Just listened to Saviour for the first time inages, what a track, in an otherwise pretty meidiocre 3lp set. This track to me is definitive Prince. Outrageous guitar solos, sexy, wicked production, those trade mark prince backing vocals and harmonies and just superb musicianship all round.

Whats everyone else's thoughts?
[Edited 7/22/09 4:15am]

It's nice.

mediocre?! Why do I always feel like the black sheep of Prince fandom?! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Emancipation. And, yes, Savior is a gorgeous track. But...so is 'My Computer'. 'Joint to Joint' is GREAT. 'Bed I Scream' is lovely pop. Really...I can only think of 5 stinkers on the entire set. Totally underrated.

jackmitz said:

I'm with you here.

Btw, Aerial is one of the best albums ever.

jackmitz said:

I get ur point, but let's face it...Emancipation hasn't aged well (to me at least). There are many gems on there, but some of the songs are just painful for me to listen to now.

Saviour



It has that Gold Experiencesque sound; mid 90s NPG at its best!

Considering this one for first dance at my wedding. Love it.

It's one of the best songs on Emancipation and almost a masterpiece. I love the full sound and the production.

I much prefer Friend, Lover, Sister Mother/Wife, Not only is the vocal one of his best (especially the end part thats high pitch were he holds the note) But the backing vocals on this are unique the way they speak to each other and him, instead of just repeating what hes saying, Its as if those backing vocals have a personality of there own...its amazing ...however Saviour is a good track just sounds more dated thats all

Why does he see a pair of dice when he looks in her eyes?
Is he saying she has snake eyes?

Love this album. Definitely 1 of his best. 'Hasn't dated well'? - I don't think so! I love 'Courtin' Time', '1 Kiss At A time', 'Soul Sanctuary', 'Curious Child', 'Dreamin' About U', 'The Holy River', 'Lets Have A Baby', 'Saviour' (also my favourite), 'The Human Body', 'Style', 'Sleep Around', & 'The Love We Make'. Definitely his most soulful album. & as for the covers....well, they're even better than the originals! There's no dud track on this 3cd opus, however, I do find 'Friend, Lover....' slightly plodding. I guess only Prince can give us so much and still be berated by his fans. Yep, he's most definitely damned when he does.

BriaVelveeta said:

I thought it was paradise(though he says it like pair of dice).

Dave1992 said:

that's because half the 95 npg is on it

Bewdy said:

Emancipation was great--not mediocre.

Hated Emancipation when it came out. I'm one of those people who think theres a good single disc album in there somewhere. Saviour would definitely be on it.

Bewdy said:

one of his overthetop canon...I love this one though

I've always loved Savior. The best part of the song is when he is wailing on the guitar and screaming at the top of his lungs, then the song simply ends. Great tune.

"....oooooOOOOOHHHHH!!! HOW DID I ever come..."

Bewdy said:

The Emancipation album is a very good and i think under rated album. its far superior to musicology 3121 and planet earth.this was the first true and well put together cd since lovesexy. Batman,G.B,D&p, love symbol, c&d come all lacked edge was was just realy commercial spin offs. The gold experience is another good cd. looking back over the years prince as had a trend of good ealeases and then a run of bad.he could have taken the best traks from musicology 3121 and planet earth and put together yet another good cd set, a more well thought product. 2 many albums now have the stamina or the edge or freshness. thats not just prince that seems to be the norm these dayz. lets just hope MPLSound and lotusflower are the start of a good run

I agree with the sentiment of one orger that there could have been one great disc out of all of the emacipation stuff, way too much filler in there, i think emacipation suffer's from prince's worst flaw, which is constantly releasing too much material.

I know some will argue it's his art and he should put out everything he produces, but I would counter that and suggest that not everything an artist does is worth showing the world. Even great artists need to hone their skills in private, and unfortunatley prince seems to do that in public in my opinion, tracks like Mr. Happy do nothing to demonstrate prince's ability to be a masterful song writer, musician and performer.It's just really bad music and should be kept in is vault, locked tightly.

Saviour on the other hand I see as total contradiction to 'Mr Happy' in every single way. Class musicianship, great song, great sentiment, and superb arrangement.

daPrettyman said:

Really, well what songs are painful??? I just want to know not to get into a argument but just want to know cause I simply love it. When it came out I thought that we would see so many videos made from so many of the songs because there were so many singles that could have been dropped like Sleep Around, White Mansion and so many others. Just wondering???

Love that song to DEATH!

For some reason, my wife can't stand it. I think it's the screaming towards the end. She doesn't like the screaming. Maybe that's why she also doesn't like "In This Bed I Scream".

jimmyrogertodd said:

big White mansion, mr happy, in this bed I scream, get yo groove on, soul sacturary, emale, curious child,the plan, style, the human body, new world, my computer, da da da, to name but a few, should never had made it onto any album.... let alone a prince one, ugh!!
[Edited 7/23/09 7:00am]

My Computer?!! Come on, now. That is a beautifully sad track. Soul Sanctuary?! Emale? Bed I Scream?! These are inspired tracks. I only wish P still wrote songs as strong as these. I couldn't disagree more. Maybe I'm a tad biased, as I was lucky enough to attend the record release in Chicago, but I adore Emancipation.

jackmitz said:

"my computer" is probably my personal fav track on the set. I'm one of those
people who think the set holds about 1 album's worth of great songs and just
too much filler.

but "my computer" is by far my fav song on there. the opening AOL sample is
a bit corny but the rest of the song is just absolute perfection.

Bewdy said:

i do agree it could have just been one cd

the is some flops there but in general better than some of the new stuff

.
I LOVE Emancipation as much as Purple Rain and SOTT! What...Saviour makes you want to smack the shit out of somebody...all of that wailing vocally and with the guitar!!!...what a listening orgy this tune is. Can you just see Prince laying that damn track down. there has not been one time that song comes on when I'm playing the CD and I stop it in the middle. NOT ONCE...the world stops!
Most people unless they have this album don't have a clue about this song. Have you ever let other people hear it and see their reaction? It kills me the
'when, who, where" look
Dreaming About You - the voice in that MOFO....Prince outdid himself there....whew lawdy lawd!!!!! MMMM MMMM MMMM I mean really... just smack my ass!
FriendMotherSis/Lov/Wife...as another orger stated is a bit painful to listen too but I love this as well. If someone would have wrote that song for me I would be painting the red carpet everywhere this dude step foot on!
Emancipation was great for me and still is.

'mazing song...one of my faves

jackmitz said:

I agree. I really like Emancipation. Even if every track isn't gold, you can easily make your own custom 10 or 12-track Emancipation by picking and choosing from all that music.

"Savior" is great. Slightly over-produced, but still fantastic.