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. =)
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
No problem with the music at all as I have been a Prince ...fan for many years! The problem is with the packaging. The entire packaging is made of very light cardboard and arranged in such a way as its possible to damage the discs when taking them out or at the very least easily get them dirty. There is not one plastic part in the packaging to protect anything so it will easily wear out over time. They took the complete cheap route when designing the package for these discs. I will be looking to get some type of plastic multi disc holder to protect my discs as I will not be using this poorly designed paper sleeve it comes with. The paper packaging should have been resized to fit in a multi CD jewel case.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Buy it while you can. These don't tend to last. ...Disc 1 everyone is familiar with. Disc 2 is b-sides with some extended versions. Disc 3 is outtakes from the Purple Rain era. A must have. The DVD is also outstanding. Audio quality is good, not sure if its 5.1, but sounds good on the 5.1 surround sound system, but visually it's fantastic to see Prince at his prime. All in all a must have for any Prince fan.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Love this set! There is, of course, the original album which we al...l know is fantastic. The other 2 CDs are just as great. It's interesting to hear the different takes of the songs and the previously unreleased songs from the vault from this time period. I'm just so happy we can see DVDs of Prince in concert - they don't have to be up to modern day quality for me to enjoy. Any Prince fan - diehard or casual - will appreciate this set. I did buy separate jewel cases to put the discs in. It seems like slipping them in and out of the too tight cardboard repeatedly will damage the discs eventually. A small complaint.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
The 2nd cd to me was well wort...h the purchase of the whole set. I do like the third cd with the extended songs and remixes. The DVD was okay, lighting is very poor in certain portions but I am still glad to have the DVD. The first cd is the original Purple Rain sound track and I am happy to have another copy. If you love Prince like I do I suggest buying this set, it gets five stars from me.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New