TGE is an alright album,but to me it's not as good a SOTT. It's a little over drawn out. Billy Jack Bitch would have been a better song if it was shorter. The segues were a bit too computerish and annoying. It would get a 3 1/2 stars out of 5 in my book.

I bet you're one of those middle aged folk who's been moaning ever since Diamonds & Pearls.

Come on, FIGHT!!![/quote]


don't shout. you'll hurt your throat. and take the trouble to read my post-uh, not just the bits that you don't like. i praised "come", didn't i? which was released some good time after "d&p". but whatever. i'll moan whenever i like and about whatever i like, even when i reach middle age (not for some time yet, you handbag). who are you to tell me i can't?

i respect your right to like TGE, as i also mentioned in my post. i happen to think you're sadly wrong about it, but what the heck? i like slagging it off, you like praising it. we both like talking about prince on this forum. big deal. let's not kill each other.

who should i be FIGHTing? silly rabbit.

Cos I want to! You unappreciative-Gold-Experience-mofo bitch!

ok then.

It's a great album, I mean TMBGITW, Gold, Shhh, Now, Eye hate U, Dolphin.

I love them!

The Gold Experience is one of his best albums ever, imo. Just read the liner notes and see where Prince was at back in 1994/95, he needed to challenge himself, he was getting bored of playing the same old hits year after year. So what did he do, he had a very productive period that brought as the Gold Experience and Come, aswell as some great songs that fans think are classics, suchas, Days of Wild, The Ride, Acknowledge Me, and Interactive. As for the TGE itself, i think the album is brilliant, admittedly I don't like Now, We March too much, but there is so much there on the album to enjoy. Endorphinmachine, shhh, dolphin, tmbgitw, i hate U, shy, and of course Gold are brilliant, but then again I think Prince is the best when he plays his guitar.

TGE is one of his best, as is the album. Eye liked the Segues in both albums. Eye really love the NPG Operator/Computer voice. The first time Eye heard this motif was in the "Interactive" CD-ROM. Eye have made really cool alert sounds for my computer utilizing the NPG Operator/Computer voice.

"Hello, Welcome 2 the Dawn...Playground 4 the New Power Generation...."

Eye find that each of his releases contain essential songs that showcase his musical brilliance. Of course there R going 2 B songs that not every1 likes, but that is why we love him so much. He can write a song that appeals 2 me but not U....then turn around and write a song that appeals 2 U and not me.....and USUALLy write a song that both U and Eye love immensely.

Come is a 1derful album (though the ocean samples R a bit bothersome) and LETITGO is 1 of my faves of all time.

His unreleased songs are like jewels that need 2 B hunted down....when Eye get my hands on new unreleased songs it is like happy surprises that Eye didn't know existed. Some of them R great, others R not.

Prince's enormous catalog, as a whole, is incredible 4 all of us.

Eye'm just incredibly happy that he is still making music

The cool thing about Prince Albums is that even his worst albums normally contain a song or two that blow you away and make the purchase worthwhile. For me TGE ranks up there as one of his better efforts of the 90's not necessarily due its strength as a whole, but the outstanding quality of some of the tracks.

Shhh is one of my favourite all time P tracks. Hot lyrics, great vocals, great changes in tempo (Mike B's drums? C'mon) and guitar to make you weep. Anyone heard the GlamSlam West live version of this with the crowd screaming every word? Goosebumps.

BJB is pure funk, I Hate U another P classic, Endorphinmachine, 319, Dolphin, Shy are also tremdous tunes.

What ruins this album for me a bit is PConrol. The chorus just makes my skin crawl to the point where I just cannot listen to it. It really qas a shaky start to the album for me.

After that though...golden

TGE is second only to Sign O The Times for me. The only track that keeps it from being an absolute masterpiece is We March (a truly weak track). Still, the album builds on the musical territory P was building with (another underrated album. the only thing keeping that one from being an absolute masterpiece is Tony M.).

P Control is a smart, funky dance number that helped Prince regain his hold on the clubs. The song is sexy, with a smirking sense of humour. Raunchy, yet with a positive message for women everywhere

Endorphinemachine assaults the listener with its pop-rock bombast. Prince truly rocks out on this one.

