Some Prince fans have been wondering if one of the songs on the recently released vault collection Timeless may have been tweaked with posthumously added parts, a move that some commenters said seems anathema to the legendarily detail-oriented musical polymath’s spirit.
A note credited to the late rock icon’s NPG Records and his management team posted on Instagram on Thursday (Sept. 3) addressed those concerns, specifically focusing on the 2003 horn-spiked soul jam “Calabama.” The statement explained that the song’s bridge features Prince calling out twice for “horns,” but the archived multitrack “featured a synthesizer filling that space, which horn players later dubbed.”
It continues, “Consistent with Prince’s songwriting and production approach on numerous previous recordings, a group of horn players who played with Prince were assembled to overdub Prince’s synthesizer track with the intended horn line, and this version was released on Timeless.”
The note also stressed that all of Prince’s original recorded parts remain “intact,” with the trombone, saxophone and trumpet added by a trio of musicians — Greg Boyer, Adrian Crutchfield and Lynn Grissett — who are credited in the album’s liner notes and had close ties to the singer, who died of an accidental fentanyl overdose on April 21, 2016 at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota.
In addition, it stresses that with the exception of “Calabama,” no other posthumous overdubs were done on the album and that “of course,” no AI was used.
On X, fans weighed in after one fan posted what he purported was the original “Calabama” mix with no horns added, with one writing, “I think the ask from the fans is the fact that even if Prince called for horns he never added them…he threw that track in the vault the way it was never added. And that’s what the fans want. The original version the way he stored them.” Another offered, “Ridiculous. There are plenty of Prince songs with synth horns even with him explicitly saying ‘horns.’ He never added them. They should just release what is on tape!! Absurd.”
Timeless was released as part of a yearlong commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Prince’s death and it is the first-ever Prince release to cover every major era of his career, from the opening track, “I Am You,” recorded in 1977 when he was 19 years old, to a live version of the 1999 B-side “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?,” recorded in Oakland a month before his passing.
Given the buzz around the overdubs, the estate promised that, going forward, it will provide “even more details regarding the release of the music,” noting that some of the recordings in the Purple One’s legendarily deep vault were “simply unfinished,” adding, “this should not prevent them from being released.”
“Some may object to the completing of the unfinished portion of ‘Calabama’ (even using Prince’s hand-picked musicians and aligned with his creative intent,” the note concluded. “While others have been very supportive of it and the music overall (which we thank you). We understand that not everyone will agree on every decision made regarding Prince music and business matters yet your passion, knowledge, and thoughtful questions are appreciated.”
