^ The 777 man? Were you the guy behind the excellent Seduction 747 site that I only just discovered before it got closed back in '01?

The777Man said:

rialb said:

Hmm, I rarely hear "Jam of the Year" being praised so I don't see it as being massively overrated. Then again I am an unabashed Emanciapation lover. I even like "We Gets Up," "Mr. Happy" and "Da, Da, Da" so take my opinions for what they are worth.

For me the only slight flaw is that sometimes I find that disc two drags a little, particularly tracks three-six ("Soul Sanctuary," "Emale," "Curious Child" and "Dreamin' About You"). By the time "Joint to Joint" starts I am absolutely ready for something uptempo and lively. Oh, and I could do without the covers. I would have happily subbed those out in favour of some of the outtakes.

I would put Emancipation right up there with his best of the '80s. It is in my top five for certain. Fantastic album and massively underrated by many fans.

I agree with you that Emancipation is one of his five or six best albums and that it's very underrated by most fans. I guess there's just a LOT of music so a lot of people don't like some songs and don't listen to it often enough.

U even like the covers........

The777Man

Well, as the Preach & Black guys said, every other week on the Org there's a thread where people vote for their favorite Emancipation songs to put on one disc and inevitably everyone has different favorites so that all or most of the songs on the three disc set get picked.

I am bit scared to listen to this, since people do unfairly diss this great album.

The first disk is good to great, the second, masterful, the third, really good.

The overall score a bit over four stars.

purplethunder3121 said:

The777Man said:

I agree with you that Emancipation is one of his five or six best albums and that it's very underrated by most fans. I guess there's just a LOT of music so a lot of people don't like some songs and don't listen to it often enough.

U even like the covers........

The777Man

Well, as the Preach & Black guys said, every other week on the Org there's a thread where people vote for their favorite Emancipation songs to put on one disc and inevitably everyone has different favorites so that all or most of the songs on the three disc set get picked.

Yes, that's true. When people are asked what the weakest track on Sign 'O' the Times is "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" is one of the songs that is often cited but for me that is the best song on the album.

2freaky4church1 said:

I am bit scared to listen to this, since people do unfairly diss this great album.

The first disk is good to great, the second, masterful, the third, really good.

The overall score a bit over four stars.

Just to prove how much this collection divides people for me the second disc is the weakest, the first is the strongest and the third is somewhere in between.

TheFreakerFantastic said:

^ The 777 man? Were you the guy behind the excellent Seduction 747 site that I only just discovered before it got closed back in '01?

No, that was not me.

I gues I meant to say

I even like the covers.

This album shows Prince diversity in musical styles.

The777Man

downloading

hadtoaddmoreemoticons edit

[Edited 11/21/11 21:34pm]

Great news, looking forward to this. Just tried to listen and download but it seems that the site is not working; I get an error message for both player and when trying to download. Anybody else with the same problem?

Stranger

Thanks fellas - an entertaining look at a very interesting period in Prince's career. As always, I learned a few things (the rap on Joint 2 Joint, for example) and agreed with a lot of the commentary (I have always admired Saviour!!!)....but....

How can you guys not know One Kiss at a Time is about pleasing your woman orally??? Take another listen with that in mind, Bonehead!! HAHAHAHA!

Peace!

just listening to the disc 1 review and i don't know if it's because of location the reviewers are from originally, but i have 2 point out some things that they might not be aware of at the time of the release of emancipation:

in the lyrics to white mansion, when prince talks about singing at chaz's bar, a few months back it was reported that prince was in new york and hd gone 2 chaz's bar and played guitar during a band's set.

as 4 the comedian parts in the track, it's lifted from a comedian that appeared on Def Jam Comedy and is not eddie murphy.

granted it's 15 years later and ur reflecting on things but seriously i'm pondering listening 2 the rest of this review cause it's obvious that it's a bit 2 critical 2 my ears and i'll chalk it up 2 my own love of this album.

but hey it's just my opinion as well

just listening to the disc 1 review and i don't know if it's because of location the reviewers are from originally, but i have 2 point out some things that they might not be aware of at the time of the release of emancipation:

in the lyrics to white mansion, when prince talks about singing at chaz's bar, a few months back it was reported that prince was in new york and hd gone 2 chaz's bar and played guitar during a band's set.

