Emancipation was released!!! I still remember all the hype surrounding it and the actual event as if it happened yesterday!!!

To me, Emancipation was his last greatest album!! Everything has been going downhill ever since for 10 LONG BORING YEARS!!!!!

If someone had told me, 10 years ago, that in 10 years time Prince would b setting up shop in Vegas I would have laughed them off and announced them as certifiably crazy!!

Now, what a difference 10 years makes!!!

pure coincidence, i just ordered that album the other day,waiting (un)patiently for it to arive

Emancipation was a great album. Discs 2 and 3 are amazing. Disc 2 is his best mid-tempo work ever.
The only little disagreement I would have with you is that TRC is for me in his top 5. A matter of taste, I guess.
And yes, Our man is in Vegas now cashing $ like Celine Dion...

I remember the hype too.

My workplace turned the T.V. station on to Oprah and he did his interview.
People who didn't know much about Prince were shocked that he landed such a beautiful wife , I mean, because he's gay and all . People were also shocked that he seemed to have a sense of humor and spoke articulately.
I kept thinkging, "Damn. What, did you expecting him to just lick his lips and moan all the time?"


Anyways, when I bought the CD and took it home to play it, I was dissapointed by the entire thing. I found myself skipping tracks, and getting impatient. I *HATED* Cd2 and played basically CD3 with a few tracks from CD1.

It wasn't that Emancipation was bad--it's actually one of his better CDs (Definately in my top 10 Prince albums). It's just that for some reason, I was expecting a 3-hour Gold Experience, which in hindsight, I probably wouldn't be able to listen to today

i remember the posters being EVERYWHERE in lower manhattan and i remember buying it from tower records first thing in the morning on the way to work and ripping that sucker open at my desk ASAP. even back then, one of my co-workers saw the CD and said "prince is still making music???"

The sad thing is, though, all the hype and the Emancipation Celebration was very bittersweet, because along with it there was all the reports and rumours about the death of his baby and then the "fairytale" marriage ended 2 1/2 years later, as well as the actual CD not selling as well as was expected, even though Prince proclaimed that he made more from Emancipation than he ever did from Purple Rain, because Warners owned PR, whereas he had sole ownership of Emancipation!!!

Even when I play it now, it still brings back memories of me when I lived in Marshall, Minnesota and I still cry a bit inside when I play all the ballads, which were supposedly for and about Mayte and the fact that they are no longer 2gether!!
[Edited 11/21/06 5:40am]

AsianBomb777 said:

same here. i was expecting all these tripped out knee deep funk jams
and soaring, screaming guitar solo's. wild, inventive, daring and in
all respects pushing the envelope.

then i listened to it and went

Oh, my Gawd! Has it been ten years already?!

Now I suddenly feel old.

IstenSzek said:

scififilmnerd said:

i was like "oh my f'ing god, they mistakingly put three
r kelly albums into my prince cd box"



i learned to like the album over the years and even back
than it had some stand out ultracool tracks. but as three
discs of music, trumpeted to be the best material he had
kept for himself over the past 3 years....it was kinda

IstenSzek said:

I had the same reaction to it.

Happy Anniversary,Emancipation!

I remembered his album when I was a sophomore in high school, and my local RnB station played Betcha Golly Now to death. I really like that song along with Somebody Somebody. And who can ever forget about that Oprah interview.

Damn it been 10 years already? Damn time had flies.