The legendary, near-mythic vault at Paisley Park is opening its doors once again to deliver a first-of-its-kind historical retrospective. To coincide with the annual Prince Celebration week in Minneapolis, The Prince Estate, in partnership with Sony's Legacy Recordings, has officially announced the release of a brand-new posthumous studio album titled Timeless.
Scheduled to arrive on August 28, 2026, the 10-track project represents a major milestone in the preservation of the High Priest of Pop's legacy. While previous posthumous releases like Piano and a Microphone 1983 or Welcome 2 America focused on specific eras or singular studio sessions, Timeless is the first archival release ever curated to explicitly span every major era of Prince's career. The album brings together rare and entirely unreleased recordings captured between 1977 and 2016, tracing his evolution from a teenage prodigy to his final months.
The Tracklist and Evolution Matrix
The architecture of Timeless is structured chronologically, offering a direct audio timeline of Prince's changing sonic ambitions, production techniques, and vocal style over nearly 40 years.
• 1977: "I Am You" (Earliest studio prodigy era)
• 1981: "Tick Tick Bang" (Original vault version)
• 1985: "Heaven" (Around the World in a Day era)
• 1989: "I Wonder" (Batman / late-80s era)
• 1991: "With This Tear" (Original solo performance)
• 1995: "Stone" (Spring 1995 session - New Single)
• 2003: "Calabama" (Xpectation / early-2000s era)
• 2007: "The Guilty Ones" (Planet Earth era)
• 2012: "Bestest Friend" (3rdEyeGirl era)
• 2016: "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore? (Live)" (Piano & A Microphone Tour)
The album was initially teased back in April with the digital release of "With This Tear." The track was originally composed, produced, and performed entirely by Prince at Paisley Park in November 1991 before he famously gifted the song to Celine Dion for her 1992 self-titled album. The archival version marks the first time global audiences can hear Prince's definitive, soulful solo vocal performance of the arrangement.
The New Single: "Stone"
To anchor today's grand album announcement, the estate officially dropped the project's second focus track: a sweeping, unreleased 1995 cut titled "Stone." Recorded during the incredibly prolific spring of 1995—an era where Prince was actively fighting his traditional record contract and creating at a frantic pace—the track was penned alongside Sandra St. Victor, Tom Hammer, and Jules Van Even.
"Stone" beautifully highlights Prince's mid-90s sonic direction, blending sophisticated, live R&B instrumentation with a biting, guitar-driven edge and intricate vocal arrangements that have sat completely undisturbed in the Minneapolis vault for over three decades.
A Purple Skyline: Prince Celebration Week 2026
The rollout serves as the center jewel for Prince Celebration 2026, a massive five-day gathering running from June 3 to June 7 across Paisley Park and downtown Minneapolis. Attendees are receiving the very first opportunity to experience Timeless via exclusive, high-fidelity listening sessions inside Prince's studio home, alongside panel discussions featuring legendary collaborators from The Revolution and The New Power Generation.
The cultural weight of the release is being felt across his entire home state. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey officially proclaimed June 1–7, 2026, as "Prince Celebration Week," confirming that the iconic Minneapolis city skyline will be entirely illuminated in purple on Saturday, June 6—the eve of what would have been the visionary artist's 68th birthday.
When Timeless lands in late August, it will be available across all major streaming services alongside premium physical formats, including standard CD, traditional black vinyl, and a direct-to-consumer limited-edition Purple Marble Vinyl, ensuring that his peerless multi-decade journey remains preserved in the physical realm he fought so hard to protect.
.webp)
