Prince fulfills his contractual obligation: The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale

Prince – The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale – Inlay booklet

Introduction

After a long time the name Prince was once again used on an album with new music in 1999. The album stemmed from 1996 when Prince, or as he was called at the time, had handed over the album at the offices of Warner Bros. to fulfill his contractual obligations.

1999

The years following the Prince name change were confusing for the general public. He called himself , but in 1999 several releases using various monikers were released, which all came from the same man. The public was lost.

• 02/02/1999: 1999: The New Master (maxi-single) – Prince and the Revolution
• 08/24/1999: The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale (album) – Prince
• 08/24/1999: Beautiful Strange (VHS) –
• 10/05/1999: The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (single) –
• 11/09/1999: Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (album) – (produced by Prince)

Only official releases containing new material have been listed above.

Content

Four subjects in this article are elaborated on and interpreted some more in (sub-)articles. These have all been published prior to this article:

• The events leading up to the Chaos And Disorder and The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale albums:
  • Prince fulfills his contract on Chaos And Disorder?
  • Prince and the name change
• Prince – Shelved Project – I’ll Do Anything
• Prince – The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale – The reviews

The links above are also mentioned in the paragraphs containing the respective subjects.

Prince – The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale – CD Acetate (24-04-1996)

On the road to The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale

On April 26, 1996, Prince/ dropped off two albums at record company Warner Bros., fulfilling the terms of his then still binding contract. That very same year, on July 9, Chaos And Disorder was released, but The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale was temporarily shelved. It would take three more years for that album to hit the shops.

So, why did it take so long? The sales figures for Chaos And Disorder showed that Prince/‘s career was virtually dead. The long waiting period was “just a marketing judgement. We wanted to find a space in the marketplace that seemed right for it”, according to Bob Merlin, at the time Senior Vice President at Warner Bros.

Of course the timing had nothing to do with the April 1999 announcement coming from the camp that a new album was underway, titled Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, which was called a “return to form”. In fact, on August 8, message came that this album was to be released on a major label, Arista. It seemed that Warner Bros. was keen on getting in on the action at a time that Prince/ was gaining some momentum.

himself tried to sabotage the The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale release by releasing the video Beautiful Strange on the very same day. The video consisted of concert recordings from 1998, the new song Beautiful Strange and an interview with Spice Girls’ Mel B.

N.B.:
Also see the articles Prince fulfills his contract on Chaos And Disorder? for more on the reasons behind delivering both albums on April 16, 1996, and Prince and the name change for more on ‘s battle with Warner Bros.

Prince – The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale

The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale

On August 24, 1999, the twenty second Prince album was released. It was the last Prince/ album containing new material to be released by Warner Bros. under his old contract. The name wasn’t used, because all the material on the album was supposedly recorded prior to Prince’s name change on June 7, 1993 (which was not the case).

No less than 3 songs on the album were recorded for the planned musical I’ll Do Anything. The story about the musical/movie and its production can be read in the sub-article Prince – Shelved Project – I’ll Do Anything. The movie bombed and the musical version, which was never released, was seen as a major fiasco.

Songs

All songs written by Prince.

Prince – The Rest Of My Life – Promo single

The Rest Of My Life

The song was part of the I’ll Do Anything sessions in April and May 1992. It was recorded at the Platinum studio in Melbourne, Australia.

Song with an overt musical vibe: Today, today is the first day of the rest of my life.

At the end of the Summer of 1999 The Rest Of My Life was released as a promo.

Prince – It’s About That Walk – Promo single

It’s About That Walk

The first recordings of this swinging song stem from September 2, 1993, three months after Prince had taken on the name . The song was recorded at the Studio Guillaume Tell in Suresnes, France.

At the end of the Summer of 1999 It’s About That Walk was released as a promo in Germany.

She Spoke 2 Me

The song was first released in 1996 on the soundtrack to the Spike Lee movie Girl 6. It was recorded in October 1991 during sessions for the album.

This version is called the (Extended Remix) and lasts over 4 minutes longer than the version on the Girl 6 album.

Prince – 5 Women – Promo single

5 Women

Basic tracking for this great blues song was done on September 4, 1990, at the Warner Pioneer Studios in Tokyo, Japan, by the end of the Nude Tour.

In 1991 Prince gave the song to Joe Cocker, who released it as Five Women on his 1992 album Night Calls and released it as a single in Europe. Joe Cocker re-recorded the song using his own band, erasing all Prince input. Cocker asked Prince to play a solo, but he couldn’t make it due to time restrictions.

At the end of the Summer of 1999 5 Women was released as a promo in Germany.

When The Lights Go Down

Recorded around 1991/1992, it’s unclear exactly when. Lyrically the song clearly stems from a different time period. In 1999 Prince/ started his self-censorship due to his conversion to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the dogmas that come with it.

When the lights go down, yeah
And it’s just you two
That’s when you hear the sounds
Of what true lovers do, yeah
And when you feel the heat, yo
Hotter than July
That’s when you and your baby
When your baby get a ride

© Prince

My Little Pill

The song was part of the I’ll Do Anything sessions in April and May 1992.

Best forgotten.

There Is Lonely

The song was part of the I’ll Do Anything sessions in April and May 1992.

There are people who seem to actually like this song, but I think it’s best forgotten as well.

Old Friends 4 Sale

The song everyone was waiting for. Amongst collectors this song was the holy grail, only available on bootlegs. Finally, the stunning song that was recorded during the Parade sessions would see the light of day. The first recordings took place on April 20, 1985, followed by the addition of superb orchestration by the incomprehensible Clare Fischer and his orchestra.

