Chaos and Disorder

When he released his 18th album, Chaos and Disorder, in July 1996, it came with a rare disclaimer penned by Prince himself: “Originally intended 4 private use only, this compilation serves as the last original material recorded by d 4 Warner Brothers Records." Because it was released in the midst of Prince’s tense split with his longtime label (a period referred to by Prince as "my friction years), Chaos and Disorder was not promoted by Prince and received a minimal push from the label.

Despite all of this, Chaos and Disorder is proof of Prince’s enduring connecting to his global audience of listeners. Even without promotion the album reached number 14 in the U.K. and number 26 on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts, and the album’s only single, “Dinner With Delores,” hit the top 40 charts in the U.K. (the only country it was released) with little support from either Prince or Warner Bros.

The album would be the last collection of previously unreleased material that Prince would issue under exclusive contract to Warner Bros. (although the label would release additional compilations in the coming years, and later would help to co-release new material with Prince in a unique partnership in 2014). Chaos and Disorder is the closing chapter of an 18-year-long relationship between Prince and his long-running major label that began with his very first album, For You.