Perhaps the most puzzling thing about "One Night Alone..Live" is that it is Prince's first ever live album. After 25 years of being hailed as the most electrifying performer since James Brown and Jimi Hendrix, Prince finally relents with this jam-packed 3 CD box set.

This album, like every other move in his career, is both brilliant and baffling. As Prince himself announces on only the third song; "if you drove up here in a Little Red Corvette, you might be surprised at what you gonna get"; thus setting the tone for the duration of the three discs.

Disc One is almost entirely made up of material from his 2001 album "The Rainbow Children". For the uninitiated, this disc may be a tough one to get around, for the material is largely unknown and leans heavily on the Jazz side rather than the signature pop/rock sound that we associate with Prince. In all fairness, Prince has hit upon this area in the past (really, what hasn't he hit upon?) but not to this degree. Luckily, the songs are quite good and while showing a dedication to the Jazz tradition, are still lively and danceable enough ("1+1+1 is 3" is pure Prince) that you do not have to be a hardcore Jazz-snob to enjoy them. Two of the songs, "Rainbow Children" and "Xenophobia", are in the 12 minute range and serve to showcase the devastating abilities of his band, the New Power Generation. All six members of the NPG are allowed ample time to trade solos throughout which spurns 'his royal badness' to step up to the plate and deliver the most lead guitar we've ever heard from him on one record.

Disc Two features a remarkable set containing new songs, fan favourites, a few of the biggest hits and an 'unplugged' medley performed on solo piano. This set kicks off with the old-school funk of "Family Name" before launching into ecstatic renditions of "Take Me With U" and "Raspberry Beret". While keeping the solo spotlights at bay, the band still shines throughout; they absolutely swing on "Everlasting Now" in a way that few bands could. Prince brings down the volume with a solo piano performance that is both gorgeous and frustrating; the songs are rendered beautifully but some are only a scant 40 seconds long! You get a verse and a chorus and it is on to the next track. Unfortunate, but it is a minor flaw and will not ruin the enjoyment of this disc; which is terrific otherwise.

Disc Three is where we get to listen in on one of Prince's infamous "aftershow parties", in which the jams are long, funky and filled with surprise guests. In this case we hear bass giant Larry Graham, George Clinton and Musiq join the NPG to keep the funk going well into the next morning. Aside from the slow blues of "Joy In Repetition" and the country-fied bounce of "Alphabet Street", this disc is mostly made up of loose jams - a few songs seem to share only the title of a well known song because they sound nothing like their original counterparts. Oddly enough, this never gets boring. How many live bands are doing this type of music now? And by that I mean truly live: no sequencers, no pre-recorded tracks, just seven musicians moving forward as one while being captured live to 2-track tape.

This is a great live album even if it is quite a few years late. It's so good that you'll wonder why there has never been one from Prince before. Hopefully, we will get other live releases from Prince in the near future but for the moment, I'll be satisfied blasting "One Night Alone...Live" at home - at the very least, now I don't feel so bad about being unable to afford those high ticket prices!

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Prince
One Night Alone...Live

Released: December 17, 2002
Origination Year: 2002
Time: Disc One - 63:47
Disc Two - 62:00
Disc Three - 55:41
Tracks: 36
Produced by: N/A
Recorded by: Scottie P
Mixed by: N/A
Mastered by: N/A
Style: Live
Format: CD
Enhancement: None
Label: NPG Records
Website:
www.npgmusicclub.com

Rainbow Children
Muse 2 The Pharoh
Xenophobia
Extraordinary
Mellow
1 + 1 + 1 = 3
The Other Side Of The Pillow
Strange Relationship
When You Were Mine
Avalanche

Disc Two
Family Name
Take Me With U
Raspberry Beret
Everlasting Now
One Night Alone...
Adore
I Wanna Be Ur Lover
Do Me, Baby
Condition Of The Heart (interlude)
Diamonds & Pearls
The Beautiful Ones
Nothing Compares To U
Free
Starfish & Coffee
Sometimes It Snows In April
How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore
Anna Stesia

Disc Three
Joy In Repetition
We Do This
Medley: Just Friends (Sunny)/If You Want Me To Stay
2 Nigs United 4 West Compton
Alphabet Street
Peach (xtended jam)
Dorothy Parker
Girls & Boys
The Everlasting Now (vamp)