OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
In June 1993, a moment in music history that would go largely unheard for nearly two years unfolded at Paisley Park. Prince, an artist famed for his boundary-pushing sound and genre-defying talent, recorded what would become one of the most elusive and raw albums of his career: The Undertaker. It was a stripped-down, power trio recording that saw the icon ditch his polished, flamboyant persona in favor of something raw, primal, and undeniably guitar-driven.
Prince had just wrapped up an all-night recording session that would later blow fans away if they could only hear it. The session, featuring himself alongside New Power Generation bassist Sonny Thompson and drummer Michael Bland, was a jam-based affair, with no overdubs and no frills. The music came together organically, the trio playing straight through, the rhythm and guitar blurring into one continuous, unrelenting force. As Bland described it, “We took about an hour to make that record… we just let the DAT roll.” The result was a high-energy performance of seven songs that showcased Prince in an entirely new light.
Guitar World magazine, which had access to the album’s creation, raved about Prince’s guitar work, highlighting his unpredictably intense solos. One reviewer described how Prince’s guitar “flung itself violently outside the confines of traditional blues riffing,” with solos that went from “fluid and slippery” to “mega-distorted, dissonant madness” – an electrifying departure from his more controlled, polished sound. It was a side of Prince few had ever heard, a no-holds-barred dive into the depths of his musical prowess.
But The Undertaker was never meant to see the light of day. It was 1993, and tensions between Prince and Warner Bros. were at an all-time high. After announcing his name change to the unpronounceable Love Symbol, Prince was more defiant than ever. He was churning out music at an unprecedented rate, but Warner Bros. was not on board with his artistic output. They feared that releasing too much of his work would saturate the market, potentially hurting their profits. They refused to release The Undertaker, deeming it too raw, too uncommercial for the masses.
In a truly bizarre move, Warner Bros. even forced Prince to encase the 1,000 copies of the album in plastic, making them unplayable. It was a form of corporate censorship that only added to the mystique of the album. Prince, however, was resolute in his belief that the album was worth hearing. As he put it, “It’s real garage, you know?“
It wasn’t until March 6, 1995, almost two years later, that fans got a glimpse of what they had missed. What surfaced was not the raw, uncut power trio album initially intended for release, but rather a live performance video. The Undertaker arrived with a unique, somewhat surreal twist – an accompanying narrative that featured actress Vanessa Marcil, known for her roles on General Hospital and later Beverly Hills, 90210. Marcil’s character wandered through Paisley Park in a storyline where she initially contemplates suicide, only to be uplifted by the music, symbolizing Prince’s transformative power.
The live performance, intertwined with the five-minute “Introduction” and Marcil’s performance, presented the seven tracks from the original session. Though the footage was only a fraction of what Prince had intended for the album, it still gave fans a powerful taste of the uncompromising, guitar-driven sound that had been hidden from the world for so long.
The Undertaker may have been an album that Warner Bros. fought to keep hidden, but it remains a testament to Prince’s relentless creative spirit. In a career marked by experimentation and boundary-pushing, it was a moment of pure artistic rebellion. It was Prince, unfiltered and unrestrained, doing what he did best – playing guitar like a true virtuoso and creating music on his own terms, regardless of the corporate forces that sought to control him.
The album, although not widely recognized during its time, now stands as a cult classic, a rare glimpse into a phase of Prince’s career that was filled with bold choices and raw energy. In a world where artists often fight for creative freedom, The Undertaker will forever be a symbol of the unyielding spirit of a man who refused to be controlled.