Price’s estate has released an unheard song from his 1987 album, Sign O’ the Times, called “Witness for the Prosecution (Version 1).” More than 45 unreleased studio recordings will be released with the double-album’s reissue on September 25.
Sign O’ the Times’ reissue will include the album remaster, as well as three discs of unreleased music, compiled of single mixes, edits and B-sides, a 1987 live show in Utrecht, The Netherlands and a bonus concert film from Prince’s 1987 New Year’s Eve show at Paisley Park with Miles Davis.
“Witness for the Prosecution (Version 1)” is now available on streaming platforms, with a limited edition 7” available to order. The track throws back to Prince’s late-80s sound, with jazz saxophones and scaling guitars, his voice vibrating each lyric. Banging drums sync with the chorus in the back, Prince’s lyrics ringing in his legendary caliber. Prince had recorded the track in March of 1986 at his Galpin Blvd. home studio, and was originally meant to be part of Dream Factory.
The Super Deluxe Edition will also feature a 120-page book made of Prince’s handwritten lyrics for much of the songs he had written during the creative period which inspired Sign O’ the Times. The book will also include never-before-seen photos taken by photographer Jeff Katz from the mid-’80s to early-’90s. Pre-orders for the album are available here, while pre-orders for the limited edition 7” are available here.
Prince passed away in 2016 at the age of 57, his family filing a wrongful death lawsuit that had been dismissed by a judge in January.