For some time, I've been curious about this particular album.

And just recently, I've heard that there are actually 2 albums with this name:

One Night Alone...
and
One Night Alone (Live)

Is one necessarily better than the other?

I already own "The Truth," and I hear that "One Night Alone" is just like it, but with piano instead of acoustic guitar. That's not the reason why I've become curious about this album, though. I enjoy some of Prince's ballads on piano over his career and maybe I'd like an album where he uses a piano as his main instrument.

Anyone who can tell me as much as you can about these albums and if one is better than the other, I'd appreciate it.

They're totally different. One Nite Alone Live is a multi-disc live set from the One Nite Alone tour. One Nite Alone for solo piano is just Prince on his own with a piano (with a little "sweetening" here and there).

It is emphatically not "just like" The Truth. If anything, the sound on most of the tracks is even more intimate than on The Truth. Much of it has an almost demo-ish quality.

You cannot compare ONA and ONA Piano in terms of "better" or "worse." They are completely different and should be taken on their own merits.

ONA Piano is one of my absolute favorite Prince albums. (With the exception of Avalanche, which I feel was a needless and irritating foray into politics.) It is definitely worth getting.

one nite alone piano and voice is just genius, where as one nite alone is one of the worse live albums I've heard, so much over dubbing!!

andykeen said:

I like them both, but I prefer the acoustic piano. My favorite song is "A Case of U". I think the ONA Live CD is very good especially if you missed that concert. I was in Portland for a conference but could not get tickets, so I stood outside like a lost puppy. As it turns out he taped part of the show . I also like the ONA live CD better than the Aladdin DVD.
[Edited 4/7/08 13:20pm]
[Edited 4/9/08 12:12pm]

One Night Alone (piano) is a pure and beautiful bouquet of poetic sounds and meaninful lyrics... If you like piano, you'll love this. But the vocals are amazing too. I would say that it is different from "The Truth". It's also a good example of how far his creativity can travel... I absolutely love each and everything song on it, especially the poignant Avalanche where Prince's gospely voice is simply divine.

I prefer One Night Alone to The Truth, it's just beautiful, I love Prince on piano and it's so intimate!

Edit - I get mixed up with the names too
[Edited 4/7/08 15:02pm]

JazzMeUp said:

I have the Live....I look 4ward to the acoustic, "One Night Alone."

dreamy, i'm sure you'd have a field day with ONAlone.
it is absolutely stunning, & feels much less polished than the truth.
i couldn't chose between them, cuz they're mood albums.
ona is very chill out & the truth has more attitude.
ona live has nice variety of stuff.
i when u were mine - he sings 'u were all i wanted 2 * ' (he makes a noise with his tongue..it sounds quite naughty)

lottielooloo1968 said:

And considering I seem to really dig Prince on piano lately, it might be such a bad choice.

I really like the replies I'm getting, but I'd like to know more. Any particular songs on ONA (piano) that make it worth getting? And are any of the unplugged-piano versions of his older songs make the other worth have?

Should I get both or is one necessarily better than the other? I've got plenty of votes for both sides so far

Sidenote: I'm gonna need a bigger CD case. Never thought I'd get more than 24 albums

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

Dreamy, One Nite Alone (piano) doesn't contain piano versions of previously released Prince material. It's a proper album, with a cover of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of U" included.

Tracklist:
01. One Nite Alone... (3:35)
02. U're Gonna C Me (5:16)
03. Here On Earth (3:22)
04. A Case Of U (3:39)
05. Have A Heart (2:03)
06. Objects In The Mirror (3:26)
07. Avalanche (4:24)
08. Pearls B4 The Swine (3:00)
09. Young And Beautiful (2:44)
10. Arboretum (2:16)

Housequake.com has a great review from Uptown by Per Nilsen here that I would recommend reading entirely:

http://www.housequake.com...enitealone

One other note that I'd add...the One Nite Alone Live! album contains 2 discs of proper concert (each song recorded at various locations, but mixed together to make it sound like it's one concert) and there is a portion of the live set in which Prince plays solo at the piano, performing older tunes and at least 2 tracks from the One Nite Alone piano album. There's also a 3rd disc in the "Live" set that contains aftershow recordings.

ONA Piano is one of my absolute favorite Prince albums. (With the exception of Avalanche, which I feel was a needless and irritating foray into politics.) It is definitely worth getting.[/quote]


agreed...

I've been wanting to add this album(ONA-piano) to my library for soooo long, if not for the "a case of you" track alone! - any suggestions on where to find?

ONA Piano is fabulous.
I only discoverd it lately and it's by far my favourite Prince album.
Amazing amazing album.
Very rare tho.. be prepared to break open the piggy bank if you find it for sale..
[Edited 4/9/08 14:42pm]