13 April 2019 (Special release for Record Store Day)
13 September 2019 (Worldwide commercial release)

NPG Records / The Prince Estate / Legacy Recordings (2019 Reissues)

• None at the time of release, although Pussy Control (Club Mix Edit) and Rootie Kazootie (Edit) were issued as “digital singles” ahead of the September reissue.
• Shhh (X-cerpt) was included as the b-side of the My Computer 7' released as cover mount with the October 2019 edition of Musikexpress magazine in Germany in September 2019, to promote the catalogue reissues of Emancipation and The Versace Experience (Prelude 2 Gold).

It was re-released worldwide (on cassette) in limited quantities (11,000 copies) for the Record Store Day on 13 April 2019, and six months later on all formats and regular commercial release (with reissues of two other albums by , Chaos And Disorder and Emancipation) on 13 September 2019. The 2019 editions became Prince’s ninth compilation album and the sixth posthumous release.

Initial 1995 release

The 1995 cassette was mostly a promotional tool for ’s then upcoming album The Gold Experience, but also contained tracks from other planned projects, the New Power Generation’s second album Exodus (which had already been released in Europe), Madhouse’s third album 24 (which was ultimately left unreleased) and The NPG Orchestra’s Kamasutra (which was released in early 1997).

Unlike other NPG Records sampler cassettes of the era, many tracks were remixed or edited specifically for this release to make listening to the cassette a complete listening experience. In addition, several tracks feature overdubbed vocals by of either 'Versace' or 'The Versace Experience'. As such, many of the tracks are not available in the same form elsewhere.

Also unusually for NPG Records sampler cassettes, The Versace Experience (Prelude 2 Gold) was released in conjunction with Warner Bros. This is likely due to the links with The Gold Experience, which was planned for release by NPG Records and Warner Bros. on 12 September 1995, as indicated on the cassette insert, although the release was later postponed to 26 September 1995.

Only 300 copies of the cassette were made. Artwork for a CD-version was also made, but it is unlikely that any promos were actually pressed on CD at that time.

2019 reissues

With only 300 copies pressed and distributed only to attendees of Versace collection of Paris Fashion Week, the 1995 edition of The Versace Experience (Prelude 2 Gold) became a collectible item. The Prince Estate made replicas of this cassette available to the public for the 2019 edition of the Record Store Day in the USA, Europe and Japan. A special ‘purple edition' edition, limited to 1,000 copies was offered for sale from Minneapolis music store Electric Fetus on 25 April 2019. Interestingly, the 2019 reissues by NPG Records/The Prince Estate were released in conjunction with Sony’s Legacy Recordings while the original 1995 cassette bears was offered by NPG Records and Warner Bros. The Versace Experience (Prelude 2 Gold) is the fifth release by The Prince Estate with Legacy Recordings after the 2018 Anthology: 1995-2010 compilation and the reissues of the Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth albums earlier in 2019.

Promotion

The first 2019 reissue was a special release for the Record Store Day (on the same day as a reissue of His Majesty’s Pop Life). The general September release was preceded by a “digital single” of Pussy Control (Club Mix Edit) on 23 August 2019 followed by Rootie Kazootie (Edit) on 6 September 2019.

The compilation reached number 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and 170 on The Billboard 200.

The compact disc version is a reissue from the promotional cassette.

1. Pussy Control (Club Mix) (Edit) (3:04) -
2. Shhh (X-cerpt) (3:55) -
3. Get Wild In The House (2:15) ¹ - The NPG
4. Hate U (Remix) (3:29) -
5. 319 (X-cerpt) (1:28) -
6. Shy (X-cerpt) (2:23) -
7. Billy Jack Bitch (2:31) -
8. Sonny T. (X-cerpt) (0:28) ² - Madhouse
9. Rootie Kazootie (Edit) (2:38) ² - Madhouse
10. Chatounette Controle (2:25) -
11. Pussy Control (Control Tempo) (Edit) (1:23) -
12. Kamasutra Overture # 5 (0:44) - The NPG Orchestra
13. Free The Music (1:44) - The NPG
14. Segue (0:50) -
15. Gold (X-cerpt) (3:34) -

LP

The LP is a reissue from the original promotional cassette

• Side 1:

1. Pussy Control (Club Mix) (Edit) (3:04) -
2. Shhh (X-cerpt) (3:55) -
3. Get Wild In The House (2:15) ¹ - The NPG
4. Hate U (Remix) (3:29) -
5. 319 (X-cerpt) (1:28) -
6. Shy (X-cerpt) (2:23) -

• Side 2:

