I've seen numbers that claim TGE sold about 900K copies, on several different of those "Prince album sales" threads. My question is HOW. I mean, wtf. I'd understand if he shifted 900,000 in the US alone, but that meager number can't really be the WORLDWIDE number?? Most people shift that much in the US in their first few weeks, particularly in the '90s. I know some people are gonna say "Prince was never a big seller outside of 'Purple Rain'", but the truth is that even though his albums weren't selling 20 mio each time (obviously), he would consistently shift a few solid million per album which showed he had a sizable fanbase. And all those albums together equal a pretty hefty sum. The TGE number? Doesn't even make a dent. And then I know some people are gonna say "TGE had horrible promotion, bad singles, Prince was being weird", I know all of that, but again, 900K copies?? In the 1990s?? What was going on here? How is it possible for a star to shift so FEW copies WORLDWIDE?

The U.S. numbers were a little over 500K. It got certified GOLD in the U.S. alone.

By that point Prince had flooded the market with d-list music by the time TGE came out. The actual surprise was that it was any type of good, though it was still out of step with popular trends. The way I recall it, was that D'Angelo out-Princed Prince with Brown Sugar and a couple of other tunes that year.

Truly an amazing album, only I do not like the remix version of The Most Beautiful Girl, the single version is far superior.

But Prince gave this (the orig version) away to Sony / Edel right?

Shame this song never is included on any compilations (Ultimate Prince + The Very Best Of)..

TrevorAyer said:

P control and the rape lyrics in eye hate u killed any momentum beautiful girl gave this project to be a big seller ... Grandmas and soccer moms wont buy that shit .. And that is where the 7 yr old girl who make or break the music industry get their cash ... I personally believe gold exp was a big fu to wb and p knew damn well opening the record with p control would kill the sales

Nah.

No grandmas or soccer moms cared about Prince anymore when TGE was released.

Not even the ones related to him!

Any other opening track wouldn't have helped.

P Control as an opener is just Prince being Prince.

[Edited 9/16/15 16:38pm]

thedance said:

Truly an amazing album, only I do not like the remix version of The Most Beautiful Girl, the single version is far superior.

But Prince gave this (the orig version) away to Sony / Edel right?

Shame this song never is included on any compilations (Ultimate Prince + The Very Best Of)..

He certainly didn't give it to nobody. He just liked the second version better.

TrevorAyer said:

Oh come on ... Everyone and their grandmas bought beautiful girl .. That is the mark of a true hit ... When even grandma sings along .. Soon as wb took back control p was pissed and led the record with p control .. A certifiable momentum killer when it comes to dnp level sales

1/ WB never "lost" control, it was never question to allow P to release a full album on his own and TGE was always meant to be released by WB.

2/ Prince decided to open the record with P. Control because it's an amazing track and a mindblowing opener and he knew it. He actually gave-up on the NPG Operator/Interactive opening so he could place it, which says a lot about how he valued the song given that it kinda fucked up the whole NPG Operator concept and he did it nonetheless.

I know u don't like P. Control but there's no point in making up stories to try and make your opinion fact.

TrevorAyer said:

NorthC said:

The problem was that TAFKAP waited more than a year before releasing the album and by that time everyone & their grandmas had already forgotten about it. Had the album been released in the summer of 1994 with a strong follow up single (Interactive or Billy Jack Bitch or Shhh or Gold), it would have been a different story.

I agree with this.Prince should have kept Come in the vaults and released TGE in the summer of '94! By the time TGE was finally released in late '95,many fans had already been listening to those songs for over a year,lol.

SoulAlive said:

NorthC said:

The problem was that TAFKAP waited more than a year before releasing the album and by that time everyone & their grandmas had already forgotten about it. Had the album been released in the summer of 1994 with a strong follow up single (Interactive or Billy Jack Bitch or Shhh or Gold), it would have been a different story.

I agree with this.Prince should have kept Come in the vaults and released TGE in the summer of '94! By the time TGE was finally released in late '95,many fans had already been listening to those songs for over a year,lol.

No way, TGEshoul be kept in the vault, why TMBGITW isn'n released in any hits compilation, it's one of his bigger hits?

SoulAlive said:

NorthC said:

The problem was that TAFKAP waited more than a year before releasing the album and by that time everyone & their grandmas had already forgotten about it. Had the album been released in the summer of 1994 with a strong follow up single (Interactive or Billy Jack Bitch or Shhh or Gold), it would have been a different story.

