phatphuk said:

"...I can't. Unless you're a Mason..."

214 said:

"...I am, i swear..."

Oh yeah. And I forgot. Also, you have to also believe humans can be reincarnated as sea-dwelling mammals.

ThePanther said:

I was surprised to note the failure of 'Gold' on both the US mainstream and R&B charts! It reached a dismal #88 on the US charts, and fared even worse on the R&B chart.

.

Given Prince's P.R. issues that was starting at the time, his oversaturation of the market, and the rise of slow-jam R&B and mainstream hip-hop, I'm not surprised that 'Gold' wasn't a huge #1 or whatever, but I would have expected it to get some radio/MTV support (it had a glossy, easily digestible video) being that it was such an obviously strong song with easy hooks and a fairly maintream sound. It came out only a year after 'The Most Beautiful Girl...' had been an international smash, too.

.

It was a top-10 in the UK and top-20 in some European markets, which would seem to me to have been a logical chart-placing in the US, too. But instead it completely flopped. Why?

He was fighting with WB at the time. There was little promotion for that album in the US and I believe Prince spearheaded his promotion for the CD in Europe.

This was the Prince in the 90's, and he was evolving. As an artist, he was evolving, which simply means HE was changing. We have to face some truth here. His music became disconnected with the masses.

Now, this isn't a bad thing. It simply means he could not continue to write about the same old same old for the rest of his life in the same old way, and those of us who kept up with him could see this.

The masses, as a whole, just couldn't keep up. The messages weren't just about being horny and having a party anymore.

It took a particular type of person to keep going back to the record rack and looking for the new releases from Prince, and I think we all know who those people were.

We bought that shit, and some of us ONLY that, for many years. (I still mourn the fact there will probably be NO new artist out there that I will ever follow like this again.)

Gold was part of this disconnect. The entire album was. He would never be the man who wanted to party like it's 1999 again. He had to challenge himself.

This happens to EVERY artist who continues to work. They will always be compared to their most popular piece. Even Shakespear was overshadowed by Hamlet.

The lyrics are childlike and contrived. It's pure cheese, in the worst way. People compare it to Purple Rain but I just don't see it AT ALL! It just doesnt compare. Purple Rain had the movie; that iconic image of him from that time that is as embedded in popular culture as the song itself. I doubt people even knew what P looked like at the time of Gold. The name change didn't help. Purple Rain was exciting. Gold wasn't. The lyrics in Purple Rain are just that perfect blend of ambiguity, empathetic and relatable. What's Purple Rain? It doesn't matter because everyone sings it like they know exactly what it means. The fact it's a live recording from the first night they'd played the song as a band just adds that whole new level of depth, emotion and a certain mythos to it all.

Gold... not so much

ThePanther said:

I was surprised to note the failure of 'Gold' on both the US mainstream and R&B charts! It reached a dismal #88 on the US charts, and fared even worse on the R&B chart.

.

Given Prince's P.R. issues that was starting at the time, his oversaturation of the market, and the rise of slow-jam R&B and mainstream hip-hop, I'm not surprised that 'Gold' wasn't a huge #1 or whatever, but I would have expected it to get some radio/MTV support (it had a glossy, easily digestible video) being that it was such an obviously strong song with easy hooks and a fairly maintream sound. It came out only a year after 'The Most Beautiful Girl...' had been an international smash, too.

.

It was a top-10 in the UK and top-20 in some European markets, which would seem to me to have been a logical chart-placing in the US, too. But instead it completely flopped. Why?

Read the lyrics..., and you will know why it wasn't a "hit".

The lyrics were very good...It's what he's talking about was going on in the marketplace at the time...

You cannot have a hit without airplay.

dandan said:

The lyrics are childlike and contrived. It's pure cheese, in the worst way. People compare it to Purple Rain but I just don't see it AT ALL! It just doesnt compare. Purple Rain had the movie; that iconic image of him from that time that is as embedded in popular culture as the song itself. I doubt people even knew what P looked like at the time of Gold. The name change didn't help. Purple Rain was exciting. Gold wasn't. The lyrics in Purple Rain are just that perfect blend of ambiguity, empathetic and relatable. What's Purple Rain? It doesn't matter because everyone sings it like they know exactly what it means. The fact it's a live recording from the first night they'd played the song as a band just adds that whole new level of depth, emotion and a certain mythos to it all.

Gold... not so much

Prince even compared it to Purple Rain at one point in the 90's, forgot which interview.