as 4 the comedian parts in the track, it's lifted from a comedian that appeared on Def Jam Comedy and is not eddie murphy.

granted it's 15 years later and ur reflecting on things but seriously i'm pondering listening 2 the rest of this review cause it's obvious that it's a bit 2 critical 2 my ears and i'll chalk it up 2 my own love of this album.

but hey it's just my opinion as well

and i get it that the slang of the time it's obvious the reviewers don't know the language of hip hop culture

L4OATheOriginal said:

just listening to the disc 1 review and i don't know if it's because of location the reviewers are from originally, but i have 2 point out some things that they might not be aware of at the time of the release of emancipation:

in the lyrics to white mansion, when prince talks about singing at chaz's bar, a few months back it was reported that prince was in new york and hd gone 2 chaz's bar and played guitar during a band's set.

as 4 the comedian parts in the track, it's lifted from a comedian that appeared on Def Jam Comedy and is not eddie murphy.

granted it's 15 years later and ur reflecting on things but seriously i'm pondering listening 2 the rest of this review cause it's obvious that it's a bit 2 critical 2 my ears and i'll chalk it up 2 my own love of this album.

but hey it's just my opinion as well

and i get it that the slang of the time it's obvious the reviewers don't know the language of hip hop culture

I think that Playa is probably hip to "the language of hip hop culture."

rialb said:

L4OATheOriginal said:

and i get it that the slang of the time it's obvious the reviewers don't know the language of hip hop culture

I think that Playa is probably hip to "the language of hip hop culture."

I'm not hip to it, I don't listen to any hip-hop at all except for 'Boom Shake the room' by the Fresh Prince of Belair

FunkyStrange said:

rialb said:

I think that Playa is probably hip to "the language of hip hop culture."

I'm not hip to it, I don't listen to any hip-hop at all except for 'Boom Shake the room' by the Fresh Prince of Belair

With your unabashed love of "'80s rubbish pop" I see you as the "whitest" of the Peach and Blackers.

FunkyStrange said:

its cool

i dig your passion

but for me it so erm....dont you just want to listen to it and dig it as opposed to being so clinical and dissecting it"oh at 1.34 listen to that"

its a very white approach to music listening as i have been told!!

(im guilty of it as well)

alexnvrmnd777 said:

And just so you know, THIS is the best version EVER of "Betcha By Golly Wow":

Absolutely!!!

I didn't like Prince's version at all...he should have left that alone....anyway looking forward to hearing this podcast.

[Edited 11/22/11 20:56pm]

jonylawson said:

its cool

i dig your passion

but for me it so erm....dont you just want to listen to it and dig it as opposed to being so clinical and dissecting it"oh at 1.34 listen to that"

its a very white approach to music listening as i have been told!!

(im guilty of it as well)

Speaking for myself I love when they really dig into the songs. Otherwise what would they talk about? I think it would be kind of boring if they just said "I love this song" or "this one isn't so great." One of the great things about Prince is that many of his songs have interesting little bits in them that are easy to miss. For me that is one thing that keeps me engaged even in his songs that I may not like. There is almost always at least one little part of a song that I like. Also, and maybe I am just guilty of not paying attention, I find that even songs that you have heard many, many times can surprise you. You may hear a percussion part of a keyboard line that you missed for years. Generally speaking I think that Prince's music rewards careful listening.

Look at "We Gets Up." Many people hate that song but if you really listen to it there are lots of interesting things going on in it. Sure, the lyrics are a bit silly but it's just a really fun sounding song.

Jam Of The Year is no masterpiece, but it's still a good song. I agree that RBHIMA is one of the best songs on the album. I think Toejam got that one right..lol.

Get Yer Groove On is pretty good.

We Get's Up is ok. The Captain overrated it, the others underrated.

Eye Can't Make U Love Me is pure shit. God, what a boring cover.

Courtin Time is the shit. Great song.

They were a bit mean about Joint2Joint, which is a major masterpiece in my views. The Erotic City of the 90s.

Great to finally see people who like Savior. You guys are right, most fans seem to hate it.

Holy River is masterful.

Yea, Let's Have A Baby is way too personal.

They are also right, Mother, Sister, Wife is borring.

Emale, also great.

Good to see people liking Slave. I dig it.

New World I like.

The Human Body is pure dance joy.

Face Down, masterful, funny.

