20Ten

20Ten
Studio album by Prince
Released July 10, 2010
Recorded 2009-10
Studio Paisley Park Records in Minneapolis
Genre Pop, funk, rock, soul
Length 39:18
Label NPG
Producer Prince
Prince chronology
Lotusflow3r / MPLSound
(2009)Lotusflow3r / MPLSound2009		 20Ten
(2010)		 Plectrumelectrum
(2014)Plectrumelectrum2014

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,[1] and Het Nieuwsblad and De Gentenaar in Belgium.[2] It was also released on July 22, 2010, with Rolling Stone magazine in Germany,[3] and Courrier International in France.[4]

The album was produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince at Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[5][6] It is his thirty-third studio album released in the UK.[7] 20Ten contains musical elements of funk, pop, rock, and soul music.[8] Some names 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.[9]

Release

Prince revealed the name of the album when receiving a lifetime achievement award at the 2010 BET Awards in June 2010.[6] 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."[10] He considered the album a personal diary of the year.[11] Prince made arrangements to release 20Ten exclusively as a free CD add-on to European newspapers on July 10, 2010, including the UK's Daily Mirror, Scotland's Daily Record, and Belgium's Het Nieuwsblad, and on July 22, 2010, in France's Courrier International and the German edition of Rolling Stone.

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.[1] The issue of the Mirror cost 65 pence; the album was not available as a digital download or in retail stores.[12] 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,"[13] although the album is easily available for illegal download via peer-to-peer networks.[14] 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.[15]

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.[6]

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.[16] It has not materialized.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[17]
Daily Mirrorfavorable[18]
MusicOMH[19]
NME(4/10)[20]
Rolling Stone Germanyfavorable[21]

20Ten received mixed reviews from most music critics. Columnist Tony Parsons reviewed the album for the Daily Mirror, the newspaper marketing the album.[22] 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."[18] 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.[21] 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".[17]

Track listing

All tracks written by Prince[5].

No.TitleLength
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
10."Laydown" (hidden track on track #77; following tracks #10 through #76, each of which contain 5 or 6 seconds of silence [23])3:07

Personnel

Release history

List of release dates, record label and format details
Country Date Format Publication Label
United Kingdom July 10, 2010[24] CD covermount Daily Mirror NPG Records
Scotland Daily Record
Belgium Het Nieuwsblad
France[25] July 22, 2010 Courrier International
Germany[26] Rolling Stone

References

  1. 1 2 Greenslade, Roy (June 29, 2010). "Mirror and Record to give away Prince album". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on July 2, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Prince geeft nieuw album weg via uw krant". Het Nieuwsblad.
  3. ↑ "Prince: Neue CD "20Ten" exklusiv im Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone.
  4. ↑ "Courrier international crée l'evènement". Courrier International.
  5. 1 2 3 20Ten (back cover). Prince. NPG Records. 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 Kreps, Daniel (June 29, 2010). "Prince Preps Funky New Disc '20Ten'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 2, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Prince throughout the years - timeline of the music legend's career". Daily Mirror. July 6, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Prince: 20TEN - one day left: La Roux, Rio Ferdinand and Scott Mills give their verdict". Daily Mirror. July 7, 2010. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  9. ↑ "MPLS’ 89.3 To Premiere New Prince Song This Friday". Drfunkenberry.com. 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
  10. ↑ Willis, Peter (July 5, 2010). "Peter Willis goes inside the star's secret world". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  11. ↑ Bryan, Victoria (July 8, 2010). "Pop idol Prince seeks pied a terre in France". Reuters. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  12. ↑ Lindvall, Helienne (July 12, 2010). "Prince's war with iTunes plays into the hands of illegal filesharers". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  13. ↑ Bryant, Tom (July 10, 2010). "Purple reign". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  14. ↑ Moya, Jared (July 13, 2010). "Fans Bypass Prince, Distribute New 20Ten Album Online". ZeroPaid. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  15. ↑ Paine, Andre (July 13, 2010). "Prince Giveaway Boosts Mirror's Sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 17, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  16. ↑ "New Prince Song Snippet!~ "Rich Friends" Listen Now". Dr. Funkenberry.com. October 8, 2010.
  17. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (July 12, 2010). "20TEN > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  18. 1 2 Parsons, Tony (July 7, 2010). "Prince - 20TEN the first review: This is his best album for 23 years says Tony Parsons". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  19. 1 2 Luke, Winkie (July 12, 2010). "Prince - 20Ten". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on July 21, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  20. 1 2 Draper, Jason (July 12, 2010). "Album Review: Prince, '20Ten' (NPG)". NME. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  21. 1 2 "Prince: Was erwartet uns auf "20Ten"?". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 20, 2010.
  22. ↑ Morley, Paul (July 11, 2010). "Paul Morley on music: Prince". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on July 14, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  23. ↑ "Track listing of Prince – 20ten at Discogs". Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  24. ↑ Bream, Jon (July 1, 2010). "Prince's new CD, "20Ten," due July 22". Star Tribune. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  25. ↑ Sauphie, Eva (July 20, 2010). "Prince, 20Ten (enfin) gratuit dans le Courrier International" [Prince, 20Ten (finally) free in the Courrier International]. Qobuz Magazine (in French). Paris. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  26. ↑ Walls, Seth Colter (July 29, 2011). "Prince's '20Ten': "Here Come the Purple Yoda!"". The Awl. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
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