I've been pulling this album out quite a bit...

I admire this piece of work. I think the title track is one of the best songs he's written out of the 00's era. I value the experimentation of it, not to mention his piano style.

Overall, it isn't as solid as his older albums, but I catch drifts of improv throughout some of the songs, and that's usually where he drifts into interesting territory, lyrically and with his chord progressions. I also am thankful that he was sitting on a real piano. There are some prince tracks that simply bother me to no end because it sounds like he is sitting on a cheap keyboard, but not this time.

The only track that sticks out of the bunch is "Pearls Before the Swine". I don't dislike the song, it's just that the song doesn't simply fit with the flow of the album. The only song with a keyboard, it just felt thrown in.

anyone dig this album?


[Edited 1/21/09 23:20pm]

This is one of those hidden gems that never got the wide release it deserved. It's a succinct album with unassuming beauty and an immersing atmosphere. It's the sound of the quiet contemplations and somber reflections of the night captured in the studio.

Some people dislike the use of synths, but that just adds to the mood of the album for me. I've always loved it.
[Edited 1/22/09 0:22am]

PurpleKnight said:

That's the main reason why I love "One Night Alone," and "Here on Earth."

And while "Young and Beautiful" is more upbeat, it's my favorite from that record.

WaterInYourBath said:

I adore Arboretum. That song, while short, is just devastating in its beauty. This song is the reason I was excited when NEWS was first announced.

Do I hear doves flyin around in a few of these tracks in the background?


weird i know, but i hear something flappin its wings, and it isn't prince

Sdldawn said:

I thought they were owls, but doves makes more sense.

PurpleKnight said:

It actually sounds accurately real.. like they were in the studio with him.. in a cage er something.. i hear them!

Sdldawn said:

They are definitely there, and that's always been part of the feeling of being up late with Prince in his mansion hearing him sing about love and loss.

Lyrically, I don't really care for "U're Gonna See Me".. the "give me a page on my two way" simply bothers the hell out of me.. but the piano is intriguing. would have loved to hear a instrumental of this.. he is doing a little improv with it.. the ending is odd as it is interesting.

Well, there are a few lyrical missteps along the way on this album. The line, "I've got some milk, but no drop is spilt over things you put me through" is lame, as is his talk about food in Pearls B4 the Swine (which is an offensive song as it is considering he is calling his fans a bunch of pigs).

That's really the only problem I have with an otherwise great record.
[Edited 1/22/09 0:45am]

Beautiful album. Avalanche is possibly his best song this century, and Case of U is stunning.

PurpleKnight said:

I don't understand him adding "Pearls" on the disk.. it is obvious it was thrown on there for filler.. I would have much rather enjoyed a real piano version of the song (or another song) that would have flowed better than pearls.. just sticks out terribly

vivid said:

I love A Case Of You.. sadly tho, Prince's version couldn't hold a dim flame to Joni's.

but I appreciate him covering it

It's got highs and lows for me. I hail the title song as one of my favourite Prince songs ever, with it's freestyle form and intense vocalisation.

But is also has extreme lows, with indeed Pearls Before The Swine, which, as a live instrumental piece does not bother me that much. So it's the lyrics. I mean "Can I offer U baklava or a bagel with cream cheese?" still irks me as one of the most horrid, bland lyrics he ever committed to tape. Young And Beautiful does almost the same to me. Skipperdeeskip.

When it comes to lyrics, Prince was heavy in his Rainbow Children-mode, so some of the lyrics do not make so much sense to me. Where as I could tap into his spiritual side before, with Lovesexy and Purple Rain, that open-mindedness was over with TRC and this album.

If I had to pick my least favorite Prince album, it would have to be this one. The title track is an absolute CLASSIC, but for me, that started signifying Prince's "album that doesn't live up to it's title track" period (minus 3121, almost.)

It's not without it's faults, but I like it a lot. Certainly more now than when it first came out (when I looked at it as something he'd just put out because it was on his 'to do' list - 'Acoustic album', tick, piano album, tick).

