Originals
Demo album by
Prince
ReleasedJune 7, 2019 (2019-06-07)
Recorded1981–1985, 1991
Length63:49
Label
ProducerPrince
Prince chronology
Piano and a Microphone 1983
(2018)		 Originals
(2019)		 Welcome 2 America
(2021)

Originals is a posthumous demo album by American musician Prince, released through Warner Records on June 7, 2019 (on what would have been Prince's 61st birthday), exclusively through Tidal, with a wide release following on June 21, 2019.[1] It compiles the original demo versions of songs Prince wrote and gave to other artists. All except for Prince's recording of "Nothing Compares 2 U", which was first officially released in 2018, were previously unreleased.[2] The demo album was met with widespread critical acclaim, and debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200, as well as the top 10 in Belgium, Hungary, Portugal, and Switzerland.

Background

The songs were written and the demos recorded from the early 1980s to the early 1990s,[3] but a specific emphasis was placed on those recorded between 1981 and 1985 due to the size of Prince's unreleased archive.[1] Troy Carter, a music manager and entertainment adviser to Prince's estate, selected the tracks, with some input from Jay-Z, who "pushed" for Prince's demo for Martika's 1991 single "Love... Thy Will Be Done" to be included.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic88/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Paste8.6/10[6]
Pitchfork9.5/10[7]
The Guardian[8]
NME[9]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[10]
Rolling Stone[11]

Originals was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 88, based on 17 reviews.[12]

Rebecca Bengal of Pitchfork awarded the album a "Best New Reissue" tag and said that "Hearing Prince sing these songs that he gave to other performers brings you close to the pulse of his artistry: transgressive, funky, sexy, a testament to his genius even in the form of demos."[7] Wyndham Wallace of Classic Pop wrote that "the slow unveiling of Prince's private recordings remains suitably seductive, if – true to form – wilfully unpredictable," noting that the record's "greatest revelation is how few artists strayed far from the Prince template of these Originals."[13] Adam Mattera in Echoes wrote "fans can debate amongst themselves whether Morris Day’s pimp loverboy croon tops Prince’s coquettish Valentino vocal approach to the creamy slow jam "Gigolos Get Lonely Too", but what’s in no doubt is the virtuosity of the talent that tossed out these funk diamonds and pop pearls with abandon through the 80s into the mid 90s."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Prince, except where noted

Originals track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
1."Sex Shooter" Apollonia 63:06
2."Jungle Love"Prince, Morris Day, Jesse JohnsonThe Time3:04
3."Manic Monday" The Bangles2:51
4."Noon Rendezvous"Prince, Sheila E.Sheila E.3:00
5."Make-Up" Vanity 62:27
6."100 MPH" Mazarati3:30
7."You're My Love" Kenny Rogers4:24
8."Holly Rock"Prince, Sheila E.Sheila E.6:38
9."Baby, You're a Trip" Jill Jones5:51
10."The Glamorous Life" Sheila E.4:12
11."Gigolos Get Lonely Too" The Time4:41
12."Love... Thy Will Be Done"Prince, MartikaMartika4:07
13."Dear Michaelangelo"Prince, Sheila E.Sheila E.5:22
14."Wouldn't You Love to Love Me?" Taja Sevelle5:56
15."Nothing Compares 2 U" The Family4:40
Total length:63:49
Japanese and Target editions bonus track
No.TitleLength
16."Nothing Compares 2 U" (Cinematic Mix)4:24

Charts

Release history

Release history and formats for Originals
Region Release date Version Format
Various[3] June 7, 2019 Standard (Tidal only) Streaming
June 21, 2019 Standard (other retailers)
July 19, 2019
  • Standard
  • limited deluxe

References

  1. 1 2 3 Edwards, Gavin (May 29, 2019). "Next Out of Prince's Vaults: The Hits He Gave Away". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  2. ↑ Breihan, Tom (April 25, 2019). "Prince 'Originals' Album Coming In June: See The Tracklist". Stereogum. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Schatz, Lake (April 25, 2019). "New Prince album, Originals, to feature previously unreleased demos". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Originals by Prince Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  5. ↑ Erlewine, Thomas. Review: Originals Allmusic. Retrieved 2020-07-30
  6. ↑ "Prince: Originals Album Review". Paste.
  7. 1 2 Bengal, Rebecca (June 7, 2019). "Prince: Originals Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Prince: Originals review – his hits, his way". The Guardian. June 21, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Prince – 'Prince: Originals' review". June 13, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Prince's 'Originals' is a unique look into the late artist's songwriting prowess". EW.com.
  11. ↑ Hermes, Will (June 5, 2019). "Prince's 'Originals' Gathers Blueprints of His Handed-Off Hits".
  12. ↑ Originals by Prince, retrieved 2020-05-05
  13. ↑ Wallace, Wyndham (June 2019). "Reviews". Classic Pop (53): 81.
  14. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Prince – Originals". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Prince – Originals" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Prince – Originals" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Prince – Originals" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Prince Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – Originals" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Prince – Originals". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Prince – Originals" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2019. 27. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Prince". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Prince – Originals". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Originals on Billboard Japan Hot Albums". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2019-07-01" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Prince – Originals". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Prince – Originals". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Prince – Originals". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Prince – Originals". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Prince Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2019". Ultratop. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
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