Prince / Small Club X Rekords (2CDR)

Disc 1
1. Instrumental Jam
2. D.M.S.R
3. Just My Imagination
4. People Without
5. Housequake
6. Down Home Blues / Kansas City

Disc 2
1. Cold Sweat
2. Forever In My Life
3. Still Would Stand All Time
4. I'll Take You There
5. I'll Take You There
6. Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic

Het Paard Van Troje, The Hague
August 19, 1988 (AM)

The Black Album is said to be the best-selling collector's CD in Prince's history. It has sold over 250,000 copies, including vinyl. However, since it was officially released, this soundboard from the Lovesexy tour aftershow is arguably the true number one item. The stunning sound quality and immersive feel make you feel as if you're actually there listening to Prince's rare performance. From the jazzy, funky opening instrumental, we move on to DMSR, the beautiful Temps cover "Just My Imagination," the attacking, menacing unreleased track "People Without," the heart-pounding Housequake, Bonnie Boyer's blues, the ingenious fusion of JB's mannerisms and Prince's signature "Cold Sweat," the majestic "Still Would Stand All Time," a then-unreleased track, and the Mabes Staples-esque "I'll Take You There." And the final jam is simply insanely cool: the best live version, "Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic," which would later become the album's title track. This groove is so captivating, captivating, and addictive that you'd want it to last forever.

Up until now, Moonraker and Thunderball have been reissued. But even those are out of print. Honestly, those two titles, especially Moonraker, are considered the best. However, this time we're sticking to the original X Rekords master, which is considered the original. Small Club was released on a two-disc vinyl set by X Rekords in 1988, followed by a three-disc set by Martens Records, among many other copies. Around 1990, however, X Rekords released it on CD. While vinyl at the time inevitably had some stuttering, the CD release appeared to be derived from a DAT master, resulting in a crystal-clear sound. This was the dawn of the bootleg CD era, and copies quickly circulated. However, many bootleggers were unable to master digital copying technology, resulting in many inferior versions. X Rekords' credits plausibly stated that the engineer was Alex Ranaway and the mix was at Treeboy Studios in France, and whether you believe them or not, it's safe to say that the label at least possessed the original master. However, there was a problem: the tracklist. The credits on the CD cover and the jacket differed, a characteristic of collector's CDs from that era, so I won't go into detail here. The crucial point is the tracklist after "I'll Take You There." For some reason, "I'll Take You There" is split into two parts: Part 1 and Part 2. Part 2 of that album ended up including a performance by Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic. There's actually a version where the performance by Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic is cut off midway through. This release, as per X Rekords, splits "I'll Take You There" into two parts, and properly includes the full 15:42 minutes of Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, in the exact same format as Moonraker. While this may seem like a bit of a nitpick, we hope you enjoy this classic album, Small Club, with its original sound and tracklist.