PRINCE VS. WB: THE FANS LOST

Part 6: Free at last!

By Scififilmnerd

The making of Emancipation

Having just wrapped up work on a group project, the New Power Generation: Exodus album in early 1995, began to record some new songs on his own. From January to the summer of 1995, while waiting for The Gold Experience to get released, recorded Good Pussy and Am The DJ, with Eric Leeds adding horns to both on 16 January 1995, as well as Feelgood and 2020. He also recorded his own version of the NPG: Exodus outtake Slave from 1994, changing it from rock to R&B and renaming it Slave (2 The System). “Slave” instead became the title of a brand new song.

While on the European Gold Experience Tour 3-31 March 1995, performed Feelgood at an aftershow in Amsterdam 26 March and at an aftershow in London 22 March that also featured a guest appearance by singer Stacy Francis, who would come to visit at Paisley Park in June 1995 where they recorded a version of Journey 2 The Center Of Your together.

Before her visit, back at Paisley Park from the European tour, had recorded Journey 2 The Center Of Your on his own, as well as the new songs Right Back Here In My Arms, Emancipation and Die.

On 19 May 1995, aired another new song, Good Dick And A Job, at a small party at Paisley Park, and on 7 June 1995, the new song PoomPoom was played at The NPG Store in London.

By now, had recorded enough new songs to start thinking about putting a new album together, and in the booklet for the 1996 Emancipation album, he said that Right Back Here In My Arms was the first song he had recorded with Emancipation in mind. The first configuration of Emancipation was assembled in July 1995 and had the following track list:

: Emancipation (July 1995)

1. Right Back Here In My Arms

2. Slave (2 The System)

3. Slave

4. New World

5. 2020

6. Feelgood

7. Journey 2 The Center Of Your

8. Am The DJ

9. Emancipation

New World was originally entitled Love 4 1 Another and had been planned as a B-side to The Most Beautiful Girl In The World in early 1994.

A brand new concept

When ’s dancer Mayte was interviewed by Uptown in July 1995, the interviewer told her that he had heard that was “working on this “New World” album – kind of a techno album,” to which Mayte said “Oh,yeah,” before admitting that she had “no idea of what he has planned.” What they were talking about was obviously Emancipation – they just had the title wrong.

Meanwhile, kept himself busy by recording songs with former The Family Stand member Sandra St. Victor. He wrote music to her lyrics, and their collaboration spawned the songs Livin’ 2 Die, ’ll Never B Another Fool, Nothing Left 2 Give (bootlegged as Stone) and Soul Sanctuary, all recorded with on vocals. also recorded Van Gogh around this time, plus (Excuse Me Is This) Goodbye before making a new configuration of Emancipation that got bootlegged in its entirety. It contained the same tracks as the first configuration, but in a different playing order, plus (Excuse Me Is This) Goodbye. Right Back Here In My Arms was edited for length.

: Emancipation (1995)

1. Emancipation (4:30)

2. Right Back Here In My Arms (4:32)

3. Slave 2 The System (3:05)

4. Slave (5:09)

5. 2020 (2:05)

6. New World (3:41)

7. Feelgood (4:05)

8. Journey 2 The Center Of Your (4:14)

9. Am The DJ (4:47)

10. (Excuse Me Is This) Goodbye (4:30)

By the time was interviewed for Esquire Gentleman, he had revamped the Emancipation concept. When the interview was published in September 1995, it was revealed that Emancipation had now replaced the acoustic album Heart as his intended first album when he was free of his Warner Bros. contract, and that it would contain maybe fifty new songs. stated that his heart and perhaps his best work were in Emancipation.

However, apparently didn’t start to seriously work on those fifty new songs until 1996 following the wrap-up of work on the contract-filling albums Chaos And Disorder and The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale. Instead, he just recorded a new song now and then, like The Emancipation Proclamation for which a pink lyric sheet entitled simply Emancipation was handed out to the audience at a Paisley Park concert on 9 September 1995.

Emancipation

Is it reality or just a dream?

2 your spirit say U in spite of my slavery

We’re both 2 blame 4 this lesson in life

‘cuz this is the path we choose

’m sure knew U long ago

Look into your soul – it knows

And would never claim more righteous

Dare Napoleon and Hitler see

It depends on who U ask my friend

love U, do U love me?

How will history sing, my brother

What song will our children teach?

The Emancipation Proclamation is well within our reach

Tear down the walls that make us bicker

4 many years fought your war

One stroke of your pen could conquer

Every sin our actions bore

implore the goodness that’s in all of us

An example we now must set

4 when this life is over

What U be is what U get

The Dawn is coming!

The Dawn is coming!

Acknowledge and save us all

Free my people 2 bring the message

Heed the call! Heed the call!

And this song from every mountain top

Every child will surely teach

The Emancipation Proclamation

Is well within our reach

love U, love U – Do U love me?

Busy doing what?

On 20 September 1995, told the audience at a Paisley Park concert that Dallas Austin, who wrote the song Creep, would co-produce his next album: “It’s called Emancipation. 52 songs. 80 dollars. Save your money.”

Although Dallas Austin was present at the concert, no tracks crediting him ever appeared. Instead, Kirk A. Johnson of The Game Boyz ended up getting a credit as Associate Producer on Emancipation. In 1994, he had done a remix of Get Wild and some remixes of four Prince songs that liked. They were used on The Purple Medley single released 14 March 1995.

But at this time, it seemed like either ’s muse had left him, or that he was busy compiling The Vault: Volumes I, II and III, which were announced at the end of the year. As far as is known, following the release of The Gold Experience on 26 September 1995, re-recorded old tracks in October, 5 Women and Starfish And Coffee, and recorded covers in November: Betcha By Golly Wow! by The Stylistics, and One Of Us by Joan Osborne, of which a live version (recorded before the NPG was disbanded on 8 March 1996) made the album.

2morrow is the only known new and original song that recorded at this time, besides a title track for the Spike Lee movie Girl 6.

Betcha By Golly Wow! was aired prior to a Paisley Park concert on 11 November 1995 and was subsequently played on Minneapolis radio, as was Right Back Here In My Arms on 16 November 1995. It was a longer version than the version that got released. On 25 November 1995, New World was also aired on Minneapolis radio.

On 9 December 1995, One Of Us was aired prior to a Paisley Park concert, where cassettes containing Slave and New World were handed out for free to the audience. At this point, the drum effect that was originally used on Slave 2 The System had been moved to the chorus of Slave instead. It had also been used on the Mayte song Ain’t No Place Like U that was released on her Child Of The Sun album 27 November 1995.

: Slave (Cassette)

1. Slave (4:51)

2. New World (3:43)

On 22 December 1995, Paisley Park issued a press release that read as follows: “ has officially given notice to Warner Bros. Records (WBR) of his desire to terminate his recording agreement with the company. (…) The Artist is prepared to deliver the three (3) remaining albums under his former name Prince which will fulfil his contractual to WBR. Currently, the albums are titled: Prince: The Vault – Volumes I, II and III. will release a new recording entitled Emancipation once he is free from all ties with Time Warner.”

