In a recent interview, one of Prince’s former sound engineers claimed that there is enough unreleased Prince material that the artist formerly known as he would be able to release regular albums for decades after his death.
The concept of the posthumous album is an interesting one. Artists are always creating, and it’s only natural that some ideas hit the cutting room floor. But we as an audience have such a fasination with the artist, and with the work that they have created, that the idea of no more material being released is a heavy one to swallow.
Like musical Picassos, some artists have gained more noteriety for the work post-death than they ever did while alive. We take a look at some of the greatest albums released by those who have passed on to the other side.
2Pac – Loyal To The Game
Tupac Shakur has to be one of the only artists in history to have released more albums posthumously than he did while alive.
Known by the stage name 2Pac, he broke ground in hip hop and gangsta rap, becoming one of the most influential, successful and acclaimed rappers of all time. His album All Eyez On Me is considered a landmark work in the genre, and everyone from Snoop Dogg to Kendrick Lamar will happily sing his praise.
Tupac was infamously killed in a drive-by shooting in 1996 after watching a Mike Tyson bout. Shortly after that, an album that he was working on (The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory) was completed by friends and colleges, and released two months after his death.
In the ten years following his death, six albums have been released posthumously (some of them double albums) – a release effort that trumps a lot of active touring bands around today. Perhaps the most significant of these releases was 2004’s Loyal To The Game, which, with Tupac’s mother’s blessing, was produced by Eminem. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and gave us the 2Pac/Elton John collab ‘Ghetto Gospel’. His posthumous songs were great, if not too accurate.
Johnny Cash – American Recordings
The legendary Man In Black broke ground halfway through the 20th century, becoming one of the most popular and culturally acclaimed country artists in history. Songs such as ‘Ring Of Fire’ and ‘Get Rhythm’ became household melodies, whilst his seminal live album At Folsom Prison revitalised his career in 1968. But as time went on, interest in Cash wavered. There were still the country lovers, and the hardcore fans, but that mainstream interest was gone.
Enter Rick Rubin. Famous for working with acts like Slayer and Public Enemy, Rubin convinced Cash to sign to his label for a series of releases that stripped back the signature Cash sound with intimate and minimalistic songs called the American Recordings.
The original American Recordings album was released in 1994, and featured a few originals, but mostly covers of artists ranging from Leonard Cohen to Glenn Danzig. This album was considered a revitalization of Cash’s career, and Cash worked on these recordings with Rubin right up until his death in 2003.
After his death, there was still enough material recorded to release two albums, A Hundred Highways and Ain’t No Grave – one album cover showing Cash in the final months of his life, the other showing him as a smiling child. But both contained originals and covers that were stark, intimate and powerful listens.
Otis Redding – The Dock Of The Bay
While some may call this a compilation album, it’s still an impressive tribute to one of American music’s greatest voices.The Dock Of The Bay, of course, featured one of Otis Redding’s most iconic songs, released posthumously: ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’.
In December 1967, Redding entered the studio to record his now universal hit, but tragically died in a plane crash only days after the end of recording. The song was released as a single a month later and became a smash. Partly due to grief, but undoubtedly due to the power of the song, the album was the first ever posthumous record to go to number one in the UK albums chart.
At the time of his death, Redding had an impressive collection of unreleased songs (that his label used for many years after the fact) but The Dock Of The Bay still stands as the most significant. It remains one of the essential Redding albums. Later, ‘(Sittin’ On) Of The Dock Of The Bay’ was named the 28th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone.
Nirvana – MTV Unplugged In New York
MTV’s television series MTV Unplugged has produced some great albums by artists from Eric Clapton to Alice In Chains. But it can also lay claim to putting out the first Nirvana album released after the death of frontman Kurt Cobain.
Nirvana changed the world in the early ’90s. Anyone who doesn’t instantly recognise ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ has either been living under a rock, or has not been listening enough to every radio station ever, because it’s one of the most popular songs of all time. In late 1993, they went into MTV and recorded their now legendary Unplugged set – a softer look at the band that relied on covers, acoustic compositions, and lesser-known tracks. Five months later, Cobain was found dead in his home.
The suicide shook the world, and the heart of every angst-ridden teen who found a home away from home in Nirvana. The release of MTV Unplugged In New York came later that year, with the compositions taking on new meaning in the wake of Cobain’s death, especially the haunting closer: a cover of Lead Belly’s ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night’.
Sublime – Sublime
One of the ’90s greatest albums was released posthumously – an album that was recorded during the breakdown of a band, and a heroin addiction that would take a singer’s life.
Sublime were formed in California in 1988. They combined elements of ska and reggae, with garage rock and punk, which turned out to be a lucrative combo indeed. They signed to MCA Records and started work on their self-titled third album.
In the studio, singer Bradley Nowell’s addicition to heroin was becoming severe, which cause friction in the band to say the least. He was half-fired and half-quit towards the end of recording, and later died of an overdose in May 1996.
The posthumous release, a self-titled album, was a major hit. Aspects of the album that were considered to be outburst of addiction in studio turned out to be innovative music ideas. The album also birthed massive hits such as ‘Santeria’ and ‘What I Got’. RIP.
