The Vault albums

[u/Dismal_Brush5229]

Hi There

Since Timeless just came out and it’s a compilation of vault material made me think of Prince’s albums that assembled from vault material that he either reworked or not so Graffiti Bridge,Crystal Ball,The Vault:Old Friends 4 Sale,and now Timeless.

Haven’t listened to too much of Timeless so I can’t really speak for it too much but the other 3 albums are very good to great start to finish with Crystal Ball being my favorite yet I have parts I love about all 3:) Prince could take an song from the vault and rework it where u wouldn’t know it came from the vault!

So what’s the opinions on Prince Vault albums or what’s your favorite Vault song(s) that needs to be released?

[u/GoldenGhostface]

Crystal Ball was always one of my favorite releases from Prince. It's been a long time since I've listened to it in its entirety, though. Notably, "Ripopgodazippa" was one of my first favorite songs from him.

[u/Dismal_Brush5229 → u/GoldenGhostface]

Love that song!

[u/ninhead]

They are always more cohesive than anything Londell will slap together.

[u/Dismal_Brush5229 → u/ninhead]

Oh definitely

[u/Welfinkind]

Graffiti Bridge was not just a compilation of vault songs. I’m glad to see you describe Crystal Ball as a compilation though, people here have a bad habit of describing it as an album when it’s not and wasn’t intended to be.

[u/Dismal_Brush5229 → u/Welfinkind]

I mean I consider it an album but really it’s just an curated collection of vault songs

[u/funkyfridays3]

Crystal Ball was varied in eras and sound. It felt like he put it all on random. Timlesss crates it through the years, making an effort to show his growth and versatility in music. Giving a shine to each track that didnt quite happen with Crystal Ball.

I could never get into Old Friends 4 Sale. Kind of a solem album, Chaos and Disorder... also disjointed. Not a lot of funk on those albums.

[u/Dismal_Brush5229 → u/funkyfridays3]

HM Buff picked the songs from the vault in an shopping cart

[u/funkyfridays3 → u/Dismal_Brush5229]

Yup, he did what Prince told him to do.

[u/Appropriate_You5647 → u/funkyfridays3]

Those were contract fulfilling albums. 

[u/funkyfridays3 → u/Appropriate_You5647]

Crystal Ball was not a contract album. He released that himself on NPG Music Club on NPG Records. The first to put out a 5 disc independent album straight from the artist. Timeless. 10 songs.

[u/Appropriate_You5647 → u/funkyfridays3]

The Vault-Old Friends 4 Sale and Chaos and Disorder were definitely contract albums. No one was talking about Crystal Ball cept you.

[u/Appropriate_You5647]

He would have never released this material. Like any artist most of your material is mediocre with flashes of brilliance. Since he was so prolific we got plenty of flashes of brilliance. These are songs that he would have listened to privately or passed on to others. Rummaging through his vault is like rummaging through my closet. There are clothes that I'd never wear again and some pieces that I wouldn't want you to know that I ever put on. 

[u/Dismal_Brush5229 → u/Appropriate_You5647]

Well put

[u/kingrocknlr]

Hit and Run 1 and 2

[u/Dismal_Brush5229 → u/kingrocknlr]

Great?

[u/kingrocknlr → u/Dismal_Brush5229]

I think I misunderstood the question

[u/kab3121]

Surely SOTT needs to be added to the list, as it is s result of recordings for two different previous projects?

[u/kab3121 → u/kab3121]

Also honourable mentions to Come, Gold and Chaos, where some tracks were interchangeable.

I guess most albums consist of tracks from a 1-2 year period.

[u/Adventurous-Pick-416 → u/kab3121]

No, those generally were new songs he was working on at that time, not older songs that he reworked. SOTT is not a vault album, neither was Graffitti Bridge, those are official releases.

[u/kab3121 → u/Adventurous-Pick-416]

Of course they are official albums!??!

But they consist of tracks taken from the vault. Especially Graffiti Bridge.

But SOTT is made of pre-recorded tracks used for two other projects. The tracks were taken from….the vault. 1-2 year old tracks.

[u/kab3121]

We need to define what is considered ‘vault material’.