Album: The Rainbow Children: Difference between revisions

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It was released worldwide in November 2001 (two years after his previous studio album [[Album: Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic|Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic]] and five months after the compilation album [[Album: The Very Best Of Prince|The Very Best Of Prince]]), but was released as a single untracked audio file the previous month as [[NPG_Music_Club_Year_One_Releases#NPGMC_Edition_.23_9|NPG Music Club Edition # 9]], the October edition of the club's monthly offerings (taking the place of the monthly [[NPG_Music_Club_Year_One_Releases|NPG Ahdio]] shows and other downloads).  
It was released worldwide in November 2001 (two years after his previous studio album [[Album: Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic|Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic]] and five months after the compilation album [[Album: The Very Best Of Prince|The Very Best Of Prince]]), but was released as a single untracked audio file the previous month as [[NPG_Music_Club_Year_One_Releases#NPGMC_Edition_.23_9|NPG Music Club Edition # 9]], the October edition of the club's monthly offerings (taking the place of the monthly [[NPG_Music_Club_Year_One_Releases|NPG Ahdio]] shows and other downloads).  


The album was first previewed during the [[Prince: A Celebration - The Rainbow Children]] week-long festival at [[Paisley Park Studios]], Chanhassen, MN, USA in June 2001, with [[Prince]] sitting in the audience and hearing feedback from the audience following the album's playback. The album was distributed worldwide by the independent label Redline Entertainment.
The album was first previewed during the [[A Celebration|Celebration]] week-long festival at [[Paisley Park Studios]], Chanhassen, MN, USA in June 2001, with [[Prince]] sitting in the audience and hearing feedback from the audience following the album's playback. The album was distributed worldwide by the independent label Redline Entertainment.




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| Courtesy    =  
| Courtesy    =  
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|album promotion        = The 2001 [[Prince: A Celebration - The Rainbow Children]] in June 2001 included listening parties at which the full album was played to audience members, with [[Prince]] in attendance at some sessions. Lyric booklets were also distributed, and as a result, the album was widely discussed online months prior to its release.
|album promotion        = The 2001 [[A Celebration|Celebration]] in June 2001 included listening parties at which the full album was played to audience members, with [[Prince]] in attendance at some sessions. Lyric booklets were also distributed, and as a result, the album was widely discussed online months prior to its release.
*The track [[The Work Part 1|The Work Pt. 1]] had been released in a slightly alternate form on the file-sharing program [[Exclusive retail partnerships#Napster|Napster]] in April, and had been played on [[03_May 2001|The Tonight Show With Jay Leno]] in addition to nightly appearances in the 2001 dates of the [[Hit N Run Tour 00-01|Hit N Run Tour]] and [[A Celebration]] tours.
*The track [[The Work Part 1|The Work Pt. 1]] had been released in a slightly alternate form on the file-sharing program [[Exclusive retail partnerships#Napster|Napster]] in April, and had been played on [[03_May 2001|The Tonight Show With Jay Leno]] in addition to nightly appearances in the 2001 dates of the [[Hit N Run Tour 00-01|Hit N Run Tour]] and [[A Celebration]] tours.
* A website, [[www.rainbowchildren.com]] was set up, which offered information on the album and a free download of [[She Loves Me 4 Me]] on [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/December_10|10 December 2001]]
* A website, [[www.rainbowchildren.com]] was set up, which offered information on the album and a free download of [[She Loves Me 4 Me]] on [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/December_10|10 December 2001]]

Revision as of 12:57, 24 September 2018

2001: The Very Best Of Prince ◄ All Prince Albums All Related Artists Albums ► 2002: One Nite Alone...
The Rainbow Children
The Rainbow Children album artwork

Album details

Released: 16 October 2001 (NPG Music Club download)

20 November 2001 (US retail release)

Length: 68:49
Label(s): NPG Records / Redline Entertainment
Studio(s): Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA

Charts, Certifications & Awards

Charts
America
Country: Chart Entry Date Peak Position Weeks in Chart
USA: The Billboard 200 8 Dec. 2001 109 2
USA: Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums 8 Dec. 2001 33 7
USA: Billboard Independent Albums 8 Dec. 2001 4 17
 
Europe
Country: Chart Entry Date Peak Position Weeks in Chart
France: SNEP Top Album 200 2 Nov. 2002 78 9
 
Asia
Country: Chart Entry Date Peak Position Weeks in Chart
Japan: ORICON 洋楽アルバム World Albums 6 Feb. 2002 17 4
Certifications
This album has not received any certifications in the USA
Awards
This album has not received any awards in the USA

Singles released

The Work Part 1
b/w U Make My Sun Shine
She Loves Me 4 Me promo only
b/w None
Last December promo only
b/w None

See also

One Nite Alone... Tour   
The Rainbow Children is the 24th full-length studio album by Prince.

