The Gold Experience

In the time between Come and The Gold Experience my life was turned a little upside down. A close friend had past away just prior to the release of Come, and just prior to The Gold Experience a long-term girlfriend and I parted ways. It was a time when I felt lost, and unsure where my life was heading. One constant I could count on was a new release from Prince. And that release was The Gold Experience.

I was still at university, finishing up my degree and working part time at a record store, one of the major benefits was getting advance releases. And the day the rep brought me in The Gold Experience, I hurried home to listen to it. Having come off a 12 hour shift, I was beat and decided to listen to the album as I lay in bed.

Turning out the lights, I turned on the CD player and lay back. And with the swirling synth intro I was curious what was to come. This was the first official album release from “The Artist”. How was it going to differ to a Prince release? Would it? Or would it be like discovering a new artist with a new sound?

The warped guitar intro to P Control and the grooving beat told me that despite the clarifying introduction as “your captain with no name speaking” maybe the Artist wouldn’t be that removed from Prince after all. With it’s commentary on the inherent power a woman has if she takes pride in herself and demands respect, it seemed at times at odds to the samples of “are you ready for the best pussy you ever felt?” Or maybe I was missing something. Either way I was a bit lost to it, and the track never really grabbed me.

And with the official introduction to the New Power Generation and it’s myriad of experiences, it seemed as if The Artist wanted us to see each track as it’s own journey, a mini story or concept within a larger experiential concept album.

A smile crept across my face when the first notes of Endorphin Machine fired up. It took me back a few months to when I was playing the Interactive CD-Rom and made it to the end to be presented with this gem of a track. Mixing the best elements of a Prince rock meets funk track, it purrs like a finally tuned machine, instantly sending a charge through your body. And finishing with what I assume was “Prince is dead” I awaiting the true awakening of The Artist. For me Endorphin Machine was where the album started.

Then Shhh erupted from the speakers with that sublime drum fill intro that is just power packed with rolls and accents. I remember once the breakdown started, I rewound the track and played that intro 4 more times. It was only when I felt I would be able to play it next time I sat at my drum kit I played the rest of the song. Originally recorded by Tevin Campbell, here The Artist takes the song back and reclaims it as his own giving it the right mix of passion and desire that only he can. And with Michael B anchoring the songs power in momentarily build ups, and that wondrous guitar solo I was immediately into the song.

Harking back to The Sacrifice of Victor, We March grooves or should that be marches along to a semi new jack beat, layered with effected samples. Lyrically watered down, We March failed to have the same sort of social commentary impact that earlier works had. It just felt a bit lite.

And then The Most Beautiful Girl in the World hit. Contrasting the lite sound of We March, TMBGITW is a lush, rich serving of pure pop. Everything about this song is well crafted. A slightly altered arrangement to the single version of several months earlier, you always got the feeling Prince had this song ready for COME but decided to wait until he was FREE to release it on his own terms. This song easily seduces the listener, it’s at once romantic and passionate, and manages to just swirl around you sweeping you away with its beauty. A signal to the critics and record buying public that no matter what the moniker the talent was still there.

Dolphin with its cross panning guitar strum intro travels back to the psychedelic Britpop feel the song embodies. This is the 60s sound refashioned for a new generation. Immediately catchy, the song seemed to fall just short of taking us somewhere new. Whilst certainly not filler, it wasn’t killer either. In fact the most intriguing part of the song is the last 40 seconds with the warped carousel feel and off beats.

Preannounced as the party jam dance track of the album, NOW packs a funky vibe into a head bobbing groove. You get the feeling that Beck was listening to this when he started recording Midnight Vultures. Reflecting more of the sample led music of the era, the song is filled with little hooks rather than melody, the guitar line, the horns, the break down all mixed in this musical brew and boiled to perfection.

319 with its Peach influenced groove, steps it up a notch and adds a little more funk to the rock. It’s like revisiting Dirty Mind in parts, and the whole private centrefold session paints a pretty picture in ones mind – dirty or otherwise. A cheeky little track that always raises… a smile. Hot, it is enough to put a glitch in the experience computer.

Shy had an immediate appeal for me. With a stripped back arrangement the song’s vocal melody and sing song nature betrays the tale of desolate side of inner city living. This song is just beautifully filled with haunting arrangements and solace. The acoustic guitar gives it a more organic feel, as if presenting a more honest look. One of the most underrated songs in the catalogue.

