:: The Vault
Paisley Park is reported to contain thousands of unreleased recordings. Some have surfaced. Most haven't. This page documents what is known about the material that never made it out through regular official channels — shelved albums, Crystal Ball outtakes, NPGMC exclusives, and tracks that exist but remain locked away.
:: Shelved Albums
Several full albums were recorded and either scrapped, repurposed, or held back. These are the ones that are confirmed to have existed as complete or near-complete projects.
The Black Album
Recorded 1987 · Released 1994
Completed and scheduled for December 1987 release. Prince pulled it days before it shipped, later framing the decision in spiritual terms. Became one of the most bootlegged records of the 80s. Eventually released officially by Warner in 1994.
officially released
Crystal Ball (original)
Recorded 1985–1986
A planned triple album shelved by Warner Bros. who insisted on a single disc. Became Sign o' the Times after restructuring. The name was recycled for the 1998 vault release. The original tracklist was never officially confirmed but several tracks that were intended for it eventually surfaced on Sign o' the Times and later compilations.
partially surfaced
Dream Factory
Recorded 1985–1986
A collaborative album recorded with the Revolution in 1985–86. Intended as a double album. Shelved when the Revolution disbanded. Several tracks from it were repurposed — some ended up on Sign o' the Times, others on Crystal Ball (1998). The full Dream Factory sequence has never been officially released.
partially leaked
Camille
Recorded 1986
A full album recorded in 1986 under the alter ego "Camille" — Prince's voice pitch-shifted up, exploring gender identity. Several Camille tracks ended up on Sign o' the Times (Strange Relationship, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Housequake, among others). The Camille album as a complete sequence has never been officially released.
partially surfaced via SOTT
The Dawn
Recorded 1993–1994
A sprawling unreleased project from the early Symbol era. Heavily bootlegged. thedawn.com was his first official website (1996), named after it — which suggests he considered it important enough to use as his internet identity. The album itself has never been officially released.
bootlegged / unreleased
The Undertaker
Recorded 1993
An acoustic project recorded in 1993 and cancelled before release. Warner later released related performance footage as a VHS in 1994. The full original audio configuration has never had an official release.
unreleased
:: Crystal Ball — Selected Vault Tracks
The 1998 Crystal Ball set contained outtakes and previously hard-to-find recordings spanning the 1980s and 1990s. A selection of notable tracks:
| # | Track | Notes |
|---|
| — | Acknowledge Me | 1991 era outtake |
| — | Days of Wild | NPG-era track, heavy funk |
| — | Crystal Ball | Title track, 1985 recording |
| — | Dream Factory | From the shelved 1986 album |
| — | Hide the Bone | NPG Hornz-heavy |
| — | An Honest Man | Rare acoustic feel |
| — | Sexual Suicide | 1985 era |
| — | P Control (extended) | Extended version of TGE track |
:: NPG Music Club Exclusives
When the NPG Music Club launched in 2001, it distributed new and exclusive music directly to subscribers via download — one of the earliest major-artist subscription models on the web. These releases are largely documented through fan archives. Prince Vault is the most complete record of what was distributed and when.
Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic (2001) was the first major NPGMC release — a remixed and expanded version of Rave Un2 (1999), only available to subscribers. It included Beautiful Strange, which should have been on the original release and wasn't.
:: Known Unreleased — Selected Tracks
A partial list of tracks known to exist that have not had an official release as of 2001. Status based on bootleg circulation and fan documentation.
| # | Track | Status |
|---|
| — | Moonbeam Levels | circulating bootleg |
| — | Power Fantastic | circulating bootleg |
| — | Shockadelica | B-side, 1987 |
| — | Glam Slam Ulysses | partial circulating |
| — | The Work Pt. 1 | unreleased |
| — | Acknowledge Me (alt.) | bootlegged |
| — | Strays of the World | unreleased |
This list is incomplete by definition. Prince Vault maintains the most comprehensive documentation of the Paisley Park archive — see links in sidebar.
