Did anyone else feel totally cheated when he brought this out? I lost interest in Prince for years after this, after having idolized the man for years. I'm a fan again now. But then, it was obvious that record company politics came before the fans. I was gutted that he would foist this pile of crap on us.

Are there any big fans of this album on the forum? Maybe it was the first one u bought (my god, the only way was up for these fans).

i really enjoy this album. it's deeply flawed, and it was a bit of a tantrum-ish to WB, but that's kinda why i like it. he recorded it and prepared it in a pissed-off huff, and it shows.

if you took the lame raps with Floppy G and MC Funyon off the album, it would probably be one of my favorites.

This 1 was the biggest grower of all the Prince albums.Guess what? I love it now,tho!

LittleSmedley said:

Yeah, I agree with all that. The Rainbow Children was horrid and I totally lost interest...

Oh wait, you're talking about C&D. Eh, it had it's problems and it feels like a "minor" Prince album but it really isn't that bad. If someone other than Prince had released it, people would have been raving. Heck, if he'd released it 10 years earlier people would have been raving.

My least favorite Prince album. I don't think I've listened 2 the whole album once or if I did, I don't remember.

I was actually excited about it -- because I'd waited a looooong time for him to do a rock album. (It beat the hell out of all the lameass rap he'd been doing earlier.)

The album is not without its flaws -- I find a a couple of the songs on here truly cringe-worthy. (Right the Wrong makes me wanna hurl.) But it definitely has its redeeming elements -- Zannalee, I Like It There, Into the Light.

Anx said:

i like your take on it. except i did like Floppy G and MC Funyon.

Great album.



I may get shot for saying this, but It's Prince's grungy Rock version of Dirty Mind--Gritty, unpolished, stripped down, and raw. Like Dirty Mind, it's not perfect. Unlike Dirty Mind, none of the songs are as memerable as "Head" or "Sister".

Also, if he had released this album during the Dirty Mind years, this album would have been given rave reviews. But instead, due to incredible 80's work, this album suffered in comparison and expectations.

Yeah, it has a tossed-off quality. Not one of his important releases. But I was never pissed - I guess I knew all that going in. Plus, I was so happy to have "Same December" officially released. There's some great stuff on that record that I go back and visit from time to time.

Forgive the harshness of this comment but are you fucking kidding me?

This is one of the best and most underrated albums of Prince's career, and I will forever defend its importance.

There weren't that many songs that rocked like "I Like It There" or had sweet pop sensibilities like "Dinner With Delores" or had the simplistic charm of "Had U".

That album, along with the first time view of UTCM, made my summer of '96!
[Edited 4/2/07 10:50am]

It's the cd I have in my car now, I listen to it while doing all my errands around town.

I've always defended this album. Politics were part of it, but I really believe he made it as good as he could.

I've always believed the disclaimer on the album was meant to draw Dirty Mind comparisons--like Prince was saying, I'm so great even my demos are amazing.

I think it has a great energy and a great flow. Of course Right the Wrong hurts it badly.

Imago said:

I responded before I read this, but I agree and I think it was intentional.

NDRU said:

Too bad she didn't bury that song along with her grandpa.

LittleSmedley said:

I wouldn't say I'm a "big fan" of Chaos & Disorder, but I think it's a fun listen. As for Prince putting company politics before the fans on this album, I think you need to put it in the perspective of the liner notes on the album ("originally intended for personal use only") and the fact that it was followed up just a few months later with a triple-disc album in Emancipation that obviously focused on "freedom." So, to feel "cheated" by Chaos & Disorder is sort of missing the bigger picture. Think of it as having access to Prince material that you wouldn't have had otherwise, and remember that in the two and a half years following the release of C&D we saw a triple album release (Emancipation), and a quadruple/quintuple album release (Crystal Ball/The Truth/Kamasutra).

And yes, I checked. "Quintuple" is a word.

Genesia said:

at least he could have decided whether he was a cowboy or a preacher!

NDRU said:

It would have been great if he'd left out the horns and keyboards.

NDRU said:

Was there really a Dirty Mind disclaimer?


Wow, kudos to me for my assessment!

Imago said:

Well, it's now legendary that Dirty Mind was just demos that WB suggested he release as is. I think the disclaimer on Chaos ("this material wasn't meant to be released...") was meant to draw comparisons to that.

NDRU said:

His manager suggested it... I think WB were initially shocked at the idea after they were just start to recoup some money with the last record.

jtfolden said:

gotcha, so actually it's even more like Chaos--he gave WB demos against their wishes

NDRU said:

...and I can't remember the exact numbers but they probably both sold about the same initially, too. It wasn't until Purple Rain that DM really started flying off the shelves.

jtfolden said:

Yeah, where exactly would radio have put Dirty Mind?

I see the other correlation between the two was that Prince really found his voice with DM, and was in the process of finding & unleashing his new identity in 1996.

Of course, Chaos was not a defining sound like Dirty Mind turned out to be.

give me EYE LIKE IT THERE and ZANNALEE anyday!

I think first 4 songs are great and then you get to Right The wrong, which is one of the worst Prince songs ever, I hate it. Zannalee is Ok, I rock would be good but the rap bit brings it down. Into the light and I will are nice and Dig u better dead is OK and I like Had U. I'd say it's a better album than The Vault but not as good as Come.

Overall I'd give it a 6 out of Ten.

I really like this album alot.
I think it has to do with the fact that I really expected to hate it when I first puchased it.

Though it's just a buncha songs slapped together,
it's the last P album that I liked "fully".

Go figger.