Shhh- one ups Tevin Campbell's version. The NPG are incredibly tight on this track, especially Michael B's drumming. Sultry, yet rockin'!

We March- The weakest cut. The song really doesn't fit in with the flow of this album at all. The album would have definitely benefitted from him omitting this song in favour of Ripopgodazippa, Days Of Wild or Hide The Bone.

TMBGITW- A beautiful, sweet love song. The album benefits from the fact that Prince chose a different mix from the single. A year earlier, the single had gotten incredible airplay, so it was nice to hear a slightly different version when the album was finally dropped.

Dolphin- An incredibly powerful rock tune. Emotional vocals and guitar make this track really pack a punch. You can tell that Prince is honestly feeling what he's singing. The song also benefits from lyrics that others can identify with. Sure, maybe you've never had a battle with a record label, but you probably know what it's like to feel like someone is disliking you for just being yourself. Many later songs from Prince that would address this dispute would suffer from the fact that the listener would not be able to connect with them emotioanlly.

Now- A fun, rollicking romp. This track was especially fun to see live. You got the sense that Prince and The NPG really had a good time with this track.

319- Another great prince tune to fill topless bars everywhere. Sevy, fun and highly danceable.

Shy- A simple, laid back tune. "Cool dark skin in hot virgin white. Lips say 'no' but the body say 'might'". Classic Prince

Billy Jack Bitch- Prince's response to CJ and her ansty articles and name calling. Incredibly funky. Like Sonny says at the end: "thems some tight MFs"

Hate U- One of Prince's greatest ballads. The guitar is so raw and emotional, and the whole song is infused with the sense of someone struggling between emotions of intense love and hate. Naturally, Prince also includes a feeling of raw sexuality. The whole song builds from a silky smooth tale of wrongdoing, to a sexually charged confrontation, to a final all outexplosion of all of these emotions through Prince's fiery guitar solo. An incredible song!

Gold- The finale to the album is a classic Prince anthem. Prince makes his statement of grievance with the whole recording industry. Although Prince would revisit this theme many times in the following years, he never summed it up as well as he did here. On this track he states how he feels without sounding like he's whining. He seems truly like an artist with an honest complaint against a system that is putting limits on him acheiving his full creative potential. Like Dolphin, this track benefits from lyrics that address the emotional aspect of his dispute. The listener may never have had to fight a record label, but chances are they've had a dispute of a similar emotional nature with a boss, teacher etc.


All in all, The Gold Experience is an incredibly tight, focused album. The disc ranges from style to style, yet flows seemlessly. The tunes are fantastic, representing Prince at the height of his powers. No, this disc is not as groundbreaking as some of his 80s work, but it is a poweferful excersise in musicianship. Not surprisingly, it is the one Prince disc that I've turned more non-Prince fans onto than any other (that's not to say it is commercial. All the individuals I'm speaking of are people who truly love music, not pop radio). The reason that this album ecplises Come , Emancipation and is because of the focus.Come lacks any sense of flow, sounding like a random selection of vault tracks, while suffers from Tony M's lackluster rapping. Emancipation actually contains more great music, and flows beautifully. Unfortunately, weak tracks like Da da da, We Gets Up, My Computer, and Get Yo Groove On mar the sonic landscape. This album would have benefited from trimming down to a double, or even possibly a single, disc. TGE comes out on top for being a near-flawless album

In the words of Dennis Miller, "that's just my opinion folks, I could be wrong"

as u can see no one can agree on this topic, why?
'cuz music iz about choice and moods. every1 has their own opinion that's the great thing about music. as artist we write it according 2 what we're feeling and as listeners we hear according 2 what we're feeling that day. remember it's about the book not just one chapter. sometimes there are songs that don't affect us like others but there iz a reason why those songs r on an album.

PS: Sorry about all the damn typos. I was typing awfully fast.