I agree with this.Prince should have kept Come in the vaults and released TGE in the summer of '94! By the time TGE was finally released in late '95,many fans had already been listening to those songs for over a year,lol.

It wasn't his call. He offered both albums to WB for summer 94 and WB picked the album they loathed because it had "Prince" on it instead of the album with great commercial potential because that one had "" on it. Prince made a lot of mistakes in his career but that one was WB's. He had just had a massive hit under the symbol name, why WB would think a "Prince" album they thought was "shit" (and I quote) would still sell more than TGE just because the name Prince was on the cover beats me. Also, it would have been a diffrenet TGE with a significantly altered tracklist. IU think it woulda rocked but IDK if it'd have become the ccccclassic it is today.

[Edited 9/17/15 15:52pm]

databank said:

SoulAlive said:

I agree with this.Prince should have kept Come in the vaults and released TGE in the summer of '94! By the time TGE was finally released in late '95,many fans had already been listening to those songs for over a year,lol.

It wasn't his call. He offered both albums to WB for summer 94 and WB picked the album they loathed because it had "Prince" on it instead of the album with great commercial potential because that one had "" on it. Prince made a lot of mistakes in his career but that one was WB's. He had just had a massive hit under the symbol name, why WB would think a "Prince" album they thought was "shit" (and I quote) would still sell more than TGE just because the name Prince was on the cover beats me. Also, it would have been a diffrenet TGE with a significantly altered tracklist. IU think it woulda rocked but IDK if it'd have become the ccccclassic it is today.

[Edited 9/17/15 15:52pm]

You've got to RRRREEEAALLLYYY love the sound of Prince's voice to think TGE is a classic. You have to be a bigtime Prince fan to think that. If you were to play, like the greatest hits of 1994 and 1995, then try to listen to that album you would just be like nah. There are two great Prince songs on there and the rest makes you wonder what the hell happened.

funksterr said:

databank said:

It wasn't his call. He offered both albums to WB for summer 94 and WB picked the album they loathed because it had "Prince" on it instead of the album with great commercial potential because that one had "" on it. Prince made a lot of mistakes in his career but that one was WB's. He had just had a massive hit under the symbol name, why WB would think a "Prince" album they thought was "shit" (and I quote) would still sell more than TGE just because the name Prince was on the cover beats me. Also, it would have been a diffrenet TGE with a significantly altered tracklist. IU think it woulda rocked but IDK if it'd have become the ccccclassic it is today.

[Edited 9/17/15 15:52pm]

You've got to RRRREEEAALLLYYY love the sound of Prince's voice to think TGE is a classic. You have to be a bigtime Prince fan to think that. If you were to play, like the greatest hits of 1994 and 1995, then try to listen to that album you would just be like nah. There are two great Prince songs on there and the rest makes you wonder what the hell happened.

Nonsense, u r projecting ur own personal opinion on the outside world. TGE is a fan favorite, it's been shown by every "rate all Prince albums" polls on the Org over the years. Whether YOU like it or not cannot change this.

NorthC said:

Let's not forget that in 1994/95, TAFKAP said The Gold Experience had a release date of "never" and tried to start a petition saying "do U want 2 see it liberated from Warner Bros?". So it's not like WB refused Gold because it didn't have Prince's name on it. Taffy decided to give WB second rate albums just to screw them. That he fucked up his own carreer at the same time didn't seem to bother him.

This is not how it happened at first, read Scifdifilmnerd's excellent article about it: http://prince.org/msg/7/318315

' delivered The Gold Experience into Warner Bros. around the same time as Come, 19 May 1994. He proposed that Warner Bros. should release Come by “Prince” and, a few weeks later, The Gold Experience by “,” and he wanted both to count toward the fulfillment of his contract. The idea didn’t meet with much enthusiasm, however. Flooding the market with material was exactly what the executives wanted to avoid. Nor were they optimistic about releasing music with an unpronounceable symbol, rather than the powerful “Prince” trademark on the front cover. They agreed to release Come and they would be happy to release The Gold Experience, but at the appropriate time."

