Prince Estate Releases Timeless Vault Album with Ten Unreleased Songs

Career-spanning recordings from Paisley Park

The Prince estate released the 10-track compilation album Timeless on August 28, 2026, ten years after the musician died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in April 2016 at age 57. Issued through a partnership with Sony Music's Legacy Recordings, the collection gathers rare and previously unreleased recordings recovered from the vaults of Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The songs span nearly four decades, tracing Prince's creative progression from his earliest studio sessions to the final year of his life. The physical release includes digital formats, standard CD, black vinyl, and a limited purple marble vinyl edition sold through the Sony Music Store. Music critic Juanjo Frontera described Prince's intensive recording routine as a constant process.

For him, making music was more than a necessity, it bordered on mental illness, as he was someone who always heard music in his head.

Chronology of unreleased vault selections

The album follows a chronological structure, opening with the 1977 funk track "I Am You," which Prince wrote, arranged, and recorded at Sound 89 studio in Minneapolis when he was 19 years old. The collection moves into the 1981 raw version of "Tick Tick Bang," later reworked for the 1990 album Graffiti Bridge, and the 1985 track "Heaven," featuring backing vocals from Susannah Melvoin. The 1990s are represented by "I Wonder" from 1989, the 1991 piano ballad "With This Tear," which Prince later gave to Celine Dion for her 1992 self-titled LP, and the slow-burn R&B song "Stone" from 1995. Later decades feature the 2003 session track "Calabama," the 2007 guitar piece "The Guilty Ones," and the September 2012 recording "Bestest Friend." The closing track is a live performance of the 1982 B-side "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?," captured in concert at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Posthumous releases and estate administration

Timeless is the fourth posthumous collection of unreleased material from the vault, following Piano and a Microphone 1983 in 2018, the demo compilation Originals in 2019, and the complete 2010 studio album Welcome 2 America in 2021. The album also represents the first release of archival recordings under the estate structure established after a 2022 Minnesota court ruling, which divided control between publishing company Primary Wave and Prince Legacy LLC. Prince Legacy LLC is managed by Prince's three oldest heirs alongside music industry veterans Charles Spicer Jr. and attorney L. Londell McMillan.

The tracks were mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated audio engineer Chris James, with compilation production led by McMillan. The release follows years of public petitions from listeners requesting access to the Paisley Park archives following the resolution of legal disputes surrounding Prince's estate.