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Thread started 10/18/14 6:19pm

KingSausage

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Early Emancipation: The Missing Link?

I've always thought that there is a large gulf between Prince's 90's sound before Emancipation and his sound from Emancipation and afterward. His style, production, breadth, everything seems to have changed so much. Emancipation seems like a clear breaking point. But listening to one of the earlier configurations of Emancipation, I believe his initial plans for Emancipation are the missing link connecting these two general eras. The early Emancipation sounds like the perfect blend of pre-1996 and post-1996 Prince.

On a related note, is there a prestine version of the alternate Right Back Here floating around? I only have the version on Work It 2.0. The quality blows and Brother Jules talks all over the end of it. I'm not asking how to find a clean version. I just want to know whether one exists.

From Wikipedia:

Mid-1995 configuration
"Emancipation" (Different version than released) – 4:30
"Right Back Here in My Arms" (Different version than released) – 4:32
"Slave 2 the System" (Officially unreleased) – 3:05
"Slave" (Different version than released) – 5:09
"2020" (Officially unreleased) – 2:09
"New World" – 3:41
"Feel Good" (Officially unreleased) – 4:05
"Journey 2 the Center of Your Heart" (Different version than released) – 4:14
"I'm a DJ" (Officially unreleased) – 4:47
"(Excuse Me Is This) Goodbye" (Later released as "Goodbye" on Crystal Ball) – 4:30
"Drop that stereo before I blow your Goddamn nuts off, asshole!"
-Eugene Tackleberry
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Reply #1 posted 10/19/14 12:10pm

Noodled24

I agree with the production on emancipation. It sounds very flat. Like he recorded 90% of it on one keyboard with the same presets. Having said that I still really like the Album. It's too much for one sitting, but I think each disc has 5 or 6 strong songs.

This is an interesting config of the album. Quite weak though IMO. 2020 is nice but utter fluff, feel good is pure filler, I am the DJ isn't worthy of it's name. Slave and Slave 2 the system are both decent but having both songs (especially back to back) was just Prince still moaning. Goodbye however is an outstanding song.

Some of these alternate takes are better than those released, this would have been a weak album though. Probably would have sold much better than the 3CDs.

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Reply #2 posted 10/19/14 12:21pm

KingSausage

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I like Slave 2 the System more than anything on the released 3-disc Emancipation album. But I totally agree that the early configuration bogs down in the second half.
"Drop that stereo before I blow your Goddamn nuts off, asshole!"
-Eugene Tackleberry
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Reply #3 posted 10/19/14 1:38pm

dodger

KingSausage said:

I like Slave 2 the System more than anything on the released 3-disc Emancipation album. But I totally agree that the early configuration bogs down in the second half.


Is Slave 2 The System different to the Exodus outtake with Sonny T on vocals? That was only 1 min long but this list states it at 3.05.
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Reply #4 posted 10/19/14 2:00pm

KingSausage

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dodger said:

KingSausage said:

I like Slave 2 the System more than anything on the released 3-disc Emancipation album. But I totally agree that the early configuration bogs down in the second half.


Is Slave 2 The System different to the Exodus outtake with Sonny T on vocals? That was only 1 min long but this list states it at 3.05.



It is! It has Prince on vocals and is hardcore funk right in your face, versus the NPG song which is much more rock-oriented.
"Drop that stereo before I blow your Goddamn nuts off, asshole!"
-Eugene Tackleberry
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Reply #5 posted 10/19/14 2:57pm

IstenSzek

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still miffed that "journey 2 the center of ur heart" didn't make the album

as it's one of his pretties ballads from the era. the version 'out there ' is

ok quality, but i'd like to have it in absolutely pristine quality.

/

2020 is also one of my favorites and whenever i make my own alternate

emancipation playlist, this is the song to start it off with as an intro.

/

used to love I Am The DJ but listening to it now it's just silly and really,

really old lol

and true love lives on lollipops and crisps
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Reply #6 posted 10/20/14 12:26am

dodger

KingSausage said:

dodger said:



Is Slave 2 The System different to the Exodus outtake with Sonny T on vocals? That was only 1 min long but this list states it at 3.05.



It is! It has Prince on vocals and is hardcore funk right in your face, versus the NPG song which is much more rock-oriented.


Thanks! I'll have to dig out my Work CDs from the loft now, I must have assumed it would be the same as the Sonny version and not imported it into my computer!
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Reply #7 posted 10/20/14 12:40am

dodger

IstenSzek said:

still miffed that "journey 2 the center of ur heart" didn't make the album


as it's one of his pretties ballads from the era. the version 'out there ' is


ok quality, but i'd like to have it in absolutely pristine quality.


/


2020 is also one of my favorites and whenever i make my own alternate


emancipation playlist, this is the song to start it off with as an intro.