However it is true that later in 1994 Prince rejected several offers by WB regarding releasing TGE in late 1994 then early 1995, so it's true that he had a responsibility in postponing the release until September 95. But originally WB took Come over TGE. Maybe if they'd told Prince they'd release TGE in August 1994 and would be happy to release Come later, they would have had a hit and history would have been changed.

funksterr said:

databank said:

It wasn't his call. He offered both albums to WB for summer 94 and WB picked the album they loathed because it had "Prince" on it instead of the album with great commercial potential because that one had "" on it. Prince made a lot of mistakes in his career but that one was WB's. He had just had a massive hit under the symbol name, why WB would think a "Prince" album they thought was "shit" (and I quote) would still sell more than TGE just because the name Prince was on the cover beats me. Also, it would have been a diffrenet TGE with a significantly altered tracklist. IU think it woulda rocked but IDK if it'd have become the ccccclassic it is today.

[Edited 9/17/15 15:52pm]

You've got to RRRREEEAALLLYYY love the sound of Prince's voice to think TGE is a classic. You have to be a bigtime Prince fan to think that. If you were to play, like the greatest hits of 1994 and 1995, then try to listen to that album you would just be like nah. There are two great Prince songs on there and the rest makes you wonder what the hell happened.

Seriously?? It was one of the early albums for me that made me realise his genius (when I first listened to it around 1998). When I later found out the songs that didn't make the final cut, I realised it could have been an even greater album.

I'm not even sure which two songs you're referring to. Endorphinmachine? Shhh? The Most Beautiful Girl? I Hate U? Gold? P Control? Dolphin? I've heard fans and non-fans alike describe all of those as 'great' at one time or another.

TrevorAyer said:

Oh come on ... Everyone and their grandmas bought beautiful girl .. That is the mark of a true hit ... When even grandma sings along .. Soon as wb took back control p was pissed and led the record with p control .. A certifiable momentum killer when it comes to dnp level sales

This is true. Imagine if he released it in 94 and promoted it the way he promoted D&P.. it would have hits and sales for at least a year and a half and then he could even release Emancipation 3-CDs in late 96 and it wouldn't be overkill. But even with all that shit going down (horrible, horrible promotion, and all the other stuff), I'm surprised it sold less than 1m.. 500K in the US, fine. But just 300K worldwide? Wth? That's just really surprising to me.

i agree with y'all that tge would have had more hits n sales if properly promoted

just the overall 93-95 era was so weird, looking back. it was one of those times when i felt embarassed to be a prince fan, and i hadn't even felt embarassed bck in the lovesexy era. prince was looking so small and so skinny, extremely androgynous and with waay too much eye makeup and that mj-style white powder all over his face, he was calling himself a slave and just saying wack shit in the news, insisting "prince is dead", "tge will never be released", etc..

in 1993 this thing was humorous. by 95 it was baaad news. people were clowning on prince so bad. the reaction to the tmbgitw video was cringeworthy. everyone thought he was a washed up joke with no sense in reality. the lollipop incident, his rambling, etc.. nobody in the '90s wanted distant crazy celebs like prince they liked ppl like tupac and mariah carey. prince wasnt delivering it.

it was really sad for me to see 2 of my faves of aLL TIME (mj and prince) struggle for acceptance in mid-90s america.. they were just slipping down down down fast.. and the difference is that michael tried to make his albums hits (and they'd end up hits). prince was doing things his way and it was hurting him even more.

so bad promotion in a 'Prince way' + a tarnished public image = horrible sales.

interestingly, when i took a trip to the uk in 97, i was surprised to hear the holy river on regular rotation on radio and p was still popular.. far more popular than he was in the us. it wouldn't be until 04 when p would be POPULAR again..

databank said:

SoulAlive said:

I agree with this.Prince should have kept Come in the vaults and released TGE in the summer of '94! By the time TGE was finally released in late '95,many fans had already been listening to those songs for over a year,lol.

It wasn't his call. He offered both albums to WB for summer 94 and WB picked the album they loathed because it had "Prince" on it instead of the album with great commercial potential because that one had "" on it. Prince made a lot of mistakes in his career but that one was WB's. He had just had a massive hit under the symbol name, why WB would think a "Prince" album they thought was "shit" (and I quote) would still sell more than TGE just because the name Prince was on the cover beats me. Also, it would have been a diffrenet TGE with a significantly altered tracklist. IU think it woulda rocked but IDK if it'd have become the ccccclassic it is today.

