It's one of my favorite Prince albums.
Despite the fact I don't like 6 of the songs on the album, that's still leaves me with about 30 songs that I do like, and within that collection, about 7 or 8 songs I love.

It's a huge, sprawling, crazy opus, and regardless of it's over-slick production, the songs are smart, crafty, and well done.

I don't care what anybody says....If this thing had dropped after the 1999 album, Emancipation would have been hailed as a masterpiece. The album suffers from timing more than it does from quality. Many of the pop , R&B, and hip-hop elements on Emancipation were viewed as Prince playing catch-up to the industry. Slick, beautiful ballads like 'Friend, Lover, Sister, Poodle, whatever' and 'In this Bed I scream' don't get nearly the love of 'Adore' and 'When We're Dancing close and Slow', but they really should (albeit Adore could be one of his best ballads ever next to If I was Ur Girlfriend).


Prince had given us The Gold Experience, LoveSexy, PARADE, Purple Rain, and several other really strange, fierce, and progressively complex albums. Emancipation shifted gears on us, and we ended up with subdued, simple, drumb programming, and understated guitar elements. Many folks viewed this in a negative light, but let's face it, was there any really cool drumbing on 1999? Any guitar moments that just knocked your socks off on Controversy? I'm not putting those albums down--I love those albums. But what I'm saying is that Emancipation gets alot of criticism thrown at it which could easily be thrown towards some of his 'great' albums.

To me, Emancipation will be looked back in a better light than it received after release. It's an album of immense talent, a certain degree of artistic bloat, and crafty song writing.

Emancipation is like a bonobo's vagina. It's big and plump, and can even turn a few folks off, but oozes love juice.


.
[Edited 6/13/09 8:37am]

Honestly, I believe that most of people's taste/reaction/love towards a Prince album (or most art) has to do with timing, age, and so forth.


That is the main reason people can bitch and moan about "the new stuff". Ever since 1985, people have bitched about "new Prince" vs. "his old stuff".

Fact is,with a time traveling Delorean, you could take songs off of Lotusflow3r project and drop them on 1987's Sign O' The Times and people would hail them as "genius". Timing is everything, people are used to Prince's greatness here in 2008...back in the day, we were behind the curve and opened to being amazed.
[Edited 6/1/09 15:15pm]

skywalker said:

I remember my childhood friend's mother was a huge Prince fan. PARADE had just dropped and she obtained a copy of it and when she found out I was a big Prince fan, she asked me what I thought of the album.

I said that it was confusing, and I was kind of hoping it would be more like Purple Rain (I now rank PARADE as one of my all time favorites).

She said that even Purple Rain was confusing to her. She said, "Prince has been veering from script for years now. He used to be so much different, but he keeps changing since Controversy."

She then made me a few tapes of controversy, dirty mind, and the 2 earlier tapes, and I saw what she meant, though because 1999/PR were my first albums that I was exposed to, I thought his earlier stuff sounded a bit subdued and boring at first.


Timing is everything.

Imago said:

Agreed. I became a big fan because of the Batman album. My formative years of growing up as a Prince fan were the 90's. I loved all the freaky slave & stuff. Mayte, the NPG, trips to Paisley Park...all of it. The Gold Experience was my Purple Rain and Emancipation was my Sign O' The Times.
[Edited 6/1/09 15:28pm]

I had a friend comment on the production of Emancipation recently. While so many orgers hate it & call it plastic, my friend & his gf complimented it as extremely easy on the ears. This guy listened to it hundreds of times, and said it never sounded anything but pleasant.

I agree with this, and that is part of the album as a whole. It's not a "grab you right away" type of album, but you can listen over & over, and it doesn't get old. The music, too, sounds a bit bland on the surface, but doesn't wear thin upon repeated listening.

I understand people's distaste of Emancipation, but I think for what it is it is a remarkable achievement. Maybe one of his greatest achievements, in fact, just a very laid back achievement compared to the two albums before it (and indeed, compared to my expectations of it!).

NDRU said:

Lawd, when I discovered this thing dropped I was like

:excited

Then I listenned to it and was like



then



then



then


then


then


then

Imago said:

then what? Did it end there?

skywalker said:

Not see ... My sentiments exactly on all you mentioned. I became a fan of Prince during the Emancipation/Jam of The Year Era. I unfortunately missed a lot of the more busier time in P's career besides the 7.7.7 shows which I went to and the Club 3121 which was a beautiful time in my life I will never forget. Emancipation was and is the PERFECT album to have converted me at the time that it did.

