Released on what would have been Prince’s 61st birthday, Originals groups together 15 tracks that were originally recorded by the many other artists that Prince both wrote for and collaborated with. The bulk of the material here was written and recorded between 1981-85; the smoking cover shot looks very Dirty Mind. Considering the sheer volume of material that is rumoured to exist inside the walls of the famous vault at Paisley Park, in the four years now since Prince left us, very little unheard material has surfaced.
The first posthumous release, 2018’s Piano & A Microphone 1983 contained only four (of nine in total) previously unreleased tracks. While on Originals we have fourteen (of fifteen) previously unreleased tracks, considering that they are all demos of previously released material, the lack of unheard songs has many fans online wondering if reports of “thousands” of unearthed gems are either highly exaggerated or just wishful thinking.
This is not to say that Originals is an unwelcome release; it isn’t. It’s great fun to listen to these incredibly complete demo versions. The stripped-down tracks show just what a beautiful voice Prince had. His range was always phenomenal as was his ability to convey just about every conceivable emotion through his delivery. The song selection here is somewhat predictable, with most of these tracks enjoying some chart success at least somewhere in the world at the time of their original release.
The most recognisable of these is of course “Manic Monday” (a massive hit for The Bangles), which not only shows what a complete song Prince sent the girls but we are also able to hear how he bends his voice a little to give Susanna Hoffs an almost perfect guide track to copy. It even comes complete with female backing vocals. “The Glamorous Life” (originally a hit for Prince’s great friend and one-time band mate Sheila E) sounds amazingly complete for a “demo.” The sax is on point, the harmony vocals are prefect, and Prince’s lead vocal is ridiculously good. 
Three more songs originally released by Sheila E are included here – “Noon Rendezvous, ”“Dear Michaelangelo” and “Holly Rock” –are all fun to hear but are so close to the released versions that they don’t feel “essential,” so it would have been nice to have a more varied song selection.
The beautiful “Love…Thy Will Be Done” (originally by Prince’s one time muse, Martika) is stunning here and his voice is as delicate as ever. The track again is so well produced that it’s hard to think of it as a demo at all. “Wouldn't You Love To Love Me?” (originally by Taja Sevelle) sounds the most like what you’d expect a demo to sound like. The songs from Prince’s side projects of course sound almost identical to the originals, save for the lead vocals being changed out, which is not surprising as most of what is heard on those original albums was all recorded by Prince anyway.
The Time’s “Jungle Love” and “Gigolos Get Lonely Too” are both included, the latter being one of the most underrated songs in the Prince catalogue. Apollonia 6’s (Prince’s second “girl group”) “Sex Shooter” actually sounds better here than it did on their album, largely due to the poor mix on that particular record. Prince’s first “girl group” was, of course, Vanity 6, and they get a shout out here with “Make-Up.” This is a curious choice as that album (self-titled and released in 1982) is a fantastic record that included stronger songs than this one.
“100 MPH” (originally by Mazarati) and “Baby, You’re A Trip” (originally by Jill Jones and another underrated gem) are two definite highlights here. “You’re My Love” (originally by Kenny Rogers) is probably the weakest song here; it just sounds very one-dimensional, and Roger’s version sounds no better to my ears.
The only song previously released on this set is of course “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a huge hit back in the early ‘90’s for Sinead O’Connor but originally released by another side project of Prince’s, The Family. It’s a beautiful song whichever version you dig, but it’s become one of those songs that I don’t ever really need to hear again.
So overall, anything fresh out of that Paisley Park vault is a welcome addition to the Prince catalogue and Originals is a lot more fun that I thought it would. I just hope next time we get never before heard songs unearthed as opposed to more demos or remixes.