20Ten | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 10, 2010 | |||
Recorded | Early-mid 2006; 2009–early 2010 [1] | |||
Studio | Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota, US | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:18 | |||
Label | NPG | |||
Producer | Prince | |||
Prince chronology | ||||
|
20Ten is the thirty-fifth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on July 10, 2010, by NPG Records as a free covermount with the Daily Mirror and Daily Record in the UK and Ireland, [2] and Het Nieuwsblad and De Gentenaar in Belgium. [3] It was also released on July 22, 2010, with Rolling Stone magazine in Germany, [4] and Courrier International in France. [5]
The album was produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota. [6] [7] It is his thirty-third studio album released in the UK. [8] 20Ten contains musical elements of funk, pop, rock, and soul music. [9] Some titles of the tracks from the album were revealed as clues in Prince's song "Cause and Effect" which was released to radio earlier in 2010. [10]
Prince revealed the name of the album when receiving a lifetime achievement award at the 2010 BET Awards in June 2010. [7] He stated to the Daily Mirror that he chose the title because, "I just think it's a year that really matters. These are very trying times." [11] He considered the album a personal diary of the year. [12]
Over 2.5 million copies were distributed by Trinity Mirror, the publisher of the Daily Mirror and Daily Record. Prince was featured in the publications, to which he granted his first interview in a British newspaper in over 10 years. [2] The issue of the Mirror cost 65 pence; the album was not available as a digital download or in retail stores. [13] Prince stated to the Mirror that this method of releasing the album was "the best way to go... no charts, no internet piracy and no stress," [14] although the album is easily available for illegal download via peer-to-peer networks. [15] The publisher released that sales of the Daily Mirror increased by 334,000, and sales of The Daily Record increased by 45,000 copies on the day it included the album. [16]
Prince released his album Planet Earth in July 2007 under a similar arrangement with the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday . No plans for a U.S. release have even been announced. [7]
On October 8, 2010, Prince told French radio station Europe 1 that he was reportedly planning on releasing an updated edition of the album called 20Ten Deluxe. [17]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [18] |
MusicOMH | [19] |
NME | 4/10 [20] |
20Ten received mixed reviews from most music critics. Columnist Tony Parsons reviewed the album for the Daily Mirror, the newspaper marketing the album. [21] He wrote that it was "as good as [Prince's] all-time classics like Purple Rain and 1999 " and that it's "his best record since Sign o' the Times 23 years ago." [22] Joachim Hentschel, writing for the German edition of Rolling Stone , viewed the album as Prince's best effort since 1992's the Love Symbol Album . [23] Jason Draper of NME gave 20Ten a 4/10 rating, stating that while it "has its moments", the album was "no way" his best in 23 years, but likely his best in four years. [20] MusicOMH writer Luke Winkie gave it 2 out of 5 stars and described it as "one of the slightest albums the man has ever recorded; fluffy, anti-climatic, and utterly boring". [19] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album 2½ out of 5 stars and wrote that its songs feature "enough of a shape to be attractive from a distance, not enough to withstand closer scrutiny... hooks don’t sink in, funk jams are stuck in low gear, sensuality only simmers, the rhythms are somewhat stiff, and Prince’s deliberate mining of the past only highlights how he’s stripped the freakiness out of his entire persona". [18]
All tracks are written by Prince [6]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Compassion" | 3:57 |
2. | "Beginning Endlessly" | 5:27 |
3. | "Future Soul Song" | 5:08 |
4. | "Sticky Like Glue" | 4:46 |
5. | "Act of God" | 3:13 |
6. | "Lavaux" | 3:03 |
7. | "Walk in Sand" | 3:29 |
8. | "Sea of Everything" | 3:49 |
9. | "Everybody Loves Me" | 4:08 |
77. | "Laydown" (hidden track) | 3:07 |
Notes:
Country | Date | Format | Publication | Label |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | July 10, 2010 [24] | CD covermount | Daily Mirror | NPG |
Scotland | Daily Record | |||
Belgium | Het Nieuwsblad | |||
France [25] | July 22, 2010 | Courrier International | ||
Germany [26] | Rolling Stone |
Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and actor. The recipient of numerous awards and nominations, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. He was known for his flamboyant, androgynous persona; his wide vocal range, which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams; and his skill as a multi-instrumentalist, often preferring to play all or most of the instruments on his recordings. His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, blues, and hip hop. Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound.
Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was released on June 25, 1984, by Warner Bros. Records as the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Purple Rain was musically denser than Prince's previous albums, emphasizing full band performances, and multiple layers of guitars, keyboards, electronic synthesizer effects, drum machines, and other instruments.