Inspired by marriage

On 22 January 1996, ’s Love 4 One Another TV-movie premiered on VH-1. In it, he said that he had found his soul mate and implied that it was Mayte. They had actually gotten engaged in August 1995, “Six months before the wedding,” later revealed to El Pais, with Mayte showing off her engagement ring on her Child Of The Sun promotional trip to Europe in the Fall of 1995.

Nona Gaye, who had recorded on and off with since 1993, also appeared in Love 4 One Another. Then she disappeared from Paisley Park with most of her recordings with remaining unreleased. “Once I got married, the phone stopped ringing,” said on Oprah later in the year, and he wasn’t necessarily happy about that. “For those who know the number and don’t call, fuck all y’all,” he’d say in the song Face Down.

recorded a few songs in secret in preparation of his wedding to Mayte on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 1996. While on tour in Japan in January 1996, he wrote Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife and Let’s Have A Baby. One Kiss At A Time was probably also recorded at this time as it mentions Valentine in the lyrics.

On 16 February 1996, a new press release announced: “Inspired by his love and complete adoration for his wife, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince composed a song entitled, Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife. The lyrics of love were unveiled to bride Mayte for the first time, as her groom escorted her onto the dance floor for their first dance as man and wife. This song can not be released to the public because of contractual restrictions between Warner Bros. Records and The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.”

“After the reception, she took one look at the crib, and he pushed the button marked play,” said nine months later about Let’s Have A Baby in the cover for Emancipation

In February, also stated: “I look forward to the release of Emancipation in the near future. It will be The Dawn of the next phase of my life as a musician. It will represent my freedom from the past and it will be a continuum of what I have started here today.”

Inspired by conception

During the Chaos And Disorder session in late February 1996, recorded Saviour with The New Power Generation and Damned If Do with the NPG Hornz. Courtin’ Time, which also featured The NPG Hornz, was probably also recorded at this time, because later told Musician, “I played Courtin' Time with Eric once for twenty minutes, and he was wailin' that whole time,” indicating that the song already existed before Eric Leeds was hired in May/June 1996 to play horns instead of The NPG Hornz.

On 1 April 1996, it was announced that Mayte was pregnant and that the baby was expected in November. To celebrate, and Mayte started to develop a multimedia package of children’s stories containing a read-along cassette, book and CD entitled Happy Tears. Three short stories and eight songs were said to be in the works, but nothing was ever heard about Happy Tears again.

probably recorded Conception around this time, as it was inspired by Mayte becoming pregnant. “I tried to write a song about how a sperm feels on his way in to the egg,” later revealed in an interview for International Feature Agency published in the Dutch Oor magazine. “But then I got part of the way into it, writing about everything a sperm has to go through, and I was like, “Whoa… That’s way too heavy for me.””

Another track from around this time was Da Bang, which said in the Crystal Ball booklet came about from boredom while in Los Angeles where spent time in both late April and late May 1996. The first visit was for a meeting with Warner Bros. where an agreement was finally reached to release from his contract, and the second was of a more creative nature with a video shoot for the Chaos And Disorder single Dinner With Delores.

Inspired by death

In May 1996, recorded a new version of Van Gogh with saxophone by Eric Leeds. At some point he also remixed Soul Sanctuary and possibly also Somebody’s Somebody, which had been recorded with Derek Hughes on lead vocal in late 1994, but ’s own version might actually have been recorded in November 1993 as it was co-written by Brenda Lee Eager and Hilliard Wilson, who also co-wrote Hide The Bone.

hired a new bass player, Rhonda Smith, in June 1996 and she played on the recordings of Get Yo Groove On, We Gets Up, Dreamin’ About U, a cover of Can’t Make U Love Me by Bonnie Raitt and a new version of Conception, now titled Sex In The Summer. Eric Leeds also played on those tracks.

She Gave Her Angels was probably also recorded in June, as the lyrics mention that month. The track featured musical similarities to the unreleased Empty Room.

Meanwhile, ’s last collection of original material recorded for Warner Bros., Chaos And Disorder, was released on 9 July 1996. In their review, Rolling Stone Online wondered: “Maybe he was just saving the good stuff for his new three-disc set, Emancipation?”

While in New York to promote Chaos And Disorder in early July 1996, recorded a couple of tracks with Me’Shell Ndegeocello at Battery Studios: Emale and an untitled composition.

re-recorded Emale upon returning to Paisley Park with horns by Eric Leeds and Brian Lynch.

On 12 July 1996, Jonathan Melvoin was found dead from a heroin overdose in a New York hotel room. He was the brother of Wendy Melvoin from Prince And The Revolution and Susannah Melvoin, Prince’s ex-girlfriend. The news inspired to record The Love We Make against drug abuse and In This Bed Scream about Lisa Coleman, Wendy and Susannah.

When Wendy and Lisa were asked about In This Bed Scream in an interview at geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge, Wendy said: “He had sent that song to us to see if we wanted to work on it. We gave him some suggestions about it, and he sounded like he was into it, but we never heard from him again on the subject.”

Curious Child, which was about “an old friend” according to the Emancipation booklet, may also have been recorded at this time when was seemingly in a sentimental mood.

Saving the better track

On 6 August 1996, Eric Leeds added horn overdubs to the new tracks Moneyappolis, Muhammad Ali and The Divine. None of them made Emancipation. “I wrote a song for “Dawn”,” revealed to Rolling Stone in August. “It was so much better than what I’m doing now that I thought, “I’m gonna have to wait to put this out.” I worry about that. I worry whether people are going to be ready for what I do.”

So while was working on Emancipation, he saved some of the recordings for a projected The Dawn album that never appeared, however.

also told Rolling Stone that Emancipation was based on his studies “of the Egyptians, the building of the pyramids and how the pyramids were related to the constellations. They were a message from the Egyptians about how civilization really started.”

He revealed that Emancipation would be made up of three CDs, each exactly an hour long, “To the minute,” indicating that an early configuration existed at this point. Tracks mentioned for inclusion were Betcha By Golly Wow!, Sex In The Summer, Damned If Do and Can’t Make U Love Me. In August, was also interviewed for International Feature Agency (published in Oor), where he additionally talked about She Gave Her Her Angels and Let’s Have A Baby.

In late August 1996, songs from Emancipation were aired at Paisley Park parties on 24, 25 and 31 August. Besides Somebody’s Somebody, Betcha By Golly Wow!, Get Yo Groove On and Sex In The Summer, the new track Mr. Happy and a cover of The Delfonic’s La, La, La Means Love U were also aired, indicating that these tracks were also on the August 1996 Emancipation configuration.

: Emancipation (August 1996)

Track list unknown, but triple album including She Gave Her Angels, Let’s Have A Baby, Sex In The Summer, Betcha By Golly Wow!, Damned If Do, Can’t Make U Love Me, Somebody’s Somebody, Get Yo Groove On, Mr. Happy and La, La, La Means Love U.

Mr. Happy featured a rap by Scrap D., so it is likely that the other Emancipation tracks that he appeared on, Da Da Da and Style, had also been recorded at this point. By the same token, Style also featured horns by Walter Chancellor, Jr. and Eric Leeds, indicating that Jam Of The Year, which also featured the duo, had also been recorded at this time.