/


used to love I Am The DJ but listening to it now it's just silly and really,


really old lol




Yes he had a lot of nice ballads round then but it was a shame Journey 2 The Centre Of Ur Heart never made the album, or even Crystal Ball.
.
I agree about I Am The DJ - proper cheesy. Same with Feel Good but that actually sounded quite good when he done a bit live at an aftershow, think it was on a Emporium boot
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Reply #8 posted 10/20/14 3:05am

NouveauDance

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I can see a slight link to lightweight stuff like We March - but the 1993-5 stuff has way more omph than almost anything from Emancipation. New World iirc is from 94, so that being one of the stronger sounding efforts on Emancipation kind of makes sense. Things like Feel Good and I Am The DJ are so lightweight you could knock them down with a feather and strike more of a resemblence to later things like NPS to High period.

.

.

[Edited 10/20/14 3:06am]

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Reply #9 posted 10/20/14 3:35am

RumAndRaisin

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Well i think Emancipation depends on how you play it. Go put Jam of the Year on through your biggest best speakers, crank up the bass and then let me know what you think. It's a great album really, but under pc speakers or headphones it doesn't hold up very well. It's the same with all long albums, some classics (Holy River, Sleep Around, Saviour, Style, Sex in the Summer, Dreamin' About U, Somebody's Somebody) ruined by some filler. And as for the production, well it was the mid90's, what doesn't sound dated from then?! lol

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Reply #10 posted 10/26/14 4:38am

IstenSzek

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NouveauDance said:

I can see a slight link to lightweight stuff like We March - but the 1993-5 stuff has way more omph than almost anything from Emancipation. New World iirc is from 94, so that being one of the stronger sounding efforts on Emancipation kind of makes sense. Things like Feel Good and I Am The DJ are so lightweight you could knock them down with a feather and strike more of a resemblence to later things like NPS to High period.

.

.

[Edited 10/20/14 3:06am]

yup, indeed. in the build up to emancipation i kept reading about this triple album and

all those songs (at one point he had 52 songs ready for the project, mayte said in an

interview at the time, when promoting Child Of The Sun iirc).

the main thing was, my mind just boggled under the weight of thinking what all those

songs would sound like and how amazing that album would be, since Come/Gold had

about 24 songs between them and they were absolutely fantastic.

i think most people's expectations were sky high, thinking this album would be like a

massive dose of tracks with that vibe.

so that was the big let down for me, that it sounded so tame in comparison. there did

not seem to be that much drive, which was not at all what i was expecting from this

album, since they kept saying he'd stashed his best new material for when he was to

be free from all contracts with warners.

over the years i've started to appreciate the album for what it is, and it's grown on me

a lot. there are a lot of great tracks there, but there's also still a lot of fluff.

i think the cohesiveness in sound and production is weighing this album down. it's just

too much material to be so uniform. if half the tracks were more organic with a more

'live in the studio' approach (like Somebody's Somebody live studio mix) or even if it

had more guitar (like the outtake She Gave Her Angels), it would have lifted the whole

project out of the monotony it suffers from now.

[Edited 10/26/14 4:41am]

and true love lives on lollipops and crisps
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Reply #11 posted 10/26/14 4:13pm

Philly76

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KingSausage said:

I like Slave 2 the System more than anything on the released 3-disc Emancipation album. But I totally agree that the early configuration bogs down in the second half.

Better than Right Back Here In My Arms,
Somebody's Somebody or The Love We Make?
Your taste is really somewhat... different.
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Reply #12 posted 10/27/14 11:00am

databank

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Some Come/Gold tracks announced what was to come, though, the grooves on Come (album version), Letitgo, Love Sign, 18 & Over, P Control, We March, Return Of The Bump Squad, Big Fun and even more all the Kirky J's unreleased but circulating remixes and his medley from the Purple Medley maxi are quite prophetic in that sense, so for me the transition wasn't so brutal, I kinda saw it coming back then I guess.

A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/
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Reply #13 posted 10/27/14 2:30pm

2freaky4church
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Sausage, I'm sure you are angry Good Dick and a Job were never released.

All you others say Hell Yea!! woot!
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Reply #14 posted 10/27/14 5:19pm

KingSausage

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Philly76 said:

KingSausage said:

I like Slave 2 the System more than anything on the released 3-disc Emancipation album. But I totally agree that the early configuration bogs down in the second half.

Better than Right Back Here In My Arms,
Somebody's Somebody or The Love We Make?
Your taste is really somewhat... different.



I like Slave 2 the System more than Somebody's Somebody and Right Back. But you got me on The Love We Make. That song is a classic.
"Drop that stereo before I blow your Goddamn nuts off, asshole!"
-Eugene Tackleberry
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Reply #15 posted 10/27/14 5:21pm

KingSausage

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2freaky4church1 said:

Sausage, I'm sure you are angry Good Dick and a Job were never released.




I've actually never heard that one.
"Drop that stereo before I blow your Goddamn nuts off, asshole!"
-Eugene Tackleberry
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