so after reading a lot of posts in recent times about how much people praise the Emancipation Albums I would at times forget how much I dug that era. perhaps it was due to the other peoples negative chatter about those songs. I decided to let me be the judge of things and I gave all three cd's a listen after a long time of not hearing them. wow the memories came back and I realized that I love most of all of the three CD's but I really love the slower songs the most. My favorite song off all three is My Computer. Your thoughts?










have at it, even the ones that didn't like this album

Oh Yeah...A flood of beautiful thoughts. This album is filled with incredible sound, great song writing...These songs are some of the most tender and romantic words a man could man could ever say. Prince's heart is on his sleeve...His belt...His pants and his shoes here.

Breathtakingly Sweet. My comment about "Savior," and "FriendLoverSisterMotherWife," is..."Simply Rose Throwing."

I think the song "Emale," is movie soundtrack material.

I will always be partial to Disc 2 but I love this project. I remember being excited at the collabs but they were pretty useless as you couldn't even hear Kate Bush

Some of the songs are pretty useless like stupid We Gets Up. The way it starts you think you're going to hear something revolutionary and then it goes all cartoon The covers were pretty lackluster, IMO. I mean it feels like Prince is holding back. Probably out of respect for the original artists but still, you're Prince damnit, sang!

Very very happy with these songs:


Right Back Here in My Arms
Somebody's Somebody
White Mansion
Damned if I do
Mr Happy.
In This Bed I Scream
Slave
New World
Face freaking damn DOWN!
My Computer
The Love we Make
Emancipation (even though it's so cheesy )

Considering, this was a really strong project. Not the second coming like he led us to believe but all these years later I look back at this whole time and this music very fondly

did you see, no hate!

I have never been been much of a fan, from the very first listen (on a cross country train ride from NY to LA!). Most of the tracks that I really don't care for, which is to say the majority, have never grown on me.
Most of these songs sound to me like B-sides, and not half as good as many of the man's actual b-sides.
Also, the production and vocals on tunes such as Jam Of The Year, Get Your Groove On and Face Down sounds unforgiveably weak. Just cue up the version of Face Down found here with the live version from NYC 97 for a clear illustration of my meaning.

That said, there are pleasures here, as one might expect from a 36 song opus.
And so the tunes I find worthy of continued listen, exactly one third of the album:

Right Back Here In My Arms
Somebody's Somebody
Courtin' Time
White Mansion
Damned If I Do
Sex In The Summer
One Kiss At A Time
Emale
Dreamin About U
Joint 2 Joint
The Holy River
My Computer

I dig the Emancipation project and all three Cds, loved the concept and the vibe, but really got into Joint2Joint. It's a trippy funky tune.

Considering I wanted to really know Prince through the music and this album was the reflection of a crucial point in his life and his career.
We get him tasting absolute freedom
and him in the most love he'd ever been.

To me, it was a must-have
but by the time I got it, I forgot a lot of the reasons why I needed it in my collection as bad as I did

I need to do a rehashing myself, but even though I promised myself I wouldn't do all three discs back-to-back-to-back as soon as I got it, I've heard each of them enough times for me to attempt that.

I'm going chronologically through the albums now and I'm trying to get started on The Undertaker (then Come)... but don't have the time

In the meantime, though, I'll post my favorite tracks from this set because everyone else is doing it

Right back here in my arms
Somebody's Somebody
Damned if do
In this bed scream
One kiss at a time
Curious Child/Dreamin' about ya
Slave
One of Us

Well, maybe I haven't heard the third disc enough times yet or I'd list more

Emancipation was a great album and does have sweet memories attached to it for me. There are definitely a few what the fuck songs, but it was great company when I was riding the metro on my first trip to paris.

Emancipation was a great time in Prince history. The name change was in full effect, and people dealt with it.

I moved to MPLS in March of 1997. I worked at Calhoun Square in Uptown at a salon. At a candle shop around the corner in C. Square, I found one of those dolphin candles Prince had in the Love 4 One Another special on VH1. Bought it. It was quite easy to find any magazine with Prince's mug on the cover. I lived very near Uptown, and often went for a walk around Lake Calhoun. Sometimes I'd walk up and down Nicollet Ave to some wreka stow that had a ton of Prince shit.

Just days after I got to MPLS, I went to see The Time at The Quest (formerly Glam Slam). Terry Lewis sat in on bass that night. HOT show!

Later that summer, I went to see Tommy Barbarella's band Greazy Spoon at First Avenue with a free ticket I scored somewhere. I took the bus downtown and used my transfer to get back home on another bus. That whole evening cost me $1.

By the way, here is the promo flyer for The Time show. I'm not sure if I still have my ticket stub or not.



So yeah....Emancipation was a good album, and great times attached to it. So many stories for such a short time in MPLS before I moved to NY at the end of 1997.

ernestsewell said:

very nice! I've had my own experiences in Minniapolis but thats a whole other story within itself.

was living in Spain when this came out. Whenever I play this, I think of those Barcelona nights.