Unreleased Prince projects

Prince is well known in the entertainment industry for having a vast body of works that have never seen the light of day. It has been said that his vault contains over 50 fully produced music videos that have never been released, along with albums and other media. The following is a list, in rough chronological order, of the most prominent and notorious of these unreleased works. They were later released and circulated among collectors as bootlegs.

The Rebels

Before Prince formed The Time, he considered using his backing band as a side-project called The Rebels. The 1979 project was a group effort, with songs being written and sung by the various members. Andre Cymone and Dez Dickerson each contributed material and a few numbers were sung by Gayle Chapman. Instead of making something that sounded similar to his R&B solo output, Prince wanted go into more rock elements of songs such like "I'm Yours" and "Bambi". The project was eventually shelved feeling that the whole thing sounded too generic, but two of the songs composed by Prince were re-recorded and released much later: "If I Love U 2 Night" by Mica Paris (and later by Prince's wife-to-be Mayte Garcia) and "U" by Paula Abdul. The original Prince guide vocal for "If I Love U 2 Nite" appeared by mistake on the rare Mica Paris Stand for Love EP, of which only a handful exist.

The Second Coming

The Second Coming was planned to be a documentary film and live album from Prince's Controversy tour in 1981. The tour was professionally filmed but the project was abandoned, likely due to Prince's schedule producing The Time and Vanity 6. The title comes from a prerecorded a cappella intro to the tour, immediately preceding the song "Uptown".

The Flesh

The Flesh was a project of live jam sessions recorded in late 1985 to early 1986. The project was abandoned when Prince began work on Parade although a small instrumental portion of a track called "Junk Music" made it into the film Under the Cherry Moon. A circulating outtake from these sessions is titled "U Got 2 Shake Something".

Prince and the Revolution: Dream Factory

Dream Factory was a single, then double LP project recorded with The Revolution from 1986. Unlike the three previous Revolution albums, the entire band was invited into the studio and contributed to most of the original tracks. Many of the tracks would later be incorporated into Crystal Ball (see below) or be released through other outlets over the years.

Camille

Camille is an unreleased album by Prince, recorded in 1986. The album was planned to consist of 8 tracks recorded by the singer in a funky, sped up vocal. The album was to be released under the name Camille (who would not be pictured on the cover) and not as a Prince album. Much of the music has been released officially in some form or another, however, one song, "Rebirth of the Flesh" remains unreleased in its original form. In 2001, a live rehearsal of "Rebirth of the Flesh" recorded with the Sign "☮" the Times band was released on Prince's Web site. This version, however, had profanity edited from the lyrics. The album was canceled weeks prior to its release and most of the tracks were incorporated into unreleased album Crystal Ball, which evolved into Sign "☮" the Times.

1. "Rebirth of the Flesh": Prince recorded this song at Sunset Sound on October 28, 1986, on the same day as "Rockhard in a Funky Place". When the Camille album was shelved, the song was slated for inclusion on Prince's next album project, Crystal Ball. It was going to be the opening track segueing into "Play in the Sunshine". The NPG Music Club made a 1988 Lovesexy Tour rehearsal recording available in September 2001, which means that all the Camille tracks have now been officially released, although the original studio version remains unofficially released on bootlegs.
2. "Housequake"
3. "Strange Relationship"
4. "Feel U Up": This outtake was recorded toward the end of 1981 and was taped in sequence with "Irresistible Bitch". Both songs were re-recorded later. "Feel U Up" was re-recorded in 1986 and the lyrics of both recordings are very similar. The track was finally released in 1989 as the B-side of "Partyman".
5. "Shockadelica": Originally written (unsolicited) by Prince in response to Jesse Johnson's then-forthcoming album titled Shockadelica (1986) because that album had no song to match/complement what Prince felt was such a great album title. "Shockadelica" was later included as a B-side of "If I Was Your Girlfriend".
6. "Good Love": Released on the Bright Lights, Big City film soundtrack in 1988.
7. "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
8. "Rockhard in a Funky Place": Also included on The Black Album (1987) project.

