wlcm2thdwn said:

Based on the impression I get from the album as a whole, that song is a "throw away". (Please forgive me, )

The album has balance, and "Now" doesn't fit in anywhere for me.
Actually, Billy Jack doesn't have a place... as of yet, but I'm sure that after a few listens, I'll figure something out.

While listening thru "The Very Best of...", I find it hard to get into the songs completely after the set of PR songs ended. Then when D&P's 4 songs came up, TGE came to mind... and I couldn't enjoy Cream, D&P or Money the same way (Gett Off was an all-out party , the only one I really enjoyed out of the lot).

TGE is on my mind now, just begging 4 me to come back to it to uncover more mysteries, both about Prince and what's he's trying to tell me. I feel like he's trying to connect with me somehow thru the album and I need to figure out what it is.

Needless to say, TGE is now #1 in my rankings. Followed by PR, Musicology & 3121(at a distant 4th place as of right now). I'm beginning to think that fate allowed me to find it as easily as I did to serve a greater purpose. After surrounding myself with albums from the era ruled, I should figure out what it is.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

That's okay Dreamy...I love it though! It's a jam for me, i was young and fancey free when this album came out, and this particual song brings that out in me. Not that I am an old fart now, I am very young still
[Edited 4/6/07 20:43pm]

babooshleeky said:

Thanx.

I just really hate it when I find myself disliking one of his pieces because he gave each of them a lot of TLC and attention to detail and I'd hate to throw that away. In any case, it's impossible for anyone to like every song an artist has to dish out... but in Prince's case, I feel really guilty about it, even though I'm sure he'd understand.

TGE is incredible in the way it has balance. Each song has a counterpart that reciprocates it, maintaining the main flow the album is meant to have in order to get its inner message across.

My fav. example of this is Endorphinmachine & Shh. I wasnt crazy about EM, but I needed it in the track order because its Shh's counterpart. Plus, EM grew on me because of that. I love how they compliment each other, taking the same subject matter and putting different spins on it. Almost as if in the end, they cancel each other out, clearing my mind and allowing me to refocus on TGE's main objective.

Fill us with de dope track, lick us, twist us, roll us in ur mouth
Light us up and take a hit,light us up and take a hit
Suck us til' we're dry
When we're lookin' like a roach, hit the lights....

Maybe...

I had a thought.

I keep making a big deal about Gold and how it truly is the best song on the album (to me). It seems to be on a different level than all the others. Perhaps Prince wants me to find a deeper unity within the pieces and connect them with Gold to find the deeper message the album has to offer.

I feel like I'm digging for buried treasure here.

This one is definitely one of my favorites. I think the whole thing's good ... like Emancipation and The Love Symbol Album.

I listened thru TGE last night and although it started out a little shaky, I came away with an incredible message... Prince works his magic yet again. Here's the low-down, I made notes [and I've excluded Now cuz it doesnt fit in my method of thinking]:

P. Control: makes me feel good, saying I'm in control of my life/destiny
Endorphinmachine & Shh: since day one, he's tried to "seduce" me thru these tracks (based on the subject matter). And I guess for such reasons, I felt like I didn't trust him... this combination is great, but I guess it took some getting used to since it was the first I'd listened to him in nearly 24 hours. I had no comprehension of who he was, exactly. (side note: other songs like Te Amo Corazon and Incense & Candles, I call a little seductive, but I trust him a lot more in those cases).
We March: this along with the first 4 tracks, made me feel happy and rleax, ulimately trying to get me to trust him.
TMBGITW: made me feel good about myself (I usually don't so much). "True beauty comes from inside"- said I should trust and open my heart more to others, also asking me to trust him more, as if sensing I was still a little scared of the album's "power" that it holds over me more often than not.
Dolphin: pure magic. We connected, and understand that we make our own choices and shouldn't be swayed by the opinions of others. "We're a lot alike," he said to me. [I was truly touched at this track's start cuz I came to that realization at the end of the previous track]
319: pure entertainment with his antics and made me laugh
Shy: now that he has my trust, almost as if the song was about me to help me relax.
Billy Jack: an example of his life's hardshifts, he shook it off and laughed about it, saying I should do the same and not let them drag me down.
Eye Hate U: another example from his life, "I've bounced back after being hurt and am stronger for it, you can do the same", he said to me.
Gold: is about being an individual, "fire" looks appealing, but leaves those in it in the bitter cold. Ocean of despair= the conformists-- its not fashion. "You need to paint your own life's story".

To summarize it all:
P. Control, Endorphinmachine, Shh, We March, TMBGITW: make me feel good, are about gaining my trust and me trusting others more. let my inner beauty show, as if he could read my mind
Dolphin: something we have in common, I can follow his example. Thru this song, I've established a 2 connection with him and I love finding that in a song.
Shy: about relax, trust, as if he knows me
Billy Jack & Eye Hate U: examples of how he has dealt with the bad and bounced back, saying I could do that same.
Gold,: again, ties everything together, ultimately saying "I'm right here with you".

