20TEN Prince album

The Daily Mirror

album

The bulk of 20TEN was laid down at Paisley Park Studios throughout the autumn of 2009 to early 2010. The release of the project was unconventional in that the album was distributed through an exclusivity deal as a free giveaway CD mounted on the covers of five European newspapers circulated on 10 July 2010: The Daily Mirror (England), The Daily Record (Scotland), Het Nieuwsblad (Netherlands) and De Gentenaar (Germany). Two further publications carried 20TEN as a covermount on 22 July 2010; Courrier International (France), as well as the German edition of Rolling Stone.

I just think it’s a year that really matters.

The UK, which had 2.5 million copies of 20TEN distributed by The Daily Mirror, noted the paper’s usual circulation spike by 334,000 that particular Saturday. The paper proclaimed the release as the ‘music event of the year’ on striking the deal for 20TEN, which Prince voiced his palpable relief: “No charts, no internet piracy and no stress.” The method was adapted for a wider distribution though similar deals with European newspapers owing to his previous success with Planet Earth, issued as a free covermount in the UK under arrangement with the Mail On Sunday national newspaper in 2007.

Although no promotional singles were released to support 20TEN, Prince staged an accompanying publicity tour headlining several key festivals across Europe, in which focussed on his greatest hits as well as songs from the new album. It proved a highly successful tour in terms of his international profile. Distributing it via newspapers and performing the festival circuit got his music out to people who might otherwise never considered hearing Prince’s music. The campaign certainly found him new legions of fans.

20TEN was also planned for a conventional retail distribution in the US through Warner Bros Records as 20TEN Deluxe around October 2010, a project that had evolved out of an earlier unreleased studio album named Welcome 2 America (posthumously released in 2021). Plans for 20TEN Deluxe did not come to fruition and 20TEN was never available commercially in the US. At this juncture fans were growing increasingly frustrated having to seemingly jump though hoops to get hold of Prince’s latest music. The state of the music industry had gotten Prince as equally frustrated, and he would not release another album until 2014 – and giving that a conventional release when distributed amid great surprise under the Warner label, finally bringing reconciliation to his longstanding dispute with the label which unravelled their relationship back in 1993.

The Daily Mirror newspaper distributing 20TEN described it Prince’s best album since Sign O’ The Times. But by Prince standards 20TEN offers a mediocre listen and reviews were mixed. The album’s standout track, Laydown, is hidden as track number 77. It is possible its track number on the CD is in reference to the album’s oldest song Compassion, originating from his then home studio 77 Beverly Park, the Beverly Hills mansion Prince was renting since 2008. Continuing the routine of his previous LP MPLSound (entirely recorded at Beverly Park), 20TEN was predominately another solo project, Prince creating much of the sounds using his famous Linn LM-1 Drum Machine. Indeed the album’s sole track to feature acoustic drums is Walk In Sand. The intriguingly titled Lavaux is the name of the area of Switzerland where Prince twice headlined the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 2007 and 2009.

Having worked on two albums in early 2010, during the promotional 20TEN Tour, in June 2011 Prince declared he had ‘no plans’ to record again. Stating he was putting himself in “recording rehab… taking a break” to wait out the change happening to the music industry owing to the unprofitably of internet distribution and the prevalence of digital piracy disrupting the traditional model of record sales. This would see Prince’s longest break between releases in his entire career, releasing no new material in 2011, 2012 and 2013, took to touring instead as his primary source of income.

Cover story

Simply issued as a carded CD slipcase, the cover of 20TEN features an Anime-influenced illustration by Debbie McGuan, who designed prints for many of Prince’s clothes at the time – a fact that is given subtle reference by an illustrator’s hand sketched at Prince’s right shoulder on the artwork. Trying her luck, McGuan sent sketches of her illustrations to Prince in 1993. One of her designs appeared in the video The Most Beautiful Girl In The World and since then designed clothes for him. In 2010, Prince chose her illustration for the cover of 20TEN and had this artwork also printed on the tunic he wore at the BET Awards to collect his Lifetime Achievement Award on 27 June 2010. The logo is the creation of graphic artist Anthony Malzone having the previous year designed the packaging for the triple disc set LotusFlow3r.

Performers

Vocals / all Instr

Prince

Backing vocals

Shelby J

Liv Warfield

Elisa Dease

Saxophone

Maceo Parker ^Compassion

Trombone

Greg Boyer ^Compassion

Trumpet

Ray Monteiro ^Compassion

Data

Producer

Prince

Label

NPG Records

Distribution

The Daily Mirror

Cover/Design

Debbie McGuan and Anthony Malzone

Released

16 years ago on 10 July 2010

Running Time

39:18

US Chart Peak

Did not chart

UK Chart Peak

Ineligible

Prince Album

#35

Orig. Format

Tracklist

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 (3:14)
6. Lavaux (3:04)
7. Walk In Sand (3:30)
8. Sea Of Everything (3:49)
9. Everybody Loves Me (4:09)
10. Laydown (3:07) ¹

¹ Hidden Track (#77)

Singles from 20TEN

20TEN produced no singles.

Supporting tour

20TEN Tour

2010

• 20TEN Tour (Denmark, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Portugal)
  7 shows from 4 to 25 July 2010
• Prince Live 2010 (Norway, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, UAE, Netherlands)
  8 shows from 18 October to 18 November, 2010

20TEN review

The pithy content of 20TEN is unrecognisable from the daring creator of Dirty Mind, 1999, or Around The World In A Day? – the Prince we know then would never have played so safe. Ensconced into the comfort of late career 20TEN was hardly going to push the envelope, but sees Prince regressing to safe ground in this late career homage to the Linn drum machine. Right from the off with the rose-tinted opener Compassion 20TEN is heavy on tech, weak on bite and with flavourings of backing vocals, anchored with trusty old Hornz. Where had all that attitude seen in the previous year’s LotusFlow3r vanished? The tracklist ticks on to Beginning Endlessly, a punchy, funk-fuelled showcase of Prince’s craftsmanship as sharp as expected with any of his music of old. As ballads go Future Soul Song is a true highlight. Sung – unusually – out of falsetto, Prince’s voice pulls this writhing beauty that will find you cranking up volume and reminiscing ’96s The Most Beautiful Girl In The World. Compared to 2009s MPLSound the dynamism of the Linn is cooling down.

20TEN ups tempo with the bouncy although sadly average Sticky Like Glue and Act Of God before heading back to 1980s synths for Lavaux to close the chorus-friendly middle section of 20TEN. The printed tracklist is bought to a soft landing with Everybody Loves Me, a cheery but again average electro number. 20TEN offers pleasing affect but does not hit the mark expected for a Prince album. Thankfully that sentiment is washed aside after a little patience which comes big reward; the hidden track Laydown and doubtlessly so, late minute inclusion. Hard-edged and swathed in truly relentless driving rhythm the addition of Laydown appears like an afterthought to bring life into a not totally exciting but competent 20TEN, closes out the collection on aggressive and gorgeously arrogant form. Had Prince lost touch in writing lyrics relevant to the day? What on earth happened to the songsmith that gave the world Sign O’ The Times? 20TEN represents Prince perhaps too at ease with himself and unconcerned with chart success and the need to battle against an entire music industry to achieve true artistic control which drove him to be daring throughout the 80s and 90s. Full of oddments and at times high-minded, considering the successes of recent albums fans expected more Prince in Prince albums.

20TEN is rated 3 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.