Two other songs were credited to Camille after the album project was abandoned. The first was "Scarlet Pussy", which was released as the B-side of the 1988 single "I Wish U Heaven" featuring a black label with the artist Camille credited in deep peach. Also, "U Got the Look", which appeared on Sign "☮" the Times and was also released as a single. The video was recorded in France while Prince was on tour and the video was later added into the film Sign "☮" the Times.

Prince would later resurrect the character of Camille for the 1988 Lovesexy tour. Within the show, "Camille" sang in a low tone, with Prince's vocal filtered to sound slower. Prince has used this technique on numerous occasions, uncredited to Camille. Prince confirms in the Lovesexy tour book that "Camille" is the creator of "The Black Album".

Crystal Ball

(not to be confused with Crystal Ball (album set))

Crystal Ball was a 3-LP set to be released in 1987, The set was to consist of various tracks from 1985–1986. Although several Dream Factory tracks were incorporated, this set was to be marketed as a solo album by Prince. Warner Bros. Records balked at the album's length so Prince begrudgingly trimmed it to the 2-LP Sign “☮” the Times, which many still consider to be his best album. The album is notable for two reasons; it was the last studio album to be recorded with The Revolution and the events said to have surrounded its recording led to the resignation of both Wendy & Lisa, effectively dissolving Prince's band until the creation of the New Power Generation.

Madhouse: 24

Prince worked on a third Madhouse album in 1987–1988 that was never released, featuring the cover model Maneca Lightner. Some of the tracks were altered and reused on Eric Leeds's Times Squared album released in 1991. Interestingly, a totally different version of 24 was recorded with members of The New Power Generation and Eric Leeds in 1993, but this also was not released, with the exception of the track "17" of the 1-800-NEW-FUNK compilation album. Some of the tracks were on the rare "Sampler Experience" cassette. Both versions of the album circulate on the internet.

Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic

The original Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic album was shelved when Prince started working on the Batman soundtrack in late 1988. The album shared some tracks with Graffiti Bridge and the title track was finally released in 1999 on a new album of the same name.

M.C. Flash

In 1989 Prince formed a new band called M.C. Flash, featuring Margie Cox (of Ta Mara and the Seen) as lead singer. In July, Cox recorded 25 songs written by Prince for a planned album. No M.C. Flash album or singles were ever released. The only songs to be released as a result of Prince and Cox's work together was her cover of Prince's "Standing at the Altar" for his 1994 compilation album 1-800-NEW-FUNK, and the B-side of that single, "Whistlin' Kenny".

The Tora Tora Experience

At the height of his troubles with Warner Bros. Records in 1994, Prince contributed under the moniker Tora Tora on the NPG's Exodus album. Happy with this pseudonym, a full album was recorded, but it remains unreleased. Very little is known about this project, but it was mentioned on the 1995 "Sampler Experience" cassette by the tracks "(Lemme See Your Body) Get Loose!" a remix of "Loose!" from Prince's 1994 Come album.

The Undertaker

This recording was made in a continuous single live-in-the-studio pass in collaboration with NPG drummer Michael Bland and bassist Sonny T. Prince originally intended to give this live CD away free with 1,000 copies of Guitar Player magazine in 1994 (uploading an original The Undertaker CD to iTunes, shows the year 1995 as the year the CD was "released"), but he was reportedly barred by Warner Bros. from doing so. Copies were leaked and bootlegged. The songs were guitar-heavy versions of rock and blues numbers, including a cover of The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women" and new recording of "Bambi" (originally from 1979's Prince). The title track was a cover of a song previously given to Mavis Staples, while "The Ride", "Zannalee", and "Dolphin" would all be re-recorded future releases. A video recording of the performance was released in Europe (on VHS and Laserdisc) with small edits throughout the performance and "Dolphin" replaced by the audio track from the official video of the song from The Gold Experience.

