Thanks to Jack White’s Third Man Records, Prince’s previously unreleased 1986 album Camille is finally getting its due recognition. The White Stripes member and his label co-founder Ben Blackwell have announced that they’ve obtained the rights to the record, on which the legendary musician adopted a more androgynous alter ego.
Featuring pitched-up vocals, Prince used the long-shelved record to channel his feminine persona — also called Camille. The album was scrapped shortly after getting its test pressing, but luckily for fans, obtaining the rights wasn’t too difficult for Third Man. “We’re finally going to put it out,” Blackwell told Mojo (via UltimatePrince.com). “Prince’s people agreed — almost too easy.”
While Third Man hasn’t yet shared the official release date for Camille, they did confirm that it’ll include each of the original album’s eight songs, all of which have been previously released in some form or another. “Housequake,” “Strange Relationship,” and “If I Was Your Girlfriend” were included on Prince’s next record, the 1987 double-LP masterpiece Sign O’ the Times. “Feel U Up” and “Shockadelica” were both shared as B-sides to “Partyman” and “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” respectively.
Meanwhile, “Good Love” appeared on the soundtrack to Bright Lights, Big City, “Rockhard in a Funky Place” ended up on 1994’s The Black Album, and “Rebirth of the Flesh” was included on the 2020 super deluxe reissue of Sign O’ the Times, also released by Third Man.
Camille marks one of the first official Prince releases since his estate sold a controlling stake in the rights to his intellectual property last summer. See the tracklist for it below.
Also last year, Prince’s estate shared the late artist’s long-lost album, Welcome 2 America, which he recorded in 2010. His rare 1995 album The Gold Experience will be released as a double LP for Record Store Day 2022.
Camille Tracklist:
01. Rebirth of the Flesh
02. Housequake
03. Strange Relationship
04. Feel U Up
05. Shockadelica
06. Good Love
07. If I Was Your Girlfriend
08. Rockhard in a Funky Place