The shooting of the Muppets Tonight episode featuring that was shown on TV around the world beginning in May 1997 supposedly took place in September 1996. performed the 1995 re-recording of Starfish And Coffee and an edit of She Gave Her Angels.

On 5 October 1996, another new track, The Human Body, was aired at a Paisley Park party. It featured additional programming by Cesar Sogbe and Joe Galdo, as did Sleep Around, which had then probably also been recorded at this time. Sleep Around also featured The NPG Hornz, which were brought back in after Eric Leeds quit over a payment dispute.

Ready for release

When assembled the final Emancipation album configuration, it included some songs where it is unknown when in the year he recorded them: White Mansion, Joint 2 Joint, The Holy River, Face Down and My Computer. The Holy River may have been a last-minute addition, as the liner notes for the 1998 Crystal Ball collection said that it had replaced (Excuse Me Is This) Goodbye on Emancipation.

By 10 October 1996, Emancipation was done and previewed the album for the record company EMI-Capitol’s top-level executives. A deal was made for them to print, distribute and promote Emancipation. Five days later, an Emancipation listening party was held at Paisley Park for a few Minneapolis journalists, EMI executives and retail representatives.

Happy with his freedom from Warner Bros., had wiped “slave” from his face when he talked about the EMI deal and his impending fatherhood in an interview with Rolling Stone. The pregnant Mayte was present for the interview.

“Recently I thought about my whole career, my whole life leading up to this point - having a child helps you do that - and I thought about what would be the perfect album for me to do,” said. “Sign O' The Times was originally called Crystal Ball and was supposed to be three albums. “You'll overwhelm the market,” I was told. “You can't do that.” Then people say I'm a crazy fool for writing on my face, but if I can't do what I want to do, what am I? When you stop a man from dreaming, he becomes a slave. That's where I was. I don't own Prince's music. If you don't own your masters, your master owns you.”

It was revealed that each of the three CDs making up Emancipation would contain 12 songs, adding up to 36 songs, which was a CD and 14-16 songs less than the 50-52 songs he had initially announced.

Discussing how he had been affected by the prospect of fatherhood, said, “You'll definitely hear it in my music.”

Tragedy strikes

and Mayte’s baby was born on 16 October 1996. Unfortunately, the child suffered from Pfeiffer’s Syndrome and a week later, it was decided to turn off the life-support machine and allow the boy to die. The body was cremated the same day.

The promotional activities for the release of Emancipation had already been planned and decided not to postpone them. Two days later, he gave a concert at Paisley Park, playing Jam Of The Year, Get Yo Groove On, Face Down and One Of Us from Emancipation.

On 26 October 1996, and EMI hosted a press conference at Paisley Park for music industry and media people from the US. aired selections from Emancipation before answering questions. Then he performed a short set that included Get Yo Groove On and Jam Of The Year. A few hours later, he performed a 30-minute set at Paisley Park for about 100 fans. asked the audience, “Where are you gonna go after you die?” before playing One Of Us. He concluded the show by stating, “Freedom is a truly beautiful thing.”

Following a promotional trip to Japan from 30 October to 3 November 1996, was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for her Oprah talk show on 4 November. Mayte participated in the interview. The image that had planned to associate with Emancipation was that of a family man, celebrating his marriage to Mayte and the birth of their child. Despite the death of the baby, decided to go through with promoting that image, talking with Oprah about his love for Mayte, how the song Sex In The Summer featured the ultrasound heartbeat of the child, and that they wanted more children. He answered, “Well, our family exists. We're just beginning it. And we've got many kids to have, a long way to go,” when asked about the rumors about the baby being born with health problems. “It's all good. Never mind what you hear.” He then showed Oprah the playroom he and Mayte had prepared for the baby at Paisley Park.

Following the interview, recorded a video for Betcha By Golly Wow! that also celebrated his love for Mayte and the birth of their child. Mayte was in it, acting pregnant.

Emancipation arrives

On 11-16 November 1996, gave a series of interviews at Paisley Park. “Mayte and I decided it's cool to talk about ourselves but not about our children,” told USA Today. “There is a rumor out that my baby died. My skin is so thick now. I care much more about my child than about what anyone says or writes.”

“My child will have so much fun, all the fun I never had as a child,” added to MSN Music Central.

“This is the most exciting time of my life,” also told USA Today. “There was nothing in the way when I recorded (Emancipation). Nobody looked over my shoulder. Nothing was remixed, censored, chopped down or edited. (…) This is my debut. My name represents this body of work, not what came before.”

“I started with the blueprint of three CD's, one hour each, with peaks and valleys in the right places. I just filled in the blueprint,” told New York Times.

On 12 November 1996, performed a TV-transmitted 25-minute show at Paisley Park in celebration of his freedom from Warner Bros. and the upcoming release of Emancipation. Only ’s lead vocal and guitar were live, though. The rest of the music was pre-recorded and included Jam Of The Year, Get Yo Groove On and One Of Us. A 15-minute press conference followed for about 100 reporters.

Betcha By Golly Wow! was released as the first single on 13 November 1996. It contained a new edit of Right Back Here In My Arms that would also be the album version.

: Betcha By Golly Wow!

1. Betcha By Golly Wow! (3:31) – by Thomas R. Bell & Linda Creed

2. Right Back Here In My Arms (4:43)

The single only reached number 32 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay Chart, but peaked at number 10 on the Hot R&B Airplay chart. An alternative video for Betcha By Golly Wow! with a close-up performance by was shown on Top Of The Pops on 15 November 1996.

The day after that, gave another concert at Paisley Park, performing Face Down, Jam Of The Year, Get Yo Groove On and Sleep Around.

Then, on 19 November 1996, Emancipation was finally released, only four months after Chaos And Disorder. It contained an edit of the title track and The Plan from the upcoming The NPG Orchestra: Kamasutra release.

: Emancipation

Disc 1:

1. Jam Of The Year (6:10)

2. Right Back Here In My Arms (4:43)

3. Somebody’s Somebody (4:43)

4. Get Yo Groove On (6:31)

5. Courtin’ Time (2:46)

6. Betcha By Golly Wow! (3:31) – by Thomas R. Bell & Linda Creed

7. We Gets Up (4:18)

8. White Mansion (4:47)

9. Damned If Do (5:21)

10. Can’t Make U Love Me (6:37) – by James A. Shamblin & Michael B. Reid

11. Mr. Happy (4:46)

12. In This Bed Scream (5:40)

Disc 2:

1. Sex In The Summer (5:57)

2. One Kiss At A Time (4:41)

3. Soul Sanctuary (4:41)

4. Emale (3:38)

5. Curious Child (2:57)

6. Dreamin’ About U (3:52)

7. Joint 2 Joint (7:52)

8. The Holy River (6:55)

9. Let’s Have A Baby (4:07)

10. Saviour (5:48)

11. The Plan (1:47)

12. Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife (7:37)

Disc 3:

1. Slave (4:51)

2. New World (3:43)

3. The Human Body (5:42)

4. Face Down (3:17)

5. La, La, La Means Love U (3:59) – by Thomas R. Bell & William Hart

6. Style (6:40)

7. Sleep Around (7:42)

8. Da, Da, Da (5:15)

9. My Computer (4:37)

10. One Of Us (5:19) – by Eric M. Bazilian

11. The Love We Make (4:39)

12. Emancipation (4:12)

[Edited 9/1/10 4:40am]

Fan reaction

A two-page spread in the Emancipation CD booklet perpetuated ’s family man image with pictures of his and Mayte’s parents and him and Mayte about to give birth. Disc 2 was full of love songs and the accompanying artwork included a picture of the baby crib had presented to Mayte on their wedding night.