"When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album Purple Rain. According to the DVD commentary of the film Purple Rain (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a song to match the theme of a particular segment of the film that involved intermingled parental difficulties and a love affair. The next morning, Prince had composed two songs, one of which was "When Doves Cry". According to Prince's biographer Per Nilsen, the song was inspired by his relationship with Vanity 6 member Susan Moonsie.
Musicology is the twenty-eighth studio album by American recording artist Prince. The album was given to concertgoers at his Musicology Tour, from March 27 to September 9, 2004, in North America. A digital release followed two days after his tour started on March 29, 2004. The physical retail version was released on April 19, 2004 (Europe) and April 20, 2004 (US) by NPG Records and distributed by Columbia Records. Musicology was the first album in five years that Prince released through a major label and, being partially recorded in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, was his first to be recorded outside Minneapolis in many years. Musicology is R&B-themed.
1999 is the fifth studio album by the American singer-songwriter and musician Prince, released on October 27, 1982, by Warner Bros. Records. It became his first album to be recorded with his band the Revolution. 1999's critical and commercial success propelled Prince to a place in the public psyche and marked the beginning of two years of heightened fame via his following releases.
N·E·W·S is the twenty-seventh studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on June 30, 2003, by NPG Records. The album is the second instrumental album released under Prince's own name, containing four tracks of 14 minutes duration each. Recorded at Prince's Paisley Park Studios over a single day, the album was initially available through Prince's NPG Music Club website on June 30, 2003, before becoming widely commercially available on July 29. The album can be seen as a modern incarnation of Madhouse, but this time as a Prince release. Original Madhouse member Eric Leeds lends his talents, as well as The New Power Generation members John Blackwell, Rhonda Smith and Renato Neto. The album was recorded improvisationally.
The Rainbow Children is the twenty-fourth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on November 20, 2001, by NPG Records and Redline Entertainment. It was also released through Prince's website earlier in the year. It is the first album released outside of the NPG Music Club to be released under the name of Prince again, as he had reverted to his previous stage name from his symbolic moniker a year earlier. It was released on double vinyl with a glossy color booklet, and was not available on vinyl again until the Legacy release in 2020.
3121 is the thirty-first studio album by American musician Prince. Released on March 21, 2006 (3/21) by NPG Records and distributed, under a "one-album deal", by Universal Music, the album reinforced Prince's big comeback after the critical success of Musicology (2004). The only Prince album ever to debut atop the Billboard 200 during his lifetime, with over 180,000 copies sold in its first week, it knocked the soundtrack for High School Musical off the top spot and became Prince's first number one album since Batman in 1989, eventually being certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Adore" is a song by Prince. It is the last track on his 1987 double album Sign o' the Times, following the live track "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night". A long, ornate slow jam featuring Atlanta Bliss and Eric Leeds on horns, it was described by NME reviewer Paolo Hewitt as "a sugar ballad that harks back to the Stylistics but is indelibly Prince's, a lush yet remarkable piece of music, and a fitting climax". It received significant radio play despite never being released as a single, and became an occasional part of Prince's concert repertoire. A 4:39-long edit of the song appears on the 1993 compilation album The Hits/The B-Sides, and the Girl 6 soundtrack album contains the full-length version. Prince's 2002 box set One Nite Alone... Live! includes a solo performance of "Adore" with piano accompaniment.
The Golden Age is the 9th studio album released by San Francisco-based sadcore and slowcore band American Music Club. The album is the band's second after a 10-year hiatus that ended in 2004. The album is an effort by the band to experiment more in their music. The album was produced by Dave Trumfio, who has also worked for bands such as Wilco and My Morning Jacket.
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Body Talk is the seventh studio album by Swedish singer Robyn, released on 22 November 2010 by Konichiwa Records. Robyn first announced in early 2010 that she would release three mini-albums throughout the course of 2010. However, it was later announced that a full-length album would be released instead of a third mini-album. The first two mini-albums of what was dubbed the Body Talk series, Body Talk Pt. 1 and Body Talk Pt. 2, were released in June and September 2010. While being a separate studio album in its own right, the full-length release also serves as a compilation album, containing the "best songs" from the first two entries in the Body Talk series in addition to five new songs. In certain territories, the new songs were also available separately as an extended play released the same day, titled Body Talk Pt. 3. The four songs and two acoustic versions from the project that were excluded from the original track listing were later included on the German iTunes and 2019 Record Store Day vinyl versions of the album.
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Welcome 2 America is the fortieth studio album by American musician Prince. It was posthumously released through NPG Records on July 30, 2021. Recorded in March 2010 before the Welcome 2 America Tour, it is the first full previously unreleased studio album of Prince material to be released posthumously.
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