So i got my cd on the 18th here in the UK and was disappointed on a few fronts ie that half the tracke we'd already heard and that it all sounded very samey. With only 10 tracks it's essential that each track is a killer, look at P.Rain, ATWIAD, LOVESEXY etc. After playing it to death i do actually like it BUT in terms of showing off his skills and chops on the keys i truly believe that this cd does NOTHING to impress on that front. If you compare it to say the Truth or TGE they both had variety and wit and showed of his skills as both a musician and song writer. This fails on both counts, whilst there are nice tunes with the odd great lyric nothing can compare to other classic piano tracks such as 'imagine', 'candle in the wind' and many, many more. ONA is a grower but if i want to hear prince on Piano being intimate i much prefer the old classic boot 'intimate moments'. What do you think?.

javed said:

yes it would if the world new about it,but since its small scale,not really.
[This message was edited Mon May 20 9:50:32 PDT 2002 by BNATURAL]

I think this release is to be seen as what it is, a piano album. I dont think it is supposed to be a big concept release.

If Prince whats to make an all piano album, his position allows him to. Can you imagine a Warners Executive lisening to it back in the day?

I don't know...maybe I had a false impression of him as pianist, but I was pleasantly surprised.
And I don't think that it has to stand up against songs like "imagine". That's a classic.

BlaqueKnight said:

His "strongest instrument?" Are you kidding? He is a great pianist, but it doesn't even compare to his guitar prowess.

neokyle said:

At least one of Prince's band members have gone on record saying the piano is his strongest instrument. And if this record is any indication of that, Prince seems marginal at best. A "piano album" should highlight his skills on that instrument. What would be the point to it if it didn't?

maybe just having some nice songs on there and not showing off how technically great you are.

See, this is the thing though. Prince has never been about soloing on his studio albums, he has been about SONGS. The Truth was basically an acoustic guitar album. But it didn't show off his skills on the instrument per se with endless soloing. What it did feature was well written songs featuring mostly acoustic guitar.

This is what ONA does, only now it is featuring mostly piano. There are some very impressive moments in it (ie: the soloing on the title track is quite nice). But again, Prince is focusing on the intimacy of the songs themselves. And there is some great songwriting here in my opinion, however incomplete some of it may sound. A couple of the tracks don't stand up to others, but there's not a clunker on the CD.

And by the way, just my opinion again, but if you would rather listen to that "Intimate Moments" crap which takes 20 minutes before he comes to a melodic theme and sounds like it was recorded in a toilet 22 years ago (which is about right) and puts you to sleep.....then by all means, you have the bootleggers blessing.

I've always considered Prince to be a piano-player. I think he said it himself in an interview. First instrument he mastered and prime instrument for writing songs.

jtgillia said:

Oy, what I've heard of 'intimate moments', that's fantastic! Much better and interesting than ONA. The sound is pretty decent and the whole cd appears very genuine.

The first half of ONA is really good, the latter is mushy filler. I'm an advocate of short albums, but when the second half of 35 min cd is filler, that's nasty.

About the soloing or showing off, I agree with jtgillia. An album doesn't need to be a commercial of some kind for the skills of the composer. ONA just doesn't focus on the intimacy, that's 'intimate moments' strongpoint.

jtgillia said:

Well stated. I think the songwriting really shows up on ONA. And the lyrics, IMHO, are very nice. I mean, would you melt if someone told you:

U're the reason I took a rope and lassoed the moon
2 prove that when it comes to u
there's nothing I won't do...
I'd stare in2 the sun if u would be mine
It's not so great a leap since 2 all others I am blind

or wonder when someone states something as profound as:

Like the snow comin' down the mountains
that landed on Wounded Knee
nobody wants 2 take the weight-
the responsibilty

And don't forget this is really just a demo.....
[This message was edited Tue May 21 19:34:42 PDT 2002 by MzCadillacLady]

jtgillia said:

I agree with this. I've had Intimate Moments on bootleg for awhile and it's boring. One Night Alone is much better as there is at least some melody.