The lyrics for The Love We Make offered an explanation for and Mayte’s public attitude about the death of their child. They believed that: “Happy is the way 2 meet your burdens, no matter how heavy or dark the day. Pity on those with no hope 4 2morrow. It’s never as bad as it seems until we say.”

’s name-change, public feud with Warner Bros. and lack-luster album releases like Come and Chaos And Disorder had tarnished his public image, so the pressure was on for to redeem himself now that he was finally free. Had The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (TAFKAP) really saved the best tracks for Emancipation during the last years at Warner Bros.? The answer was “no.”

Although Emancipation was not as exciting as ’s 1993-1994 productions, still no one could deny that there were some good songs on the album. But there were no songs that really stood out, screaming “hit single.” Apparently, not having a record company to make demands (for radio friendly music) may have been liberating for as an artist, but it also meant that there was no one to push him to make that extra effort (to produce a hit).

Usually, fans wanted more, making up their own personal “ultimate” editions of albums that included B-sides and bootlegged outtakes. With Emancipation, they typically wanted less, instead paring the three discs down to one, creating their own personal “ultimate” best of.

Some of the reviewers agreed with the fans’ assessment. “Emancipation is plagued with a lot of filler. In the end there are just too many middling songs,” Christopher John Farley wrote in Time. “Still, listeners can indulge in a little emancipation of their own and make one great album out of this three-CD set.”

“This three-hour, triple-CD set is somewhat less than the wall-to-wall tour de force our man no doubt envisioned. Which isn't to say that there's not easily, oh, an hour's worth of top shelf material here,” Tom Sinclair agreed in Entertainment Weekly. “There's at least one-and-a-bit excellent TAFKAP albums to be uncovered here,” Mark Beaumont concluded in NME.

Critical reaction

As always with a new album, some reviewers concluded that it was his best album since Sign ‘O’ The Times. This included Brian McCollum of Detroit Free Press and Stuart Maconie of Q, the latter giving it four stars and concluding: “Not since Diamonds And Pearls has TAFKAP made such a consistently successful album and not since Sign O' The Times has he given his fecund, unknowable intelligence such free reign.”

Edna Gundersen also gave the album four stars in USA Today and wrote: “Astounding in both its stylistic breadth and disciplined focus.”

Jim Farber of New York Daily News was probably the most impressed by Emancipation: “It's crammed with some of the most scorching grooves and fleet melodies of TAFKAP's career.”

“It is the most cohesive, satisfying work in years,” Amy Linden agreed in People Weekly and noticed the new family man image: “The virtuoso formerly known as Prince Rogers Nelson, 38, expands his lyrical content beyond his usual twin obsessions of sex and salvation to examine commitment and fatherhood.”

“His marriage to beautiful and talented dancer Mayte Garcia and the birth of the couple's first child (…) are recurrent themes on Emancipation, and as much keys to its celebratory nature as his exodus from Warner Bros.,” noted Steven Batten of Scene Magazine.

“I think Emancipation is, without a doubt, the best album of my whole career,” commented in an interview with Hello. “People seem to like it. The critics haven't always been kind in the past, but reviews for this have been better. Some have said that it's too long or that certain songs were too long - but what should I have taken out? It's a question of balance and harmony. Harmony is important and I don't like people who criticize music when they're not musicians.”

Regardless of ’s feelings and eager promotion of the album, Emancipation only sold around 570.000 copies in the US, which was only 40.000 more than what The Gold Experience had sold and those sales had been considered disastrous. Still, it reached number 11 on Billboard’s Pop Chart and number six on the R&B Chart, which was impressive for a three-CD set.

Live Emancipation

The day after the album release, was in Chicago where he taped a live performance for use on Oprah that included a lip-synched performance of Sleep Around. Afterwards, he gave a concert in Chicago, playing Jam Of The Year, Get Yo Groove On, One Of Us and Sleep Around. The Oprah interview was broadcast on 21 November 1996.

On 7 December 1996, aired a live recording of Dreamin’ About U at a Paisley Park party. Then, on 19 December 1996, gave his first-ever live TV interview on NBC’s The Today Show. He brought his wife along for the occasion, talking about them being soul mates from a previous life in Egypt. For the first time they no longer tried to deny the stories that had hit all the gossip magazine covers following the Oprah interview about the death of their child although, “Anything that happens we accept and move on,” was all would say on the subject.

also revealed that he saw Emancipation as a two or three-year project with “at least 18 singles.”

gave two concerts at Paisley Park on 27 and 28 December 1996, playing Somebody’s Somebody and Face Down at the first, and Jam Of The Year, Face Down and Sleep Around at the second.

On 7 January 1997, performed Somebody’s Somebody and The Holy River on the Rosie O’Donnell Show in New York, before kicking off his Love 4 One Another Charities tour the same day. The tour lasted until 28 June 1997. The set-list only included six of the 36 Emancipation songs: Jam Of The Year, Get Yo Groove On, Face Down, One Of Us, Mr. Happy and Sleep Around.

Somebody’s Somebody made a rare appearance and snatches from We Gets Up were occasionally added to Sleep Around. Halfway through the tour, began to occasionally play The Holy River, too.

The Holy River was released as the second single from Emancipation on 13 January 1997. Two different editions of the single became available. Both contained edits of The Holy River and Somebody’s Somebody, while one contained two remixes of Somebody’s Somebody, and the other On Sale Now!, which was a short advertisement for ’s 1-800 NEW FUNK mail order store.

: The Holy River

1. The Holy River (Radio Edit) (4:00)

2. Somebody’s Somebody (Edit) (4:30)

3. Somebody’s Somebody (Livestudio Mix) (3:47)

4. Somebody’s Somebody (Ultrafantasy Edit) (3:45)

: The Holy River

1. The Holy River (Radio Edit) (4:00)

2. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (Mustang Mix) (6:19)

3. Somebody’s Somebody (Edit) (4:30)

4. On Sale Now! (0:48)

The Holy River peaked at number 65 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay Chart. A couple of weeks later, a video was released for the B-side, Somebody’s Somebody. It showed longing for Mayte while on tour.

On 31 January 1997, a cassette featuring two live tracks from the Love 4 One Another Charities tour became available from 1-800 NEW FUNK.

: NYC Live 1/11/97 (Cassette)

1. Jam Of The Year (5:22)

2. Face Down (8:35)

= Prince?

On 7 February 1997, Girl 6 director Spike Lee interviewed for Interview and started out by asking if would ever say anything about his child. replied: “I have written a song that says: If you ever lose someone dear to you, never say the words, “They're gone,” and they'll come back,” referring to Comeback on his next album The Truth. “What people have to realize is that if one has a firm belief in God and the spirit, then one does not make statements that are negative and untrue. I would have been lying to myself and the spirit of the child.”