Jedi, I don't think TGE is a bad album at all, but it is certainly not the SECOND best Prince album for me. It didn't even make my top 10. I believe that Prince's '80s outputs were his most creative period (7 of my top 10 were from the '80s). It suffered in the '90s as a result of his squabble with WB. Emancipation and the 0+> album were the only '90s albums in my top 10. With the release of TRC, it takes the cake 4 me as the best Prince album ever. After a string of innovative albums in the '80s and a drought of gems in the '90's (not that none of his '90s albums were any good at all--they just lacked the punch that his '80 albums had when they came out), he released a masterpiece last year that would set the standard in the years to come just as he did with his 1999, SOTT and Lovesexy albums. Here's my rating of Prince's albums:
1. The Rainbow Children
Prince comes out with a jazz-infused album with a message that will confound many in the years to come and presented in a manner unheard of...ever.
2. Sign O' The Times
Best double album out there. A confection of Prince gems showcasing different musical styles! He's a genius.
3. Lovesexy
Who could ever 4get the feeling u got upon hearing this album 4 the very 1st time?
4. 1999
A classic! The title track is apocalyptic in nature and the rest of the tracks just keep U grooving.
5. Purple Rain
The album that put Prince over the top! Possibly the greatest movie soundtrack!
6. Around The World in A Day
Who could ever guess Prince would follow-up Purple Rain with a Beatlesque album that truly made a lot of jaws drop. How daring can someone B coming out with this album?
7. Parade
Underrated soundtrack to a somewhat entertaining movie. His last album with the Revolution is one of his best ever!
8. Emancipation
If only Prince have trimmed down this album, it could have been a much tighter package. The first disc alone beginning with "Jam of The Year" gets your groove on...
9. Dirty Mind
The album that truly exhibits (both on the album cover and lyrically)that this Royal Badness had a one-track mind with songs like Head, Sister and a title track that boasts, "it doesn't matter where we are, it doesn't matter who's around...I just want to lay u down."
10. 0(+>
One of my favorite Prince albums from the early '90s with such tracks as Sexy MF, Morning Papers, 3 Chains O' Gold and 7.
11. Come
It took years 4 me to appreciate how good this album actually is..Come! Favorite trax are Space, Loose, Letitgo and Papa.
12. The Gold Experience
Trying to ignite his career with an album that harkens us back to the Purple Rain era may have come out a little 2 late but who can resist P Control, Shhh, I Hate U and Billy Jack Bitch. The operator segues I can do without though.
13. Prince
Prince's performances of I Wanna Be Your Lover and Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad at American Bandstand gave Prince his first major TV exposure and we were hooked since. I Feel For You is another Prince classic popularized by Chaka Khan.
14. Controversy
The title track ("am I black or white, am I straight or gay?" and reciting the Lord's Prayer in the end) blew my mind when I first heard it while another four of the eight tracks (Sexuality, Do Me Baby, Let's Work, Jack U Off) are Prince classics as well.
13. NewPowerSoul
Another album that takes multiple listenings b4 it hooks u with the title track, Mad Sex, Come On, and the sultry, The One.
14. Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic
Disappointing album from Prince considering it's his first release from another major label since WB. Some good trax but not much to rave about.
15. Diamonds and Pearls
Quite enjoyable "commercial" album from Prince if only Tony M. didn't rap as much. The title track, Cream and Gett Off are Prince classics!
16. Graffiti Bridge
A sequel to Purple Rain? The movie sucked (for lack of a better word) and the album is a patchwork of sorts but still has some bright spots.
17. Batman
What can one expect from a soundtrack to a superhero movie? Still, Prince manages to create some dance grooves and Scandalous still rates up there as an ultimate lovemaking song.
18. For You
Prince's first album will always be remembered for Soft and Wet.

The Vault, Crystal Ball/The Truth and The Hits/B-Sides were not included in my ratings because they're compilation of hits and/or outtakes while The Black Album and Chaos and Disorder I've only recently purchased and have not listened them enough to warrant a rating from me.

Indeed, with 20+ albums in his name and hundreds of songs still laying around, it is remarkable how much music this man has put out over the years and I don't see it coming to a stop anytime soon! And he's giving us The Ride of our lives..
"If U got the time, baby
I've got the ride
Where I wanna go
Keep U sho'nuff satisfied."

P.S. Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to put in perspective how TGE ranks in my top Prince albums (IMHO, of course). Peace!

