Prince Estate Releases Funky, Career-Spanning ‘Timeless’ Vault Album Commemorating 10th Anniversary of Singer’s Death: Listen
The collection of rare and previously unreleased songs were recorded between 1977 and 2016, including material recorded when The Purple One was a teenager.
Prince
The Prince estate released the 10-song vault collection Timeless on Friday (Aug. 28), a funky collection of rare and previously unreleased songs from the late pop icon’s infamously stacked vault as part of a year-long commemoration of the 10th anniversary of his death.
The Estate — which released the set in partnership with Legacy Recordings — said it represents the first-ever Prince release to cover every major era of the singer’s career, spanning recordings tracked when he was a Minneapolis teenager in 1977 through ones cut in 2016; Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose on April 21, 2016 at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota.
The set opens with the horn-spiked funk jam “I Am You,” which, like most of the songs on the collection was written arranged, performed and produced almost entirely by Prince as a yearning plea for a lover’s return. It was recorded at Minneapolis’ Sound 89 studio in 1977 when he was just 19 years old.
It’s followed-up by the blitzing, punky lust bomb of 1981’s “Tick Tick Bang,” which was released on the Graffiti Bridge album nine years later with a more funk-forward feel. “Heaven,” a spare pop jam from 1985, features backing vocals from Prince’s former girlfriend and Revolution band member singer Susannah Melvoin, while 1989’s “I Wonder” has a loping, gospel-country vibe. The emotional, lush piano ballad “With This Tear” (1991) was tracked before Prince gave the song to Celine Dion, who recorded it for her self-titled 1992 LP.
The latter was previously released as a single from the collection alongside “Stone,” a previously unreleased slow-burn R&B tune from 1995. The set is rounded out by the 2003 hand-clapping soul jam “Calabama,” 2007’s rock burner “The Guilty Ones” and 2012’s majestic “Bestest Friend.” The final track is a live version of the fan-favorite non-album 1999 B-side “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?,” recorded live at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. on March, 4, 2015, a month before Prince’s passing.
The set was mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer/producer Chris James (Plectrumelectrum) and produced for compilation by estate co-manager L. Londell McMillan, who said in a statement, “Timeless describes Prince in many ways, even beyond his musical genius. Prince was indeed one of only one, a legendary artist and master musician with unprecedented style, faith, courage, dignity and brilliance. His overall essence and spirit remains timeless. This current album covers 5 decades of Prince’s music from 1977 through 2016 with unreleased music from the Prince Vault, all on one album. Enjoy this music project along with his legendary catalog of released music, as it all is TIMELESS and more to come this year and beyond.”
In addition to the album, the estate dropped an official video for “The Guilty Ones,” featuring a compilation of live and music video footage spanning the singer’s career.
Listen to Timeless and watch “The Guilty Ones” video below.
