Prince - The Gold Experience POLL

he used to have such a cool, distinctive production sound and it got so hamfisted...i maintain the pneumatic percussion of new jack swing (which works great for those artists) making its way into prince's sound was the worst thing that ever happened

I actually think it works fine with The Gold Experience, but Prince definitely struggled with those elements when he put together the NPG. Forming the NPG wasn't a bad idea - he was always a great bandleader, and I think recording with a live band was generally a good direction to take with his studio albums. But Tony M was terrible, Diamonds and Pearls would have been far better if Prince had dropped him, and the "Symbol" album was an improvement partly because Tony M had a smaller role on that album. At least to me, The Gold Experience sounds organic partly because Prince finally sounded comfortable and in control of those elements. (I want to say he understands his limits more too. Like when he raps, it never feels like he's pushing past his abilities to me.) It wasn't innovative like his '80s work, and more than ever it feels like he's incorporating ideas from other contemporary artists, but I think he executes them really well.

"Prince trying to sound both badass AND sort of feminist"

Should add cutesy to that list

Listening back to the 90s albums, the best stuff is when he just isnt trying too hard. When hes trying to tick multiple boxes, it goes pretty badly. Gold is basically him doing his lenny Kravitz album. The undertaker album which wasnt released is a better representation of this era

title track is lovely, just pure pop, great anthemic chorus.

the hip-hop tracks are embarrassingly dated, but I love "Pussy Control".

"Billy Jack Bitch" is funky af, but I hear it's interpolating "Lyin Ass Bitch" by Fishbone?

mixed album but some bops.

"Most Beautiful Girl in the World" is gorgeous, and I've pulled it off at karaoke a few times.

"The pneumatic percussion of new jack swing"

He prob needed a new drum machine to get interested in after 1990. But after the fairlight, I think breakbeats eluded him.

the New Jack Swing songs just do not work.

I feel like most New Jack Swing endurded, I can still listen to it, but I hear Prince's take on it and go "ooooh, cringe".

endured

Underaker is even more of a “Lenny Kravitz” album than TGE.

Ok well it's a better lenny album!

Acknowledge me is/was just a weird song to hear prince do. And I loved new Jack swing and mid 90s rnb.

the 2nd song on the album sounds like an Usher song

Shhh? Dont recall usher ever doing a bombastic funk rock ballad

anyone who likes this record should hear the triple album bootleg the dawn

combines come, gold experience, undertaker and a few contemporaneous tracks into a very cohesive experience

are you ready for the realllll

Brad OTM. The Dawn resequences all of this stuff and actually makes it coherent.

Cohesive, even. Lol

Shh sounds like an Usher song because Tevin Campbell sang it first

Also everyone talking about how New Jack Swing Prince doesn’t work needs to go back and relisten to “Pheremone” on Come, which is actually his best 90s album

"letitgo" too. i love "letitgo"

most of come is really successful new jack prince imo

Come is dope and I like all of the tracks

Come is the only Prince album whose tracks I've trouble remembering beyond "Letitgo" but like anyway.

"Letitgo" was the radio hit, right?

“Letitgo” is one of his best songs

You don't remember the title track? "Space"? "Papa"? I'm with DJP that Come is right up there with his best '90s stuff.

I actually recorded a version of Letitgo with me doing all of the harmonies maaaaaaaaany years ago.

are you ready for the reaaaaaaal?

I listen to Come more like a continuous album, it just doesn't let up the funk and dope atmosphere.

You don't remember the title track? "Space"? "Papa"? I'm with DJP that Come is right up there with his best '90s stuff.

― On average, this critic grades 8.3 points lower than other critics (Eric H.),

Yep on "Space." Nineties Prince:

1. Emancipation
2. TGE
3. Come
4. Symbol
5. D&P
6. C&D
7. Bleh

I'm not here to shit on Emancipation because "Sleep Around" is one of his hottest house-era jams but ... there's a lot there that doesn't need to be there.

well, yeah

That's why I love triple albums.

Emale.coooooom

Lot of emancipation sounds like he struggled to get through it. Or like he really worked to get rid of offending weird edges. Though he still ended up with cringe moments. I've tried to come up with perfect playlists of it but it's really tricky to make it work.