I tend to just cherry pick the tracks I like rather than listen to it as a whole. They would be mainly 'Pearls Before The Swine', 'Have A Heart' and 'Young & Beautiful'.

PurpleKnight said:

Never thought of it like that, I always thought it was about record companies. Saying how they're big business full of fakers that pretend to be your friend but only when it suits their purpose.

TheEnglishGent said:

haha yeah pearls is one of my all time fave prince songs-but yep its aimed at"fams" who slagged off his output and friends after the celebration

so even prince hates on "FAMS"!!!

Sdldawn said:

YOU HIGH?? pearls b4 the swine is one of the beatiful songs that man has ever put down on wax

Sdldawn said:

I'm a Joni fan, but I'll have to disagree with you there. I've played it to other Joni (non-prince fans) and they'd disagree too.

jonylawson said:

yeah, i don´t really care if it fits in the album or not, it´s just a great song. my favorite from the cd.

HamsterHuey said:

If I leave my front door open would u come and visit me?
Just 2 slander my name hopin'
that I would pack my bags and leave...
If I did would u remember
2 feed the dove and clean the cage?
And never count in front of the children
lest they die of old age

I don't really know y we have 2 go r separate ways
Whether or not we grow after the seeds r sown
Only time can say...

Can I offer u baklava
or a bagel with cream cheese?
Will we say grace 2 r father
holding hands down on r knees?
R we better off just fighting?
U on ur side, me on mine
R the words that eye keep writing...
only pearls b4 the swine?

What makes men claim that u're a friend
when u're not at all?
They knock u down and then,
they lift u up again, just 2 c u fall...
But like a bird I'll keep on singing...
a song that never leaves ur mind
If nothing else u've taught me one thing...

those lyrics are some of my absoulote fave-BLAND????

you honestly think the line- Can I offer u baklava
or a bagel with cream cheese?
Will we say grace 2 r father
holding hands down on r knees?

is BLAND?? realy juust highlights how utterly different we all are-when i first heard this song it reaffirmed my faith in prince completly-as a lyricists and musician-i love it-and merely months before i was questioning whether he had lost it with the risible chart chasing HIGH-which thank the lord never saw the light of day

naw-i would defend this song AND the album to the death

jonylawson said:

Well, you will have to die then, as this song will NOT go down in history as a highlight in his career.

And indeed, there is no accounting for taste.

Or, in your case, the lack of it.

I mean, baklava? Seriously!

Sdldawn said:

I actually prefer his version. It touches me more. He sings it wonderfully.

I would love it if he sang the whole song though.

HamsterHuey said:

I love the song to death too. I think the overall sentiment of the music and lyrics is quite touching. Its funny how some fans state they don't like the song because they feel it attacks them (talk about ego-centric) or worse quibble over a few words that seem to ruin the whole experince for them. Prince fans are so highly critical of everything its depressing.

The song is really a reflection of Prince's own hurt feelings about being unable to satisfy those who claim to love him. Sometimes I wonder if Prince fans ever even consider Prince has a man with real problems and hurts. Some seem to just see him as a "jukebox with a heartbeat". I find those folks to be the most shameful amongst us.

Oh, sorry about having an opinion.

The fact I think it's rubbish does not mean you're not allowed to think it's top-notch lyrical writing.

And yeah, I care about lyrics. I do not blindly follow. I question. I kinda like that about myself. You know, being individual and all.

"Pearls B4 The Swine" is one of my favorite Prince songs. Maybe it doesn't go with the flow of the rest of this cd but I like it enough to forgive that.

I'm not too fond of the version of "A Case of U" on this cd, especially since his live version from 8/8/83 concert where he debut most of the Purple Rain tracks is simply MAGICAL. If you aint heard that version... FIND IT NOW! I think the boot I found it on is called "The Avenue".

It's beautiful!

One Nite Alone (Title Track)
Arboretum
Avalanche
A Case of U
Everything else

ThomasBjj said:[quoteI'm not too fond of the version of "A Case of U" on this cd, especially since his live version from 8/8/83 concert where he debut most of the Purple Rain tracks is simply MAGICAL. [/quote]