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Prince ad libs a brief bit about his new aversion to “four-letter words,” though the singer’s come-hither delivery ensures that the change does no harm to the song’s slinky vibe. Subtle revision of the song’s lyrics is as close as he comes to any lecturing on Aftershow. Here, Prince airs it out for over ten minutes, recasting it as both a band-introduction tool and a showcase for his electric guitar showboating. The opening song, “Joy in Repetition,” dates from sessions that produced Sign ‘O’ the Times, and was later included in the scattershot soundtrack to Prince’s box-office bomb Graffiti Bridge. While avoiding his biggest hits, this nearly hour-long ride finds Prince engaging with key selections from his repertoire. There’s much to savor from that oft-overlooked wilderness period, but the urgent showmanship of One Nite Alone… The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! makes it a highlight in Prince’s discography and a gratifying, much-needed connection with his ability to take it to the stage. Similarly, it is now available for streaming and purchase on Tidal, along with the majority of the NPG Records catalog. Years later, Prince carved out this third disc as a standalone title for sale on one of his websites. Still, most detractors couldn’t ignore the third CD, which presented a rush of screaming blues licks, rowdy funk-ensemble workouts, and sultry soul, all captured during “aftershow” parties from this same tour. Given the outlier that Children was in his catalog, a follow-up live release that repeated the same sermons over its first two discs was met with some frustration. But these setlists also explored another recent Prince recording, *The Rainbow Children-*a concept album that heralded his conversion to the Jehovah’s Witness faith. One Nite Alone…Live! was a box set that chronicled the tour in support of Prince’s similarly titled piano-and-vocals CD. In 2002, before his Musicology comeback, he gave these hardcore fans what they wanted, at long last. Message boards on his various online “music clubs” were often clogged with requests for official live discs. Prince knew admirers bootlegged his shows.
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