The Black Album (Prince album)
1994 studio album by Prince / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The untitled sixteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, referred to as The Black Album, was re-released with re-mastered audio (and a few song title revisions) on November 22, 1994, by Warner Bros. Records after its original release on December 8, 1987. The follow-up to Sign o' the Times,[1] the album was to appear in an entirely black sleeve with no title or even a credit to Prince; hence it being referred to as The Black Album. Dubbed The Funk Bible by preceding press releases, and in a hidden message within the album itself, the work seemed to be a reaction to criticism that Prince had become too pop-oriented. It was his attempt to regain his black audience.[2]
The Black Album | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 22, 1994 December 8, 1987 (withdrawn) | |||
Recorded | 1986–1987 | |||
Studio | Paisley Park, Chanhassen | |||
Genre | Funk | |||
Length | 44:43 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. 25677 (original pressing) 45793 (second pressing) | |||
Producer | Prince | |||
Prince chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Blender | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B[3] |
Knoxville News Sentinel | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound Rock | 2.5/5[5] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Select | 1/5[8] |
Tom Hull | B[9] |
The Village Voice | A−[10] |
The 1987 promo-only release had no printed title, artist name, production credits or photography printed; a simple black sleeve accompanied the disc. On promotional copies, only a song listing and catalog number—25677—were printed on the disc itself. The commercial version was to only have the catalog number—printed in pink—on the spine.[11] The original compact disc pressing was made by Sony DADC rather than WEA Manufacturing. After Prince became convinced that the album was "evil", he ordered it to be withdrawn a week before its release date. It was replaced with the album Lovesexy, a brighter pop-oriented album with elements of religious affirmation.