I must be one of the few, but I enjoy Da, Da, Da. I like the bell chimes in it.

One Of Us! Just not that exciting. Prefer the gals version.

My Computer, pure orgasm.

The Love We Make, eargasm, Godgasm, lustgasm.

Emancipation--so true guys. Filler.

Adore Style, Sex In The Summer.

8/12

jonylawson said:

its cool

i dig your passion

but for me it so erm....dont you just want to listen to it and dig it as opposed to being so clinical and dissecting it"oh at 1.34 listen to that"

its a very white approach to music listening as i have been told!!

(im guilty of it as well)

You've posted about five times on this thread now that you don't like album review podcasts. Go tell the Freedom Train Prince Podcast crew that they're guilty of a very white approach to music listening.

People have questioned the relevance of the covers on the album. I think they are more relevant in a symbolic way than people give them credit for. Emancipation is the album that Prince was free to do whatever he wanted. He also knew many people would be watching his "experiment" to see whether going out on his own would be a success. This included other artists watching to see if they could do the same. In a sense, Princes "slavery" and later "emancipation" was not only about his personal freedom, but paving the way for future artists to be free.

Prince likened his struggle to the slavery of African-Americans. The covers, in part, were an acknowledgement of African-American legacy, past and present, (with the exception of One of Us)

That was one hell of an epic listen. I can barely even remember any opinions I had. It did make me appreciate White Mansion a bit more though, which I'm pretty sure i've only ever listened to when I was insisting on listening to the entire album start to finish.

It says a lot about the album that so few people get especially excited either way about 50% of the tracks.

[Edited 11/24/11 3:16am]

SEXUALCHOCOLATE said:

People have questioned the relevance of the covers on the album. I think they are more relevant in a symbolic way than people give them credit for. Emancipation is the album that Prince was free to do whatever he wanted. He also knew many people would be watching his "experiment" to see whether going out on his own would be a success. This included other artists watching to see if they could do the same. In a sense, Princes "slavery" and later "emancipation" was not only about his personal freedom, but paving the way for future artists to be free.

Prince likened his struggle to the slavery of African-Americans. The covers, in part, were an acknowledgement of African-American legacy, past and present, (with the exception of One of Us)

I realise that he has said that himself about the album but I just don't buy it. I love Emancipation, I think it is one of his five best albums, but there's nothing radically different about it as opposed to what came before.

Did WB really prevent him from releasing cover songs? Maybe they did but it seems unlikely. Prior to Emancipation did Prince ever express a desire to release cover songs? He has released a handful of them in the fifteen years since Emancipation but for the most part his albums have been all original material. Excluding live material I think that One Nite Alone...(the studio album) was the last album to feature a cover and the only other album that had a cover was Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. Since Emancipation Prince has released roughly twelve vocal studio albums and only two of them featured covers. I don't think he has any major desire to release covers and I suspect that including some on Emancipation may have been a way to build a bit of extra hype for the album.

I would have much preferred it if he jettisoned "Betch By Golly Wow" and "La, La, La Means I Love You" and replaced them with "Journey 2 the Center of Ur Heart" and "Goodbye." The other Emancipation outtakes ("Slave 2 the System," "Feel Good," and "Eye Am the DJ") are all superior to the other two covers and I think the album would have been better off with them instead.

I don't really think that the covers hurt the album and I rather like "One of Us" but I would have preferred no covers.

rialb said:

SEXUALCHOCOLATE said:

People have questioned the relevance of the covers on the album. I think they are more relevant in a symbolic way than people give them credit for. Emancipation is the album that Prince was free to do whatever he wanted. He also knew many people would be watching his "experiment" to see whether going out on his own would be a success. This included other artists watching to see if they could do the same. In a sense, Princes "slavery" and later "emancipation" was not only about his personal freedom, but paving the way for future artists to be free.

Prince likened his struggle to the slavery of African-Americans. The covers, in part, were an acknowledgement of African-American legacy, past and present, (with the exception of One of Us)

I realise that he has said that himself about the album but I just don't buy it. I love Emancipation, I think it is one of his five best albums, but there's nothing radically different about it as opposed to what came before.

