I just noticed on the packaging to One Night Alone, its copywritten 2001 NPG Records..

Does this mean the songs were recorded last year or has this Cd been recorded, mastered, pressed and been sitting in the Paisley Park basement for several months?????

However, it's written "2002" on the disc itself...

Ain't got mine yet to check!!!!!1

It means the songs were copyrighted last year.

Almost every Prince album ever released was recorded the year before it came out.

It doesn't nesessarily mean the songs were written a year ago though. Some of them may have been written years even earlier.

it always takes a lot of time before anything gets released..espescially with Prince.
this guy is so prolific, when he sends his music to the registrer, he's already recording new trax..
it's pretty normal that a takes upto a few months before anything newly recorded gets in the stores/home..

The songs were recorded during the final mixing or mastering stages of the Rainbow Children album, so that would make it sometime around the summer of last year I guess. Then it takes time to assemble the album, mix it, maser it, make the artwork, print the CDs etc..