Maps of Music

20Ten (2010)

Where the lyrics of 20Ten take you, and where it was really made.

The album could not be bought in stores or as a download: it was given away free with British and Belgian newspapers and magazines.

Key places

Recorded at Paisley Park Studios (2010)

Recording site Paisley Park Studios — Prince produced, arranged, composed, and performed the album at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• 20Ten: thirty-fifth studio album by American recording artist Prince
• Released 10 July 2010 by NPG Records
• Free covermount with the Daily Mirror and Daily Record in the UK and Ireland, and with Het Nieuwsblad and De Gentenaar in Belgium
• Also released 22 July 2010 with Rolling Stone in Germany and Courrier International in France
• Not available as a digital download or in retail stores
• Contains musical elements of funk, pop, rock, and soul

Background

• Prince revealed the title when receiving a lifetime achievement award at the 2010 BET Awards in June 2010
• Told the Daily Mirror he chose the title because the year really matters and the times are very trying
• Considered the album a personal diary of the year
• Some track titles were revealed as clues in the song Cause and Effect, released to radio earlier in 2010

Recording

• Produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota
• Backing vocals by Liv Warfield, Shelby J, and Elisa Dease
• Horns by Maceo Parker, Greg Boyer, and Ray Monteiro
• Prince's thirty-third studio album released in the UK

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Prince Rogers Nelson, born June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota; died April 21, 2016 at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
• Signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1977 at age 18; first album For You released April 7, 1978.
• Career spanned funk, rock, R&B and pop, with estimated sales over 100 million records.

Career

• Breakthrough with Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981) and 1999 (1982).
• Purple Rain (1984) made him the first singer to hold the number-one film, album and single in the US at the same time.
• Sign o' the Times (1987) is widely considered his greatest work.
• Changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993, becoming known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince; reverted to Prince in 2000.
• Won seven Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Tony Parsons, Daily Mirror columnist: said it was as good as Prince's all-time classics Purple Rain and 1999, and his best record since Sign o' the Times 23 years earlier
• Joachim Hentschel, Rolling Stone Germany: viewed it as Prince's best effort since 1992's The Love Symbol Album
• Jason Draper, NME: gave 4/10, said it has its moments but is no way his best in 23 years, though likely his best in four years
• Luke Winkie, MusicOMH: gave 2 out of 5 stars, calling it one of the slightest albums Prince has ever recorded
• Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic: gave 2½ out of 5 stars, saying the funk jams are stuck in low gear and the hooks do not sink in
• Overall: mixed reviews from most music critics

Records

• Over 2.5 million copies distributed by Trinity Mirror, publisher of the Daily Mirror and Daily Record
• Daily Mirror sales rose by 334,000 and Daily Record sales by 45,000 on the day each carried the album
• Not available as a digital download or in retail stores

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was Prince's first interview in over 10 years with a British newspaper, given to the Daily Mirror as part of the release
• Prince had released Planet Earth in July 2007 under a similar arrangement with The Mail on Sunday
• The Mirror issue carrying the album cost 65 pence
• Prince said the free release avoided charts, piracy, and stress, though the album was still easily found for illegal download

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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