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Jun 07, 2018 Prince By Christopher Roberts

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When Prince passed away in 2016 he left behind a huge vault filled with unreleased material and so we can probably expect new albums from him for years to come. Today, on what would have been Prince’s 60th birthday, his estate has announced a new album, Piano & A Microphone 1983, which is due out on Warner Bros. on September 21. It is culled from a previously unheard home studio cassette recorded in 1983 at Prince’s Kiowa Trail home studio in Chanhassen, MN and just features Prince singing and playing piano. It includes an early version of future hit “Purple Rain,” but today Warner Bros. have shared the album’s version of “Mary Don’t Weep,” a cover of a 19th century spiritual. Listen below, followed by the album’s tracklist. Above is the cover art.

“Mary Don’t Weep” will also be featured in the end credits Spike Lee’s upcoming movie BlacKkKlansman, which is in theaters this August. The album includes a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You.” The booklet will include new liner written by Prince’s then engineer Don Batts, plus previously unseen candid photos of Prince. The cover art is a backstage photo of Prince taken by frequent collaborator Allen Beaulieu during the 1999 tour.

Prince Estate entertainment adviser Troy Carter had this to say about the album in a press release: “This raw, intimate recording, which took place at the start of Prince’s career right before he achieved international stardom, is similar in format to the Piano & A Microphone Tour that he ended his career with in 2016. The Estate is excited to be able to give fans a glimpse of his evolution and show how his career ultimately came full circle with just him and his piano.”

Piano & A Microphone 1983 Tracklist:

01 17 Days
02 Purple Rain
03 A Case of You
04 Mary Don’t You Weep
05 Strange Relationship
06 International Lover
07 Wednesday
08 Cold Coffee & Cocaine
09 Why the Butterflies

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