The Prince Estate and Sony’s Legacy Recordings will release “Timeless” on August 28, a 10-track collection of previously unreleased recordings drawn from Prince’s legendary archive that spans nearly four decades of his career, making it the first posthumous Prince album curated to represent every major creative era of the seven-time Grammy Award winner’s body of work on a single project.

Key Takeaways

• “Timeless” is set for worldwide release on August 28, 2026 through Legacy Recordings in partnership with the Prince Estate, featuring 10 previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1977 and 2016.
• The album is the first posthumous archival release from the Prince Estate since 2021’s “Welcome 2 America” and the first Prince vault compilation structured chronologically across his entire career.
• Two pre-release singles are already streaming: “With This Tear,” a 1991 solo performance Prince later gave to Celine Dion, released in April; and “Stone,” a 1995 recording released in June.
• The tracklist opens with “I Am You,” a rock track from 1977 when Prince was a teenager in Minneapolis, and closes with a live performance of “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore?” from 2016, the year of his death.
• Physical formats include a limited-edition purple marble vinyl exclusive, standard black vinyl, and CD, with pre-orders currently active.

The Tracklist Moves Through Every Phase of a Four-Decade Career

The structure of “Timeless” is what distinguishes it from previous Prince vault releases. Rather than concentrating on a single recording session or era, the album places one track from each major period of Prince’s career in chronological order, creating a 10-song arc that traces his evolution from a self-taught teenage multi-instrumentalist in Minneapolis to one of the most prolific recording artists in popular music history. The full tracklist reads as a timeline:

“I Am You” (1977) opens the album with a rock track from Prince’s earliest studio work, recorded when he was still developing the sound that would define his debut. “Tick Tick Bang” (1981) is Prince’s original version of a song he later gave to The Time for their 1990 “Graffiti Bridge” album. “Heaven” (1985) sits in the middle of the period that produced “Purple Rain” and “Around the World in a Day.” “I Wonder” (1989) comes from the “Batman” and “Graffiti Bridge” era. “With This Tear” (1991) is a complete solo performance Prince composed, produced, and recorded at Paisley Park before giving the song to Celine Dion. “Stone” (1995) follows, a recording written by Sandra St. Victor, Tom Hammer, and Jules Van Even. “Calabama” (2003), “The Guilty Ones” (2007), and “Bestest Friend” (2012) represent Prince’s later independent and digital-era output. The album closes with “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore?” performed live in 2016, the final year of Prince’s life.

The Vault That Made the Album Possible

Prince’s archive, housed at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota, is one of the most extensive private recording collections in music history. At the time of his death on April 21, 2016, the vault was estimated to contain thousands of unreleased songs, many of them fully produced and mastered. The scale of the archive has made curation a central challenge for the estate: previous posthumous releases, including 2019’s “Originals” and 2021’s “Welcome 2 America,” drew from specific sessions or periods rather than attempting a career overview.

“Timeless” takes a different approach. The estate’s promotional materials describe the album as tracing “Prince’s remarkable artistic evolution across nearly four decades, from his earliest studio recordings as a teenage prodigy in Minneapolis to one of his final recorded performances.” That framing positions the release not as a collection of leftover tracks, but as a deliberate retrospective designed to demonstrate the range and consistency of Prince’s unreleased output. The inclusion of both a 1977 studio recording and a 2016 live performance on the same 10-track album illustrates how much material remains in the archive and how far its chronological reach extends.

Two Singles Have Already Tested the Market Ahead of the Full Release

The estate previewed “Timeless” with two pre-release singles that arrived months apart. “With This Tear” was released on April 2, timed to the 10th anniversary of Prince’s passing. The track is a complete Prince solo performance recorded at Paisley Park in November 1991, before Prince decided to give the song to Celine Dion, who included it on her 1992 self-titled English-language album. Prince’s version had never been released publicly. “Stone,” the second single, arrived in June. Written by Sandra St. Victor, Tom Hammer, and Jules Van Even, the 1995 recording showcases Prince as an interpreter of other songwriters’ material, a dimension of his artistry that is less represented in his commercial discography.

Both singles are currently available on streaming platforms and have generated renewed attention to Prince’s catalog at a moment when legacy artist releases are performing well commercially. The Rolling Stones’ “Foreign Tongues,” Carly Simon’s “Comes in Waves,” and Ann Wilson’s “Consecrated Ground” are all arriving in the same release window, creating a concentrated stretch of high-profile releases from artists whose careers span the 1970s through the present day.

Prince Celebration 2026 Provided the Album’s Public Introduction

The formal announcement of “Timeless” on June 4 coincided with Prince Celebration 2026, a five-day event held June 3 through 7 across Paisley Park and downtown Minneapolis. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey officially proclaimed June 1 through 7 as “Prince Celebration Week,” and the city’s skyline was illuminated in purple on the evening of June 6, the night before Prince’s birthday. The celebration featured exclusive listening sessions for “Timeless,” archival presentations, and conversations with Prince collaborators that provided context for the newly unveiled vault recordings.

The musical programming included a reunion of Prince’s two primary backing bands, The Revolution and The New Power Generation, alongside performances by Chaka Khan, Morris Day, Miguel, Tevin Campbell, and Bilal. The event served as both a memorial and a product launch, giving the estate’s most committed fanbase early access to the album’s narrative while generating media coverage ahead of the August release. Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, achieved 19 top-10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 over his career, won seven Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. His commercial catalog includes landmark albums such as “1999” (1982), “Purple Rain” (1984), “Sign o’ the Times” (1987), and “Diamonds and Pearls” (1991).

FAQs

When Does Prince’s “Timeless” Album Come Out?

“Timeless” is scheduled for worldwide release on Friday, August 28, 2026 through Legacy Recordings in partnership with the Prince Estate. Pre-orders are currently active for all physical and digital formats.

What Songs Are on “Timeless”?

The 10-track album features previously unreleased recordings from 1977 through 2016: “I Am You” (1977), “Tick Tick Bang” (1981), “Heaven” (1985), “I Wonder” (1989), “With This Tear” (1991), “Stone” (1995), “Calabama” (2003), “The Guilty Ones” (2007), “Bestest Friend” (2012), and “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore?” (Live, 2016).

Is “Timeless” Available on Vinyl?

Yes. Physical formats include a direct-to-consumer exclusive limited-edition 140-gram purple marble vinyl, a standard black vinyl pressing, and a CD. All physical formats are available for pre-order through the Prince Estate’s retail channels.