That whole situation was ridiculous (Prince making two albums,with two different "names" on em).We can't blame Warners for this foolishness.In the spring of 1994,Prince should have simply handed Warners the TGE album,period.The other album should have never been presented at all.Alot of fans will disagree with me,but Come is nothing more than contractual filler.That's the type of effortless,uninspired album that Prince can make in his sleep.All of the great songs recorded during that period,were clearly saved for TGE.

Nothing wrong with that! At that point,the album contained several great songs that were later removed ("Days Of Wild","Interactive","Ripopgodazippa","Acknowledge Me").All of these songs are excellent.He could have also added "Love Sign" to the album...that sounds like a summer of '94 smash hit! Damn...what a missed opportunity!!

SoulAlive said:

databank said:

That whole situation was ridiculous (Prince making two albums,with two different "names" on em).We can't blame Warners for this foolishness.In the spring of 1994,Prince should have simply handed Warners the TGE album,period.The other album should have never been presented at all.Alot of fans will disagree with me,but Come is nothing more than contractual filler.That's the type of effortless,uninspired album that Prince can make in his sleep.All of the great songs recorded during that period,were clearly saved for TGE.

Actually there clearly were 2 recording moments: Glam Slam Ulysses then what would become TGE. I think Prince saw Come as a better record than u think, it was kind of a Black Album/Lovesexy duology IMHO. I see where u're coming from but in the end I prefer to have 2 albums than one, given that how much of a hit it could have been really doesn't change anything for me. But from a purely business perspective of course u r right.

it would have been a different TGE with a significantly altered tracklist

Nothing wrong with that! At that point,the album contained several great songs that were later removed ("Days Of Wild","Interactive","Ripopgodazippa","Acknowledge Me").All of these songs are excellent.He could have also added "Love Sign" to the album...that sounds like a summer of '94 smash hit! Damn...what a missed opportunity!!

Love Sign never was on it but definitely should have, and have been (with WB and TGE) the follow-up single to TMBGITW. I reconstructed the 1994 config (since we have all the tracks) but could never decide whether I preferred the 1994 config or the released one. Both have their strengths, both make wonderful albums. Hide The Bone could also have been a strong addition to the album. There were so many great tracks at that time

[Edited 9/17/15 19:30pm]

Indeed!! That should have been the opening track...instead of the lame,silly "P Control"!!!

databank said:

Hide The Bone could also have been a strong addition to the album.

SoulAlive said:

Indeed!! That should have been the opening track...instead of the lame,silly "P Control"!!!

databank said:

P Control is a masterpiece man, if u can't feel the power of that track I feel really sorry for you, but I do and it's MASSIVE

I hate "P Control" Prince is trying too hard to be "gangsta" and it sounds extremely forced

I can't believe he removed the superior "Days Of Wild" (his most convincing rap song) from the album,but decided to include the ridiculous "P Control"

SoulAlive said:

I hate "P Control" Prince is trying too hard to be "gangsta" and it sounds extremely forced

I can't believe he removed the superior "Days Of Wild" (his most convincing rap song) from the album,but decided to include the ridiculous "P Control"

I just can't see how P. Control could be gangsta

It's a funk extravaganza, it's sexy, it's melodic, it's feminist, it's just everything gangsta rap wasn't. I actually like and listen to a lot of "gangsta" West Coast hip-hop from the early to mid-90's and I can tell u P.Control has NOTHING to do with any of it. It's another planet entirely.

I'd say u misunderstand it exactly the way certain critics misunderstood and shot down DOW in the musical press at the time (possibly prompting P to take it off the album): they accused DOW of trying to be gangsta when it was actually clearly denouncing the caricature, vulgarity and sexism of gangsta rap.

While Prince may be accused of trying to imitate hip-hop when he had actual rappers guesting, his own rap songs were always, in fact, totally funk and most of them had a feminine energy that was miles away from hip-hop's testosterone. Prince nearly created queer rap

[Edited 9/17/15 23:35pm]

This CD contained Prince's last big hit...Eye Hate U hit number 12 on the charts. I think that is one of the reasons why it sold a decent amount. I do agree that is should have been released a year earlier though.

IMO Pussy Control might be one of the worst aged PRINCE songs... Even Jug Head has aged better than Pussy Control.