Arguably, Prince's most authentic, critically acclaimed eras of both decades. There are many facets to this debate but how do you reflect on 1987 as opposed to 1995?

I lived through The Gold Experience era and it will always be a personal favourite of mine but Sign O The Times gets my vote for authenticity.

Prince always seems to create great albums
just after a major personal change.

Sign O' The Times was created after the
Revoultion had disbanded. It was Prince as
a solo artist again, and expressed the
musical freedom that he was experiencing.

The Gold Experience was created after he
had freed himself from his own name and
the expectations of making a 'Prince'
record.

My opinion is probably related to the fact that I wasn't listening to Prince during Sign O The Times.

As much as The Gold Experience was a powerful record, its potential as an album never quite translated. Often times, the earlier, live versions had edge. The record didn't carry that same vibe; the authenticity as a whole, was somewhat lacking.

Perhaps those that were listening to Prince during '87 will also see Sign O The Times as something of a compromise because it was whittled down from Crystal Ball.

I think SOTT was far more authentic in terms of his direction at that time. It felt right and comfortable, even though even for his standards it was a leap forward from anything he had previously done. When Gold Experience came out i was pleasantly surprised. It felt more like the Prince i used to love back in the 1980's. It sounded effortless and confident ,even arrogant, which wasn't surprising with what was going on with WB. Not like the contrived rap experiments or the pandering to commercialism that plagued Diamonds And Pearls and the Symbol album. I also thought the Come album sounded really authentic too.

Anji said:

Sign O The Times is a masterpiece, while The Gold Experience is "merely" an excellent album.
[This message was edited Fri Mar 7 11:06:33 PST 2003 by JohnnyTheFox]

JohnnyTheFox said:

That's an understatement. Sign of the Times is the best album that's ever been made by anybody. Why? Because it has 2 discs of music that redefined rock/pop/soul as we know it today. Never before had anyone so ingeniously mixed rock, jazz, soul, and funk. You can press play on song 1 and not ever think about skipping a song all the way through song #16. And song #16, "Adore" is the greatest song ever writtten!
Gold Experience is a great album with the potential to be a masterpiece, but with too many sloppy mistakes: The NPG Operator, removing 'Intearactive' from the album, including a soft version of '319' when he could have included the version with the incredible guitar rhythm he showcased in Miami 6/7/95, and 'Shy', which is a great song, builkding up all the way to what should be an incredibly hard, funky chorus but instead you get a soft, girly chorus. Nevertheless, it is still one of my favorite albums, with Shhh getting some of the most airplay on my stereo of any of Prince's songs.

-phuunk

Anji said:

sign o the times was the 1st album where he took a gander at the world around him and showed it 2 u thru his eyes while
the gold experience was prince 1n again evolvin like he did on graffiti bridge thru diamonds & pearls showin u his soul...

Gold experience was robbed of any "authenticity" (whatever the hell you mean by that) by the cheesy production courtesy of Ricky Peterson, who I think deserves fans opprobrium far more than even Kirky J when it comes to desectrating Prince's music. Those cheesy sound effects, the crap synth lines and over the top falseness of his work ruins some great songs.

I guess Prince stuck with him because TMBGITW did well inspite of his assistance, but he shat on some great moments - I'm thinking Gold, We March, Dolphin etc.

tell me I ain't right!

cosmicslop said:

Surely, Prince is in control of how he wants an album to sound. Those aspects you don't like, Prince did.

Anj you are right --SOTT is Prince satripped down and earnest. TGE is contrived authenticity. Its his "Prince"(1979 self titled) album of the nineties.

WildheartXXX said:

I feel the same way about The Rainbow Children. Prince got his soul back, musically speaking.

rdhull said:

The Symbol album is more like Prince, authenticity wise The Gold Experience is more like Purple Rain. Actually, maybe not.

hmmm. tough one. SOTT is his best, i think. but TGE is my favorite.

Anji said:

No because he was actually inspired with his band and what they were creating..he used them for commercialism on Diamons and pearls but then on th e jamming and rehearsals eh came up with Symbol material and inspiration that made the cd etc. Gold was "Im gonna do this .."..a conscious move on being good again, ecletic again, Prince like again.

rdhull said:

True. The Gold Experience was a conscious effort to be classic again but does that mean it necessarily loses it's authenticity? His Paisley Park performances were certainly inspired at that time. I just think he had problems translating that soul and inspiration onto record. As a whole, it doesn't quite work.

