Does anybody think it was completed and will ever see the light of day?!

can you elaborate?

violectrica said:

can you elaborate?

The Dawn was to be the first Prince album after Emancipation, but it was shelved in 1997. An acoustic version of the title track can be found on The Truth. Prince had often thought of releasing an album called The Dawn at many points during his career. The earliest known incarnation of 'The Dawn' was from 1986, and seems to have been some kind of musical (an idea that eventually resurfaced as 'Graffiti Bridge'). Another incarnation of 'The Dawn' was assembled around 1994, soon after Prince changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol. This time the content was made from tracks that would later surface on Come and The Gold Experience. The last known incarnation of the album was assembled in 1996/1997, this time it came very close to release, and was even advertised on the back of the free cassette single of "The Holy River" that was given away at Borders stores in 1997.^[3]

rap said:

violectrica said:

can you elaborate?

The Dawn was to be the first Prince album after Emancipation, but it was shelved in 1997. An acoustic version of the title track can be found on The Truth. Prince had often thought of releasing an album called The Dawn at many points during his career. The earliest known incarnation of 'The Dawn' was from 1986, and seems to have been some kind of musical (an idea that eventually resurfaced as 'Graffiti Bridge'). Another incarnation of 'The Dawn' was assembled around 1994, soon after Prince changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol. This time the content was made from tracks that would later surface on Come and The Gold Experience. The last known incarnation of the album was assembled in 1996/1997, this time it came very close to release, and was even advertised on the back of the free cassette single of "The Holy River" that was given away at Borders stores in 1997.^[3]

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I think it may have been the "gospel" album he had talked about releasing after Lovesexy, before the Batman project landed in his lap. So yeah, that would mean even MORE spiritual than Lovesexy. I believe "Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic" was probably meant for that album, maybe also "God is Alive," "Cross The Line," etc. ? Anyway, when the Lovesexy tour crossed America and headed to Japan, Prince was still sharing his heart about God throughout the tour, speaking like a spirit-filled preacher during each enter-mission. And this was almost a year after the album had first dropped. Some of those ideas and songs made their way into the Graffiti Bridge movie and album, I'm sure. Also, check out the titles on the sheet music in the movie -- all part of that same spiritual vibe. Then Prince was on another spiritual high during the time of Emancipation, the way he talked to his fans in chats, emails, through his website, the charity work, etc. He made lots of references to the Bible, The Celestine Prophecy, and many other spiritual works. The essays he shared on his website were almost always spiritual in nature, as were the questions he chose to answer, or the things he cared to discuss. I remember hearing talk about another spiritiual album that was planned for release after Emancipation, with "Welcome 2 The Dawn" making an appearance on The Truth album. But then he was once again sidetracked when Larry and Chaka came to play with him in the studio, and the resulting release of their 3 similar-sounding albums. "The One" was released, which was not about "The One" though the video had spiritual references scribbled all around the outer frame, which you can see if you watch closely enough. Note that in the liner notes to New Power Soul, he mentions Lovesexy once again, almost 10 years later. But New Power Soul was not the album he originally planned it to be, imho. It changed with Larry & Chaka being around. Plus, I believe his thoughts about "The Dawn" and what it meant were constantly evolving, so I doubt he really got a cohesive project together that he was able to stamp with that name and seal of approval. The Rainbow Children is what we ended up with in 2001. An excellent concept album, to say the least, imo, but a lot of Prince's opnminded spiritual views had changed. It too was not "The Dawn" that was planned to be in the begin-again.
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Just my thoughts, is all. + keep the vibe alive! <3

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[Edited 5/3/16 22:22pm]

I got the impression it was suposed to be his ultimate achievement - bar none!

He mentioned it in an interview around the time of Emancipation was released and again a year or so ago.