The Vault

No, the purple one hasn't renounced his symbol or his completely independent stance with regard to recording. Instead this is a collection of previously unreleased material, which is being billed as the last Prince release on Warner Brothers.

Recorded between 1985 and 1994, this is Prince during his most productive years, from just after Purple Rain until his split from Warner Brothers in the early '90s.

The surprising thing is that this still sounds wonderfully fresh, even though some of the recordings are up to 14 years old.

Kicking off with the upbeat, funked up, sub-two minute romp 'The Rest Of My Life', this brings back the excitement of pressing the play button on a new Prince album in his heyday. 'It's About That Walk' drips with a playful sexuality, as the diminutive one's familiar falsetto soars, while a fabulous line-up of musicians give it some serious swing.

'She Spoke 2 Me' and 'When The Lights Go Down' don't quite work as well. With both tracks weighing in at over the seven minute mark, it's a throwback to the legendary Paisley Park extended jam sessions. While this was probably great fun for those involved, to the casual listener it sounds jaded, despite the obvious talent of the musicians involved.

Much better is '5 Women', which oozes the sort of sleazy sexuality that made him anathema to so many parents. The band maintain the mood perfectly, while our hero waxes sexual about how it's been five months and as many women since his baby done left him. Judging by the legendary reputation of this boy's libido, it must have been a quiet year in Paisley Park.

'My Little Pill' sounds like a precursor to the social commentary of 'Sign O' The Times', as he describes the phenomenon of drug addiction among single parents. 'Old Friends 4 Sale' sweeps along like an old Dean Martin movie, while 'Sarah' is vintage Prince, its raw funk and even rawer lyrics defying the listener not to dance.

OK, it's not Purple Rain, it's not Sign O' The Times, and it's not Lovesexy, but it's still, to all intents and purposes, a new Prince album, and that's enough to be going on with.