In 1987, Prince was still a top selling artist at Warner Brothers. As a follow up to Sign O The Times, The Black Album was slated for release. A week prior to its release date, the album was pulled. All copies were supposedly destroyed. A few remained in circulation. A few of those found their way to the bootleggers who released it. Below is a bootleg copy from 1987.
The cover is supposedly a replica of the original release. Glossy black graphics printed on a matte black background. Very hard to read. In some lights it's invisible. It even came with a sticker.
No official reason is given for the recall. The material on this record is well into 'parental advisory' territory. The music and most of the lyrics venture into gangsta rap. Some say Prince was trying to address those critics who said he had lost touch with his African American roots. He was tight lipped even then. I would imagine he purposely allowed it to creep out. Those who were true fans rather than Purple Rain tourists would seek and find it.
Actual song titles printed on the label. Not a common thing for a bootleg.
When the album was pulled, Lovesexy was released in its place a few months later. One track, When 2 R in Love, was the only one from The Black Album included.
Two tracks, Bob George and Superfunkycalifragisexi, were part of the Lovesexy tour setlist. Saw that show at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on 11/8/88. Sat in the very last row, but it didn't really matter as I self upgraded for the second set.
In 1994, Warner Brothers finally released it, keeping it in the catalog for only a few months. At the time, they offered a free copy of the CD if you mailed them your bootleg. The fine print said it was only for the first 1000 and the bootleg would not be returned if you weren't one of the first 1000.. I'm sure there were thousands of poor suckers who gave up their bootlegs and got nothing in return. I held onto mine. It's more of a timely artifact than a CD could be.
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