Regardless, does that mean you prefer Symbol to Diamonds & Pearls, Rd?

Anji said:[quote]

rdhull said:

at that very moment it becomes a conscious efort to be "classic' it does...if he happens to throw so much that soemthing actuaklly sticks to the wall as being authentic in his contrived attempt then so be it..but nevertheless...



beautiful



I believe so..but dont get me wrong--I like some things that are contrived too..also in time and with age some tings that are contrived in creation actually get better--"some" things

rdhull said:

What contrived Prince albums do you like better with time? Talk to me, Rd!

Anji said:

Rave

edit--err I like more as well or have more respect as classic material..TGE and Rave and ATWIAD


.
[This message was edited Fri Mar 7 17:50:14 PST 2003 by rdhull]

rdhull said:

Oh my fucking God, NO! NOT Rave! Around The World In A Day IS soul, The Gold Experience HAS soul, but Rave?? Where is the fucking soul, Rd?! Explain yourself, immediately! I'm being serious...

Anji said:

later...but I never said it had soul..and I didnt say it didnt..Ill explain later, I cant right now

rdhull said:

I knew you wouldn't be able to...

Anji said:

oh yeah..I had to leave for lobster ..If I say I will do something or cant at the moment its not because I cant back my shit up etc.. I have no reason to run or hide etc. and I WILL explain why

rdhull said:

This WILL be interesting..praise for Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic from a self-confessed holy trinity (Dirty Mind/Controversy/1999) devotee.

I think they would only have been comparable if both "Come"
and "The Gold Experience" had been one double album release
including songs like

"Da Bang", "Interactive", "What's My Name", "Calhoun Sq".

Take the worst 2 songs off both Gold and Come and replace
them with these 4 and perhaps a few other ones, toss them
all up and re-sequence the whole lot to move from a dark
and brooding, lonely and isolated "come" ish soundscape
through to the ultimate joy and redemption of the "gold"
songs. it would work amazingly well.

Only then would you have a body of work that would be the
90's equivalent of "Sign o The Times".



So why does it still feel like blasphemy to say that?

Hmmm


[This message was edited Sat Mar 8 10:31:18 PST 2003 by IstenSzek]

IstenSzek said:

That's interesting, Isten. So you wouldn't include Days Of Wild? And what would your new sequence for The Gold Experience look like?

Anji said:

Hmm, tough call. Perhaps Days Of Wild as one of the last
songs on disc two, kind of like the 90's replacement for
"It's gonna be a beautiful night".

My personal tracklist would look a little like this:


CD 1

01. Endorphinmachine
02. Poem: Come
03. Space
04. What's My Name?
05. Dolphin
06. Ripopgodazippa
07. Loose!
08. Papa
09. Lovesign
10. Dark
11. Da Bang
12. Solo
13. Letitgo
14. Had U


CD 2

01. Poem: Interactive
02. P Control
00. Acknowledge Me
00. Calhoun Sq
00. Shhh
00. Pheromone
00. 319
08. Most Beautiful Girl
09. Race
10. Shy
11. Billy Jack Bitch
12. I Hate U
13. Days O Wild [live @ GlamSlam 95]
14. Gold


But I've made dozens of gold/come compilations now and I
can never find the exact right sequence. the second disc
always ends up a little weird since I hogg all the good
tunes on disc 1.

I love BOTH albums. But without Sign "O" the Times, there would be no Gold Experience.

RIAA
'nuff said.

That's cool, Isten. A friend of mine made a similar 2CD set, called The Dawn. Here's the tracklisting...

disc one:

welcome 2 the dawn
come
endorphin machine
space
days of wild
the most beautiful girl in the world
dolphin
now
lemme see that body get loose
papa
race
empty room
mad
rock 'n' roll is alive
shhh

disc two:

poem
the ride
interactive
the funky design
don't talk 2 strangers
love sign
acknowledge me
319
pussy control
ripopgodazippa
however much u want
shy
billy jack bitch
hate u
gold

I don't think anyone can agree on a definitive list.

The Gold Experience isn't fit to lick Sign "O" the Times' ass. No comparison.

IstenSzek said:

it is very difficult. i've been working on this for 2 years. making a 2-disc set, a 3-disc set, even a 4-disc set. always bringing it back down to 2. it's a really really hard project to work out.