Unfortunately, the song was worked on in 1991, provided with new (less strong) lyrics and additional instrumentation. That version was placed on the album. The soul had been kicked out of the song. Old Friends 4 Sale still held up, but the impact the original version had was gone. A crying shame.

On September 24, 2012, Prince streamed a rehearsal version of Old Friends 4 Sale on DrFunkenberry’s site. The changing of the male to a female perspective and playing it live immediately following The Glamorous Life, fueled the rumors that Prince and Sheila E. were no longer on speaking terms. Also see the sub-article Prince and Sheila E., a cooled down friendship?.

Sarah

Recorded almost 3 years after the Prince name change, so this is actually a song, but was credited to Prince anyway. Nice up-tempo song.

Prince – Extraordinary – Promo single

Extraordinary

This beautiful ballad was recorded in September 1992 at the Paisley Park Studios and at a later time fine-tuned with overdubs.

Extraordinary
The love you make to me it’s some kind of scary
I would be a fool to leave you for I was born to love you
This is true

© Prince

On August 10, 1999, Extraordinary was released as a promo in the US.

Prince – The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale – Back cover

Contributions by others

Vocals and instruments by Prince, with help from:

• Michael B. – drums
• Sonny T. – bass
• Levi Seacer, Jr. – guitar
• Tommy Barbarella – keyboards
• Rosie Gaines – keyboards
• The NPG Hornz (Michael B. Nelson, Kathy Jensen, Dave Jensen, Brian Gallagher, Steve Strand) – horns
• Mr. Hayes – keyboards
• Sheila E. – percussion
• Clare Fischer (Orchestra) – orchestration

On the album the contributions by others weren’t fully credited.

Prince – The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale – CD Acetate (24-04-1996)

Accompanying text

The enclosed material was written during the period beginning 1/23/1985 and ending 6/18/1994 and was originally intended 4 private use only.

Album cover

Just like Chaos And Disorder the album cover feels rather cheap and seems to have been produced by a local copy store, rather than by a professional design department. This is exactly the feel Prince was looking for.

Both pictures were taken at 4 AM on September 5, 1993, after an aftershow in Brussels during the European Act II tour. Photographer Claude Gassian shot 12 photos of Prince outside the dressing room, with Prince looking disinterested and disconnected. The original photos have been published in the 1994 book Neo Manifesto. The pictures on the album cover have been digitally edited to obscure the messy background.

Reactions

The press was generally dismissive of the album.

Listen to what he stuck Warners with: 10 lifeless tracks…
(Dallas Observer, 19-08-1999)

The Vault is a cd that raises a lot of questions, especially because the material isn’t all that bad, at least it’s a lot better than his recent productions under the name Tafkap.
(Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, 27-08-1999)

However, it’s about time that Whatever He Calls Himself turns in something innovative again. The bargain sale has lasted long enough.
(Dutch magazine Nieuwe Revu, 01/08-09-1999)

The 39 minutes of pure dredge, which slyly mentions it was meant for private use, should have never been released.
(Dutch magazine OOR, 04-09-1999)

It’s a welcome stopgap for long-suffering loyalists.
(Entertainment Weekly, 10-09-1999)

Mostly, it’s a reminder of a huge talent which mysteriously went awol.
(The Guardian, 1999)

Never very satisfying, “The Vault” hovers between intriguing and disappointing.
(Los Angeles Times, 1999)

However, though Old Friends 4 Sale doesn’t contain his best outtakes, it does – like Crystal Ball – contain some very good ones.
(MTV Online, 1999)

…, while the rest of us are left to shake our heads in disgust as the little guy’s legacy gets watered down even further.
(Wall Of Sound, 1999)

Prince material that is mediocre: the perfect revenge of the Warner Brothers’ plantation owners on their erstwhile slave.
(NME, 12-09-2005)

See Prince – The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale – The reviews for the complete reviews.

Prince – The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale – Dutch Warner Bros. sign-in sheet

Sales

The sales figures were bad. Despite the large Prince following, who were loyal enough to buy the album, no one else seemed interested anymore in anything Prince did or released. In The Netherlands the album made it to the 16th position in the charts, the highest position the album reached worldwide.

Review

The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale is not part of my absolute favorites, the album isn’t balanced enough for that. But it’s a lot better than I remembered it to be. Cut the I’ll Do Anything songs and a rather satisfying mini album remains.

Contrary to the heavy rock character of Chaos And Disorder, The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale is much more laid-back. The album breathes a relaxed bluesy, jazzy vibe that isn’t exactly vibrant, but is pleasing to the ears.

In short: a shame of the musical songs and the inferior version of Old Friends 4 Sale, but the rest is nice to really good. 5 Women, When The Lights Go Down and Extraordinary are the songs that matter the most.

Prince – Discography NPG Music Club 2001

After The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale

Prince/ didn’t do anything to promote the The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale album. When sometime later the promotional campaign for Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic started, Prince/ dismissed The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale as nothing more than a contractual obligation he didn’t want to be associated with in any way. In the Prince discography which was published on the Prince website NPG Music Club in 2001 the album cover featured the red/black text “CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION”.

All faith was put into the scheduled “comeback” album Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, which was released on November 9, 1999.

In closing

In 2014 Prince would once again release music on Warner Bros. He made a deal for the simultaneous release of the albums PLECTRUMELECTRUM and ART OFFICIAL AGE. And Prince was finally granted full ownership of his (master)tapes, the cause for the fight that started 29 years before.

What do you think about The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale? Let me know!

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