We knew it was coming, these things always do. You can see it as cashing in, or you can choose to see it as an appropriate celebration of a musical legacy. If nothing was released following the death of a great and beloved musician, that would certainly cause outrage so maybe the record company can't win? Anyway, enough of that debate, let's focus on the music, there is NEW PRINCE MUSIC to get excited about.
NPG Records and Warner Bros. Records have announced a new Prince release that will celebrate the iconic artist’s music and offer fans access to previously unreleased material from his legendary Paisley Park vault (estimated to be worth a cool $500 mill). This will be the first recordings released since his sudden passing at the age of 57 on April 21 of this year.
Prince 4Ever (released on November 25) will collect together 40 of Prince’s best-loved songs, including, of course, the blockbuster hits "When Doves Cry", "Let’s Go Crazy", "Kiss", "Little Red Corvette", "Purple Rain", "Raspberry Beret", "Sign ‘O’ The Times", "Alphabet Street", "Batdance" and "Cream".
But where's the new stuff, we hear you ask?
Prince 4Ever will include "Moonbeam Levels", a previously unreleased song originally recorded in 1982 during the 1999 sessions and later considered for the never released Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic album. Prince 4Ever will also come with a 12-page booklet of never-before-seen photos by acclaimed photographer Herb Ritts.
PRINCE 4EVER TRACKLISTING:
1. 1999
2. Little Red Corvette
3. When Doves Cry
4. Let’s Go Crazy
5. Raspberry Beret
6. I Wanna Be Your Lover
7. Soft and Wet
8. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad
9. Uptown
10. When You Were Mine
11. Head
12. Gotta Stop (Messin’ About)
13. Controversy
14. Let’s Work
15. Delirious
16. I Would Die 4 U
17. Take Me With U
18. Paisley Park
19. Pop Life
20. Purple Rain
21. Kiss
22. Sign ‘O’ The Times
23. Alphabet Street
24. Batdance
25. Thieves In The Temple
26. Cream
27. Mountains
28. Girls & Boys
29. If I Was Your Girlfriend
30. U Got The Look
31. I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man
32. Glam Slam
33. Moonbeam Levels
34. Diamonds and Pearls
35. Gett Off
36. Sexy MF
37. My Name Is Prince
38. 7
39. Peach
40. Nothing Compares 2 U
If that's not enough, you don't have to wait long for more - in early 2017, a new remastered and remixed version of Prince's classic 1984 album Purple Rain, which Prince signed off on before his death, will be released, featuring old and new songs. But that's all we know on that for now - we'll share further details on this release when they come in.
- RB