1. Billy Jack Bitch (2:31) -
2. Sonny T. (X-cerpt) (0:28) ² - Madhouse
3. Rootie Kazootie (Edit) (2:38) ² - Madhouse
4. Chatounette Controle (2:25) -
5. Pussy Control (Control Tempo) (Edit) (1:23) -
6. Kamasutra Overture # 5 (0:44) - The NPG Orchestra
7. Free The Music (1:44) - The NPG
8. Segue (0:50) -
9. Gold (X-cerpt) (3:34) -

The cassette is the original format

• Side A:

1. Pussy Control (Club Mix) (Edit) (3:04) -
2. Shhh (X-cerpt) (3:55) -
3. Get Wild In The House (2:15) ¹ - The NPG
4. Hate U (Remix) (3:29) -
5. 319 (X-cerpt) (1:28) -
6. Shy (X-cerpt) (2:23) -

• Side B:

1. Billy Jack Bitch (2:31) -
2. Sonny T. (X-cerpt) (0:28) ² - Madhouse
3. Rootie Kazootie (Edit) (2:38) ² - Madhouse
4. Chatounette Controle (2:25) -
5. Pussy Control (Control Tempo) (Edit) (1:23) -
6. Kamasutra Overture # 5 (0:44) - The NPG Orchestra
7. Free The Music (1:44) - The NPG
8. Segue (0:50) -
9. Gold (X-cerpt) (3:34) -

1. Pussy Control (Club Mix) (Edit) (3:04) -
2. Shhh (X-cerpt) (3:55) -
3. Get Wild In The House (2:15) ¹ - The NPG
4. Hate U (Remix) (3:29) -
5. 319 (X-cerpt) (1:28) -
6. Shy (X-cerpt) (2:23) -
7. Billy Jack Bitch (2:31) -
8. Sonny T. (X-cerpt) (0:28) ² - Madhouse
9. Rootie Kazootie (Edit) (2:38) ² - Madhouse
10. Chatounette Controle (2:25) -
11. Pussy Control (Control Tempo) (Edit) (1:23) -
12. Kamasutra Overture # 5 (0:44) - The NPG Orchestra
13. Free The Music (1:44) - The NPG
14. Segue (0:50) -

• See individual tracks and related albums for credits.

¹ Written by and Sonny T.
² Written by , Eric Leeds, Michael Bland, Sonny Thompson and Levi Seacer, Jr.

• See individual tracks for credits.

• See individual tracks and respective albums for credits.

• On 29 September 2006, a brand new Versace Experience was aired during the Donatella Versace Spring/Summer 2007 women’s collections show at the Fashion Week in Milan, Italy with Prince in the audience. The 2006 Versace Experience was not available on hard format and was aired only during this fashion show. Prince re-recorded (vocals and instruments) some songs specifically for the event (with some 'Versace' shout-outs) and mixed them together. Two versions were made : a 16-minute mix contained the following tracks: The Journey To The Hanamachi (intro) / Over The Rainbow (intro) / Around The World In A Day / Lolita (intro) / Satisfied / Black Sweat / Kiss / Shhh. The second one is 14-minute long and doesn’t have Satisfied. It contains a new version of Love, a longer version of Lolita and shorter versions of the other songs from the first mix: The Journey To The Hanamachi (intro) / Over The Rainbow (intro) / Around The World In A Day / Lolita / Love / Black Sweat / Kiss / Shhh / Kiss (reprise). It is unclear which one of thoses two mixes was aired during the show.

• The new versions of Love and Black Sweat were also included in an other mix aired during this Fashion week. This compilation contained songs by Prince (sometimes in a remixed form) and other unrelated artists. Prince’s involvement in this third mix may be limited to the 'Versace' versions of Love and Black Sweat. His contribution to the House remix of Kiss is uncertain. This 17-minutes mix contained the following songs : Intro / Kiss (House version) / Let’s Go Crazy intro over a house beat / Groove Is In The Heart(Deee-Lite) / U Got The Look / Ghetto Life ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_James Rick James) / Word Up! Remix (Cameo) / Really Love You (04 Summer Tour Remix) (Paul McCartney) / Groove Is In The Heart (Reprise)(Deee-Lite) / Freakin’ (Soundstream) / Kiss (House version - reprise).

• Some newspapers stated that Prince offered to Donatella Versace, two months before his passing, the 11-minute instrumental that was played at the Milan Fashion Week in June 2016. Since the reports were confusings and mixed different stories with the previous Versace Experiences, it is unclear if that was really the case and if the instrumental that was aired was really composed by Prince.