Now is the tenth track (seventh song) on Prince's 17th album The Gold Experience, the first album to be credited to .
Basic tracking took place on 10 October 1993 at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota (on the same day as Ripopgodazippa and Shy); the song's lyrics refer to "'94", but this presumably was with the intention it would be released in 1994. Horn overdubs were recorded in late October 1993, also at Paisley Park Studios (during the same set of sessions as horn overdubs on 319).
A tape containing the studio version of Now and seven other new tracks (a 10-minute version of The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, Interactive, Days Of Wild, Poem, Acknowledge Me, 319, and Pheromone) as well as the show given at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota on 13 February 1994, am was purchased by some European radio networks. This tape was broadcasted in early March 1994 (by Los 40 Principales in Spain, Radio Veronica and Tros in The Netherlands and DSR3 in the Switzerland). The studio version of the song was later aired at a party at Glam Slam in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 16 March 1994 (along with Hate U, Billy Jack Bitch, Days Of Wild and a remix of Pope, hours after recording Letitgo).
The track was included as the seventh track on an album configured in 1994 (unnamed, but considered to be an early configuration of The Gold Experience). It was included as the eighth track (fourth song) on March 1994, and May 1994, configurations of The Gold Experience, before being included as the third song on a later 1994 configuration. The 13 October 1994, configuration included Now as the 13th track (eighth song), before the track Days Of Wild was removed from the album for release.
The track begins directly from the previous NPG Operator segue, which states "You have just accessed the Now Experience" and lists other tracks of a similar style, such as Housequake, Irresistible Bitch, and Sexy M.F., and ends "but that was then, this is..." with the track beginning with a cry of "Now!"; the same segue was used prior to most live performances of the track.
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