Prince’s ‘3121’ Expanded Edition Arrives With Las Vegas Film

By Grace Kim

On December 11, Prince’s NPG Records and the Prince Estate will release an expanded digital edition of “3121.” The package adds 10 raw recordings to the original 12-track album. Physical versions arrive that day as 3LP + Blu-ray and 2CD + Blu-ray sets.

In their announcement, NPG Records and the Prince Estate noted the success of the restored “Sign O’ the Times” concert film. “Prince: 3121 Las Vegas Concert” will open theatrically in the U.S. and Canada on December 3 for a limited run. Tickets go on sale November 11. The 154-minute film combines hits, deep cuts and extended jams.

A companion live album supplies the audio counterpart. “3121 Las Vegas Live” will be released on November 27 for Record Store Day Black Friday, on triple-LP crystal blue vinyl and 2CD. It captures Prince’s January 20, 2007 performance in Las Vegas and runs for more than two hours.

What does the expanded edition change?

For listeners and collectors, the change is concrete. The digital package separates the original studio sequence from a second disc of vault recordings, meaning previously unreleased material. The physical package pairs “3121” with a Blu-ray of live footage filmed in Las Vegas in 2007. The studio record gains 10 raw recordings, while the physical set adds the concert itself.

NPG Records and the Prince Estate highlight acoustic versions of “The Word,” “Love” and “Te Amo Corazón.” The remaining additions are “Time of Ur Life,” “The Streets of Panama,” “Another Girl,” “Glass Cutter,” “Elixer,” “Ur’e Such A Tease” and “Girls In the Band.”

The announcement dates “3121” to March 21, 2006, when NPG Records and Universal Music released it. It became Prince’s first album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and his fourth to top that chart, according to the announcement. NPG Records and the Prince Estate called it “arguably the best of his post 1990s albums.”

“3121 Expanded Edition” tracklist

• Disc 1 — Original Album: “3121”; “Lolita”; “Te Amo Corazón”; “Black Sweat”; “Incense and Candles”; “Love”; “Satisfie”; “Fury”; “The Word”; “Beautiful, Loved and Blessed”; “The Dance”; “Get On the Boat.”
• Disc 2 — Additional Vault Recordings: “Time of Ur Life”; “The Streets of Panama”; “Another Girl”; “The Word (Acoustic)”; “Elixer”; “Glass Cutter”; “Love (Acoustic)”; “Ur’e Such A Tease”; “Te Amo Corazón (Acoustic)”; “Girls In the Band.”

According to the announcement, the Las Vegas live program reaches across Prince’s catalog. It moves between “Purple Rain,” “Kiss,” “If I Was Your Girlfriend” and “U Got the Look,” includes selections from “3121” and “Musicology,” and covers “Pass the Peas,” “Crazy” and “Play That Funky Music.” The film and live album also have different scopes: 154 minutes on screen and more than two hours in audio.

“3121 Las Vegas Live” tracklist

• Disc 1: “3121”; “Girls & Boys”; “Satisfied”; “Down By The Riverside”; “Purple Rain”; “Lolita”; “Black Sweat”; “Kiss”; “Shhh”; “Musicology / Prince And The Band”; “Pass The Peas.”
• Disc 2: “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)”; “Love Changes”; “Somewhere Over The Rainbow / Nine Million Bicycles (Medley)”; “If I Was Your Girlfriend”; “Pink Cashmere”; “Cream”; “U Got the Look”; “Crazy”; “Get On the Boat”; “Play That Funky Music.”

The release calendar creates a three-step sequence: live audio on November 27, a limited theatrical run from December 3, and the expanded album on December 11. By then, listeners can compare the original 12-track sequence with 10 raw additions and encounter the 2007 Las Vegas concert in both film and concert-album form.