Key Takeaways

• Estate Response: The Prince estate is addressing the backlash from a newly released album featuring posthumous material.
• Track Controversy: Fans raised concerns over the track “Calabama,” which was altered with new instrumentation after Prince’s passing.
• Transparency Commitment: Estate co-executor Charles F. Spicer, Jr. promised more transparency regarding future releases and changes.
• Mixed Reviews: The album Timeless has received mixed reviews from critics, indicating a divide among listeners.

The Prince estate is responding to the controversy resulting from a newly released album of his posthumous material.

Some fans were up in arms after the revelation that one of the album’s tracks was overdubbed with new instrumentation more than a decade after the Minneapolis legend’s death.

Timeless, released on August 28 by the estate in conjunction with Sony Music, features 10 unreleased outtakes spanning every decade of Prince’s career, from the ’70s to the ’10s.

The set’s sparse liner notes indicate new mixes of every track by engineer Chris James, with recording dates and additional musician credits.

Read More: 10 Best Prince Songs Released Since His Death

Fans quickly noted a potential incongruity over the track “Calabama,” recorded in 2003 but touting the presence of horn players Adrian Crutchfield and Lynn Grissett, both of whom made their live debut with Prince in 2012.

The track’s third horn player, Greg Boyer — who played with Prince during the period “Calabama” was cut — cleared things up in a public Facebook post, while seemingly opening up a different can of worms.

“[Horns] recorded a couple of months ago in my basement studio,” he responded to a fan, further confirming that no brass was present on the track beforehand.

On the social media site X, estate co-executor Charles F. Spicer, Jr. responded to the revelation of additional recording on one of Prince’s newly released tracks.

“I want to correct something I stated earlier,” Spicer posted. “I stated that nothing had been edited or added to ‘Calabama.’ I’ve since confirmed that the released version includes additional horns, so that statement was not accurate, and I will take responsibility for what I stated.”

Spicer further defended the additions as “performed by musicians who played with Prince which makes their contribution especially meaningful,” but did promise more transparency in the future.

“There will be times when alternate versions or arrangements are part of the release process,” he continued. “At the same time, it’s important to us that the original recordings remain authentic and that any additions or changes are intentional, clearly understood, and approved.”

It’s not the first time the estate’s co-executors, Spicer and L. Londell McMillan, have courted controversy since coming to represent three of Prince’s heirs in 2021. (Another three heirs sold their interests to music firm Primary Wave.)

A proposed Netflix documentary on the artist was shelved in 2025 after their objections; shortly thereafter, UCR noted Prince’s socials were sharing quotes attributed to him with no clear sourcing.

Irrespective of any controversy, Timeless has thus far received middling reviews from critics. “Rather than laying out fascinating alternate paths and hints of what might have been,” Rolling Stone opined, “Timeless isn’t even interesting as a collection of outtakes.”

Minneapolis public radio station The Current concurred. “With an album geared toward neither Prince’s steadfast fans nor casual listeners, it’s hard to say what the impact of Timeless will be,” its review read.

Hear Prince Perform ‘Calabama’