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Two new Prince releases, including music from the vault, on the way

by Cecilia Johnson

October 21, 2016

Prince fans won't have to wait much longer for a taste of music from the vault. On Thursday night, NPG Records and Warner Bros. Records announced two new releases — the first ones since Prince's death on April 21 — and both will share music that was previously unreleased.

The first project, Prince 4Ever, comes out on Nov. 22 in the United States and will go global Nov. 25; the title stays faithful to Prince's eclectic spelling and his fans' ardent dedication. Prince 4Ever is the fourth "greatest hits" album of the artist's career, and only The Hits/The B-Sides (1993) is longer; Prince 4Ever runs for 40 tracks (including "I Would Die 4 U," "Let's Go Crazy," "When Doves Cry," "Kiss," "Purple Rain," Batman (1989) song "Batdance," and many more).

In a compilation curveball, Prince 4Ever contains not just old favorites, but also a new song, which Prince kept unreleased for decades. It's called "Moonbeam Levels," and according to the press release, it was recorded back in 1982 (the year 1999 came out, sparking the beginning of Prince's most commercially successful period).

The second of the two releases will be a deluxe Purple Rain set, which will contain remasters of the classic soundtrack and a second album of "previously unreleased material." The deluxe Purple Rain's release date has not yet been finalized, but it's expected early next year.

Here's a rundown of Prince 4Ever's track list:

1. 1999

2. Little Red Corvette

3. When Doves Cry

4. Let's Go Crazy

5. Raspberry Beret

6. I Wanna Be Your Lover

7. Soft and Wet

8. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad

9. Uptown

10. When You Were Mine

11. Head

12. Gotta Stop (Messin' About)

13. Controversy

14. Let's Work

15. Delirious

16. I Would Die 4 U

17. Take Me With U

18. Paisley Park

19. Pop Life

20. Purple Rain

21. Kiss

22. Sign 'O' The Times

23. Alphabet Street

24. Batdance

25. Thieves In The Temple

26. Cream

27. Mountains

28. Girls & Boys

29. If I Was Your Girlfriend

30. U Got The Look

31. I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man

32. Glam Slam

33. Moonbeam Levels

34. Diamonds and Pearls

35. Gett Off

36. Sexy MF

37. My Name Is Prince

38. 7

39. Peach

40. Nothing Compares 2 U

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Cecilia Johnson/MPR
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