"Everybody needs a thrill."
[This message was edited Wed Mar 13 9:13:34 PST 2002 by poplife]
[This message was edited Wed Mar 13 9:19:07 PST 2002 by poplife]

Come at 11 AND 12?

Sorry, I missed that one. It's fixed now

I agree, the Gold experience is way overrated. It is a great album. like all of his work, but not his best. The Come album, which came out around the same time, was wayyyyy better then the Gold experince. In a nutshell, it is a good album, but not some of his best work. It is indeed overrated.

"0(+> & Emancipation" are the best of the 90's output?????

Oh god, nooooo

They're both commercial sounding plastic albums with just a handful of good strong songs on m.

The album is just what it was intended 2 b 'a rock soap opera'.

Need I remind anyone of that horrible scene of Prince in rollerskating in a silk bathrobe & boxershorts?????

:O

The album was released in 1992 and it sounds more dated than Sign O The Times or even Parade. The rapping is just horrible. The majority of the uptempo songs sound totally off the mark [xceptions being "The Max" & "The Continental"]

Emancipation sounds like a 3 hours long boring, tedious slowjam that only shows a few glimmers of hope in songs like "White Mansion", "In This Bed I Scream" "The Holy River" and "My Computer".


2 Each his own, but I just CAN'T understand how anyone could pick these albums over The Gold Experience, which is a live, roaring beast of an album. The segues might seem tedious 2 some, but all in all they give the album a slight feel of cohesion throughout, lacing the songs 2gether without really intruding on the overall feel of the album.

It sounds raw, inspired and yet still searching without trying 2 follow others. Instead the album sounds like a big 'fuck U' 2 all those who thought Prince had lost the plot.

How he could just switch from such an inspired and real era in his music 2 the marshmellow pop of Emancipation at the drop of a hat is completely beyond me. I'll never fully understand that.

All I know is that when I went out 2 buy Emancipation, I xpected the album 2 tear the ceiling down since this was the first 'Free' album. Instead it sounded like he'd completely lost confidence in the face of this new freedom and just chose 2 take the safe route by putting out a collection of r&b infused tosh that would go well with the american market.

Overrated !!!! What do you mean ?
One of his most underrated I personally think.
And it certainly didn't get the radioplay it deserved,
at least not overhere. I think the album was packed with
hitpotential, like "Gold". I think the promotion of this album was totally not existing, otherwise it could have sold hugh ! I just love it from start to end, with the exception of "We March" !!
But hey, everybody is entitled to have another opinion.

I may going out on a limb here, but if you play 0+> side by side with TGE, I'd say the 0+> is a much more inspired album which had both critical and commercial success than TGE (I believe it would have done even better with the right marketing). The 0+> is a class of its own-- another concept album for Prince-- with a "rock opera" in mind (of course, Kirstie Alley I can do without) whereas TGE tries to be another Purple Rain (if you read the liner notes, it seems Prince is desperate to get the same kind of success-- critical and commercial-- he got with Purple Rain and tries to combine the same elements he did with that album to this one; the song "Gold" which I find trite, doesn't approach "Purple Rain" in its anthemic proportion).

Emancipation, like I said, would have been a much tighter package if trimmed down, but musically, I still think it's a better Prince album. Of course, TGE is more of a rock album whereas Emancipation is funk, pop, and R&B. I guess, we can never truly agree on Prince's music, which actually makes it great that we have differences of opinion, and that's why Prince's music caters to different musical tastes and audience. It's just sad that a lot of people are missing out on his music. The Rainbow Children is a prime example of great music that hasn't been heard on the radio. Peace!

Well, I dont think it´s overrated...I just think it could have been better if ´Days of Wild´, ´Interactive´ and ´The ride´ were included replacing ´Shy´, ´We march´ and ´319´.
Another thing: I always think how good it would be if Prince used less electronic stuff and gave more freedom to the amazing NPG...one of the greatest things of TRC is that it sounds amazingly ´acoustic´. If there were more live drumming and solos, it would be perfect

I'm sorry but The Gold Experience is the best thing he put out in the 90s. It has it all funk, rock, ballads and soul.

Yeah 'We march' and '319' are the worst tracks and i'd much
rather of had 'acknowledge me' and 'days of wold' instead.

