2 the peeps who have recieved it.. how bout giving us a EX+++++ review of the cd, preferably about the songs that were NOT availible from 2001 membership... havent heard much bouts them, and eye have 2 wait untill next week.. or the next, b4 they send (usa)


Prettty Please?


Hey! Eye Like Cookies!

I tried to start a thread like this too....but no one responded.

http://www.prince.org/msg...&tid=14485

randomduck said:

U gotta put it in the GENERAL discussion. Nobody comes 2 the MUSIC threads. ONE LOVE

1. One Nite Alone
2. U're Gonna C Me
3. Here On Earth
4. A Case Of U
All of these are the same as the January downloads

5. Have A Heart
Fairly short track with a distinctive piano melody. Is a critical song about an ex. "Don't u have 2 have a heart 1st b4 u get it broken?"

6. Objects In The Mirror
Fairly uneventful. The second half of the track appears to be an instrumental of Have A Heart

7. Avalanche.
Probably the most substantial song on the album, the song refers to historical events over the last couple of hundred years, including:
- Abraham Lincoln being a racist
- Wounded Knee, a massacre of Sioux Indians by the US army in 1890
- The Harlem Renaissance, a black literary movement in the 1920's and 30's
- John Hammond, a white A&R man who signed many black artists around the 1950's and 60's, and is credited with helping black music to enter the mainstream.

8. Pearls B4 The Swine
The same as the Ahdio show version, but definately benefits from being in CD quality

9. Young And Beautiful
A fairly bright and bouncy song about Britney Spears

10. Arboretum
Very short instrumental. The name means a place where trees are cultivated and grown- not quite sure what the relevance of this is.

Overall, it's an OK album, but feels more like a stop gap than a proper album. If you already have last years downloads, it's surprising how little new music there is to get to know. Pearls B4 The Swine sounds a little out of place, as it is more 'produced' than the rest of the album, which, with the exception of John Blackwell on drums on Here On Earth and A Case Of U, and a few vocal overdubs and sound effects here and there, does sound very demo-ish.

About the 3 eggs. Is it possible that each egg represents a CD from the 2002 edition? The 0+-> symbol on the cover is coming out of a cracked egg, making a total of 4 eggs.

aspera773 said:

yeah....it's just us cool people who visit the music forums. 8)

thanks for the review Rioub.

Thank you Rioub.. eye can settle down 4 a moment:)

I thought about her, too! But I think he took her as an inspiration to say something more general, about all young girls.
[This message was edited Sun May 19 2:27:19 PDT 2002 by calldapplwondery83]

That's not great album but it's cool, the only exception 2 me is "young and beautiful" I hate this song like "silly game",somebody agree with me?

Rioub said:

Now, the song would have been a lot better had Prince been singing about the John Hammond from Jurassic Park.

Ok - I received my copy of ONA on Friday 17th (I live in Derby in the UK)...heres what I think of it for all of you people who havent got it and want to know.

Overall = Its not what I expected and Im a little disappointed with it (but soo many people are going to love it). Imagine the Truth but very little variety in the songs and you get a pretty clear idea of what ONA is like.

Track By Track:

1 One Night Alone- The same as on NPGMC last year. Piano is beautiful,lyrics are intersting...one of the better trax on the album.

2 U're Gonna C Me- The second best track on the album in my opinion. The piano music is brilliant and Princes lyrics and vocals on this song are gorgeous. The only downside is that it wasnt a surprise because its exactly the same as last years NPGMC track.

3 Here on Earth- Hmmm the chorus and music is beautifuly sung, te only thing that putrs me off is teh line about sick stained clothes.Again exactly the same as NPGMC track last year...complete with low quality crackle.

4 A Case of U - Again quite a nice song and well done....must be the reason it was on the NPGMC last year (NOTICE ANY TREND YET???)

5 Have a heart - Rubbish...music sounds like its been pinched from somewhere (but i cant think where),lyrics are ok but sang badly and too quiet - this really does sound like a demo that yo would get from a very poor bootleger

6 Objects in the mirror - Demo time...it has to be!!! the lyrics are poor and are about the most random things like drying washing and brushing teeth.Watch out for the panpipe dream moment near the end!!!!

7 Avalanche - He's off again!!! The most privalaged 'slave' in history going on about slavery...unfortunately im not likely to pay much attention to him because its a guff song. Leave the past behind,letitgo and maybe your vibe will flow again.

8 Pearls b4 the swine - I had heard sooo much about this song and thought it was going to be the greatest creation known to the hearing world. Yeah its ok,not brilliant - it wouldnt sound out of place on one of the 'rougher' Prince albums like Chaos & Disorder. The lyrics are very interesting in places...interesting in an "oops what rhymes with cheese???" kind of way. Having said that it must be very much what Prince has to deal with everyday - press etc.

9 Young & Beautiful - HA HA HA HA - You have to hear this because its sooo funny. It sounds like - Prince warning girls about having sex and the dangers of people who want to get in your pants - HYPOCRITE comes to mind. Get a grip dude..if ya gonna write about sex do it like you know how

10 Arboretum - Absoloutely stunning and beautiful instrumental track. It stirs up such emotion and I cant help feeling it was written at a sad moment of Princes life - a breakup,death. I can just imagine walking in a aboretum in teh rain gathering your thoughts. but for a very good reason...not cuz its bad.


So thats it - its only my opinion but i wasnt hugely impressed. The good things are done very very well and the poor bit are very poor. Anyway this is just my opinion and It may well change - all I can say is that I hope he doesnt actually release this properly - it can be cool as a limited edition CD but not as a serious album offering to a huge fanbase.

Out of 10 Id give it 4.5
[This message was edited Sun May 19 12:56:31 PDT 2002 by purpledoveuk]

And arboretum is my favourite track on ONA
[This message was edited Sun May 19 12:57:00 PDT 2002 by purpledoveuk]

Here's what I think of the album. I did put this as a reply to the news item relating to ONA, but I'll put it here as well.

Now I've listened to ONA a few times, I'm starting to really enjoy it. Like some of his other albums, it has to be listened to as a whole. 'Have a Heart' and 'Objects In The Mirror' work together almost as one track, with 'Objects...' climaxing in the same melody used in 'Have A Heart', but with almost an epic feel (epic for this album, anyway) to it.
Strangely, the song that's really drawing me to it is 'Arboretum', the final instrumental. It's a lovely tune that I couldn't get out of my head once the CD had finished.

All in all I find that the album gives off a 'late night in a cafe bar' vibe (I hope that makes sense). And conjures up images of a smoky bar populated by only a few people listening to the resident pianist whilst they sip their Bourbon and wait for the dawn.

purpledoveuk, I agree with you on "objects in the mirror", but I completely disagree with you on "Have a Heart"! It does not sound bad, I think the singing is good, the playing kicks ass and I actually love how he reprises the melody at the end of "objects"!

What do others think about "have a heart"?

Rioub said:

That's the best explanation I've heard yet Rioub. You could well be right.