It's comparable to Purple Rain in as much as both songs are great album closers. Gold is way more upbeat than Purple Rain

TGE was only released on the condition that Prince stop defaming WB in public. By the time the single was released both parties knew Prince was leaving WB. WB had no interest in seeing the album succeed and Prince was in Europe promoting "Exodus".

[Edited 9/26/16 10:51am]

I hear people's perspectives on Gold, and I get why it didn't do too well especially around that time frame with everything going on with his music and the WB fight. However I love Gold. I love the whole TGE album and honestly back then I wasn't feeling this song. But like fine wine, it grew on me. And his guitar work on this one moves me. I don't think it's cheesy or corny at all, quite the opposite.

Iamtheorg said:

NorthC said:

Iamtheorg said: In France they have a saying that with "if" you can put Paris in a bottle because "if" Paris had been a little smaller and"if" the bottle had been a little larger, then...

In America, we have a saying of make my funk the p funk, I wants ta gets funked up.

Word.

You had to bring that up. It is a better song than Purple Rain--yess. It is really grand. I'd guess it failed because Prince was not liked much in those days. The whole Symbol pr downed his music. I Hate U should have been played on soul radio like crack. It was not. sad.

"The Gold Experience [Warner Bros./NPG, 1995]
After two or three plays, convinced that "P Control" and "Endorphinmachine" slam harder than any hip hop I've heard in years, I shrugged and recalled that, after all, I already knew he was the most gifted recording artist of the era. But this album documents more than professional genius rampant--all of them do that. This album is a renewal. It's as sex-obsessed as ever, only with more juice--"Shhh" and "319" especially pack the kind of porno jolt sexy music rarely gets near and hard music never does. And you'd best believe "Shhh" and 319" are hard--not for years has the auteur (as opposed to some hired gat) sounded so black, and not for years has the guitarist sounded so rock. As for the ballads, they suffer only by their failure to dominate. One of them has already stormed the radio--and another, good for him, takes too many risks to follow. A"

Robert Christgau.

phatphuk said:

phatphuk said:

"...I can't. Unless you're a Mason..."

Oh yeah. And I forgot. Also, you have to also believe humans can be reincarnated as sea-dwelling mammals.

And comeback as a dolphin? fuck off.

I can´t believe people here keep saying Gold is better than Purple Rain, not even closer. Purple Rain is just majestic, it's greatness, i just can't believe it.

everyone always says that warners had no interest in seeing the gold experience do well,

but why? it was at a time when there was no downloads cutting into sales and they were
the ones who released it at that time, so why not push it? they were making money off it
as well, weren't they? seems illogical to let it tank. unless it was revenge, lol. oh, wait

I know i'm gonna get slammed for this but I never understood the love for this song - always thought it was the worst thing on TGE. It's a wannabe anthem that lacks a strong hook, musically or lyrically (it doesn't do anything interesting with the "all the glitters" cliche at its center). Of course, it's better than a lot of wannabe anthems, cuz it's P and the textures and singing are all top notch. But it always felt like a desparate attempt to recreate the Purple Rain magic, and I think radio listeners could feel that desperation.

[Edited 9/27/16 8:46am]

MendesCity said:

I know i'm gonna get slammed for this but I ever understood the love for this song - always thought it was the worst thing on TGE. It's a wannabe anthem that lacks strong hook, musically or lyrically (it doesn't do anything interesting with the "all the glitters" cliche at its center). Of course, it's better than a lot of wannabe anthems, cuz it's P and the textures an singing are all top notch. But it always just felt like a desparate attempt to recreate the Purple Rain magic, and I think American radio listeners could feel that desperation.

Right on.

214 said:

Because made sure that any momentum for the album and singles was gone by the time it came out.

As a side note, I was in the audience for the filming of the video!

214 said:

I can´t believe people here keep saying Gold is better than Purple Rain, not even closer. Purple Rain is just majestic, it's greatness, i just can't believe it.

Each to their own. I love Purple Rain, but it wouldn't make it into my Prince top 100.

One of my least favorite songs of his. Keyboard line turns me off & the track just seems to meander.

It comes across as a forced anthem IMO.

214 said:

I can´t believe people here keep saying Gold is better than Purple Rain, not even closer. Purple Rain is just majestic, it's greatness, i just can't believe it.

Agreed. But don't worry, it's culturally wide love, and Prince's constant performance of it to great approval proves that it hits strong.

Farfunknugin said:

One of my least favorite songs of his. Keyboard line turns me off & the track just seems to meander.

It comes across as a forced anthem IMO.