Great thread ...

It took me a while to like Gold and so I took emancipation with a grain of salt. But I was definitely disappointed at first.

I was hugely disappointed with Emancipation when it was released, it was my 1st. major disappointment from Prince:

it took me years and years to get used to the sound,

today, after many listenings, I love most of it, I rate this album: 8/10, it's a solid album but not as great as the classics,

I only skipped 6 songs for my iTunes playlist:

Get Yo Groove On,
Courtin Time,
Let's Have A Baby,
The Plan,
Da Da Da,
One Of Us (= a truly great song, just not this version, I love Joan Osborne's original better)

Imago said:

Although they may have had a point to some degree, I found this attitude so dismissive.

To my ears, Prince had captured, mastered and owned these elements within this mouthwatering body of work.
Slick, honest and on it, I thought Prince was on FIRE.....

Diverse yet coehesive, Emancipation is an absolute Jewel, made more dazzling by the relative lack of expectation.

I drove my neighbours crazeee with this set, relentlessly, i rinsed it,
still some of my most played trax:

Somebodys Somebody, White Mansion, In this Bed..., Emale, Dreamin' About U,

Face Down, Sleep Around, My Computer, The Love We Make....

In my book, those are Prince Classics.....Pure QUALITY.
[Edited 6/1/09 16:37pm]

I actually really enjoyed Emancipation upon my first listen. I'm currently indulging on Disc 3 right now.

my favorite album...I can dig every song

I agree that Emancipation is a terrific album. Now, full disclosure, Chaos and Disorder was my first Prince album so this era is right in my wheelhouse but it's always puzzled me that so many folks hate on Emancipation. In my opinion it is far superior to any album he released from 1988 (Lovesexy) to 1992 (o(+>). I think the whole '93-'96 era is much better than the '88-'92 era. It seemed like on the Gold Experience and Emancipation (and the NPG's Exodus) that Prince was finally starting to integrate rap and some modern R & B sounds into his style in a way that sounded natural and not forced.

rialb said:

It is with the exception of the symbol album in my opinion.
To me The Gold Experience was a Symbol Album update.

Yo I love that album.

Imago said:

Imago said:

1.) it's called "drumming", not "drumbing". Although with Kirky J, that may be a more appropriate term

2.) You need to go back and listen to 1999 again! The Linn Drum sound must be somethin', because he keeps going back to it. The drums on 1999, Little Red Corvette, Delirious, Let's Pretend We're Married... ?? The drum beat on "Something in the Water" probably made the machine melt. The only lame drum beats are on DMSR and Automatic, but the keyboard and basslines cover up all that. Do you really prefer the "thump, fake triangle sound" beat of "Right Back Here In My Arms", or "White Mansion"? Plus Emancipation has that "Yep, 1996" whistle keyboard sound all over it. Sounds so dated, yet 1999 and Controversy sound fresh (see also MPLSound).

...Have you ever listened to Controversy????
The entirety of Annie Christian??
Jack U Off??
The solo at the end of Private Joy??
The guitar line in Sexuality???

Not trying to be mean, but gotta protect the classics!

nyse said:

Even The Plan??? Liar!!!

You miss the point. To some Prince fans, Emancipation is just as classic.

skywalker said:

Skywalker you truly have the powers of the force.

You and the poster both are right on the money.

I came of age with 1999/Purple Rain and Prince lost me with ATWIAD & Parade. He got me on board again with SOTT and soon lost me again with Lovesexy.

After I got older and listened to the music again ,I could see the greatness in those albums as well. Personally speaking the Gold,C&D,Emacipation era rank with his best as do the recent era that we are now in.
[Edited 6/1/09 21:53pm]

billymeade said:

I never said I prefer the drumming on Emancipation. I just think the criticism thrown towards it for that reason is a bit harsh. Emancipation is on par with many of his older 'great albums' and yes.. And I never said the lynn drumb sucks. But compared to the shit on The Gold Experience, which is often used to compare Emancipation to, it wasn't nearly as impressive.

For the record, I think the lynn drum is great, and I think his older albums are great. But I also think Emancipation holds it's own.

Its sort of like a bonobo's vagina once it reaches adulthood. Sure, you can stuff alot more into it, but it's still tight enough to impress the male bonobos.