I felt so touched at the end of the album cuz I felt that we connected on a personal level, as friends. I see this as one of the many lessons he has to teach me.
I apologize for the length of this post, I wrote notes last night and I get very lengthy when I'm on fire. Maybe I should start my own blog and link it to my profile...
Prince is beyond incredible, it seems with this album. No wonder I can't stop playing it.
[Edited 4/8/07 13:46pm]

babooshleeky said:

Hummm, perhaps I'm wrong, but, you have surely paid no less than 100$ for it, right?

PD: Yeah! It's a great album. Absolutely flawless, his best of the 90's.

Check my new blog for more details on my latest venture with TGE.

http://www.xanga.com/DreamyPopRoyalty

I'm going to use it to write out my journey as a Prince "follower" and I'll let u know when I post new entries. I'll probably take a break from TGE after today is out so I don't completely wear it down. I've played it quite a few times this weekend.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

where there is talk of TGE...DreamyPopRoyalty will be there. *cue intro music* on The Music of Our Lives....

tznekbsbfrvr said:

It certainly looks that way, doesn't it? I have so much drama when it comes to this album, but I'm still crazy about it. Just the fact that Prince connected me thru it in a very unique way, more on a personal level, as friends. I've never thought of him that way b4 and this album stands on its own becuz of that.

It's become my favorite, so you're right. I'll be around to deliver my :2cents: to any debate on this album. But I have so much to say about it... more like Prince has a lot more to teach me thru its incredible music.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

i'm that way abt the BSB.

i do the annoncer thing all the time w/ my friends.. makin up cheesy stuff, but i have yet to make one for myself.

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Speaking of cheesy... everyone keeps calling Gold cheesy.

I agree... it is...

but to me, it's just above that. That song was one of the reasons I bought the album in the first place. It is so much more to me than a cheesy song.

To me, it is among Prince's best, and it is my favorite of all of his material. I'm more sure of that now than ever. As great as Purple Rain is, Prince & I connected to one another thru Gold, and have done so again and again. Last night was no different. I could almost hear him say to me, "Eye'm right here with u".

I carry the song wherever I go and at the end of TGE, it summarizes whatever I am feeling at the current time. Piece by piece, Prince teaches me a lesson in life thru TGE and the puzzle comes together when I hear this song.

I could write a 1000 word essay on why this song means a lot 2 me, but I simply choose not to (at the current time).

Yeah, you'll see me going on for 100's of words and many pages if you bring up either TGE or the song Gold.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

that's beautiful man.... beautiful.

HELLZ YES!

This album has always been my all-time fave! So many sweet songs, it flows like no other album, i even love the npg operator interludes...!

perfect sex songs all ova this album! Only songs i dont really dig r TMBGIW and Dolphin (i know im alone on that one lol)...

glad ur diggin it!!

The Gold Experience is his last 'very good' album IMO. A proof that in the first halve of nineties.

Between 1989 and 1995 Prince maybe wasn't making truelly exceptional albums any more, but especially Graffiti Bridge, Diamonds and Pearls, The symbol album and the Gold experience are just very good albums, better then 95 procent of the rest of the music released during that period.

Alltough its lacks a bit of the diversity of D&P and Symbol, The Gold Experience is a very strong album when it comes to the quality of most of the songwriting and the musicanship (The NPG was probably the most tight band in popular music around that time).

Two minor points IMO: Now and 319.

Now lacks the energy and rawness of the version he performed live around that time. He should have replaced it with the hilarious funk / hip-hop of The days of wild (Hold on to your wigs! is such a great line.. lol)
319 isn't bad, but isn't really going anywhere, it sounds as an halfbaken attempt to create a more guitardriven 'Kiss'. It would have been great if he would have put Interactive on the album instead of 319. I really love the riffing on Interactive (especially the bass) and its a more catchy, round off song then 319.

With these two changes TGE would be even better i think, a 9/10 and maybe his best album of the nineties for me.

Oops.. i meant to type: a proof that in the first halve of the nineties his albums were still a lot better then most of the albums released by other artists in those years.

Riverpoet31 said:

WHA! How dare you diss 319! "I got a good shot, put your leg on the chair" is so much awesomeness lol!

xperience319 said:

The song makes me laugh so hard. Prince is such a bad boy with his antics... I break into a laughing fit when I hear him say u... u... u make me wanna dance.

I wouldn't replace any of the tracks... I'm perfectly fine with the 11 track set-up I have. I'd omit Now just cuz I find it . I listen to it occasionally, but out of the album's context.

I've heard "Days of Wild"... it's not a bad song, but TGE needs no additions to it. I'd get rid of the NPG operator, though. Prince is my navigator thru the album, I don't need any "help" from that voiceover.

Yesterday and today, after listening to "Dolphin", I take 319 as his way of making me laugh and entertaining me with his antics.