A new window into Prince’s legendary Vault is opening. ‘Timeless’ gathers 10 rare and unreleased studio recordings, and it spans the full arc of his career, from 1977 all the way to 2016. The collection arrives on CD and vinyl on 28 August 2026 via Sony. For anyone who’s chased the deep mythology of Prince’s archive, this is a major haul.
The set runs chronologically, and the early material alone reads like a treasure map. ‘I Am You’ is a home recording from 1978 that Prince performed live just twice in early 1979 before retiring it for good. ‘Tick, Tick, Bang’ is an unreleased 1981 recording that he later re-cut for the ‘Graffiti Bridge’ album. ‘Heaven’ was committed to tape in 1985 and never issued, while ‘I Wonder’ followed four years later in 1989 and also stayed locked away.
The later years carry just as much intrigue. ‘Stone’, a 1995 recording, was once slated for ‘Emancipation’. ‘The Guilty Ones’ pushes into more recent territory as an unreleased track from 2007. The compilation also includes ‘With This Tear’, the November 1991 recording that surfaced digitally last month on the 10th anniversary of Prince’s death, plus a live version of the 1999 B-side ‘How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore’. Ten songs, decades apart, finally sharing one home.
The audio comes courtesy of Chris James, the engineer behind the acclaimed Prince Atmos mixes of recent years. James has mastered the collection and, in many cases, likely handled the mixing too. He’s become the trusted hand for Prince mix and master projects, having previously delivered the celebrated Purple Rain Atmos mix. That pedigree gives the whole set a serious sonic backbone.
It’s a thrilling addition to the Prince catalog, the kind of release that rewards both lifelong devotees and newer listeners digging into the legend.
Tracklisting:
I Am You
Tick Tick Bang
Heaven
I Wonder
With This Tear
Stone
Calabama
The Guilty Ones
Bestest Friend
How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore? (Live)