“To be honest, I thought I had emptied the gun with this one (Emancipation) and I wouldn't have to record for awhile,” he continued, “but some new things came up that are all acoustic,” referring to The Truth again. He also hinted at his name being a temporary thing: “If there is a pronunciation to my name in the future, I hope it will be “Prince.” That's my dream.”

Later in the day, lip-synched to Face Down from the NYC Live cassette on The Chris Rock Show. The next day, he lip-synched to a live version of Emancipation at the 28^th Annual NAACP Image Awards, where he received a Special Achievement Award.

appeared on the Brit Awards 1997, 24 February, performing Emancipation again. Two days later, he taped a live performance of The Holy River for Top Of The Pops, which was broadcast 28 February 1997. On that day, was back in the US, attending EMI-Capitol head Charles Koppelman’s party celebrating Emancipation’s double-platinum sales. (Counting the actual record sales triple because it was a three-CD set.) The guests included Marilyn Manson, Sheryl Crow, Spike Lee, Kevin Spacey, Quincy Jones and Joan Osborne.

On 24 March 1997, a video for The Holy River (Radio Edit) was finally released. Still going with the family man image, it featured showing off his wedding ring, as well as clips of Mayte taken from the unreleased video to Empty Room. then performed The Holy River at the VH-1 Honors show on 10 April 1997, which was broadcast the next day.

In April, an interview with was published in Musician in which he talked about The Holy River: “Religion as a subject is taboo in pop music. People think that the records they release have got to be hip, but what I need to do is to tell the truth. I had to take some other songs, like A Thousand Hugs And Kisses and She Gave Her Angels, off the Warner albums because they were all about the same subject.”

Prince’s funeral

Also in April 1997, EMI-Capitol was closed by its parent company, the EMD entertainment conglomorate, which was unhappy with the label’s American business. This left without a record company to print and distribute his next single off Emancipation, Face Down. It included five new mixes of Face Down with clean language, two remixes of The Holy River, an edit of Can’t Make U Love Me and a medley of Emancipation songs. It remains unreleased.

: Face Down EP (April 1997)

1. Clean Album Version (3:17)

2. X-tended Rap Money Mix (4:51)

3. 1-800 Newfunkhouse Mix

4. Instrumental Money Mix (4:02)

5. Acapella Face (2:21)

6. Can’t Make You Love Me (Edit) - written by James Allen Shamblin II & Michael Barry Reid

7. The Holy River Remix

8. The Holy River Dirtyhousemix

9. Emancipation Medley

Instead, the US store chain Borders Books and Music sponsored a The Holy River cassette single that was given away with any purchase made in the stores beginning in early May 1997.

: The Holy River (Cassette)

1. The Holy River (Radio Edit) (4:00)

2. Welcome 2 The Dawn (Acoustic Version) (3:17)

Welcome 2 The Dawn was a song from ’s next album, The Truth, that got released as part of the Crystal Ball set in 1998.

On 5 May 1997, two remixes each of Face Down and The Holy River from the Face Down EP was aired at a party at Paisley Park. At another Paisley Park party, on 24 May 1997, a remix of Face Down was also aired.

A video for Face Down was released to TV stations on 5 June 1997. It featured attending the funeral of Prince. A promo single was sent to radio stations.

: Face Down (Promo)

1. Album Version (3:16)

2. X-tended Rap Money Mix (4:56)

3. Instrumental Money Mix (3:58)

: Face Down (Promo 12” single)

Side A:

1. X-tended Rap Money Mix (4:56)

2. Instrumental Money Mix (3:58)

Side B:

1. I Can’t Make You Love Me (Album Version) (6:38)

2. Face Down (A Cappella) (2:21)

The final Emancipation tracks

From 22 July 1997 to 22 January 1998, embarked upon a Jam Of The Year tour of the US. He only played five songs from Emancipation: Jam Of The Year, Get Yo Groove On, Face Down, One Of Us and Sleep Around.

A piano medley would sometimes include Somebody’s Somebody. Mr. Happy was performed two times on the tour. Sleep Around was abandoned after the first leg of the tour concluded, and Get Yo Groove On and One Of Us were dropped from the set after the second leg, leaving only Jam Of The Year and Face Down from Emancipation with Dreamin’ About U added as a band introduction number with Marva King providing vocals.

In between the first and second leg of the tour, gave two concerts at Paisley Park, 7 and 10 September 1997, performing Face Down and Sleep Around.

On the first leg of the tour, 22 July to 23 August 1997, performed Mr. Happy, Face Down and Somebody’s Somebody at aftershows. A bit of The Holy River was played once. On the second leg of the tour, 13 September to 9 November 1997, only performed Face Down and then only at one aftershow. On the third leg of the tour, 8 December 1997 to 22 January 1998, no Emancipation tracks were played at aftershows.

On 14 August, 20 September and 31 October 1997, a remix of Jam Of The Year was played from CD prior to aftershows. It remains unreleased. PoomPoom was aired 20 and 21 September, (Excuse Me Is This) Goodbye (now simply titled Goodbye) was aired on 31 October and Da Bang on 30 December 1997 and 1 January 1998. Those three tracks were then released on the Crystal Ball collection in February 1998, along with 2morrow and She Gave Her Angels.

In March 1998, gave the song Van Gogh to a band appropriately called Van Gogh. They re-recorded the song and released it on their self-titled fourth album on 6 November 1998.

Before then, on 29 September 1998, Chaka Khan’s Come 2 My House album was released on NPG Records. It featured two more Emancipation era tracks, Journey 2 The Center Of Your and ’ll Never B Another Fool. Also, reused some of the music from Feelgood on her song Reconsider (U Betta).

Finally, ’s second version of Van Gogh from May 1996 was released as a download for members of the online NPG Music Club on 7 July 2001.

Epilogue

Feelgood, Good Pussy, Am The DJ, Slave 2 The System, 2020, Good Dick And A Job, Die, Livin’ 2 Die, Nothing Left 2 Give, The Emancipation Proclamation, Moneyappolis, Muhammad Ali and The Divine remain unreleased. Added to the tracks released on Crystal Ball and the songs he gave to Chaka Khan and Van Gogh, certainly had enough material for a fourth Emancipation disc, had he decided to go through with the 52 initially announced tracks.

While on the Jam Of The Year tour, met and befriended bassist Larry Graham on 23 August 1997, leading to Larry’s band, Graham Central Station, becoming the opening act on the second leg of the tour. Larry and his family then moved into a house next to and Mayte in Minneapolis and over time converted to the Jehova’s Witnesses faith. With abandoning the spiritual new age beliefs he had shared with his wife, Mayte, the couple divorced in 1999. When all contractual ties to Warner Bros. ceased in 1999, then abandoned his “heathen” symbol name in May 2000, going back to using his old name, Prince, and then he officially joined the Witnesses in 2001.

For many fans, Emancipation turned out to be the last /Prince album of new material with a high percentage of good songs. Some of his subsequent album releases were marred by the re-christened Prince’s lyrics dealing more and more openly with his Jehova beliefs, making Larry Graham as disliked by Prince fans as The Game Boyz for having converted him.

