Home / Prince Discography / Prince Albums /
The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! Prince album
NPG Records
albumIf you can describe it it ain’t funky.
In 2002, Prince finally staged a world tour that did not demand him to play his hits. For this was a moment of renewal in his life, having remarried as well as converted to the Jehovah Witness faith the previous year. One Nite Alone… Tour was unfettered and allowed Prince to dig back into his catalogue and perform songs fans longed to hear. This whole sense of newness and freedom made the shows intimate and eclectic. Sensational reviews both critically and from fans sparked in Prince an enthusiasm to reconsider his past objections to compiling recordings from a tour and issue his first live album. A double disc boxset titled One Nite Alone… Live.
Not only did the set contain his first live album, the highlight was its companion CD, capturing the tour’s aftershows. Released as Prince and the New Power Generation and available only as the companion CD with One Nite Alone… Live box set, One Nite Alone: The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! comprises live recordings from four aftershows played during the 2002 tour. Those shows were staged at: The World club in New York City on 10 April; The Highlands, Hollywood, 20 April; House Of Blues, Sunset Strip, 21 April; and Roseland Theatre, Portland, 1 May. The main two-disc set from which The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! accompanies forms recordings from the main shows likewise captured throughout the US leg of this tour.
The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! is significant in that it is only Prince’s second aftershow recording to have an official release. The first was a VHS issue named Sacrifice Of Victor of the filmed aftershow that closed Act II Tour on 7 September 1993, released out of desperation by Warner Brothers in 1995 to push Prince material onto the market due to having changed his name to Prince Love Symbol in protest over their contract.
The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! captures the essence of Prince’s legendary aftershows – indulgent jams, songs and covers spontaneously drifting in and out of hits and rarities, as well as guest appearances. The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! features Musiq Soulchild guesting in the aftershow of 10 April 2002 and sings his Just Friends (Sunny). Also included is a cover of Sly & The Family Stone’s If You Want Me To Stay. George Clinton leading We Do This is recorded during the same 9 April show. The album’s highlights are Prince’s own tracks, Peach, Girls & Boys, Alphabet St, Joy In Repetition, The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker, and surprisingly, considering his recent conversion to the Jehovah faith, a vigorous rendition of The Black Album‘s 2 Nigs United 4 West Compton showing that the Prince of old was not ready to abandon his adult material completely. The set was ineligible to chart.
2020 reissue
The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! was reissued on 29 May 2020 by Sony Legacy, as part of the Up All Nite With Prince: The One Nite Alone Collection in which it was repackaged with its original companion double album One Nite Alone… Live! The vinyl version of The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! was issued as a stand-alone item.
Performers
- Vocals/Guitar
- Prince
- Drums
- John Blackwell
- Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson Just Friends (Sunny) / If You Want Me To Stay
- Keyboards
- Renato Neto
- Bass Guitar
- Rhonda Smith
- Larry Graham Joy In Repetition
- Trombone
- Greg Boyer
- Alto Sax
- Maceo Parker
- Saxophone
- Candy Dulfer
- Najee
Data
- Producer
- Prince
- Label
- NPG Records
- Distribution
- NPG Records
- Cover/Design
- Ashfin Shahidi and Sam Jennings
- Released
- 23 years ago on 24 November 2002
- Reissued
- 29 May 2020 as Up All Nite With Prince: The One Nite Alone Collection
- Running Time
- 55:39
- US Chart Peak
- Ineligible
- UK Chart Peak
- Ineligible
- Orig. Format
-
Tracklist
- Joy In Repetition (10:55) 1
- We Do This [sung by George Clinton] (4:41) 1
- Just Friends (Sunny) / If You Want Me To Stay [sung by Musiq Soulchild] (4:26) 1
- 2 Nigs United 4 West Compton (6:14) 2
- Alphabet St. (2:54) 2
- Peach [Xtended Jam] (11:18) 4
- Dorothy Parker (6:16) 3
- Girls & Boys (6:59) 2
- The Everlasting Now [Vamp] (1:49) 2
1 Recorded at The World on 10 April 2002.
2 Recorded at The Highlands Hollywood on 20 April 2002.
3 Recorded at House Of Blues on 21 April 2002.
4 Recorded at Roseland Theatre on 1 May 2002.
Singles from The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over!
The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! produced no singles.
The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! album review
It Ain’t Over is a refreshing album. Not because of the fact it is Prince’s second live album and released to accompany the first One Nite Alone… Live, it captures a series of recordings of his famous aftershows. Recorded during those of the One Nite Alone… Tour It Ain’t Over is more successful at capturing the atmosphere of the intimate shows than the double album of the main concerts.
The club vibe is maintained throughout and most notably with Alphabet St., extended into a jam as is Peach, but the moody Joy In Repetition is the real jelly. The outlier is the inclusion of the Musiq Soulchild medley that perhaps could have been reconsidered in favour of others better suited, however George Clinton’s We Do This maintains the spirit and aftershow groove. The smooth Dorothy Parker oozing class lifts The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over above its companion album – confirming a formula that was later repeated with Indigo Nights.
The Aftershow: It Ain’t Over! is rated 4.5 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.
Related releases
© Goldies Parade, 1998 – 2026 • Privacy