The Black Album

About

The Black Album is the untitled sixteenth studio album by Prince that was released on November 22, 1994 due to a contract dispute. Just before the album was released to the market in 1987, Prince recalled all copies and abandoned the entire project, leaving roughly 100 European promotional copies in circulation, and several US copies that would be widely bootlegged in the coming years. Several reasons, including speculative ones, have been given as to why the release was derailed: Prince became convinced that the album was evil or represented an ominous portent. Prince experienced a crisis of conscience and marketing identity over the eroticism and violence of its lyrics. Warner Bros. Records, his record label, reached the same conclusion Further evidence that Prince felt the album was a mistake: In his first music video of his next album, "Alphabet St.", the video can be paused after it shows him holding a cane and the words "Don't buy The Black Album. I'm sorry" can be read running vertically. Immediately after the decision to pull the album from stores, it emerged on the streets in bootleg form, arguably becoming popular music's most legendary bootleg since The Beach Boys aborted 1967 album Smile. Several celebrities, including U2's frontmen the Edge and Bono, cited it as one of their favorite albums of 1988 (Rolling Stone magazine celebrity poll). The album was originally planned for release on December 7, 1987, as the follow-up to Sign o' the Times and was to appear in a entirely black sleeve with no title or even a credit to Prince; hence it was referred to as The Black Album. Dubbed The Funk Bible by preceding press releases, and in a hidden message within the album itself, the work seemed to be a reaction to criticism that Prince had become too pop-oriented. It was his attempt to regain his African-American audience. The 1987 promo-only release had no printed title, artist name, production credits or photography printed; a simple black sleeve accompanied the disc. On promotional copies, only a song listing and catalog number—25677—were printed on the disc itself. The commercial version was to only have the catalog number printed in the color pink on the spine. The original compact disc pressing was made by Sony DADC rather than WEA Manufacturing. The album was withdrawn a week before its release date, and was replaced with the album Lovesexy, a brighter pop-oriented album with elements of religious affirmation.

via Last.fm

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