Agree with the 90s ranking above

The more I think about pussy control I keep wondering if John waters wrote it

https://www.discogs.com/The-Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince-The-Dawn/release/14983400

This looks great and like a triple with more life than emancipation but God, what a slog. I wish he just made short n sharp albums in the 90s like he did ten years earlier. The CD era did his weakness for musical overload no favours.

Actually that dawn set just looks like a compilation of every single thing he meant to release in this period. That's a LOT of npg action

the dawn is really not a slog inasmuch as any three-disc behemoth is inherently a slog, it would surprise you, it surprises me too. whatever fan put it together had an excellent sense of sequencing and pacing. i almost like to think of it as the unrealized glam slam ulysses

i'm relistening to the dawn rn and once again find it so impressive that i will send it to anyone curious but also my ilxmail does not work bc it is tied to a dead email address

im tempted to find it but idk if i want to listen to half those songs that much (18 and over? pussy control? we march?), though maybe in this new context, they will seem different. i know a lot of fans really adore this period as prince was so fired up and productive. im actually reading a jim walsh book on the era at the moment (basically just write ups he filed from the time, rather than a bigger picture view of it).

here's the undertaker if anyone hasn't heard it. worth half an hour of your time i think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZwGxv1GvMU

Alfred's list OTM.
Anyone creeped/skeeved out by Prince lyrics in the 90s or otherwise should prob
stop listening to a good portion of all his stuff asap. You shouldn't go to pre-JW Prince for family friendly musical wholesomeness.

Who wants wholesomeness? Dont think anyone has argued for that. So untwist your panties please.

My boxers are hanging fine. You?

Got briefs on today but they're not my favourite. Only got them on as they were a gift. Wonder if prince was briefs or boxers guy.

boxer briefs: https://flic.kr/p/2k2JmPw

I know somewhere there is a fan with all the npg store merchandise in pristine condition.

When ppl say prince never really opened up in his music its these little details that make up the man that are missing.

I've a feeling he wasnt into underwear actually.

kinda sad people are ignoring his great late career masterpiece Vikings song #skol #purplepride

crank it up to celebrate our win over the pack yesterday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq3SfauwzgQ

When ppl say the gems stopped after 92 its songs like purple n gold that tell me they just weren't paying attention. Says more about them than anything else.

90's Prince for me from beast to least:

Come
Grafitti Bridge
Symbol
Gold Experience
Emancipation
Diamonds and Pearls
Crystal Ball/Truth
Black Album (if you want to count it)
Vault
Chaos and Order
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic

At least 100 great tracks! An enormously fecund era!
I will also rep for all four of the final albums.

in fact: Prince: Graffiti Bridge - What is the Answer to The Question of UR Favorite Song?

Y’all just talking about 90s Prince like this epic demonstration of quality control never came out:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/4166E3PC5GL.jpg

For me, a lot of how I hear this album and mid-90s Prince is through the Crystal Ball box – which is a total dog’s breakfast but also shoved a lot of 90s odds and sods up against outtakes from his 80s heyday. And perhaps surprisingly the 90s stuff is, candidly, no more hit or miss than the material from the 80s, with plenty of experimentation and playfulness. As a result I wasn’t particularly disappointed when I finally dug into the proper releases during this era (including TGE) as they seemingly all had a few amazing moments, a couple of horrible clunkers and a lot of stuff that was serviceable and maybe rewarded deeper listening for an incredible guitar solo or the like.

Also, and I’ll say this again, the Crystal Ball version of P. Control remains the absolute fucking greatest.

"Wasted Kisses" is great. It says a lot that it was an unlisted track buried as track #49 (with 38 blank tracks preceding it) while the rest of that album is crap.

i dont think the 80s albums had any real duds
def some umm idk how good this is moments, but even those were still interesting in some way?
in the 90s, the highs were just not as high, which made the rest seem less good.
but obv there were still good songs there. he still sounded inspired and like he was trying, compared to the 00s and 10s. i recently listened to his hit n run albums and couldnt believe that in 2014/15 he was still trying to write modern sounding bangers.
wasted kisses just leads to the suspicious myth that there were lots of great songs he made but didnt make it to the albums. but who knows if that is really even true?
but as soon as he left warners, and he becomes independent, you can see that his albums start to sound fairly forced. he never stopped trying to write commercial material, which at that stage, he prob should try avoiding.