Prince: New album 'Piano & A Microphone 1983' will release in September

Prince recorded music which has never previously been released Back in 1983. Following the approval of the late singer’s estate, the new album, “Piano & A Microphone 1983,” is set for release in September this year. The news of the album’s release coincided with what would have been the singer's 60th birthday. In other news, a rare copy of one of Prince's albums has turned up online in Canada.

New album includes music from home recordings by Prince

Warner Bros. Records confirmed on July 7th, 2018, that the album “Piano & A Microphone’ will be released in September. The album consists of a series of home recordings made in Prince’s home studio in Kiowa Trail, Chanhassen, Minnesota in 1983, with him singing at the piano. Don Batts engineered the recordings.

The album includes a cover by Prince of the Joni Mitchell song “A Case Of You,” along with earlier versions of his iconic hit, “Purple Rain,” as well as “Strange Relationship” and “17 Days.” Prince also made a recording of a spiritual song from the 19th Century, “Mary Don’t You Weep,” with the latter song set to appear on the soundtrack of an upcoming movie by Spike Lee, “BlaKkKlansman.” The song can also be heard right now on Spotify and is included below for readers' enjoyment as a YouTube video.

Prince album is available for pre-order

As reported by the BBC, the iconic album is set for release on 21st September but is already available for pre-order on LP, CD, Deluxe CD and LP, and digital release. BBC cited Troy Carter, the entertainment advisor for Prince’s estate, as saying that the new release is a “raw and intimate recording,” which is similar to the singer’s “Piano & A Microphone Tour” back in 2016. Carter continued by saying Prince’s estate is excited to give fans a look at his evolution, which eventually came full circle, with just the singer and his piano.

Rare Prince album found in Canada

As reported by NME, a rare copy of the singer’s “The Black Album” in vinyl recently turned up online.

There are only an estimated six copies of the rare album, which was set for release in 1987 with the title “The Funk Bible.” However, Prince had what he called a “spiritual epiphany” at the time and called the musical content “evil,” demanding that all the 500,000 copies be destroyed without releasing them. Prince did later give permission for the album to be released on cassette and CD, but never on vinyl. Five of the initial vinyl albums have turned up in America in recent months. Fans can enjoy a playlist of that whole album on YouTube.