On June 23rd the estate of Prince will release a very special edition of his magnum opus, Purple Rain.
In February, it was announced that Prince’s estate and NPG Records came to an agreement with Universal Music Group for exclusive rights to the late artist’s catalog of music recorded and released through NPG after going independent in the mid-90s. The deal includes a library of 25 albums and access to the prized vault of unreleased works, including outtakes, demos and live recordings.
However, Warner Bros. — the label Prince was signed to when he recorded Purple Rain — will release an expanded deluxe edition of the masterpiece, which will contain a complete remastering of the original album (done by the original engineer, Bernie Grundman), several edits, extended mixes, and a second album’s worth of previously unreleased material.
Following the first offering, “Electric Intercourse,” a second song, “Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden” has surfaced. “Our Destiny” has contributing vocals from Lisa Coleman (a former member of Prince’s backing band The Revolution), while “Roadhouse Garden” features vocals from Coleman and Matthew Robert “Doctor” Fink (another member of The Revolution). Both of these songs songs were recorded on Prince’s 26th birthday, in 1984.
Pre-order the deluxe, expanded edition of Purple Rain on iTunes now.
