There are a multitude of modern artists and/or bands that announce and prepare albums that never see the light of day, at least not in their original form. The wider audience or even the hardcore set of fans don’t learn about that fact, or don’t bother to care.
Yet, when it is a case of big name artists, things just tend to turn into something quite substantial, and even the great artists like Bob Dylan and Neil Young (he had a few of those) have or had albums that didn’t get released at some point or other in one or any shape or form.
Still, there are two albums in such stories that stand out: The Beach Boys’ Smile album and Prince’s (so-called) ‘Black Album.’ Some serious urban legends have been created about both albums, combining both fact and fiction, igniting serious demand.
And while with Smile it was a case of the album never actually being finished or released in its original form, ‘Black Album’ had a somewhat different story.
A True “Funk Bible”
The reason Prince’s project has been dubbed the ‘Black Album’ is because it was never actually supposed to have a title, nor was it supposed to be credited to any specific artist ― it was just supposed to have a black cover with no information on it, except its catalog number on the album’s spine.
Not only was the album fully finished, but Warner Brothers, who were set to release the album in December of 1987, had already begun its rollout, even though the company had its concerns about releasing it only nine months after the genre-sprawling (and excellent) double album that was Sign O’ The Times. There were 500.000 copies of the album pressed and some 2000 promo copies were already sent to Europe.
It seems to be a large impetus behind the album for Prince was that it was meant to be a sort of lexicon of funk ― a “funk bible” as it was later dubbed ― responding to some critics and fans that claimed he was “going too pop.”
Yet, suddenly, and as the stories circulate, after a night of some solid ecstasy abuse, Prince notified WB a week before the album’s official release that he is pulling the album and that it should be not released in any shape or form. Prince was actually anti-drug use, and as some fans insist he was persuaded to use the drug by Minneapolis poet Ingrid Chavez, who he only met at the time.
As the story goes, the explanation he gave was that he was possessed by “a demonic entity” named Spooky Electric conjured by Camille (another entity after which another of his previously cancelled albums was named). In any case, at that time, the ‘Black Album’ was lost. Or so it seemed.
From Wild Copies and Bootlegs to an ‘Official’ Release
The story of the cancellation got wide attention in music circles and through the years, ‘Black Album’ became one of, if not the most, bootlegged album around. Yet, it also turned out that a number of original pressings of the album survived (five sealed copies were found in the collection of a former WB executive), and fetched exorbitant prices at auctions.
That made WB insist that the album finally be released in full. The first attempt was set for its release in 1991 as part of a greatest hits package, but Prince ‘prevented’ this by submitting the Diamonds and Pearls project, so the greatest hits one didn’t materialize.
By 1994, Prince’s aura was somewhat waning, and his financial situation wasn’t looking too hot. So, after a $1,000,000 incentive from WB, he decided to allow the official release of the ‘Black Album.’ This time though, WB printed both the artist’s name and its (un)official title, dubbing it (rightfully) as legendary.
As, you listen to the eight original songs prepared for the album, you realize all the inventiveness and genius of Prince, and the fact that he was able to fully suss out all of the key elements of any specific musical genre, in this case funk (from James Brown to Sly Stone and beyond) and turn it into something quite specific and personal. No wonder this album became the stuff of legends.