However, Prince has remained an ever-popular live-artist, playing all his old hits – those of them that don’t have lyrics that go against his Jehova beliefs, anyway.

On 27 September 2008, an unreleased Emancipation era track turned up as a subject in an interview with USA Today. Prince was playing the journalist some tracks from his upcoming Lotusflow3r album but declined to play The Divine, a song so “mind-blowing” he doubted he'd ever release it. “The minute the harmonies hit, I put it away,” he said.

Thanks to:

Virgo, Hypnotoad, Thomas de Bruin, IstenSzek, KAB, Squirrelgrease and the writers of Uptown Presents Days Of Wild

Sources:

?: The Sound Of Emancipation, Musician, April 1997

?: Wendy & Lisa: Sisters Of The Revolution, www.geocities.com/SunsetS...rsrev.html

Anthony DeCurtis: In The Studio, Records Three Hours Of Emancipation, Rolling Stone, 17 October 1996

Anthony DeCurtis: , Rolling Stone, 28 November 1996

Axel Engelhardt: Child Of The Sun – an interview with Mayte, Uptown #21

Bruno Galindo: An Interview With - El Pais, 15 November 1996

Edna Gundersen: Album Celebrates A New Freedom, USA Today, 12 November 1996

Edna Gundersen: Emancipation Conversation, MSN Music Central, 1996

Edna Gundersen: Prince Shows Off A Different Side For “21 Nights”, USA Today, 27 September 2008

Spike Lee: The Artist, Interview, May 1997

Jon Pareles: A Reinventor Of His World And Himself, New York Times, 17 November 1996

Martin Pearson: The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, Oor, 16 November 1996

Solange Plamondon: The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, Hello, December 1996

Prince In Print: http://princetext.tripod.com/

Uptown Presents Days Of Wild – A Documentary of Prince/

Part 1 - Come:

The Come(back) album that never happened: http://prince.org/msg/7/317254

Part 2 – The Undertaker:

No records allowed, only videos: http://prince.org/msg/7/317534

Part 3 – The Gold Experience:

All that glitters ain’t Gold: http://prince.org/msg/7/318315

Part 4 - Exodus:

Slave to the system: http://prince.org/msg/5/319042

Part 5 – Chaos And Disorder:

Chaos and disorder: http://prince.org/msg/7/319752

Appendix 1:

List of unreleased Prince album configurations: http://prince.org/msg/7/319757

Appendix 2:

List of unreleased albums produced by Prince configurations: http://prince.org/msg/5/319895

Appendix 3:

Chronological list of Prince recordings (NB! Not yet updated since November 2009): http://prince.org/msg/7/320445" target="_blank"> http://prince.org/msg/7/320445

[Edited 8/31/10 7:19am]

Impressive ... 'Most' Impressive ...

Chronological Emancipation-recordings

* = released version

The Beautiful Experience/Gold, Paisley Park, 20 January – early 1994

Love 4 1 Another (3:43)* - released as New World

Derek Hughes, autumn – winter 1994

Derek Hughes: Somebody’s Somebody #1 (4.26)

Derek Hughes: Somebody’s Somebody #2 (4:31)

NPG: Exodus, second half of 1994 – 2^nd album configuration 2 December 1994

Slave #1 (1:01) – later retitled Slave (2 The System)

Emancipation, January - summer 1995 – 1^st configuration July 1995

Feelgood (4:06) (early ’95)

Good Pussy – horn overdubs by Eric Leeds added 16/1-‘95

Am The DJ (4:47) – horn overdubs by Eric Leeds added 16/1-‘95

Slave (2 The System) #2 (3:05) - previously “Slave”

Slave #1 (5:09) – without drum effects on chorus

2020 (2:05)

Good Dick And A Job – aired at Paisley Park 19/5-‘95

Right Back Here In My Arms #1 (6:16)

Right Back Here In My Arms #2 (4:33) - edit of #1

Journey 2 The Center Of Your #1 (4:15)

Emancipation #1 (4:30)

PoomPoom (4:32)*

(Excuse Me Is This) Goodbye #2 (4:34)* - tentative placing, included on 2^nd configuration

Die – tentative placing, Library of Congress registration 25/8-’95 along with Right Back..., Journey 2... & Poom Poom

Stacy Francis, Paisley Park, June 1995

Journey 2 The Center Of Your #2

Over The Rainbow (Harold Arlen/Yip Harburg) – cover of Judy Garland

Sandra St. Victor, summer 1995

Soul Sanctuary #1 (4:29) (Prince/Sandra St. Victor/Johnny Kemp)

Livin’ 2 Die (3:34) (Prince/Sandra St. Victor) – bootlegged as Living 2 Die (Our Lives)

’ll Never B Another Fool #1 (3:11) (Prince/Sandra St. Victor)

Nothing Left 2 Give, (3:00) (Prince/Sandra St. Victor) – bootlegged as Stone, Heart Of Stone and Nothing Left But A Stone

Van Gogh #1 (4:58)

Emancipation, 9 September 1995

The Emancipation Proclamation - lyric sheet handed out at Paisley Park

Slave #2 (4:51)* – tentative placing, handed out on cassette in December ‘95

October 1995

5 Women #2 (5:13)* - with The NPG Hornz, previously released

Starfish And Coffee (3:18) - previously released

November 1995

Betcha By Golly Wow! (3:31)* (Thom Bell/Linda Creed) – cover of The Stylistics

2Morrow (4:13)*

One Of Us #1 (Eric Brazilian)– cover of Joan Osborne

January – February 1996

Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife (7:37)*

Let’s Have A Baby (4:07)*

One Kiss At A Time (4:41)*

& The NPG, Paisley Park, late February – The NPG is disbanded 8 March 1996

Saviour (5:48)* - with Michael Bland, Sonny Thompson, Tommy Barbarella, Ricky Peterson & The NPG Hornz

One Of Us #2 (5:19)* - tentative placing

Damned If Do (5:21)* - horns arranged with Michael B. Nelson, tentative placing

Courtin’ Time (2:46)* - with The NPG Hornz, tentative placing

& Mayte: Happy Tears - Children’s Stories, April 1996

– 8 songs announced in the works

Emancipation, May 1996

Van Gogh #2 (5:59) – saxophone: Eric Leeds, available from NPGMC since 7/7-2001, re-recorded & released by Van Gogh 6/11-‘98

Soul Sanctuary #2 (4:41)* (Prince/Sandra St. Victor/Johnny Kemp) – tentative placing

Conception #1 – tentative placing

My Computer (4:37)* - tentative placing

Los Angeles, 20-27 May 1996

Da Bang (3:19)* - tentative placing

Emancipation, June 1996 - Rhonda Smith joins NPG and plays bass on:

Get Yo Groove On (6:31)* - sax: Eric Leeds

We Gets Up (4:18)* - horns: Eric Leeds & Brian Lynch

Can’t Make U Love Me (6:37)* (Mike Read/James Shamblin) – cover of Bonnie Raitt, sax: Eric Leeds

Sex In The Summer #2 (5:57)* - previously “Conception”, guitar: Kat Dyson, horns: Eric Leeds, piano: Ricky Peterson

Dreamin’ About U (3:52)* - guitar: Kat Dyson, sax: Eric Leeds, tentative placing

She Gave Her Angels (3:52)* - tentative placing

Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Battery Studios, New York, early July 1996

Untitled

Emale #1

Emancipation, July 1996 – following Jonathan Melvoin’s death 12/7-‘96

The Love We Make (4:39)* - guitar: Kat Dyson

In This Bed Eye Scream (5:40)*

Curious Child (2:57)* - tentative placing

Emancipation, pre 24 August 1996

Moneyappolis – horn overdubs by Eric Leeds 6/8-‘96

Muhammad Ali – horn overdubs by Eric Leeds 6/8-‘96

The Divine #1 – horn overdubs by Eric Leeds 14/8-‘96

Mr. Happy (4:46)* - rap: Scrap D.

