feeluupp said:

1. It's overrated because it's standard was always compared to his least appealing albums from that period after the 80's.

2. It's over produced, the operator segues are just too annoying now.

3. It sounds outdated and hasn't aged well at all... Come, Diamonds & Pearls, even Chaos & Disorder have all aged better.

Overall I feel it was so highly praised not because it was a great album as a whole, but because it was his most consistant album when his quality of albums decreased after his 80's output.

This.

The Gold Experience would have made an amazing rock/ jazz album. The problem is that a lot of it sounds plastic.

Genesia said:

feeluupp said:

1. It's overrated because it's standard was always compared to his least appealing albums from that period after the 80's.

2. It's over produced, the operator segues are just too annoying now.

3. It sounds outdated and hasn't aged well at all... Come, Diamonds & Pearls, even Chaos & Disorder have all aged better.

Overall I feel it was so highly praised not because it was a great album as a whole, but because it was his most consistant album when his quality of albums decreased after his 80's output.

This.

Yup.

emesem said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

I keep seeing "new jack" mentioned. What on TGE is "new jack?" I'd give you "Acknowledge Me" but it's not on the record.

I think Billy Jack Bitch has a heavy new jack sound but that the only one.

I don't hear new jack on Billy. Not with those horns, that Hammond B3, that purple 80s synth line, that nearly mid-tempo plodding funk groove anchored by Michael B's live drums...I just don't get anything even close to Teddy Riley from Billy Jack Bitch. Acknowldege Me and very slightly Love Sign are the only 2 that even give me a hint of that new jack sound.

warning2all said:

P Control is actually a horrible opener relying on its dirtiness.

I agree,"P Control" is a whack song.It's silly and sounds like Prince is trying too hard.I wish he had opened this album with the superior funk track "Hide The Bone".That song is explosive!

SchlomoThaHomo said:

emesem said:

I think Billy Jack Bitch has a heavy new jack sound but that the only one.

I don't hear new jack on Billy. Not with those horns, that Hammond B3, that purple 80s synth line, that nearly mid-tempo plodding funk groove anchored by Michael B's live drums...I just don't get anything even close to Teddy Riley from Billy Jack Bitch. Acknowldege Me and very slightly Love Sign are the only 2 that even give me a hint of that new jack sound.

Don't Say U Love Me is the track that screams new jack sound for me.

Averett said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

I don't hear new jack on Billy. Not with those horns, that Hammond B3, that purple 80s synth line, that nearly mid-tempo plodding funk groove anchored by Michael B's live drums...I just don't get anything even close to Teddy Riley from Billy Jack Bitch. Acknowldege Me and very slightly Love Sign are the only 2 that even give me a hint of that new jack sound.

Don't Say U Love Me is the track that screams new jack sound for me.

Fine maybe its just me but I hear shades of My Perogative and I Want Her in BJB. Although I'll grant its not as obvious as say an "Acknowledge Me" or "New Power Generation"

at least one orger agrees with me: http://prince.org/msg/7/143841

"Billy Jack Bitch" sounds like a P-Funk-inspired jam...I don't hear any trace of new jack swing.

Doalwa said:

TGE was the record that made me a Prince fan, it'll always have a special place in my heart...hell, I'll probably have that shit being played at my funeral!!

I'd go with "Face Down", although that would probably upset everyone.
"Sometimes" is too litteral.

Being lowered down while the first chords of "Gold" reverberate, is a little too much for my taste.

The album version of The Most Beautiful Girl is a perfect example of the overproduced sound on this album. The single version is a perfectly pleasant, catchy pop song. Then you pop in the CD and hear completley unnecessary production effects like clock sounds in the background.

i like the overproduced nature of the album. it somehow fits it.

but listening to Gold or Endorphinmachine on the 10.000 boot,

yeah, it could have been more timeless as a whole if he would

have stripped it way down. the song were interesting enough

on their own for that. although stuff like Acknowlegde Me and
Ripopgodazippa would have been nicer to include here than a

song like We March. still, all in all i like the album to this day,

with the exception of those horrible segues and P Control.

When I read some (not all but some) of the replies on this thread I thought "this is the problem with the internet: some people would have been better left off without a public forum of expression".

databank said:

When I read some (not all but some) of the replies on this thread I thought "this is the problem with the internet: some people would have been better left off without a public forum of expression".

Sorry to laugh databank, but that hit me just right. I might have a new sig...

djThunderfunk said:

databank said:

When I read some (not all but some) of the replies on this thread I thought "this is the problem with the internet: some people would have been better left off without a public forum of expression".

Sorry to laugh databank, but that hit me just right. I might have a new sig...

Honored

KingSausage said:

Lately on the Org I've see any people post negative things about TGE. Others are still positive, but no longer claim that album is great enough to hang with P's classic 80's shit. Why do you think TGE might be falling in status, at least from the perspective of hardcore fans? Is it the overblown production? Simply a function of time passing and further distance from the great live shows of that era? Later work being better than TGE? TGE's place in P's overall trajectory being clearer?

The haters/dislikers do NOT speak for me. I still like The Gold Experience album. It's still within my Top 10 list of greatest Prince albums ever.

