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Anthology: 1995-2010 Prince album
Sony Legacy
albumThe booty that’s been hiding in plain sight.
Anthology: 1995-2010 is a digital compilation comprising a selection of tracks originally released across various projects between 1995 and 2010. It is Prince’s first posthumous release under Legacy Recordings, imprint of Sony Music Entertainment, the first distribution of his music granted under license from The Prince Estate to publish Prince’s material created since 1995.
In less than a year after Prince’s death, in January 2017 Universal Music Group was awarded exclusive worldwide distribution rights to Prince’s catalogue but once it discovered the arrangement failed to include the music recorded during his most commercial period when signed to Warner Bros Records (1978 to 1995) UMG withdrew from its $31 million deal with The Prince Estate, on grounds the omission voided the deal. Sony was next in line and in June 2018 acquired the rights covering Prince’s post-Warner catalogue (1995 to 2014). Anthology: 1995-2010 comprises thirty-seven songs gleaned from twenty albums released in this period, those ranging from The Gold Experience to 20TEN.
The collection was uploaded to all major streaming platforms, Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music. Prior to its 17 August 2018 release, TIDAL was the sole platform possessing rights to stream Prince’s music, due to that arrangement being in place (struck between Prince and its then owner Jay-Z in 2015) prior to his death on 21 April 2016. In 2017, Anthology: 1995-2010 peaked at number 85 on the Billboard album chart and in August 2018 was ranked 22nd most bought package on iTunes in the US and 28th in the UK.
Anthology: 1995-2010 showcases Prince’s most overlooked era in his canon of work. The most represented albums in the collection are The Gold Experience (6 tracks) and Crystal Ball, Planet Earth and Musicology (three songs apiece). Anthology: 1995-2010 does not feature any previously unreleased versions or recordings. Notably, the compilation includes eight tracks from two Warner-owned albums The Gold Experience and Chaos And Disorder. It was a complex arrangement, as also the albums created post 2014 were covered by yet another agreement, which Prince settled with Warner Bros dated 18 April 2014. In 2018 a judge finally cleared up the matter and expanded Sony Legacy’s rights to include the Warner era catalogue also, unarguably Prince’s most commercial period, 1978 through 2015, yet even this excluded Prince’s four soundtrack albums created for Warner Bros Pictures movies Purple Rain, Parade, Graffiti Bridge and Batman. Anthology: 1995-2010 shines light on this era in Prince’s career, which although less commercial, was no less fertile in terms of creativity and depth.
Cover story
The artwork created for Anthology: 1995-2010 is the work of Steve Parke, Prince’s creative director during that period. It is a clever reproduction of Prince’s trademark Prince Love Symbol formed from fonts used on his album covers throughout 1995 to 2010.
Data
- Producer
- Prince
- Label
- NPG Records
- Distribution
- Sony Legacy
- Cover/Design
- Steve Parke
- Released
- 8 years ago on 17 August 2018
- Running Time
- 196:55
- US Chart Peak
- 85
- UK Chart Peak
- Did not chart
- Orig. Format
-
Tracklist
- (4:13)
- (3:11)
- (5:59)
- (5:08)
- (4:39)
- (6:07)
- (5:33)
- [feat. Ani DiFranco] (3:36)
- (7:22)
- (3:45)
- (3:07)
- (4:28)
- (5:15)
- (5:06)
- (7:17)
- (5:32)
- (4:19)
- (4:06)
- (4:24)
- (6:31)
- (3:40)
- (4:55)
- (5:08)
- (4:00)
- (4:54)
- (5:16)
- (2:46)
- (7:30)
- (3:47)
- (14:00)
- (8:23)
- (4:21)
- (5:45)
- [feat. Angie Stone] (7:05)
- (5:17)
- (5:41)
- (4:49)
Anthology: 1995-2010 album review
This debut release from Sony Legacy is the digital anthology of Prince’s post Warner period. It was the missing out of that fact that the publishing rights Universal Records understood they had negotiated with The Prince Estate in 2016 was later discovered would not after all include the more lucrative Warner era. Universal took flight from their deal can called for their $31 million back. Those rights were scooped up by Sony’s Legacy imprint instead. The new deal was struck in June 2018 and within a month issued Anthology: 1995-2010. Don’t be thinking Sony got the rough end of the deal, they had scored rights to Prince’s best period, the mid 1990s. Anthology: 1995-2010 is a digital packaging of Prince’s highlights 1995 to 2010, although these cannot be called hits since he had none in that period. His independent era produced some of his most worthy work, the cream of the purple music spanning every album between The Gold Experience up to 20TEN. Anthology: 1995-2010 provides nothing unique but launches Sony’s curation of Prince’s work in the lesser visited end of his catalogue and for that is to be commended.
Anthology: 1995-2010 is rated 3.5 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.
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