Thanks AB, excellent job!!!

At last, someone put this record in the right context. Though I would have highlighted other tunes than you did in your review - but that brings me to the point.

I can't understand this whole "edit it down to one or two CDs" thing. Metalorange puts it right:


That's exactly the point. We never would manage to agree on the "fillers" on this record, even if we have 1000 more "Emancipation" discussions.

I mean, we live in the era of the CD. If you don't like the tune, take your remote control and press "skip". And with a computer, you can burn your own version. So, why do we want to tell the little man from MPLS how he could have done a better job by limiting his output?

If had done so and we just had a one disc version of "Emancipation" in our hands, I bet that a lot of you would pay much money to get the rest (the outtakes) as bootlegs.

I will never understand that:
limited output = the vault becomes filled, everyone buys bootlegs etc.
unlimited output = people complain about the "fillers" on the records

I mean, do we want all (or at least almost all) of P's music, or do we just want to listen to "the cream"? Then I don't understand why this man is one of the most bootlegged artists in pop history...

AsianBomb,

You've gotten on my nerves more times than I can count, so I usually stay away from threads you start. However, this time curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to see what you had to say about one of my favorites.

I was quite surprised to find that your review was well articulated, well written, and very well balanced!! I agreed with much of it with the exception of what you said about "Style" because I've got it.

Therefore, I applaud your efforts! Of course, I ignored the last line because I know that it just wouldn't have been you without it!

EmancipationLover said:

Agreed.
If it were up to Prince to choose his best songs, his opinion of his "best" often differs from mine. And mine, obviously would differ from other people's optinions.

Personally, I think Prince should just release everything in the Vault. It's really time. THe excitement and engergy surrounding such an event would be amazing. Plus, with all of the output it would give me years of pleasure discovering new tunes--albiet, I'm sure there would repeated themes that might numb me.

But anyways, back to Emancipation : I consider it one of the lesser "Great" Prince albums. And I'm in awe of his ability to pull it off.

I'm sure there will be more Emancipations to come (And yes, I would LOVE for ROCK oriented 3-CD sextraveganza).

AsianBomb777 said:

AsianBomb777 said:

I agree, especially about people would be craving for the unreleased Emancipation tracks - in fact, even with all the 3CDs hardcore fans still crave for unreleased tracks/alternate versions from the period!

Although one thing I would say, I've read somewhere that he was working like crazy (more than normal!) to complete the Emancipation project on time. If he'd settled for a 1 cd or 2 cd set, he wouldn't have had to rush so much and create 'weaker' songs to fill the 3 hours - he could have concentrated on getting each track just right. He perhaps had to force some songs to fit rather than just recording when he was inspired. It was an ambitious idea, but in the end perhaps he did over-reach himself somewhat.

EmancipationLover said:

We've gone over this before.

rudeboynpg said:

I don't understand what that picture has to do with it.


I really don't?

PurpleKnight said:

me too

He's not gay. He wrote Bambi and he's a Witness.

doctamario said:

I'm sorry, but this is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen posted here.

I don't think he's gay, but to suggest that his writing of a song proves his heterosexuality is just plain dumb.

That'd be like me saying that he couldn't have ever treated a woman badly cause he wrote Adore.

What you can start with the "copy-paste" function...

Emancipation is a fantastic record, one of my favourites.

Face Down is the highlight of all the CDs for me. The Poet 99 sample is so cool... And those strings get me everytime. The live version is even better! Very, very clever use of samples.

Joint 2 Joint is one of my all time favourite Prince tracks, mainly for the last three minutes or so. The guitar solo, the inclusion yet again of the wonderful Poet 99, the falsetto vocals, the little eating-cereal effect he does... how can you not love this stuff?

New World and The Human Body are refreshing subjects for a song... the lyrics really make you think. And they're his most successful and rewarding attempts at dance/techno music since All The Critics Love U In NY.

Other notable highlights for me are In This Bed I Scream, The Holy River and The Love We Make.

Any album that contains The Love We Make, Sleep Around, Joint 2 Joint, Soul Sanctuary, Saviour, Jam Of The Year, Dreamin' About U, White Mansion, My Computer and In This Bed I Scream can't be so bad.

Cloudbuster said:

that right there would have made an excellent album my friend...

MattyJam said:

What keeps Face Down just good-not-great for me is that I can't stand it when Prince tries cliched hip-hop hardness. Housequake is totally different, has attitude, but it's more about getting people to shake their asses rather than truly wishing ill of somebody. Face Down's aggression just doesn't seem authentic, seems more like a desperate, imitative posture.

That said, the music's pretty funky.
[Edited 1/31/05 8:13am]

sosgemini said:

I just want to thank you for this defense of emancipation. I bought the CD knowing that it was a "bad, throwaway" CD but it was on the shelf and I wanted to start my CD collection.
The emancipation far exceeded my expectations. I can't get past CD 2.

Emancipation needs no defense , its an excellent collection .Of all the tracks ,
theres about 6 that I think are pretty close to great (including Face Down ,
In This Bed I Scream , The Love We Make ), theres another 6 which are filler ,
and the rest is good to excellent fare . I'm more than happy with the variety and the breadth of the collection.