it's been about a year since folx started receiving the 3-CD set through npgmc. i must admit i haven't really sunk my teeth into all of it like i usually do with prince. the reason is all the other stuff going on: xpectation, playing catch-up with the 2001 downloads, misc. live stuff i've acquired, etc.
but i haven't forgotten the main thang from year 2 : that 3-CD set of official live show/aftershow stuff. prince's first ever...
gotta say, live versions of rainbow children, muse 2 the pharaoh, xenophobia r prolly the best 1-2-3 punch i've had all year. that guitar simply sings! can u say habibi (even though it's the '81 strat)? prince is smoking right now, with his ever-so-tight band and his seeming willingness to do anything he wants. this set is great, and even though i haven't really given it the attention it deserves, it will be in rotation in my CD player for many years to come.
any1 else want to share your impressions of ONA Live one year later?

First ever ever EVER Prince album I hardly ever listen to
and don't care about, don't know the tracklist for etc.

Listened to it twice as a whole. Gave Xenophobia a few
seperate spins, kind of took a fancy to the live version
of "Muse" and then just dropped the whole thing.

The ItAin'tOver disc is a crying shame. Such a waste of
space there. Two nice tunes on it, the rest is a mess,
bad guesting, boring jamming etc. Thank God Renato saved
the day toward the end with an exquisite solo.

For the rest, it feels like a non-entity to me. Perhaps
I'll suddenly fall in love with it in a few years time,
perhaps it will one day be my fav ever album by Prince,
but for now, it does nothing for me one way or another.

My favorite versions of Adore and Joy In Repetition makes this set worth owning to me. The fact that I didn't have to pay for it makes it even better.

ANAL would have gotten more attention here..

Seriously.. ONAL is at the bottom of the pile as I won't go so far as to say it sucks but it rates very low compared to other live shows.

Still playing Xenophobia!.

I listen to it often and I love every minute of it.

What date did people start to receive this? Anyone know?

In my opinion, it's the least inspiring album Prince has ever put out. It's like a collection of very average re-recordings with a slight crowd-noise in the background. Every now and then I'll put the discs in the machine and try to get into it...

And then get very bored, very soon.

The only thing worth listening to on it is Xenophobia.

booyah said:

it must have been the end of November and December last year. I received mine on December 5th. However, as many times with NPGMC, it took many weeks for people (not all, of course, but a bunch of the unlucky) to get the set.

There was a time the 3rd disc (the aftershow stuff) did not leave my car CD player but it came and went. As for the first two discs, I prefer the 1st one much more as there are complete songs.

I love the ONA shows, it is also proven by the number of bootlegs copies of the shows I have and I have listened to. But, as it happens many times, I don't listen to the official release too much - maybe because the show is incomplete and what's more it doesn't have many of the songs played during the European leg - a natural thing considering the discs were recorded during the American part of the tour. Thus, it has nothing really to do with the set itself.

Probably the reason I don't listen to it so much is the fact that I have the bootleg copies in such quantity (and quality also, though can't be compared to the ONA set) and simply I don't need yet another copy to listen to. I believe it applies to many other fans who also have numerous copies of the ONA bootleg shows and simply don't hold the same interest in the official release.

Still, it's great.

I love this set and listen to it often. It's not the best representation of the ONA (American) tour (I think Chicago & LA are better) but its still a great listen imo. I love this band he is with now and think these are awesome versions of some classics. This version of Strange Relationship alone makes it a great set.

I actually bought it from CD Universe about a week before it was released last year...got the day of release and found out later I got it cheaper than anywhere.

I made the sad mistake of going to the Mall Of America to look for ONA:L because I had a gift certificate. The whole place was swamped, none of the stores had it, and getting out of the top level of the parking lot there was like a horrendous car maze.

Even more pathetic was that I ended up getting it the same day at the Cheapo a couple blocks away from my house. It wasn't a pleasant journey, but the set was my first exposure to any live material from Prince (I'd only been a fan for about 6 months at this point), and as such I loved it.

It also marked the first time I heard Sometimes it Snows in April, Free, Anna Stesia, and Prince's take on Nothing Compares 2 U.
[This message was edited Mon Nov 24 13:00:27 PST 2003 by HobbesLeCute]

im sorry i keep reading the thread title as ANAL,1 year later

Christopher said:

I know. I always giggle when I see the acronym ONAL. Tee Hee... see.

Christopher said:

Oh, that would be talking about me then since I still haven't gotten ONAL yet (1 year later).

squirrelgrease said:

you nasty pidgeons

Here is the problem with onaLIVE...IT AINT LIVE!!!
I cannot listen to that sound. LIVE is prince and the revolution LIVE in 85. LIVE is the rave dvd. The dvd for onaLIVE SUXX as well. Sign O the times gets away with it barely. I WANT LIVE not muted/boring/no atmosphere LIVE!!

Now what do you think about that???
Now I feel better!!!

fms said:

god it was fun at that time last year etc..I miss that. Goodtimes like Ive never had before or since on the net. Things done changed in this past year.

rdhull said:

Yes! I remember us being on this board constantly looking out the window for the UPS man as folks started receiving theirs. RD and LAV turned into masterjackers of threads and there was humor and good fun all around.

Then I took the red pill. (or was it the blue one?)