I was recently listening to the Emancipation album. One of Prince's more controversial albums. I thought there was alot of talent on the album but some songs I believe he should have taken more time to develop. One such song was "Curious Child". A short cute song. Is this one of Prince's songs which have a double meaning? Could he be talking about his childhood or maybe the other person which lies in his sign gemini (which he talked about at that time alot)? What other songs on this album did you like or wish he would have done better with? There are 36 songs to choose from-tell me what you think!

Curious Child

In a room full of harlots and fantasy
Destiny beckoned us there
Curious child on the balcony
We took the dare
Careless I was 2 caress thee
Yet never regretting the time
The joy that we shared, it was meant 2 be
And not a crime
No, it's not a crime

If memory serves us, we will align
2 the truth that we most often share
Curious child, U are on my mind
Do U care?

Since he said this was the album his was born to make, I was surprised that he did a few cover songs. I do like his renditions but I would have liked all original material that he wrote. I listen to Emancipation from time to time and try to gvie each song a chance. It's a lot of music to digest.

Controversial?

Not sure if that's the word I'd use for it.
Unless that's what u mean by it being one of those albums that divides the fanbase here

Still hasn't stopped me from wanting to get the set.
I want to hear all about one of the happiest times of his life and get to know the album that he himself said he was born to make.

The complaint I hear the most is the ridiculous amount of songs and how quite a few of them aren't all that great.
With 36 songs, there is bound to be a couple that even I won't be able to listen to because its so sub-par. In nearly all the albums I own, there is at least one song that I take out because it doesn't go with the rest in my opinion. With 3 discs and 36 songs, I'll probably take out 3 at most (one from each disc).

Sorry this doesn't answer the question, but just wanted to say my piece.
It's #1 on my priority list now and hopefully, it'll be under the tree this Christmas.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

You might want to concentrate on 1 CD at a time. I have had it for quite some time and still go back and find a new gem that I previously wrote off. That happened as recently as 2 months ago with Dreamin' About U.

1sexymf said:

haha... don't worry... I'm not gonna kill myself by attempting 2 listen to the whole thing at once.
Of this I am sure

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

Yeah, if you do listen to it all at once, you lose the opportunity to get everything out of it that you can.

I very much agree with you 1sexymf. I have had the album since 02 and I still revisit and grow to appreciate songs I did not like before. Like I said earlier 36 is alot of songs to have on 1 single album and so it takes alot of time to go through it and truley listen to what he is saying.

I love Emancipation especially Disc 2 and 3. I think he was in different moods with each Disc. I always wonder what his mood was with White Mansion...Emale is a very interesting song. I also wonder who Sleep Around is directed at. Over all this album covers some new ground and still manages to represent what he's been great at since he started which is being a sexy motherfunker.

I've heard that the 2nd disc is the most beautiful because its all of those loves songs he wrote for Mayte and their unborn child.

I also get the feeling its where some of the "explicit" stuff is stashed away

My cousin had a copy of the album, but I didn't ask to borrow it so I could copy it onto blank discs.
Disc II was missing... and the fact she has a 6-year-old kinda hints that my assumption is correct.

I want to get it for myself because the packaging looks so beautiful. It could be like the centerpiece for my collection... because I had wanted and looked for this one the longest. (Mind you, I already know where to find it online. I just need to wait a few months b4 buying anymore albums)

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

It is such a great album! And yes, disc 2 is beautiful...some of the most beautiful and captivating songs Prince has released.

Dreamin' About U, Soul Sanctuary, Friend, Lover, Sister Mother Wife, The Holy River and E-Mail are brilliant.

I LOVE the sound through out the album. Emancipation tends to get criticized for having a "plastic" or "bland" sound but if you liten close, there are so many layers of wonderful instruments, white noise and imagination in all the songs.

I LOVE EMANCIPATION!
"Break the chains!"

i like the emancipation cd also (Curious Child,Sleep Around,The Love We Make,One Of Us)

I miss my cd

That curious child song, you know that part when you hear that moan after he said they took the dare...do you think that's real? Do you think that Prince recorded their first time together? Or recorded the sounds of her loosing her virginity? If he was her first?

Angelic1302 said:

Good ear. Listening to it..I hear it. If you can backup and look into the lyrics that he is saying before that..it might explain alot. "In a room full of harlots and fantasy..(harlots-prositutes and fantasy-enough said)." "Destiny beckoned us there (was it his destiny to bring sensual fantasys to another level?)" "Curious child on the balcony..we took the dare(the child inside himself to become the star he is now?)"

Prince did backround moaning noises throughout his career. A song during that time were a whole song was dedicated to it was mayte "comming".It was the last title song on the album "Come". So it was probably Mayte whom he recorded during one of thier adventures together...maybe in the black room

It could also be the sound that she made during lovemaking the moment she concieved thier son? Curious child, to me recently...even though a short song has layers to it.

1KissAtATyme said:

I really have loved Emancipation, and still listen to it frequently.
Curious Child to me...seems to be about a girl in the distance, watching him...
She is too young to, "peep his stash" per say, so he caresses her with a musical tease. The whining at the end appears to be lonely.