Oh no, I have an (admittedly resistable) urge to buy Prince's "Emancipation" set!

(I see that thinking about Tony M has caused my grammar to crumble)

I keep thinking there's a mix of "Live 4 Love" preferable to the final version.

I always forget that Ned is a Prince fan!

Good lord, man, how could I not be?

As for this album, I'm only really partial to the house tunes -- "The Human Body" and "Sleep Around" -- dated though they may be.

slave is a cool song on this too.

Disc 2 of Emancipation is pretty awesome. Some of his best ever love ballads/slow jams on here.

BTW, Come is infinitely better than D&P.

Diamonds and Pearls has some good tunes (Cream, Gett Off, Willing & Able, Strollin'), but I'd say the Love Symbol album is the best Prince album of the 90s. It's kinda like a better version of D&P: the funk is deeper, the dance numbers are more hard-hitting, and the pop tunes more catchy.

love the love symbol album

If only Prince had included the 12" version of Gett Off and a couple of the better B sides ("Loveleft, Loveright" and "Violet Organ Grinder") on D&P instead of generic, formless tunes like "Live 4 Love", "Push", and "Insatiable"...

I think on the Love Symbol album Prince found an enjoyable mid-point between his unique 80s sound and a more mainstream dance/r'n'b/rap production. With Emancipation the sound went kinda too much to the slick direction, and that process was finalized with Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic.

the best prince albums of the 90s are really the black album and the crystal ball set ;)

am i the only person on this thread who has heard NPG Exodus? i know its hard to find now, but now im wondering if it ever got much outside of MPLS/STPL

get wild was kind of corny but i liked good life.

to clarify, this:
http://www.largeroomnolight.com/pics/exoduscd.jpg

not this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4166E3PC5GL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

I think I have Exodus hidden in my house somewhere, I will have to look.

I don't have Exodus :(

Yes, if it counts, Crystal Ball stands tall.

Listening to Emancipation now thanks to this thread. Echoing Alfred's comment upthread, I also find something new to love each time I put this on. "Saviour" is it right now.

the songs on this new lotus flower site about about as bad as anything prince has ever done:

http://www.lotusflow3r.com/

Yeah, pretty terrible. Nice use of his classic Linn sound at the top of one of the songs there but then it devolves to some sub-"My Name Is Prince" boasting. And that "Crimson And Clover" cover is foul. The free track "PFunk" that popped up a year or two back seems to be the last decent thing he's put out.

i didn't even know he had a new one coming out. maybe it'll be bad (i was not feeling Planet Earth), but i still stand by 3121 so i know he's got it in him.

That reminds me, I still haven't gotten myself a copy of 3121 even thought I've meant to do that for ages. Is the rest of that album as good as "Black Sweat"?

hmmm

While those four tracks will appear on Lotus Flowe3r - considered to be the guitar album of the trio - MPLSOUND will explore Prince’s classic funk while Elixir will showcase a collaboration with Bria Valente. Perhaps more intriguing about this ambitious undertaking is it’s been reported that Prince has said he will self-release all three albums. For all his out-of-the-box methods, this move should come as no surprise as Prince has been more than vocal over his distaste for the music industry. At this point, though, the Purple One has gone full-blown rogue by setting up a new site, Lotusflow3r.com - still under construction though three new tracks from each upcoming album have been posted for streaming - where fans can purchase music, concert tickets and such.

his production these days sounds really cheap. i dont think he should explore his 'classic funk' anymore. unless its via archive releases.

Tuomas, I really, really liked about half of 3121. Other half was not bad.

You know what song I just realized I should play a lot more of? "Cinnamon Girl"

YES. And "Chelsea Rodgers" off the last one.

"Chelsea Rodgers" is the only Prince song I've truly liked over the course of the last three albums. "Black Sweat" was a close call, but not quite.

Come is THE overlooked Prince album. Batman is kinda close.
I will cop to being mistaken on 'One of Us'; I thought Prince wrote it.
Never quite got Planet Earth, but 3121 has the title track, Incense and Candles and Black Sweat which is the best thing Prince has released in years.

That song does sound like Prince shoulda wrote it.

How have I missed this thread till now? Jeez.