A classic funk groove grounds Billy Jack Bitch, and from the opening synth slides it reminded me of D.M.S.R. which of course is never a bad thing. A standout track on the album, here he doesn’t seem to be rehashing old songs like some other tracks left me feeling but instead he seems to be reinvigorating them. I longed for a 12” remix of this, but alas it never came (that I know of). Still to this day a song that makes me want to get on down.

I Hate U was a tough song for me to listen to, as it seemed to embody everything I was going through at the time. Each unfolding line of vocal seemed to strip away at my heart and I remember sitting there in the dark and feeling that pain, feeling that hopelessness and that inability to move on. A bittersweet love song in the grandest tradition of done me wrong songs. And still to this day I can’t hear it without some of those feelings rising up again.

Like a broken heart, the final operator segue malfunctions but like how all pain passes we are finally welcomed to The Dawn. And this dawn is Golden. It seems fitting that Gold had a optimistic feel to it despite the trials and tribulations it documents. The song is always refreshing to listen to and the perfect end for the album.

Whilst the album seemed a bit of a mix bag with too much old ground being trodden, it still holds a few gems that makes the moment you pop it on after a long absence a welcome return. It is also an album that finds an artis lost in his own identity, and a new journey that will ultimately lead to a true rebirth, a true emancipation.

I'm not going to say too much about this album other than apart from the annoying segues, I love it!

Great gigs too, two of the best i have attended.

[Edited 10/3/10 16:09pm]

I didn't mind it the segues as much but as they progressed over the next few albums they did start to annoy me.

Love this album. Its a shame Prince didnt promote it as well as he could have. Definately among his most underrated work.

Endorphinmachine is my fav track , but 319, TMBGITW AND Now are all keepers

I was listening to this brilliant album this evening...

Excellent, I love every track, even We March

I Hate U and Gold are just an amazing way to end an album. Wow.

The Gold Experience is a masterpiece! So many different styles and genres, it's just excellent.

I hate this album. The unreleased version of Billy Jack Bitch is a'ight, though.

^

you are one of very very few not liking this masterpiece.

thedance said:

^

you are one of very very few not liking this masterpiece.

I respect everyone's opinion and their right to have one, but that is simply not true. There may be more people who like it than not, although I'm not sure that would be the case at this point. I've seen a ton of people just here on this board very vocally express their distaste for this album. In the realm of the "real world", the few friends I have who listen to Prince are not fans of it at all.

Cerebus said:

I hate this album. The unreleased version of Billy Jack Bitch is a'ight, though.

I'm with you on this one. Apart from SHH and I Hate U, this is a pretty lame album. The segues are unbearable.

I absolutely LOVE this ablum!! It's got some of my favorite songs on there and I just loved Prince's look during this ablum. Eye Hate U being my favorite song off the ablum, though the majority of the songs I really like. I wish he had promoted it more, it is surely a masterpiece. There are a couple parts I could do without, but as a whole, a classic Prince ablum, definately a highlight of the 90's!!

It is cool to hear someone else's story on an album (what was going on in their life; first impressions; etc). I have great memories of this album being released. I moved to Minneapolis one month before the Gold Experience was released. I was also working at a record store at the time. I can remember everything about first hearing this record. Fantastic!

For me, this is one of Prince's best albums, I like every song on it, and it contains two of my favorites: "Shh" and "Eye hate U". Always a joy to listen to.

Cerebus said:

thedance said:

^

you are one of very very few not liking this masterpiece.

I respect everyone's opinion and their right to have one, but that is simply not true. There may be more people who like it than not, although I'm not sure that would be the case at this point. I've seen a ton of people just here on this board very vocally express their distaste for this album. In the realm of the "real world", the few friends I have who listen to Prince are not fans of it at all.

I didn't really like this album either.
I know it's much loved around here
I don't get it

^^ That's the great thing about discussions around music - as someone's love for something you might not get - might make you re-evaluate and see something or hear something you might have missed.

Of course it might also reinforce why you don't like the song / album in the first place, lol.

But each to their own.

Clearly his best 90s album, and perhaps his sixth best album