Wiki
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Release Date
1 January 2003
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Length
9 tracks
Xpectation is an album by Prince only available for download on his website (1). The album was made available for mp3 download on January 1, 2003 and all the songs are instrumentals. The album was originally intended to be called Xenophobia, and the music club had previously advertised the album as one of the "4 CDs" club members would receive in the mail during 2002 for their paid $100 subscription fee.
However, for reasons unexplained, after mailing the first of the promised discs in March/April of 2002 (the One Nite Alone… piano set), the club decided that they would technically fulfill the club's promise by giving paying club members the One Nite Alone… Live! 3-CD set, which was simultaneously released to retail. The original title track for the instrumental album ("Xenophobia") was never released in a studio version, but a live rendition is one of the highlights of One Nite Alone… Live!. The downloadable album was renamed Xpectation after one of the other tracks. All nine of the tracks start with "X", using Prince's trademark of abbreviating song titles and lyrics with letters, numbers or symbols.
The album is one of Prince's most sophisticated jazz compositions, far outstripping the musical depth of the various incarnations of the Madhouse project. This is largely because the album was mostly composed in conjunction with one of his best band configurations - the core of the "One Night Alone" group, including Candy Dulfer (sax), John Blackwell (drums) and Rhonda Smith (bass). The band is also joined by classical violinist Vanessa-Mae - whose playing adds a new layer of depth.
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