Da, Da, Da (5:15)* - rap: Scrap D.

Style (6:40)* - sax: Walter Chancellor, Jr., horns: Eric Leeds & Brian Lynch, shouts: Scrap D., Smooth G. & Michael Mac

Emale #2 (3:38)* - guitar: Kat Dyson, horns: Eric Leeds & Brian Lynch

Jam Of The Year (6:10)* - background vocals: Rosie Gaines, flute: Eric Leeds, sax: Walter Chancellor, Jr.

La, La, La Means Love U (3:59)* (Thom Bell/Bill Hart) – cover of The Delfonics, originally titled La La Means I Love You, background vocals: Chante’ Moore, guitar: Mike Scott

Somebody’s Somebody #3 (4:43)* - tentative placing

Emancipation, pre album completed early October 1996

Right Back Here In My Arms #3 (4:43)*

White Mansion (4:47)*

Joint 2 Joint (7:52)*

The Holy River (6:55)*

The Human Body (5:42)* - pre 5 October, additional programming: Cesar Sogbe & Joe Galdo

Face Down (3:17)*

Sleep Around (7:42)* - with The NPG Hornz, additional programming: Cesar Sogbe & Joe Galdo

My Computer (4:37)* - background vocals: Kate Bush

Emancipation #2 (4:12)* - edit of #1

Pre 7 December 1996

Dreamin’ About U (“live”) – previously released

Emancipation (“live”) – previously released

The Holy River single, late 1996

The Holy River (Radio Edit) (4:00)*

Somebody’s Somebody (Edit) (4:30)*

Somebody’s Somebody (Livestudio Mix) (3:47)*

Somebody’s Somebody (Ultrafantasy Edit) (3:45)*

On Sale Now! (0:50)*

Live, New York, 11 January 1997

Jam Of The Year (5:22)*

Face Down (8:35)*

Face Down EP, pre April 1997

Clean Album Version (3:17)

X-tended Rap Money Mix (4:51)

1-800 Newfunkhouse Mix

Instrumental Money Mix (4:02)

Acapella Face (2:21) – titled “A Cappella” on promo 12” vinyl

Can’t Make U Love Me (Edit)

The Holy River Remix

The Holy River Dirtyhousemix

Emancipation Medley

Remix, pre 14 August 1997

Jam Of The Year (Remix)

Chaka Khan: Come 2 My House, November – early December 1997

Journey 2 The Center Of Your #3 (4:16)*

’ll Never B Another Fool #2 (4:13)* (Prince/Sandra St. Victor/Chaka Khan)

[Edited 8/31/10 7:16am]

Thanks again scififilmnerd, for another informative read.

Awesome!

Thanks a lot for this, good to read another version of this story, and to learn a few facts i did not know of before.

Good work scififilmnerd and thanks for posting, it is already in my fav list beside the others. I will probably read it over again tomorrow, and i already have the Emancipation outtakes i have playing on the hi-fi.

scififilmnerd said:

Number23 said:

Nice read, completely soured and ruined by... scififilmnerd said:

So when O( > announced, “Prince is dead!” on The Gold Experience tour in 1995, he wasn’t kidding.

Not only complete nonsense, but an insult to the artist you've decicated so much energy towards.

Hey, that was from an early draft. I completely changed my mind about that, as well as of the title of the article, now calling it "Free at last!"

Nice read. I definitely appreciate the effot & time put into this!

Bree8016 said:

Nice read. I definitely appreciate the effot & time put into this!

Well done indeed!

Appreciate the work. thanx for the info

There's got to be someone out there with a copy of "Good Dick and a Job" if it was actually aired - nearly everything else from this era has leaked out, why does that song remain so elusive?!

Great job on the writeup

Number23 said:

Nice read, completely soured and ruined by... scififilmnerd said:

Emancipation turned out to be the last O( >/Prince album of new material with a high percentage of good songs. Most of his subsequent album releases featured only about a couple of good songs each...So when O( > announced, “Prince is dead!” on The Gold Experience tour in 1995, he wasn’t kidding.

Not only complete nonsense, but an insult to the artist you've decicated so much energy towards.

i was thinking the same thing. a lot of work obviously went into the article, it's very factual until the end that has unnecessary personal comments that detract from the rest of the text

scififilmnerd said:

In April, an interview with was published in Musician in which he talked about The Holy River: “Religion as a subject is taboo in pop music. People think that the records they release have got to be hip, but what I need to do is to tell the truth. I had to take some other songs, like A Thousand Hugs And Kisses and She Gave Her Angels, off the Warner albums because they were all about the same subject.”

This comment is basically BS, isn't it? I'm not sure about "A Thousand Hugs And Kisses" but wasn't "She Gave Her Angels" recorded too late for consideration on any of Prince's WB albums? I really do not think that WB would have had a problem with him releasing either song.

rialb said:

This comment is basically BS, isn't it? I'm not sure about "A Thousand Hugs And Kisses" but wasn't "She Gave Her Angels" recorded too late for consideration on any of Prince's WB albums? I really do not think that WB would have had a problem with him releasing either song.

Yeah - considering they let him release "Controversy", "God", and Lovesexy, it's hard to believe WB had a problem with religious songs. Plus, it's hard to believe WB had much say at all - they let him release Jughead, but not "She Gave Her Angels"? Surrrrrrrrrrrre.

rialb said:

said:

I had to take some other songs, like A Thousand Hugs And Kisses and She Gave Her Angels, off the Warner albums because they were all about the same subject.”

This comment is basically BS, isn't it? I'm not sure about "A Thousand Hugs And Kisses" but wasn't "She Gave Her Angels" recorded too late for consideration on any of Prince's WB albums? I really do not think that WB would have had a problem with him releasing either song.

Yes, I think it's BS, too. I don't think WB would've had a problem with either song. And, yes, as far as we know, She Gave Her Angels was never scheduled for any WB release. I don't think A 1.000 Hugs And Kisses were, either.

Thank you SciFi. I love your in-depth "Ultimate" posts.

rialb said:

something

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I hope you have a wonderful day.

rialb said:

scififilmnerd said:

In April, an interview with was published in Musician in which he talked about The Holy River: “Religion as a subject is taboo in pop music. People think that the records they release have got to be hip, but what I need to do is to tell the truth. I had to take some other songs, like A Thousand Hugs And Kisses and She Gave Her Angels, off the Warner albums because they were all about the same subject.”