Did you ever hear the earlier version without the keyboard line and the rawer guitar? It was much stronger in my opinion. I can see why the keyboard line could be overkill.

SquirrelMeat said:

Farfunknugin said:

One of my least favorite songs of his. Keyboard line turns me off & the track just seems to meander.

It comes across as a forced anthem IMO.

Did you ever hear the earlier version without the keyboard line and the rawer guitar? It was much stronger in my opinion. I can see why the keyboard line could be overkill.

Well, we may agree in that.

214 said:

I can´t believe people here keep saying Gold is better than Purple Rain,

Have you seen the posts lately? I can believe it.

I hear no similarity between 'Purple Rain' and 'Gold', so I'm not sure what that's all about. They both end an album and both have a guitar solo, but...er, so what? They're unlike in tempo, key, arrangement, lyric, etc.

.

I also don't think 'Gold' is "cheesy" at all -- I mean, compared to 'Dolphin'? It's actually a very nice lyric, I think. It's good.

.

The song is instantly catchy and had a lovely melody and a strong pop 'hook'. That's why I'm surprised American radio largely ignored it. Of course the production might have been better, but that shouldn't have stopped it climbing the charts in 1995.

.

I think one poster who said its not being the first single was a problem, was correct. Both Prince and WB had no patience or energy to promote this album, so after the first single sailed and the album reviews came in, everyone sort-of tuned this album out. Prince was falling out of favor at radio stations too, somewhat, although wasn't it about 8 months later that 'Dinner with Delores' got all sorts of radio play? So I dunno.

Iamtheorg said:

214 said:

I can´t believe people here keep saying Gold is better than Purple Rain,

Have you seen the posts lately? I can believe it.

What fo u mean

hollywooddove said:

This was the Prince in the 90's, and he was evolving. As an artist, he was evolving, which simply means HE was changing. We have to face some truth here. His music became disconnected with the masses.

Now, this isn't a bad thing. It simply means he could not continue to write about the same old same old for the rest of his life in the same old way, and those of us who kept up with him could see this.

The masses, as a whole, just couldn't keep up. The messages weren't just about being horny and having a party anymore.

It took a particular type of person to keep going back to the record rack and looking for the new releases from Prince, and I think we all know who those people were.

We bought that shit, and some of us ONLY that, for many years. (I still mourn the fact there will probably be NO new artist out there that I will ever follow like this again.)

Gold was part of this disconnect. The entire album was. He would never be the man who wanted to party like it's 1999 again. He had to challenge himself.

This happens to EVERY artist who continues to work. They will always be compared to their most popular piece. Even Shakespear was overshadowed by Hamlet.

Love this, perfectly describes the dilemna for those of us trying desperately to "evolve" along with him. I can't even name a song I hate-okay maybe Cutz- but there are several I don't play often. At the time it was maddening to figure out where he was going and spending money only to listen and not quite get it at times. Now, it really saddens me that there won't be any more-even if I didn't love some of the newer songs or where he was going with a particular album, there was always an anticipation of what in the world would he come up with next?! This is the man who changed his name to an unpronouncable symbol afterall. I already miss his next "experimentation".

ThePanther said:

I hear no similarity between 'Purple Rain' and 'Gold', so I'm not sure what that's all about. They both end an album and both have a guitar solo, but...er, so what? They're unlike in tempo, key, arrangement, lyric, etc.

.

I also don't think 'Gold' is "cheesy" at all -- I mean, compared to 'Dolphin'? It's actually a very nice lyric, I think. It's good.

.

The song is instantly catchy and had a lovely melody and a strong pop 'hook'. That's why I'm surprised American radio largely ignored it. Of course the production might have been better, but that shouldn't have stopped it climbing the charts in 1995.

.

I think one poster who said its not being the first single was a problem, was correct. Both Prince and WB had no patience or energy to promote this album, so after the first single sailed and the album reviews came in, everyone sort-of tuned this album out. Prince was falling out of favor at radio stations too, somewhat, although wasn't it about 8 months later that 'Dinner with Delores' got all sorts of radio play? So I dunno.

If this was the case then why make a video? Why have the VH-1 Love 4 1 Another program?

214 said:

SquirrelMeat said:

Did you ever hear the earlier version without the keyboard line and the rawer guitar? It was much stronger in my opinion. I can see why the keyboard line could be overkill.

Well, we may agree in that.

In 2003 I said to Prince, you need to play Gold again, its better than Purple Rain, he said, 'Well, you know that and I know that, but people have got songs they wanna hear and I love playing them".