A project I've always wanted to make for myself: find all the reviews of new '90s Prince albums that pronounced him as "back" or it as "his best since Sign O' the Times" (RS on I'm Going to Change My Name to the Title of This Album, Charles Shaar Murray in Q talking about Chaos & Disorder) or if it was Greil Marcus talking about Come in Artforum, since Dirty Mind.

Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic is completely unmemorable. I loathe The Rainbow Children, and Dan doesn't. And I adore Emancipation--need to re-acquire it on the cheap sometime soon, I think, it's been long enough.

secret hits on 3121: 'lolita', 'love', 'satisfied'

New Wendy & Lisa has a couple of great tunes. "Balloon" is one.

Never did get around to actually playing this!

"The Love We Make," people.

Even now, I haven't.

Don't know where it is, even.

Funny, yesterday I was thinking: Did he ever release anything since that Daily Mail Freebie CD?

The first time I heard Emancipation, I thought the "romance" disc (disc 2) was the worst, but the more I've listened to it, the more I feel it's actually the best. That mid-90s r'n'b sound fits the slower tunes better than the uptempo ones, and the songcraft on that disc is really impressive. IMO "Soul Sanctuary" is the most beautiful ballad he's ever released, alongside "Sometimes It Snows in April".

I'm sorry. As much as I've wanted to love this album, I mostly hate it. "Sleep Around" is about the only redeeming part of it for me.

Finally bought yesterday for $5 at Mr. Cheapo records on Long Island. Will kick it with during the coming wkend.

Just found it.

Still in it's shrinkwrap.

A month ago I asked...

Did he ever release anything since that Daily Mail Freebie CD?

― Mark G, Friday, 28 May 2010 15:04 (1 month ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

And I haven't played his Daily Mirror one either...

Has any artist lost his "legend" status as much as Prince, without actually falling from grace?

i feel like most 'legend' acts are in more or less the same position tbh

HMV Piccadilly Circus are selling a pile of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/21-Nights-Prince/dp/1847373836

at £5 a pop.

Bargain or overpriced?

despite being under my desk for a month, i've still not cracked the shrinkwrap on 21 nights.

and its too bloody heavy to carry home.

Check the reviews: It's a nice Programme for the gigs, that's it.

The CD is worth the £3. Having said that, I'd get one and never read it, going by past...

"Soul Sanctuary" is heartstopping.

Yeah, IMO it's the best Prince ballad of them all, alongside, "Sometimes It Snows in April". Just gorgeous.

Ha, looks like I said the exact same thing in this thread 3 years ago. It's still true, though.

anyone read that new toure book on prince? i just did. kind of didn't like all the gen X stuff at the start but it picked up steam in the second half. recommended!

got this in the post today for a grand total of £1.27. The length is daunting, but halfway through the first disc, it's pretty good.

Anyone got any further thoughts on this monstrously-long album?

i made a CD of it as thus -

Courtin' Time (wish the drum machine on this didnt sound so plastic)
White Mansion
Damned If I Do
I Can't Make U Love Me
In This Bed I Scream
Soul Sanctuary
Curious Child
Dreamin' About U
The Holy River
Let's Have a Baby
The Plan
slave
My Computer
One of Us
The Love We Make

theres lots of other good songs on this, but for some reason, i wasnt that into his funkier tracks on this album (jam of the year is good but it just doesnt really sound like prince is that into partying). the ballads are all great. but theres maybe too many of them. its a weirder album than i thought actually. its meant to be triumphant but theres this slightly, not deflated exactly, but a sort of tempered, or cautious feel to it. it sounds sort of humbled. lacking in energy. his best crafted album of the decade by a long shot, but the supposedly happy songs like sex in the summer for some reason dont quite ring true. theres a sort of hollowness or sadness about the album. i might be projecting, but i wonder if he knew things werent looking too good for his son while recording, and if this maybe filtered into the album. or maybe all the record label battles just left him tired. and he wanted to make this a big celebration, but he just didnt really feel that way deep down.

bought this on cassette today

There's a lot of good stuff on Emancipation, eye think... but eye do remember at the time that the general feeling was that it kinda justified WB's stance on Prince releasing "2 much music"