Track listing

1. "The Ride" – 10:54
2. "Poor Goo" – 4:26
3. "Honky Tonk Women" – 3:00
4. "Bambi" – 4:49
5. "Zannalee (Prelude)" - 0:44
6. "The Undertaker" – 9:50
7. "Dolphin" – 3:40

Prince and Mayte: Happy Tears

With the pregnancy of Prince's then-wife Mayte Garcia, Prince was inspired to make and announce a children's music album called Happy Tears, credited to Prince and Mayte. The album was supposed to have been released on November/1996. The album was going to include a book of children's stories with it, also credited to Prince and Mayte. To promote the album, Prince guest-starred on the show Muppets Tonight, and performed the only song confirmed that would have been included on the album, "She Gave Her Angels", which remained unreleased until inclusion on the "Crystal Ball" set. The album was likely cancelled due to Prince's son Gregory's death one week after birth.

The Dawn

The Dawn was to be the first Prince album after Emancipation, but it was shelved in 1997. An acoustic version of the title track can be found on The Truth. Prince had often thought of releasing an album called 'The Dawn' at many points during his career. The earliest known incarnation of 'The Dawn' was from 1986, and seems to have been some kind of musical (an idea that eventually resurfaced as 'Graffiti Bridge'). Another incarnation of 'The Dawn' was assembled around 1994, soon after Prince changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol. This time the content was made from tracks that would later surface on Come and The Gold Experience. The last known incarnation of the album was assembled in 1997, this time it came very close to release, and was even advertised on the back of the free cassette single of 'The Holy River' given away at 'Borders' stores in 1997.

Roadhouse Garden

In 1998, Prince announced a comeback album of Prince & The Revolution that consisted of unreleased songs. It was most likely never released because of a dispute with the original Revolution members. One of the mentioned songs, "Splash" was released on Prince's website. According to former Revolution keyboardist Dr. Fink, Prince asked for Wendy and Lisa's input on the album, but he didn't offer any compensation, so they declined his offer. Later, when people asked about the Roadhouse Garden album, his reply was "Ask Wendy and Lisa."

Newfunk sampling CD series

A 7-CD set of Prince samples for producers and DJs was announced in 1999 for a onetime fee of $700. It remains unreleased.

Crystal Ball 2

This was a follow up to the 1998 outtake album Crystal Ball. Fans who attended Prince's Paisley Park Studios during June 2000 were given the opportunity to vote for their favorite outtakes out of a list of 23 and 17 were selected. For unknown reasons it was never produced.

The tracks included the following:

• "3 Nigs Watchin' a Kung Fu Movie"
• "Adonis & Bathsheba"
• "American Jam"
• "Come Electra Tuesday" (not selected)
• "Electric Intercourse"
• "Everybody Wants What They Don't Got"
• "Evolsidog"
• "Eye Wonder"
• "Girl" (not selected)
• "Girl o' My Dreams"
• "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" (not selected)
• "If It'll Make U Happy" (not selected)
• "Katrina's Paper Dolls"
• "Kiss" (Unreleased Xtended Version)
• "Love & Sex"
• "Lust U Always"
• "Others Here with Us"
• "She's Just a Baby" (not selected)
• "Strange Way of Saying Eye Love U"
• "Turn It Up"
• "U're All Eye Want"
• "Xtra Lovable"

DVD

Another little-known project that was due to be released at the same time as Crystal Ball II was an accompanying Crystal Ball DVD. This was to contain music videos made for tracks off both volumes of the Crystal Ball albums.

The Hot X-perience

In 2000, a vinyl maxi single was announced. It would contain new club remixes of "Hot Wit U" featuring Eve.

On July 19, 2000, DJ Wolf played some unreleased mixes, likely from The Hot X-perience, at a club known as The Front in Minneapolis, Minnesota:

• "Hot Wit You" (Nasty Girl Remix)
• "Hot Wit You" (Rap remix)
• "Underneath the Cream"
• "So Far, So Pleased" (a club-dance remix—mixed with portions of "Rave un2 the Joy Fantastic")
• "Hot Wit You" (a club-dance remix)

"Underneath the Cream" was later released on Prince's website and an edit of the Nasty Girl Remix was released on the remix album Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic.

High

In 2000 High was fully complete and ready to release in the summer of 2000, but the album was never released. A video was recorded for the song "U Make My Sun Shine", a duet with Angie Stone, and it was also released as a single. A video was also made for "Daisy Chain," featuring Prince playing basketball in his own court at Paisley Park. Most songs were distributed individually via his NPG Music Club. "Silicon," "Daisy Chain" and "Golden Parachute" were also included on the internet-only The Slaughterhouse project. Prince released The Rainbow Children instead.