This comment is basically BS, isn't it? I'm not sure about "A Thousand Hugs And Kisses" but wasn't "She Gave Her Angels" recorded too late for consideration on any of Prince's WB albums? I really do not think that WB would have had a problem with him releasing either song.

If it comes out of Prince's yapper, it's bound to be bullshit disguised as well, bullshit.

Here's the full Rolling Stone article referenced above:

Credit to Thomas

Rolling Stone (#745, October 17, 1996)

IN THE STUDIO

Prince Records 3 Hours Of "Emancipation"

Even though the Artist Formerly Known As Prince's 'Chaos And Disorder', his final album under his contract with Warner Bros., fell of the charts in only five weeks, Prince has not stopped thinking big. He next plans to release 'Emancipation', a three-CD set of new material, possibly as early as late November but more likely next year. Prince has not reached an agreement on how the album will be distributed, though his attorney, L. Londell McMillan, states that three major distribution companies are "actively competing" for the project. Each CD will contain 12 songs and will be exactly one hour long--"To the minute," Prince declares.

"I've been recording almost every day of my life, working on a vast number of styles," Prince says during an interview in August at his Paisley Park Studios, in Chanhassen, Minn. "I've always looked forward to the day when I would be free from any demands of any kind from anyone--free to do everything I want to do."

Such ambition is part of the reason for Prince's falling-out with Warner Bros., for which he has recorded since his debut album, 'For You', appeared in 1978. Perhaps the most prolific artist of his generation, Prince has in recent years released albums with a rapidity completely at odds with the more leisurely pace that record companies expect--and desire--from their superstar artists. That slower pace allows record companies to steadily promote a string of carefully planned singles from each album, thus maximizing sales.

Frustrated because Warner Bros. refused to accommodate his prolific ways, Prince took to appearing in public with the word 'slave' written on his face. For its part, Warner Bros. watched with dismay as sales plummeted for an artist with whom in 1992 it had negotiated on of the most lucrative contracts in the recording industry. (Warner Bros. still has the right to release compilations of all of Prince's previously released music.)

Prince no longer considers himself a slave, but anyone who now expects conventional behavior from him will be sorely disappointed. In its meticulous structure, 'Emancipation', he says, is based on his studies "of the Egyptians, the building of the pyramids and how the pyramids were related to the constellations. They were a message from the Egyptians about how civilization really started."

The album's music, however, is another story entirely. As Prince says, "With three CDs, you have room to stretch out." Among the tracks to be included are a splendid cover of the Stylistics' "Betcha By Golly, Wow"; "Sex in the Summer," which takes its tempo from a sample of the heartbeat of the baby whom Prince is expecting with his wife, Mayte; "Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don't," which features Prince's ferocious guitar playing; and a version of "I Can't Make You Love Me." The Bonnie Raitt track? "It ain't no more," Prince says with a smile.

Prince is also planning a worldwide tour next year. His itinerary will include the United States, his first time on the road in this country since 1993. And he's looking even further ahead. "I wrote a song for 'Dawn'," he says, alluding to the album that he has long talked about as his definitive statement. "It was so much better that what I'm doing now that I thought, 'I'm gonna have to wait to put this out.'*

"I worry about that," he adds. "I worry whether people are going to be ready for what I do.

*Another case of The Divine Syndrome.

[img:$uid]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n276/squirrelgrease/MagazinesAndArticles-4/1996_November_OOR_HQ.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n276/squirrelgrease/MagazinesAndArticles-4/TheTruth01_31.jpg[/img:$uid]

unique said:

a lot of work obviously went into the article, it's very factual until the end that has unnecessary personal comments that detract from the rest of the text

Oh, it's three lines. I knew there would be those who'd diasagree. At least I refrained from calling Larry "the antichrist," as I usually do, ha, ha.

Personally, I think some of Prince's subsequent albums were rather good, like The Chocolate Invasion and 3121, but I made a general assessment that also corresponds with most Danish critics who have usually characterized following and Prince releases as "Prince Light" (referring to the Danish cigarette brand), "disappointing," "aimless jamming" and "embarrassing."

[Edited 8/25/10 14:54pm]

[img:$uid]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n276/squirrelgrease/EmancipationBook-4/EmancipationWordsandPictures09.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 9/2/10 13:35pm]

Interesting, but some things a little contentious...

The lyrics for The Love We Make offered an explanation for and Mayte’s public attitude about the death of their child. They believed that: “Happy is the way 2 meet your burdens, no matter how heavy or dark the day. Pity on those with no hope 4 2morrow. It’s never as bad as it seems until we say.”

This was recorded and released before that even happened so don't see how it explains anything? Maybe only P's outlook in general.

The Love We Make is one of Prince's most underrated songs, I find it so powerful, touching and moving.

Also I can't quite believe Somebody's somebody was done as early as 1993 - the sound quality/production is quite in line with the rest of the album so I would assume even if it was written earlier, he would have re-recorded it later. Also, he said in the liner notes that Right Back Here in My Arms was the first song recorded on the album.

Thanks for posting..

Emancipation is one of my favourite Prince albums.

[Edited 8/25/10 15:25pm]

TheFreakerFantastic said:

Interesting, but some things a little contentious...

The lyrics for The Love We Make offered an explanation for and Mayte’s public attitude about the death of their child. They believed that: “Happy is the way 2 meet your burdens, no matter how heavy or dark the day. Pity on those with no hope 4 2morrow. It’s never as bad as it seems until we say.”

This was recorded and released before that even happened so don't see how it explains anything? Maybe only P's outlook in general.

I think it explains why they didn't talk about the fate of their child. "It's never as bad as it seems until we say," so they didn't say.

[Edited 8/25/10 15:44pm]

TheFreakerFantastic said:

I can't quite believe Somebody's somebody was done as early as 1993 - the sound quality/production is quite in line with the rest of the album so I would assume even if it was written earlier, he would have re-recorded it later. Also, he said in the liner notes that Right Back Here in My Arms was the first song recorded on the album.

He may have updated an existing recording to make it sound more in tune with the newer recordings, like he did with Soul Sanctuary, OR he may have completely re-recorded it.

Anyway, you'll notice that a 1993 Somebody's Somebody recording is not in the chronological list of Emancipation recordings, as a November 1993 version may be likely but remains unconfirmed. So, yeah, for all we REALLY know, the 1994 Derek Hughes versions may have been the first recordings of the song. But I doubt that they were. Prince has a record of recording things himself before offering them to others.

And yes, Right Back Here In My Arms was the first song recorded for Emancipation, but it is not the oldest song on the album. That would be Somebody's Somebody, but that wasn't recorded for Emancipation. It just got included on Emancipation. When recorded the first songs that would end up on Emancipation, the album didn't exist as a concept. When he recorded Right Back Here In My Arms, the album was conceived. (Or had been conceived.) (Hope this explanation makes sense to you.)

Emancipation must be my least favourite Prince album. I just can't get into it.

squirrelgrease said:

Thank you SciFi. I love your in-depth "Ultimate" posts.

x2.

Great thread, lots of work here!

The subjective stuff (Selected overview of fans reaction etc) takes away from the factual IMO. The factual being a decent archiving of Prince history.