Hundreds, if not thousands, Prince bootlegs are in circulation. Hundreds of thousands copies of The Black Album bootleg were sold before it was officially released in 1994. The quest for Prince material was serious business. It became clear that Prince recorded more, much more, music than could ever be released.

The planned, and subsequently retracted, release of The Black Album played a crucial part in that. In the 1990’s Prince was one of the most bootlegged artists of all time (maybe he still is). In other words: all recordings not officially released by an artist, or a record company the artist is/was signed to, is a so-called bootleg: a recording of a concert, aftershow, rehearsal or studio recording obtained illegally. Bootlegs usually consist of either unreleased studio recordings, live performances or interviews with an unpredictable level of quality. Recordings may be copied and traded among fans of the artist without financial exchange, but some bootleggers have sold recordings for profit, sometimes by adding professional-quality sound engineering and packaging to the raw material. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging. What constitutes a bootleg? Wikipedia states:Ī bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. This article holds the ultimate top 25, based on 5 different lists. Ample reason to dive into the world of Prince bootlegs and to compile a ‘must have’ list. Prince is one of the most bootlegged artists of all time.

More on this when we get it.ĤEVER will be released on 25 November (22 Nov in the US).Bootlegs and Prince. It will definitely include “a second album of previously unreleased material,” with plans apparently agreed with Prince before his death. The Purple Rain deluxe edition has been promised for “early next year”. This new set comes with a 12-page booklet with previously unpublished photos by Herb Ritts. Almost everything here was a single, although Prince’s only UK number one, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World is an unfortunate omission (it was originally issued on NPG Records, of course). era and includes the previously unreleased Moonbeam Levels (recorded in 1982 for the 1999 sessions). Warners will issue 4EVER, a brand new Prince hits collection (and the first ‘new’ posthumous release), next month with the long-awaited deluxe edition of Purple Rain to follow in 2017.ĤEVER is a fairly comprehensive two-CD 40-track collection that spans Prince’s Warner Bro. Hits set for Nov, with Purple Rain deluxe in early 2017

The very best of prince rar