Emancipation is grand

I agree with Billymeade,

and I think most of "old fans" agrees as well:


Controversy and 1999, those are just 2 beautiful classics, those should always be defended as prime work from Prince:

I wouldn't call Emancipation that: 'a classic' or 'prime work', it's too polished, too sugary, and most importantly Emancipation doesn't have the famous dynamic sound = Prince's trademark 1980-1988.

Emancipation is still okay, but Controversy & 1999 are just way better: it's almost like the music is composed by 2 different artists, the "raw energetic Prince" versus the "happy sugary Prince".

Emancipation = happy pop and r'n'b
Controversy & 1999 = raw edgy funk, rock, pop

I don't know if this is a thing of "old fans" versus "the new", but imo (I'm an oldie) Emancipation can't and will never "live up" to the classics of Controversy & 1999.

I still like it though, it's in my Top 20 of Prince album, while 1999 and Controversy are in my top 10.

"old fans"? Perspective is different due to timing not quality. No?



Those albums don't need defending. It is almost accepted as fact that they are classics and "prime work". I would argue that they only give one a sliver of insight into a very small portion of Prince's total body of work.



Emancipation is polished, but I wouldn't call songs like "Face Down" and "Joint 2 Joint" sugary. Also, Prince's sound from 1980-1988 was widely varied. In 1985, he ditched many of the hallmarks of the Minneapolis Sound and broadened his sound.



Again, I would hesitate to call Emancipation "happy and sugary" there are some dark places on that album. Also, songs like "Free" on 1999 is about as sugary and polished as Prince gets.



C'mon now, Emancipation is more than happy pop and r&b. The boxes you are stuffing them in are too broad and convenient.



I don't think anyone was saying Emancipation is greater than 1999 or anything like that. The argument was that Emancipation is a classic in it's own right to many people.

Furthermore, what you are saying seems to further the original topic...what is deemed as "classic" by people (whether is be Prince albums or any art) seems to have a lot more to do with timing that quality. It is a bit old fan vs. new fan, but really it's about where you are at personally in your life when art hits you. It's not a right or wrong argument....

billymeade said:

lol...I love the plan....Puts my mind at ease...I remember painting a house in the summer time with this instrumental peice on repeat for 2 hours straight.

never been a liar never will be.....

There is so much pain on this thread. It threatens to tear the org apart.

Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife is an AMAZING ballad. It's my favorite song on Emancipation.

I think that what hurts Emancipation is that it's just... TOO MUCH MATERIAL!

If Prince was a little more patient, he could have chopped this album up into one stellar piece of art.

I don't recall the entir tracklist, but if I cut this down to 12 songs, this CLASSIC CD would have gone something like this.

1. Face Down
2. Right Back Here in My Arms
3. Somebody's Somebody
4. White Mansion
5. In This Bed I Scream
6. One Kiss at a Time
7. Soul Sanctuary
8. Joint 2 Joint
9. The Holy River
10. Friend Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife
11. Style
12. Emancipation

Bonus: My Computer

Awesome bonobo analogies in this thread.

Most of the songs on Emancipation are good. It's just the production that dates the thing IMO. He just recycles the same keyboard and drum sounds too much within the album.

It's like he spend all his time on the composing and arranging, but punted all the production to Kirky J, and you can kind of tell that.

Also, the fact that it's recorded mostly post-NPG makes a difference, because we'd been spoiled by the likes of Michael and Sonny on prior albums.

For example, for those of you who have heard Acknowledge Me (Gold outtake from CB) versus the same song recorded as an NPG Exodus outtake, you know how it sounds so much better with the live band (aside from the vocals with Sonny singing)? That's how I feel about Emancipation. Half the songs I'm longing for a re-recording with the 95-era NPG band, or at least a studio version where the drum, bass and keyboard sounds are mixed up a little instead of the same thing every song.

There was a remix of Face Down that "T" did for Princemas at the time using a NIN sample, and it completely transforms the song. I've never been able to listen to the Emancipation version of it since that was done. (Face Down live also killed the studio version too.)

Imago said:

Perhaps not drumming, per se, but the percussion on 1999 is absolutely top notch. His mastery of the drum machine really manifested itself here. The title track is the apex of drum programming to me.



That chicken scratch on the title track is simply delicious!

For me, Emancipation didn't have enough great songs to warrant its sprawling length. There's a reason threads pop up asking for the greatest single disc version of the album possible. For every "The Love We Make", there's something unappealing like "Jam of the Year" for me. That said, I do like what it stands for- Prince unfettered and able to unload a bunch of music on us. Prince's "artistic bloat" as you greatly put it (seriously ) is one of the reasons I love him.