SoulAlive said:

I am shocked at all the negative feelings about this album

Seriously,how can a Prince fan dislike an album that contains great songs like "Eye Hate U","Billy Jack Bitch","319","Shhhh","Now",and the title track?! Those are strong,powerful,inspired songs!!!

"Eye Hate U" is one of the BEST songs that Prince has ever done!

I think most of the TGE hating is total bullshit to be dead honest.

Gold is to the 90s what Lovesexy is to the 80s - the last worthy artistic statement of the decade.

bluegangsta said:

The Gold Experience would have made an amazing rock/ jazz album. The problem is that a lot of it sounds plastic.

I disagree,

Emancipation is the one sounding like plastic... not TGE,

TGE is wonderful & very organic, one of the greatest Prince albums and in my fave top 10. It's the Sign O The Times album of the 90s imho... all those styles and genres, very impressive. Production wise its amazing, with Michael Bland on drums.. excellent!

Stunning.

(Only minus is the seagues and the re-recorded version of Most Beautiful Girl).

Well you ain't been hearing any of that shit from me. I love that album and would never criticise it. My guess is maybe some people are bored with it or angry at Prince from that period for the whole Kate Moss/Cocaine chic look he was rocking then, the slave tattoos, feuds with warners and changing his name to a Symbol.

.

Still not good reasons to me, the segues are easily skipped and the music still stands up after 20 years. We are coming to the 20th anniversary of its official release (Although the songs are mostly from late 93/early 94). So its time to show it some love again.

.

And besides just because a few people have been publicly bad mouthing it here, does not mean its bad, us orgers are a wide ranging bunch and there are a whole lot of mess being talked about various albums and songs regarded in the main as classics. I mean one thread mentions Sign o the Times as his least listenable albums and people saying Little Red Corvette is the worst song on 1999. So crazy ass (And in my opinion fucked up) opinions on his output are nothing new now. Most fans do not change and no matter how much any1 disagrees with something, they still have that right to express their opinion.

.

The consensus is that generally TGE is one of his best albums and the best of the 90s and many would say it is the best between Lovesexy and 3121 or even now or AOA. Most agree the segues are a bit much and a few are even repulsed by the swearing and inclusion of the track - We March. Myself included, but We March is more a average track than a Jughead or Lemon Crush quality one. Still Days of Wild in its place would have made TGE a Purple Rain quality album.

[Edited 5/8/15 3:29am]

Adorecream said:

For whatever reason, a lot of things from the 90s in general haven't aged well at all, and TGE is a total product of the 90s. The computer-infatuation theme that runs through the album, while fresh at the time, has totally beat the album down because of it, and I practically cringe when I hear it now. I dont know what prompted Prince to be so fascinated by the internet, but its laughable now.

.

A lot of the songs haven't held up well, either. Stuff like "Now", "Dolphin", "We March", "319", and the title track were fresh2def when released, but are generic-like to these ears of mine now (especially the title track. Sorry, I know its a fan-favorite, but I like my Prince music without the extra cheese "Gold" has. No thanks!)

.

But when TGE is good, it's GREAT. the 1-2-3 punch of "P. Control", "Endorphinemachine", and "Shh" is really killer, and it starts the album off on the right foot. I also really love "Billy Jack Bitch" and "I Hate U" as well.

.

When I think of TGE now, I look at it as pretty much every post-Golden Era Prince record: Never consistent start-to-finish, but always supplied with at the very least 2-3 amazing songs on it. The days of Prince releasing killer records front to back were long gone before he released TGE, and its just another P record with some killer songs and some not so killer songs. Not to mention, he was a total prick during this time too and his overall attitude and demeanor really affected how I look at this era, and sadly so. Great live stuff, though.

[Edited 5/8/15 20:34pm]

I have noticed the reason for this thread. Two other current threads about Overrated and Underrated albums and the one on Unlistenable Prince albums, both are giving TGE a real hard time and I have tried to steady the ship of hate on both of them.

.

Some argue that Come is better, but I don't agree as the title track is way too long, Solo is a self indulgent experiement and Orgasm is nothing. Okay Space, Pheromone, Dark and Letitgo are sublime, but the rest is forgettable.

I've thought about this for a bit, and I think it's because the criticism for Prince's work is moving inward into his previously-untouchable "Classic" period. Like a cancer, if you will.

.

The critiques used to start with Chaos & Disorder/Emancipation/NPS all the way up to present day. We'd explain away C&D as a "contractual obligation", Emancipation as "EMI went under" and NPS as "just a side project, not a real Prince album".

.

1978-1988 was always off limits, and 1989-1995 was treated almost with the same respect, but 1996 onward was fair game.

.

Now, I think we've grown bored of tearing apart the "usual suspects" and have moved on to the Classic period. It doesn't always spread from the outside-in, but if it did, then the first target would obviously be TGE.

.

I don't see how TGE would be dropping in status. Quite honestly, it's in a lot of Top 10 Prince (or ) album lists. The more albums that Prince releases, just pretty much means that there are more albums under TGE. At least IMHO.

Se7en said: