Taking a sidestep to venture into two albums of the Prince/ era with the NPG.

GOLDN*GGA

When I got my hands on my copy of Gold N**** I was curious to see how much involvement Prince would have in this NPG recording. No matter who was playing on what, I always felt like an NPG recording would all be Prince penned tracks.

Putting the CD in my player, I sat back and let the laid back funk of the GOLDN*GGA hit me. With its cool groove and creeping horns the song’s catchy chorus left this white Aussie boy in a dilemma. So here it is, though I never have used the “N” word in my life, when faced with it in so many places in the musical landscape should I or shouldn’t I sing it. I always opted not to and as stupid as it may sound, still to this day I never utter it in sing a longs.

So if the title track was laid back “Oil Can” gave us a quick hit of jazz funk more reminiscent of MadHouse than NPG, The drumming, which I always notice, is sublime with quick timed rolls. This track packs a punch.

I’ve never been a fan of segues on albums, its become too commonplace and feels like an almost knee jerk reaction to trying to make the album seems more cohesive.

Deuce & a Quarter feels like true D&P/ era funk, tinged with a choral chorus a la Pavement. And there is a positive sense of P in the chorus. And whilst I like Tony’s timber, it’s the layers of music underneath that get me in, the smattering of a guitar solo throughout (wonder who’s playing that)

Black M.F. in the House, sounds like a reworked Jughead meets Partyman horns. Instantly hooked, the groove just bops along not letting go of you til the final note. Prince’s rap is typically tinged with humour as he adopts a “white” point of view. It always struck me as funny that they end with “stop racism now” yet play just as many stereotypes depicting “white folks”. I also love hearing that “Come on ya’ll” and am now conditioned to break into Get Wild, but that’s an album to come.

Gold N part 2 – much of the same.

Goldie’s Parade – for some reason this always reminded me of Calhoun Square, I think it’s just the intro and the drums. Layered with sweeping wah wah guitars and samples this is another example of where Madhouse would have been.

2Gether was the standout track. First heard on 1800 New Funk (for me – not sure if it preceded this release). With solemn verses and pleading choruses this song just builds in its brilliance.

Call the Law again was a song I had previously heard. It always felt like a bit of a throw away track. Not one of the finer moments on the cd.

Johnny with its live recording feel and P on vocals, always felt like it would have been a fun live track but no so much thrilling as a studio song. Too long and drawn out for my liking. Once prince fades off the main vocals I have to admit my interest fades too.

And once again we return to Gold N Part 3. by the end of the album though what sounded smooth and inviting now just seems uninspired and played out.

Listening to this album now, the first time in many years I’m still left with that feeling of disappointment. I had always hoped that the NPG albums would be the Funkadelic to Prince’s Parliament. A place for experimentation without the pressure of being a Prince “must shift units” album. Unfortunately this album failed in that offering, instead the tracks seem tired even before they make it out your speakers.

Thankfully by the time Exodus hit – the ratio of quality songs had increased.

EXODUS

After a disappointing turn out on Gold N****, I wasn’t too sure what to expect with Exodus. So with a mix of anticipation and a feeling of impending disappointment I put the cd into the player. With the swirl of the whole SLAVE / / Tora Tora talk revolving around this release I think some of the music got lost in the hype / ridicule.

With the operator answering (Prince’s) call I immediately smiled. The way it’s set up as not being a Paisley Park and thus Warners release was a nice little dig. I also like how he sets up the future of the npg.

Get Wild pumps through the speakers launching a full aural assault. Rather than building the layers of instruments, GW just kicks from 10. Perfecting the party song by now, Prince allows the track to just create the vibe and lets the listener get lost in it. This track is so rich in its offering it’s almost like every listen offers something you missed last time. You can’t sit still to this one, you gotta shake yo moneymaker.

With a sigh a segue played through. Never a fan of them, I always felt they were becoming too much a part of the convention of making a record in the 90s.

At least in DJ gets Dumped – Dream Factory is playing the background.

New Power Soul once again revisits the musical stylings of madhouse under a new guise. A smooth jazzy fusion that brings together elements of other tracks on the album with Get Wild horn blast punctuating the track.

More segues more yawns.

I have to admit to falling in love with the guitar melody of Count The Days – a little reminiscent of Jesse Johnson’s “Just wanting you” – the song is the flip side of Tomorrow. Whilst Sonny is on lead vocals I think most of us hear Prince over him in the mix, and thankfully the beautifully layered backing vocals are lush and filled with classic prince phrasing. A highlight on the album, and you could easily see it on an “official” Prince / recording.

The Good Life is another strong party track. I remember fondly the remixes of this, and put various ones on all kinds of mix tapes at the time. With it’s optimistic title the melody is suitably bright and bounces along carrying the tales of a better way in the lyrics. A private highlight for me is the slide synth whhhheeeeer that punctuates the song. For some reason it hooks my ear.

Cherry, Cherry just sounds like all the bad Prince ballads crammed into one. It feels a little dated from the first note and overly plush in its arrangement and production. A little too saccharine.

Return of the Bump Squad is a superfunk jam reinterpretation of the P-funk stylings. With enough bounce in the groove to keep you dancing all night, the song’s 7:20 time seems to fly past without feeling like it’s dragging. I remember mixing this and Atomic Dog back in the day for the ultimate party jam.

Big Fun – a prelude to the whole New Power Soul album – is another cool funk jam. With a tight beat underpinning Prince’s falsetto vocals it’s a total trip. There’s also a subtle hint of Sex in the Summer in here as well. Another tight offering.

New Power Day – the latest take on Bob George – just minus the killer groove and humour.

Hallucination Rain – the kind of song that inspires you to light candles and listen to it in the dark… with its gradual wind up to the bombastic crescendo you kind of get the feeling that this is how sound check jams might have ended up playing out. Musically a trip.

Saving the best for last – The Exodus has begun – offers a glimpse to the freedom that would be felt in Emancipation. Where as some of Prince’s more epic tracks sometimes collapse under their own weight, TEHB managers to inspire, build and pack a punch without wavering for a moment. Built on the solid foundations of funk the song blends gospel themes in an infectious way that just fills you with hope and belief. Also a befitting “send off” to Prince.

A much stronger musical offering than Gold *****, Exodus renewed any wavering faith about what was to come. As mentioned in the intro – a lot of the overblown buzz about the name overshadowed the music and unfortunately with popular consensus being that Prince had “lost it” Exodus didn’t get the props it deserved.

Remove the unnecessary segues, and the awful Cherry Cherry, and you’re left with a solid 8 track album. Load it onto your ipod and enjoy.


Swa
[Edited 7/3/09 23:01pm]

This part Maori kiwi boy didn't like Goldnxgga much either, Exodus much better, love Get Wild, even bought it on cassingle, and just thought, wow if he makes more music like this every few weeks, then sign me up.
Shame was Chaos and Disorder was around the corner (Groan)

You misspelled the title.

udo said:

Corrected - thanks.

IMO:

Goldnigga is not good, I only like Black Motherfucker and Johnny.

Exodus is great, only the seagues spoil the listening a bit, I love most of the tracks. 8 or 9 out of 10. Get Wild - Count The Days - Return Of The Bumpsquad - The Exodus Has Begun.. great songs.

Haha, yeah I know what you mean.
When I listen to hip hop I sometimes rap along.
But I never say the N word, I always replace it.
Probably cause I'm white

I'm not nearly as familiar with these albums as I am with Prince's main albums so I had to give them a spin before responding. I'll tackle Goldnigga first.

I did not hear this album until 2004. The main thing I had heard about it was that Tony M. was the primary vocalist. Never having been a fan of Mr. Mosley I had very low expectations. I was very pleasantly surprised when I finally did hear the album. I'm not gonna lie, Tony M. is not much of a draw here but I do find him a lot less annoying on NPG tracks as opposed to solo Prince tracks. "Goldnigga" is a pretty good track but three versions of it seems like two too many. "Guess Who's Knockin'" (which was only available on the initial pressing of Goldnigga) is a nice track, too bad Mr. McCartney didn't think so. I really like "Deuce & A Quarter," "Black MF In The House" and "2gether." "Johnny," likely due to Prince's vocal, is my favourite track. I don't find it too long at all. Overall the album is probably funkier than any Prince album since The Black Album, that's not to say it's better but it's definitely one of his "blacker" albums.

On the subject of the n word I am white and I have no problem saying it when discussing this album or when singing lyrics from this album. I think, and hope, that anyone that finds the word offensive is able to separate it's use as a slur from it's use in the context of art. When I sing a song that uses that word I certainly am not using it to put down anyone I'm just enjoying a song that happens to feature that word.

On to Exodus. I'm guessing that most folks find this to be the superior NPG album and I agree. First, on the subject of the segues, I usually dislike them but overall I find these ones to be very funny, especially the one where Prince is talking about the girl that ordered the left side of the menu. Prince is a funny cat but we rarely see that side of him. Anyway, on to the music. Even though I don't listen to Exodus as much I would say that it is probably a better album than Lovesexy, Batman, Graffiti Bridge and Diamonds And Pearls. (As you can probably tell from previous celebration threads I am not much of a fan of Prince's albums circa 1988-1991.) Certainly for me it is much more consistent than those albums. One track in particular ("Count The Days") stands out to me as a terrific song and I am a little surprised that Prince did not keep it for one of his own albums. I'm guessing that the fact that he decided to include it on the Girl 6 soundtrack means that he likes the song and felt it deserved wider exposure. "Get Wild," "The Good Life" and "The Return Of The Bump Squad" all deserved to be big hits and maybe if Prince was a hotter property when they were released they would have been. With it's use of electric violin "Hallucination Rain" gives us a sound that Prince had never used before. "Cherry, Cherry" is an enjoyable "old school" track. It was also interesting for me to hear that the get freaky/let your head bob chant from "Big Fun" would be reused a few years later in the song "New Power Soul" from the album of the same name. I also noticed that the vocal melodies in "Big Fun" were very similar to the rap in "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night." The album closes with a lengthy, yet great, "The Exodus Has Begun." For fans of Prince's longer tracks this one does not disappoint.

For me Exodus is probably Prince's best post 1987 satellite project and I think it is an album that deserves to be heard by any fan of Prince's music.

Goldnigga is my n***a. I like "Black MF In The House".