I mean, i have this CD-set for about 6 or 7 years, and i always skipped several songs on disc 3 (the Human Body, Da Da Da) because they didnt sound any good or interesting to me from the start.

But i have put the whole disc on repeat a few times today and hey, apart from 'slave' and the lame cover of 'The one of us' this is actually a very enjoyable CD, much better then i ever thougt about it.

The techno / house-like cuts are stronger and more experimental then i thought at first, not as blatant as i made them out for first, Face Down is a cool little track, Style is deliciously cocky, My computer is a strong pop-cut.

Any of you also think this is one of the better CD's Prince has released in the nineties?

I always said that Emancipation is his best release of the '90s.

Disc 3 is my favorite from Emancipation.

.....

It was great then and it's aging pretty well. It's always been my favorite from that set.

Currently on sale in HMV for £1.99.

Over here in holland you can find the 3 CD-set everywhere for 2,99 euro.

I think they pressed way to many of them when the set was officialy released.

Its strange to see a 3 CD-set being so cheap, makes you think it is a crap thing, but (despite the often plastic / polished production) there is some good / great songwriting to be found on (about 10 tracks) on par with the songs on Sign of the Times.

Def. the best CD of that set.
I love: Face Down
La, La, La Means I Love You
Style
Sleep Around
If he had these and "Jam Of The Year", "In This Bed I Scream" and "Sex In The Summer" all as one album, you'ld have a masterpiece

All these years and I still can't make up my mind which disc I prefer. I think there are gems scattered across the entire album.

I've probably played Discs 1 and 2 more than 3, although I absolutely LOVE 'Face Down', 'My Computer', 'Sleep Around' and 'The Love We Make'.

disc 3 is my favorite part of emancipation, though disc 1 has some gems on it too. i wouldn't go so far as to say emancipation is one of my favorites or one of prince's best, but i don't think it deserves the thrashing that a lot of folks give it, either.

I can't believe nobody's posted their 1 disc tracklist.

GangstaFam said:

Go on... you know you're dyin' to.

onenitealone said:

I actually don't have one. I always expand albums.

GangstaFam said:

Remixes, B-sides, etc??

I could never do a definitive list; it would change far too often.

onenitealone said:

And outtakes, yup.

actually, i have a condensed one-disc version of emancipation that i keep in the jewel box with the original 3 CDs. it's 12 songs long and i called it "abbreviation". most of the songs are from disc 3, with a few from disc 1. i put 'joint 2 joint' on it just to be fair to disc 2.

Anx said:

Actually, I just remembered something. I did make a 2 disc set and separated the fast songs that I liked and put them on one disc and all the ballads on the other and called it The Wedding Album. It was kinda pukey to go through all in one sitting though.

U know... I've tried and tried 2 make it 1 80 min CD, and I just can't.

The closest I could get would be nearly 2 CDs worth.

'Emancipation' aged very well... Like others here, I went nearly 10 years without listening 2 it at all, and recently, it's been getting heavy rotation... especially disc 3.

Must be something in the stars...

G.

By the way, I can't understand how U don't dig "Slave"... It's one the strongest cuts on the set. But 2 each his reach, I suppose...

Easy,

G.

I never liked New World and Human Body until I heard them played during the NPGDC show. Guess it was hearing them on an awesome sound system because I totally changed my opinion right then.

btw...I would LOVE to get my hands on a video of one of the dance performances, wish Prince, Mayte or someone would release it!

disc 3 is by far my least favorite disc of emancipation. face down, slave and emancipation are great but i hate human body and new world, dont like my computer and everything else is just dull

Except for the crappy "da da daa" the 3rd disc is awesome (well I knew that back in 96)

I've always enjoyed Disc 3 the most out of the Emancipation set. I always thought that if he's dropped a couple of songs from Disc 3 and add a couple of songs from the other 2, it would've been a killer album.
Drop
La La La Means I Love U
Da Da Da
One Of Us

Add
Somebody's Somebody
One Kiss At A Time
Soul Sanctuary
Joint 2 Joint

[Edited 6/27/06 10:01am]

Disc 2 does it for me. Sex In The Summer When you think of it Emancipation is good. Just a lot of fillers though. Again with this release I don't think it was bad, its just that the public was expecting it to be another Purple Rain.

GangstaFam said:

yeah, that sounds horrible, and mundane. 80 min of fast songs continuous and then then 80 minutes of slow songs continuous...kind of why most albums don't just have one pace.

this should be stickied as to why noone here can claim to be able to put together and better composition than Prince himself.

2 CDs + another disc of a few more + the known outtakes would have made it SUPERB

It's my favorite disc of the three. It's the most "Prince-like."

No, it is a great album. The key is the groove within Prince's happiness. Giggle with the loopy melodies, flow with the slick beats. Let the horns rotate your tires and the strong songs brick up the depressing slave imagery.

Emancipation is one of my fave Prince cd's!!

The third disc of Emancipation is too experimental and bland for my tastes!

I'm forever defending the merits of Emancipation, so this thread is a welcome break. Most non-prince friends of mine have recieved a copy for a birthday/xmas prezzie (yeah I know I'm cheap - they're currently going for about £1.99) but in most cases, the response has been either "Wow! I didnt know Prince was still making music, this is great" or "Wow! ~I cant believe you actually bought me something"

I do sometimes wish it was filtered down to a double CD - at best it has the quality to stand alongside some of princes best achievements and imho is one of his better works from the 90's. But to be honest, and apart from the obvious track or two, I dont know which songs I'd miss out.

yxl1

Funny to see this because I stood in horror at the 99 cent store when I saw the set on cassette (all three inside) for $0.99.

However, I do love the CD for various reasons and I love disc two because it reflects a man in love.