Did WB really prevent him from releasing cover songs? Maybe they did but it seems unlikely. Prior to Emancipation did Prince ever express a desire to release cover songs? He has released a handful of them in the fifteen years since Emancipation but for the most part his albums have been all original material. Excluding live material I think that One Nite Alone...(the studio album) was the last album to feature a cover and the only other album that had a cover was Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. Since Emancipation Prince has released roughly twelve vocal studio albums and only two of them featured covers. I don't think he has any major desire to release covers and I suspect that including some on Emancipation may have been a way to build a bit of extra hype for the album.

I would have much preferred it if he jettisoned "Betch By Golly Wow" and "La, La, La Means I Love You" and replaced them with "Journey 2 the Center of Ur Heart" and "Goodbye." The other Emancipation outtakes ("Slave 2 the System," "Feel Good," and "Eye Am the DJ") are all superior to the other two covers and I think the album would have been better off with them instead.

I don't really think that the covers hurt the album and I rather like "One of Us" but I would have preferred no covers.

the cover versions are in the vault but have been leaked like "get on up", "got 2 give it up", "proud mary" and others,

L4OATheOriginal said:

rialb said:

I realise that he has said that himself about the album but I just don't buy it. I love Emancipation, I think it is one of his five best albums, but there's nothing radically different about it as opposed to what came before.

Did WB really prevent him from releasing cover songs? Maybe they did but it seems unlikely. Prior to Emancipation did Prince ever express a desire to release cover songs? He has released a handful of them in the fifteen years since Emancipation but for the most part his albums have been all original material. Excluding live material I think that One Nite Alone...(the studio album) was the last album to feature a cover and the only other album that had a cover was Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. Since Emancipation Prince has released roughly twelve vocal studio albums and only two of them featured covers. I don't think he has any major desire to release covers and I suspect that including some on Emancipation may have been a way to build a bit of extra hype for the album.

I would have much preferred it if he jettisoned "Betch By Golly Wow" and "La, La, La Means I Love You" and replaced them with "Journey 2 the Center of Ur Heart" and "Goodbye." The other Emancipation outtakes ("Slave 2 the System," "Feel Good," and "Eye Am the DJ") are all superior to the other two covers and I think the album would have been better off with them instead.

I don't really think that the covers hurt the album and I rather like "One of Us" but I would have preferred no covers.

the cover versions are in the vault but have been leaked like "get on up", "got 2 give it up", "proud mary" and others,

Sure but were they ever intended for an album or were they just songs that Prince knocked off on an afternoon where he was a bit bored? Yes, "Got 2 Give It Up" was intended for a Madhouse album but for the most part I think those covers are just random songs that were not intended for any particular album. Even when he was "free" a song like "When Will We B Paid" was not afforded a release on a proper album.

rialb said:

L4OATheOriginal said:

the cover versions are in the vault but have been leaked like "get on up", "got 2 give it up", "proud mary" and others,

Sure but were they ever intended for an album or were they just songs that Prince knocked off on an afternoon where he was a bit bored? Yes, "Got 2 Give It Up" was intended for a Madhouse album but for the most part I think those covers are just random songs that were not intended for any particular album. Even when he was "free" a song like "When Will We B Paid" was not afforded a release on a proper album.

hard 2 say what it's intention was 4 but valid points tho

rialb said:

FunkyStrange said:

I'm not hip to it, I don't listen to any hip-hop at all except for 'Boom Shake the room' by the Fresh Prince of Belair

With your unabashed love of "'80s rubbish pop" I see you as the "whitest" of the Peach and Blackers.

that could be correct

Wow.

Well, after listening to the review of the first CD as soon as it was available, I am now the straggler, having just finished the 3rd review (granted, I had to listen to the second half of that review twice because it was really late when I started last night after a long few days and...well...suffice to say I laughed a lot tonight when you congratulated folk on not falling asleep and I actually heard it this time )

I only bought Emancipation last year and I think I listened to it a grand total of twice, before it got buried in favour of some of the other catch-up albums I bought around the same time.

Since you released these podcasts, I've been listening to all 3 discs in the car and will probably leave them on high rotation for a while so that I can take in much of what was discussed.

I've always loved Courtin' Time, One of Us and The Love We Make - they've made it onto a few playlists - but, as usual, you've given me a lot to listen out for across the whole album (including giving My Computer a fair go, the beginning of which sounded so dated when I first heard it that I skipped it altogether ).

So thanks guys for an absolutely marathon effort!! The mix of humour and knowledge in your podcasts is always appreciated (as was the shout-out )