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The best records from those lost too soon, including a heavyweight hip-hop opus, a collection of intriguing demos and a haunted swansong
Originals
Prince (2019)
This week’s Welcome 2 America is the third posthumous Prince album to emerge since his death in 2016. Perhaps the most intriguing, however, is, a collection of Prince’s original demos of songs later made famous by other artists (Manic Monday, Love… Thy Will Be Done, Nothing Compares 2 U). A tantalising glimpse into a restless genius’s artistic process.
Pearl
Janis Joplin (1971)
Recorded quickly a month before her death and released three months after, Joplin’s second solo album captures both her startling vocal prowess and electric live energy. Her cover of Cry Baby nearly implodes under the weight of her passion, while Me and Bobby McGee slowly blooms from country hoedown to blown-out blues-rock throat-shredder.
I Care 4 U
Aaliyah (2002)