It was released worldwide in November 2001 (two years after his previous studio album Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic and five months after the compilation album The Very Best Of Prince), but was released as a single untracked audio file the previous month as NPG Music Club Edition # 9, the October edition of the club's monthly offerings (taking the place of the monthly NPG Ahdio shows and other downloads).

The album was first previewed during the Celebration week-long festival at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA in June 2001, with Prince sitting in the audience and hearing feedback from the audience following the album's playback. The album was distributed worldwide by the independent label Redline Entertainment.


Recording process

Album sessions took place in late 2000 and early 2001 at Paisley Park Studios. Horns were added to five of the tracks in February 2001.

The album was largely a solo recording project by Prince, although John Blackwell played drums on most tracks, marking his first appearance on a Prince release. Additionally, Larry Graham played bass guitar on The Work Pt. 1 and Last December, The Hornheadz played on five tracks, and Najee played saxophone and flute on some tracks. Background vocals and spoken parts are provided at different points by Milenia, Kip Blackshire, Mr. Hayes and Femi Jiya.


Storyline

The album opens with narrative in a distorted low voice by Prince that continues through many of the album's tracks. It introduces the story of the "Rainbow Children", who "go about the work of building a new nation" with "accurate understanding of God and his laws". "The Wise One" and his woman are tempted by "The Resistor" "as prophesied". The woman succumbed, and was banished from the land along with five others, who became "The Banished Ones" (this was long thought to be as being written about Prince's separation from his first wife Mayte, which she confirmed in her 2017 biography "The Beautiful Ones").

The Wise One trusted in God to bring him another woman (read: Prince's soon-to-be second wife, Manuela Testolini). The term "Rainbow Children" seems to indicate a group of people who have obtained some kind of spiritual enlightenment, "flying on the wings of the New Translation" (likely referring to the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures used by Jehovah's Witnesses, the religious group Prince belonged to at the time of recording).

The Banished Ones take over the world, except for the palace of the Rainbow Children, which they surround with a "digital garden"; they try to remove The Wise One (king of the Rainbow Children) from power. The Wise One eventually "obliged with an invisible deed", and The Banished Ones return to the place they were born, "Menda City" (a play on words of "mendacity").

The Rainbow Children are then "willing to go door-to-door in search of those willing to do the work" of dismantling the digital garden. The Wise One then seduces "The Muse" who is sent to be his wife, bringing her into "the sensual everafter", implanting in her a "seed of knowledge", asking her to repeat "1 plus 1 plus 1 is 3". The Banished Ones are chased away by the Rainbow Children, who deconstruct the digital garden. "The haze was finally broken" following the removal of the garden, and people understood that nobody else would "be able to lay claim to the treasures of the Rainbow Children". The Muse awoke, "this time as a queen", leading to a wedding between The Wise One and the Muse.

The narrative ends in The Everlasting Now, with the narrator stating "from this day forward 'til times indefinite, those who love Christ are the ones who benefit. All the players' ice melted into one platinum chain and in a downward spiral it dripped down the drain."


Promotion

The album produced one commercially-released single, The Work Part 1, but this was released six months prior to the album and did not mention any related album in its artwork. Two promotional singles were also sent to radio, She Loves Me 4 Me and Last December.

Prince toured extensively in North America, Europe and Japan to support the album on the One Nite Alone... Tour, which largely focused on the album (although named after a subsequent album).

The album only reached number 109 on The Billboard 200 and number 33 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. It fared better on the Billboard Independent Chart however, reaching position 4 and remaining in the chart for 17 weeks.

Outside of the USA, The Rainbow Children failed to chart, except in Japan and France.



Track listing
CD LP

The CD version is the original retail issue.

