Continuing the group discussion of Prince's musical history - one album a day. Today we talk about The Chocolate Invasion.


For me The chocolate invasion had existed in various forms on my own mixes of tracks from the NPGMC downloads. The fact that these songs were collected in one unit both made me re-evaluate the tracks individually, but also explore why they were selected over others.

When Eye Lay My Hands On U is just pure purple seduction. The slow creep of the verses just draw you into the raucous chorus that just drip with desire and passion. And the Santana inspired guitar solo shows Prince can meet the masters and still teach them a thing of two. I remember hearing WELMHOU and just being floored by it. Why wasn’t it on an official release.

Same can be said about Judas Kiss one of Prince’s funkiest trips to the land of electro. I remember hearing this and just smiling broadly for the whole time – here was in a nice little 6:35 package everything Prince was about. The hook me straight away beat, the cutting guitars, and the layered vocals, the rock break down, then the parliament funk fused “chocolate invasion starts here” chant section. This is one of the guaranteed get up and dance tracks in my house.

There was something ever so cool about getting a new unreleased track every month in the early days of the NPGMC. Especially when you got a track like Supercute. I always saw this as twin to E-male off emancipation, in the way it delves into some of the darker sides in its musical structure and topic. This was one of the tracks I thought would end up on Madrid to Chicago – maybe it was the airplane sfx at the start of the track.

Speaking of twins – here is the Gemini twin to Pink Cashmere – the beautifully arranged Underneath the Cream. Dripping in the juices of sex (no pun deliberately intended) this is such a sensual song, that there is nothing like putting it on in the background and going to work. Oh.

There was always a degree of guesswork associated with several of the tracks in those early days. Sexme? Sexme not? Is a case in point. I would always listen to the sounds and instruments used to create the tracks to try to place them in the musical journey of P. This felt like an emancipation track, like Style. Funky, but funky filler for me.

Similarly VaVoom sounded a little too close to Peach to sound fresh to me. It also reminded of a sped up version of Poor Goo. It just feels a little too easy for Prince to toss out these songs (and I’m sure it’s not) but it feels that way. Just not one of my favourites.

Prince gonna get you High again. First time I heard this song I was begging for a new album to hit the stores. If this was track one, you bet it would be a smash. I just love this song. The bass synth just bubbles along and works as a nice bed for when the true funk synth hits. I can’t say enough about this song, it’s the one that I always made the $100 US (so at the time it was $200 aussie) worthwhile for me.

The Dance was a song that missed me in the download days. I remember still being on dialup so I ended up being a little bit more cautious about what I would download. For some reason I always expected it to be Dance with the Devil, lol. It wasn’t until it was available in this package that I heard it. A pretty enough song, but again something about it just didn’t grab me. Of course when it resurfaced on 3121 I found myself coming back to this version more and more.

Gamillah always felt like a TRC outcast. Of course I didn’t know it at the time I downloaded it cause TRC wasn’t even out then. But hearing it again now, this is where I feel it placed, and maybe better suited.

U make my sun shine was a tad disappointing for me. I always expected more from this collaboration. It just seemed a little Boys II Men for me. Maybe it was a Graffiti Bridge track given new breath, but it just never really grabbed me.

Listening to these tracks as an album now leaves me feeling a little dissatisfied. Not for what they offer, but how as a set they feel a bit disjointed. Maybe it was because I got use to hearing the tracks on my compilations that made them seem less cohesive anywhere else. Having said that though, I wouldn’t give up having them as part of the npgmc experience for anything.

Swa

anyone... anyone...

Swa

Swa said:

I love this album!
I give it an 8 out of 10

ver really saw this as an album personally, its just prince shoving a few songs that everyone already had into one downloadable album. pointless...

although i did read that sexmesexmenot was gonna be on musicology, personally thats a great idea!

I personally LOVE U make my sun shine, it's so tight, so sexy! The arrangement is complex, and it has a long form too, so it takes awhile to come back around. The harmonies are subline gospel, he's had that formula down since his first album! It's great that he teams up with Jill Scott, I'd love to hear what he's do with Erykah Badu, or Me'shell!

Definitely one of my all-time fav Prince ballads!

Hatman said:

U Make My Sun Shine is a duet with Angie Stone not Jill Scott.But I agree i`d like Prince 2 do a duets album with neo-soul artists & possibly The Roots & Outkast.

kookooman73 said:

You didn't miss The Dance in the download days of the NPGMC. The first time it was heard and became available was on The Chocolate Invasion - the one 'new' track on there.

OMG...I'm totally freaked out on Chocolate Invasion ..WELMHOU, Supercute, Sex Me, Sex Me Not, Underneath the Cream...mmmmm...tastes sweet xxx

people can't reply to what they haven't heard LOL. myself included. maybe lots of org'ers missed the NPGMC days. unless its release in stores, many of these "gems" will be slept on by a significant number of his fans. the digital divide is REAL.

I always thought that with a quality video, High could have been a nice "comeback" hit for him.

High had potential and was more ambitious than the Musicology/3121/Planet Earth trio

underneath the cream....

kookooman73 said:

Agghh, yes, you are right! I got my soul divas mixed up! Angie Stone, yes. She is awesome.

Generally I have a pretty low opinion of most of the NPGMC material so I'm not a big fan of this album. I can't quite nail down why but I feel like most of these songs are lacking something. For the most part they don't seem like they are full developed and fleshed out songs. There's also something about the instrumentation that seems a little off. It was nice to get a track like "The Dance" and "U Make My Sun Shine" is decent enough but for the most part these tracks seem a bit undercooked.

CHRISLUV92 said:

Definitely THE track on the album/compilation for me. A true sister twin to Pink Cashmere.

Swa

I actually heard Supercute for the first time today and it's a cool joint but not mindblowing like I thought it would be. I've read so much about here that I thought it was on some 17 Days kind of level. Also heard Gamillah for the first time and I have to agree it come across like an outtake from the Rainbow Children.
High, Underneath the Cream & When Eye Lay My Hands were on another boot i came across a few years back. High was great and I thought it deserved a proper album release. the other two were okay to me I like listening to them from time to time but they're not required Prince listening to me.

I don't yet know this album, however when it is available to purchase in a record store I will have it...If not...don't care.

Swa said:

It's funny, I always thought of Underneath The Cream as one of his weaker songs. Love some of the rest of the stuff on the album. I remember being highly excited when I first heard a minute and a half of High. Supercute and When I Lay My Hands On U should also deserve a bigger audience.

leecaldon said:

Supercute was a cool jam. I often wonder what would have happened if he had put some out as singles with videos.

Swa

Swa said:

Of the songs on the album, I think Supercute had the most single potential. Supercool and a catchy chorus.