The track listing as revealed on proposed cover artwork was as follows:

1. High
2. My Medallion
3. Vavoom
4. Sex Me, Sex Me Not
5. Golden Parachute
6. When Will We B Paid
7. Gamillah
8. Supercute
9. Underneath the Cream
10. Daisy Chain
11. Silicon
12. U Make My Sun Shine
13. When I Lay My Hands on U

NPG: Peace

During the "Hit and Run Tour" in 2001, an NPG single from what was billed as the forthcoming new NPG album, 'Peace' was sold. It featured the title track, "Peace" coupled with "2045: Radical Man". The album remains unreleased, while "2045: Radical Man" was given to Spike Lee for his Bamboozled soundtrack. Instead, "Peace" and "2045: Radical Man" were later released on the internet-only release of The Slaughterhouse.

Untitled Kevin Smith-directed documentary

In the summer of 2001, actor-director Kevin Smith contacted Prince to gain permission to use "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" for a scene in his movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Although he was denied permission, he agreed to film a documentary of reactions, questions and answers during one of Prince's fan weeks at his recording studios, Paisley Park. Most of the footage comes from five sessions of Prince and Smith discussing music with fans. The footage still resides in Prince's vault, while some was used to promote The Rainbow Children album and as background video at some of his live concerts.

According to An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder, Prince was intending to edit the film into a promotional movie for Jehovah's Witnesses.

Madrid 2 Chicago

A new album was announced for 2001. The title track and "Breathe" were distributed via the NPG Music Club, but the full album remains unreleased.

Last December

Announced in the "One Nite Alone..." tour book in March 2002, the title is a track from The Rainbow Children. The album has never materialized.

The Chocolate Invasion

In 2003 it was announced that the members-only tracks from the first years of the NPG Music Club would be released in a 7-CD boxed set containing:

• C-Note
• Xpectation
• One Nite Alone... - Solo Piano & Voice
• The Chocolate Invasion - Trax from NPGMC Volume 1
• The Slaughterhouse - Trax from NPGMC Volume 2
• "The Glam Slam Club Mix"
• "The War"

In November 2003, a problem with manufacturing was reported, and the project was put on hold. The only albums that have become available on CD in limited editions before were "The War", available through 1-800-NEW-FUNK in 1998 and One Nite Alone..., sent to NPG Music Club members in 2002 as part of the annual subscription. Furthermore, all albums have been made available for download (in some cases with tracks varying very slightly) via the NPG Music Club at various stages. An excerpt of "The Glam Slam Club Mix" was possibly part of NPG Ahdio Show #11 and available as a free download in December 2001, C-Note and Xpectation were free downloads for members in January 2003 and became available in the NPG Music Club store in 2004, together with One Nite Alone..., The Chocolate Invasion and The Slaughterhouse.

3121 film

Near the end of 2005, Prince had written and produced for the singer Liza Hernandez (also known as Liza Lena) and, according to the Panamanian news site Prensa.com, "Has maintained a good friendship since they filmed together the film 31-21," and was, according to the site, supposed to be released in April 2006. There are references to the film on a few Prince forums, which, unfortunately for the sake of authenticity, only refer back to quotes from unofficial, unknown, or expired sources. There are no references to the film found on either Prince's official newsletter 3121.com or in the Internet Movie Database. The cover of the 3121 CD reads '3121 - The Music', further fuelling speculation of a 3121 movie. In April 2011, a fully produced trailer for the movie leaked on the net and stated that the movie is "Coming Soon".

Támar: Milk & Honey

During the 3121 sessions, Prince and Támar worked on her debut album. Originally Beautiful, Loved and Blessed, it was renamed Milk & Honey. Originally, it was going to be released with Prince's 3121, but it was postponed before being cancelled altogether.

External links

• List of unreleased songs written by Prince for other artists
• List of Prince bootleg material
• The Emancipation Radio Show
• Overview of unreleased albums at The Prince Vault