  1. Rainbow Children (10:04)
  2. Muse 2 The Pharaoh (4:21)
  3. Digital Garden (4:07)
  4. The Work Pt. 1 (4:28)
  5. Everywhere (2:55)
  6. The Sensual Everafter (2:58)
  7. Mellow (4:24)
  8. 1+1+1 Is 3 (5:17)
  9. Deconstruction (2:00)
  10. Wedding Feast (0:54)
  11. She Loves Me 4 Me (2:50)
  12. Family Name (8:17)
  13. The Everlasting Now (8:18)
  14. Last December (7:58)
  15. untitled track (0:38) (uncredited Last December reprise) 1


Download

The digital version is the original issue.

  1. The Rainbow Children (68:49)
Includes the below tracks in continuous sequence:
Rainbow Children (10:04)
Muse 2 The Pharaoh (4:21)
Digital Garden (4:07)
The Work Pt. 1 (4:28)
Everywhere (2:55)
The Sensual Everafter (2:58)
Mellow (4:24)
1+1+1 Is 3 (5:17)
Deconstruction (2:00)
Wedding Feast (0:54)
She Loves Me 4 Me (2:50)
Family Name (8:17)
The Everlasting Now (8:18)
Last December (7:58)
untitled track (0:38) (uncredited Last December reprise) 1

The vinyl long play format was release at same time as the CD.

  • Side 1:
  1. Rainbow Children (10:04)
  2. Muse 2 The Pharaoh (4:21)
  3. Digital Garden (4:07)
  • Side 2:
  1. The Work Pt. 1 (4:28)
  2. Everywhere (2:55)
  3. The Sensual Everafter (2:58)
  4. Mellow (4:24)
  • Side 3:
  1. 1+1+1 Is 3 (5:17)
  2. Deconstruction (2:00)
  3. Wedding Feast (0:54)
  4. She Loves Me 4 Me (2:50)
  5. Family Name (8:17)
  • Side 4:
  1. The Everlasting Now (8:18)
  2. Last December (7:58)
  3. untitled track (0:38) (uncredited Last December reprise) 1


Cassette

The cassette long play format was release at same time as the CD.

  • Side 1:
  1. Rainbow Children (10:04)
  2. Muse 2 The Pharaoh (4:21)
  3. Digital Garden (4:07)
  4. The Work Pt. 1 (4:28)
  5. Everywhere (2:55)
  6. The Sensual Everafter (2:58)
  7. Mellow (4:24)
  • Side 2:
  1. 1+1+1 Is 3 (5:17)
  2. Deconstruction (2:00)
  3. Wedding Feast (0:54)
  4. She Loves Me 4 Me (2:50)
  5. Family Name (8:17)
  6. The Everlasting Now (8:18)
  7. Last December (7:58)
  8. untitled track (0:38) (uncredited Last December reprise) 1

All songs assumed to be written by Prince (no writing credits officially given).

1 Last December (reprise) is a hidden track, track 21 - tracks 15-19 are silent tracks of 0:04, and track 20 a silent track of 0:08.



Personnel
Musicians



Production


Thanks



Releases
LP, CD, Cassettes and Other versions
Country Format Cat. Number Comments Front Back Label 1 Label 2
USA CD 70004-2
Taiwan CD MVP61736S Promotional Sampler

Variants, Special Editions and Reissues
Country Format Cat. Number Comments Front Back Label 1 Label 2
USA Digital download n/a .wma protected format
 

 

 
Additional Information
Promotion (at time of release) Trivia
  • This was the first new album to be released under the name Prince since returning to using that name in 2000.
  • The original NPG Music Club download edition was offered as a single, untracked audio file as NPG Music Club Edition # 9, the October edition of the club's monthly offerings (taking the place of the monthly NPG Ahdio shows and other downloads). The single track approach was similar to that used on the untracked edition of the Lovesexy album.
  • Although the One Nite Alone... Tour was named after a subsequent album, the tour largely followed the music and themes of The Rainbow Children.
  • Although the album is titled The Rainbow Children, the first track misses off the definitive article, called only Rainbow Children.
  • The album cover is based on "Reine Keis Quintet", a painting by C'Babi Bayoc, purchased by Prince with 7 other paintings of this artist.
References
2001
The Very Best Of Prince 		All Albums All Related Artists Albums 2002
One Nite Alone...
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