It could of been a massive album if it had been put out instead of 'come' in 94. Back then P could of been as big as MJ after the massive hit 'Beautiful Girl...' people were hungry for a follow-up single but the WB mess fucked up the flow...as it were. If 'dolphin' had been released that summer then the album in the fall, it could of been HUGE!!

Instead we got major confusion with 'Come' (who many people bought thinking TMBGITW was on it!) and the superficial 'Black Album', not to mention the whole 'SlAvE' thing!

Emancipation was a major let down for me. it had some kick as songs on but was let dwon by some of the 'average' material on disk 2 and songs like 'right back here in my arms'. Disk 3 is my fav. some of the more ground breaking songs were on there like 'Slave' and 'New World'. the entire project suffered from extremly dull drum programs and arrangements. I missed the live druming and raw energy the Gold had

I think the album is excellent ***** & the phat b-side 2 gold. "rock'n roll is alive-and it lives in minneapolis" that's a tasty tune. Being a prince fan it's hard 2 say something (album) is underrated or overrated. 2 me it's just prince going through a phase. I think the album could have been bigger than it was, but the warner bros. fiasco was in the way. And prince was being joked about in the media a lot at this time. I like all the joints on this album. the 1 sticks out 2 me is "Shy"....just my thoughts.

GustavoRibas knows his stuff.

hell no, that album deserves all the praise it gets. A few songs I don't dig but overall this album kicks ass!

0+> vs. TGE

Segues: Kirstie Alleys' whining voice (which comes on 3X) or the operator's intermittent interruption (credited 6X)?

"Sexy MF" vs. "P Control"

"My Name is Prince" vs. "Endorphinemachine"

"Sweet Baby" vs. "Shhh"

"3 Chains O' Gold" vs. "We March"

"And God Created Woman" vs. TMBGITW

"The Morning Paper" vs. "Dolphin"

"The Max" vs. "Now"

"Damn U" vs. "I Hate U"

"Love 2 The 9s" vs. "319"

"7" vs. "Shy"

"Arrogance/The Flow" vs. "Billy Jack Bitch"

"The Sacrifice of Victor" vs. "Gold"

I say, 0+> comes up on top. What do u think?

THIS ALBUM IS 1 OF HIS BEST, STRAIGHT UP!!!

"Emancipation was a major let down for me. it had some kick as songs on but was let dwon by some of the 'average' material on disk 2 and songs like 'right back here in my arms'. Disk 3 is my fav. some of the more ground breaking songs were on there like 'Slave' and 'New World'. the entire project suffered from extremly dull drum programs and arrangements. I missed the live druming and raw energy the Gold had"
- Amen...´Emancipation´ had everything to be a lot better, but IMO it didnt have the PERFORMED BY PRINCE thing that ´For You´ had...it sounded like it was P singing over Kirk productions.

The Symbol album is very good, but IMO ´Gold´ is more cohesive

Personally, if you want to talk about cohesiveness, both Come and the 0+> albums are more cohesive.

chewymusic said:

- Hey, I remember reading that the horn arrangements (one of the most incredible things musically that P ever did) were actually performed by the Hornheadz. But I agree that Tommy B used to play it on stage...
Yeah, you are right. Around 95, Prince was still trying electronic stuff. If he just let that incredible band did more jams like on TRC, without loops and samples, ´Gold´ would be a greater album.
´Shhh´, ´BJB´ and ´I hate U´ are some of the most tight and musical P songs ever
What do you all think of the extended version of ´Billy Jack Bitch´?? I love it

rainbowchild said:

I disagree. The Symbol album was intended to be a rock opera, and there was too much hip hop, rock and still some bombastic stuff like ´3 chains´
Gold is more focused on funk/rock with a smaller band, no rappers, etc

I guess cohesiveness means monotony in your vocabulary. Cohesiveness means-- everything being part of the whole-- and that's what 0+> is about. If you saw the 0+> video, I'm sure you'll see the story revolving around the 3 Chains O' Gold, which I thought is one of the best cuts in the album. TRC, now that's another cohesive album! TGE, on the other hand, I have to disagree. It has a couple of good tracks, but I just don't see how brilliant an album it is as some rave it to be. Just my opinion, of course.