Prince - Black Album (1988 Bootleg)

Media: Very Good Plus (VG+)

Sleeve: Very Good Plus (VG+)

One of the most notorious records in Prince’s catalogue, The Black Album was originally scheduled for release in 1987 before Prince abruptly pulled it just days before it was due to hit the shops. Copies were destroyed, bootlegs quickly circulated and the album became one of pop music’s great lost records, before finally receiving an official release in 1994.

Musically, it’s Prince at his rawest, strangest and funkiest. Stripped of the brighter pop sheen of some of his better-known records, The Black Album dives deep into dirty funk, skeletal drum-machine grooves, warped humour and late-night psychedelia. Tracks like Le Grind, Cindy C. and the brilliantly sinister Bob George make this feel less like a conventional Prince album and more like being allowed into one of the darker corners of the Paisley Park vault.

A fascinating, uncompromising piece of Prince history, and an essential one for anyone digging beyond the obvious classics.