Prince wasn’t only revered for his years of amazing pop hits; he was known also for the songs he wrote for other artists. We’re talking huge hits like Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and the Bangles’ “Manic Monday,” which were all written by the Purple One. And soon, Prince’s versions of many of those songs will become available to fans for the first time.
Prince always recorded a version of those tracks himself first as demos, many of which have never been heard by anyone. Until now that is. Via Variety, the Prince Estate has announced that Originals, a 15-track album of Prince’s versions of songs he wrote for other artists is arriving in June, just in time for what would have been the artist’s 61st birthday. Originals will be streaming exclusively on Tidal starting on June 7, in partnership with Warner Bros. Records. These tracks were chosen by Troy Carter, on behalf of The Prince Estate, and producer Jay-Z.
The Tidal stream will be exclusive for 14 days, and then Warner Bros. will release the album via all download and streaming partners and physically on CD on June 21. More serious collectors will be able to get hands on the 180 gram 2LP and limited edition Deluxe CD+2LP formats on July 19. The image for the cover is taken from publicity photo sessions of Prince during the “Dirty Mind” era of the early ’80s, just before he broke out into mega stardom with 1999.
Among the more well known hits included on this album are “Sex Shooter,” the 1984 hit from Vanity 6, and “Jungle Love” from Morris Day and the Time. Both songs were performed in Purple Rain the movie. The previously released Prince version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” will also be included. You can pre-order Originals by clicking here.
Images: Warner Brothers Records one
