious move. As the archivist for Prince's estate, Michael Howe is the man responsible for cataloguing Prince's vast array of unreleased music. Working alongside the estate's entertainment advisor Troy Carter and creative director Trevor Guy, Michael compiled Originals. "Prince was a creative titan," says Michael. "On Originals, you see his general ability — not just as a performer, but also in production, arranging, writing. We're focusing on songs that are particularly interesting, either because they were substantial hits for other artists and are relatively familiar, or it's a little less obvious and showcases another side of Prince's artistry unfamiliar to anybody bar the most ardent fans."
Michael cites "You're My Love", a lounge ballad written in 1982 for country icon Kenny Rogers, as a prime example of just how diverse Prince's talents were. "You're My Love is a very un-Prince-like proposition," Michael laughs. "But it's so interesting to hear him do something that's basically a Holiday Inn lounge vibe. It's a peek into an area of Prince's artistry most people probably didn't know even existed."
[...]
There is a plan for further posthumous Prince releases over the next "three-to-five years", which can be changed if Michael finds anything in the interim that simply can't wait. Prince said he expected his unreleased material to emerge after his death, but didn't leave detailed instructions as to how it should appear. "You can never answer the question fully," Michael admits. "We knew Prince pretty well, for what we think would be appropriate. He was a single-minded guy with a clear vision of his artistry. At the top of our list is 'Is this the calibre of what Prince would want in the marketplace? Would he approve of this if he were here?' We hope we're doing the right thing." The songs on Originals wouldn't fit on Prince's albums from the era. Yet it also sounds like a lost Prince album from 1984. The vault seems in safe hands.
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"Next Out of Prince’s Vaults: The Hits He Gave Away -- “Originals,” a collection of 15 demos for songs recorded by the Bangles, Kenny Rogers and Sinead O’Connor, is a rough draft of pop genius." By Gavin Edwards - New York Times - May 29, 2019
The theme of “Originals” was sparked by the discovery of Prince’s demo for “Nothing Compares 2 U,” released last year. Because Prince had “such a vast archive,” Carter said, they emphasized tracks that were completed — “we weren’t going to put out a rough vocal” — between 1981 and 1985.
[...]
There is one outlier, from 1991: the haunting “Love … Thy Will Be Done,” first released by Martika. Jay-Z pushed for it, Carter said: “Jay was listening with our archivist on the treasure hunt and chiming in on specific songs that he would love to hear.”
Oh well, now we know what asshole to blame for the inclusion of that wildly out of place track.
The band unanimously opted for “Manic Monday,” which rewrote Prince’s hit “1999” with lyrics about a woman’s 9-to-5 travails instead of a nuclear apocalypse. (“Jealous Girl” was later sung by Bonnie Raitt but remains unreleased.) They recorded the song, carefully following his blueprint — except they rearranged the bridge. “His bridge had almost a psychedelic, classical feel,” Hoffs said. “Looking back, why didn’t we do it that way?”
[...]
Even though the original version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” similarly languished in obscurity on the Family’s 1985 debut album, the song endured: Five years later, Sinead O’Connor’s version topped the charts.
“It was most unusual for him to give you a track that was incredibly personal to him,” Melvoin said. Prince had finished writing the song the night before they recorded it at Sunset Sound. It was inspired both by issues in his relationship with Melvoin and the absence of his personal assistant, Sandy Scipioni, who was taking time off because of the death of her father.
“I had left, and Sandy had left,” Melvoin said. “He was so sensitive to longing and need, if you were his lover and he loved you and you weren’t there, it would compel him to go into the studio because that was the only way he could service those emotions.”
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"Jay Z and Tidal highlight Prince with album celebrations" By Lisa Respers France - CNN - May 29, 2019
Tidal is going big with the new Prince album.
The streaming platform has announced a series of listening events across the globe for members to experience the late singer's album, "Originals."
Album release celebrations will be held in various countries, including the United States, Spain, Poland and Brazil.
https://www.prince.com/article/prince-originals
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/prince-originals-album-unreleased-songs-827084/
https://pitchfork.com/news/prince-album-of-unreleased-demos-announced/
https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/04/prince-originals-demos-album/
https://mixmag.net/read/princes-estate-is-releasing-originals-news
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"Jay-Z and Tidal to Host Release Events for Prince’s ‘Originals’ Album" by JEM ASWAD - Variety - MAY 29, 2019
Tidal has announced a series of listening events across the globe for members to experience the forthcoming album from Prince’s estate, “Originals.”
[...]
Album release celebrations will take place in the United States, Spain, Poland, Brazil and other countries across the globe. In the U.S., Tidal members will have the chance to attend an album release celebration in Los Angeles hosted by Jay-Z on June 6 — for more information, see Tidal.com/Prince.
The release represents the conclusion of Tidal’s 2015 deal with Prince, which saw the platform become the exclusive streaming partner for the artist’s music; his music returned to all major platforms in 2017.
Reports from the French listening session: