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C-Note is a live album by Prince and The New Power Generation released in 2004 (though all five tracks had been released as separate mp3 files earlier in 2003). Its genre is jazz, with five tracks taken from soundchecks during the One Nite Alone... Tour.
Four of the five tracks are named after the location they were recorded in. The album's title is an acronym, taken from the first letters of the five tracks: "Copenhagen", "Nagoya", "Osaka", "Tokyo", and "Empty Room".
The entire album was recorded live from the audio console by Prince's concert sound engineer Scottie Baldwin.
The first four tracks are instrumentals, although the fourth features Prince repeating "Tokyo". The fifth track is a live rendition of "Empty Room" (recorded October 25, 2002 in Copenhagen), though the song was written ca. August 4, 1985, when it was first recorded. The song is reported to have been written and recorded for Susannah Melvoin after relationship difficulty.
The album is highly experimental and reminiscent of the Madhouse project. It was sold in digital format only on Prince's NPG Music Club. C-Note is jazz-oriented along with quiet storm, jazz-fusion, jazz-funk, and smooth jazz. It is also atmospheric and new age-themed.
User Album Review
It was at this point in 2003 which marked a crossroads, where Prince almost lost his way. It was a strange moment in his career. An era fans want to remember both fondly and not at all in equal measures: the One Nite Alone Tour was probably his best, but his then lackluster jazz fizzed offerings Xpectation and N.E.W.S. are the worst pages in Prince’s discography. It was this stark contrast that seemed to reveal Prince’s inner demons, where on one hand in concert he was growing and heading into deeper more meaningful musical experience but in the studio his talent was regressing. Prince was clearly at odds with himself, where on one hand fervently believing music should be artful if it is to be done properly. And was prepared to make his fans suffer for this art like it or not. C-Note was taken from four sound checks during the tour, which will make future listeners wonder why the ONA tour became the fabled experience fans still revere. But for this music the fans were not ready, they sought in Prince more Andy Warhol than Thomas Gainsborough. It was a fact even Prince could no longer ignore and on C-Note slotted in the classic Empty Room which will be your only reason for finding and playing this album again and again. Let there be no doubt he would see the light and hurriedly follow up with Musicology in 2004. There is lesson to be learned from that because having reinvented himself and kept his music commercial Prince has not looked back since.
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User Comments
C-Note is a live album by Prince and The New Power Generation released in 2004 (though all five tracks had been released as separate mp3 files earlier in 2003). Its genre is jazz, with five tracks taken from soundchecks during the One Nite Alone... Tour. Four of the five tracks are named after the location they were recorded in. The album's title is an acronym, taken from the first letters of the five tracks: "Copenhagen", "Nagoya", "Osaka", "Tokyo", and "Empty Room". The entire album was recorded live from the audio console by Prince's concert sound engineer Scottie Baldwin. The first four tracks are instrumentals, although the fourth features Prince repeating "Tokyo". The fifth track is a live rendition of "Empty Room" (recorded October 25, 2002 in Copenhagen), though the song was written ca. August 4, 1985, when it was first recorded. The song is reported to have been written and recorded for Susannah Melvoin after relationship difficulty. The album is highly experimental and reminiscent of the Madhouse project.[citation needed] It was sold in digital format only on Prince's NPG Music Club. C-Note is jazz-oriented along with quiet storm, jazz-fusion, jazz-funk, and smooth jazz. It is also atmospheric and new age-themed.