BoraBora said:

- I Can't Make You Love Me: recycled sounds in a un-emotional renditions that absolutely pales in confrontation with the George Michael's version

I had been with every Prince record since 1999 (back in 1982). Emancipation and Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic were the records where I finally fell out of rhythm with his new music.

There was such build up and expectation because of his long war with Warner Brothers. What would he do when liberated?

For me there was a tension in his greatest music that created the spark. I think as he got older, he got more comfortable in his skin. He got more happy as a human being. And maybe some of that old tension which had fueld his music was gone. Ultimately, I wanted him to be happy and grounded--so I didn't resent him. But I sure missed the old, kinda crazy, weird, unhinged, BURNING Prince.

I don't think "Courtin Time" and "Curious Child" are failures, more like novelty songs. The White Album was full of 'em. I like the first one, but it lacks the genre-bending we'd come to expect out of Prince. I don't care for "Curious Child" but that's just a preference against Renaissance Faire music.

Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/wife is one of his best post 1988 songs. I adore that song.

Poplife88 said:

KoolEaze said:

To this day I can´t really get into We Gets Up, Damned If I Do and Courtin Time. I just can´t listen to those songs.

But I have no problem with Da Da Da. I actually like Prince´s rap part a lot, and I don´t really mind Scrap D on it. He´s a nice guy and was an aspiring rapper in the mid 90s in Minneapolis, and Prince just gave him a shot. Good to know that he was trying to support some local rapper even though careerwise it probably would have been smarter to work with someone who is wellknown and popular. I met Scrap in 96 because we have mutual friends and we hung out a bit. The rap part is his creation, he didn´t want Prince to interfere or change the lyrics.

Of course I´d prefer a version without him but it´s too late anyway.

I like White Mansion, I also like Right Back Here In My Arms, I really liked Emancipation when it was released and still like it to this day except for those songs I mentioned above.

There are many songs on it that I don´t go back to but all in all it´s a good thing that he was free and he could release it instead of being told how long or short his album was supposed to be.

If he had gotten his will with Crystal Ball or The Dream Factory we´d be bitching and moaning about fillers , too.

Da Da Do Doo is the WORSE song on any of Prince's Albums

DarkKnight1 said:

I don't hate these.....they're just the songs I like the least from this album:

-

Get Yo Groove On (bland)

Betcha by Golly Wow! (too sugary)

Damned if I Do (bland)

The Holy River (too christian rock sounding)

La, La, La Means I Love U (too sugary)

-

Three songs are from disc 1, which might be a big reason why I like that disc the least.

kpowers said:

KoolEaze said:

To this day I can´t really get into We Gets Up, Damned If I Do and Courtin Time. I just can´t listen to those songs.

But I have no problem with Da Da Da. I actually like Prince´s rap part a lot, and I don´t really mind Scrap D on it. He´s a nice guy and was an aspiring rapper in the mid 90s in Minneapolis, and Prince just gave him a shot. Good to know that he was trying to support some local rapper even though careerwise it probably would have been smarter to work with someone who is wellknown and popular. I met Scrap in 96 because we have mutual friends and we hung out a bit. The rap part is his creation, he didn´t want Prince to interfere or change the lyrics.

Of course I´d prefer a version without him but it´s too late anyway.

I like White Mansion, I also like Right Back Here In My Arms, I really liked Emancipation when it was released and still like it to this day except for those songs I mentioned above.

There are many songs on it that I don´t go back to but all in all it´s a good thing that he was free and he could release it instead of being told how long or short his album was supposed to be.

If he had gotten his will with Crystal Ball or The Dream Factory we´d be bitching and moaning about fillers , too.

Da Da Do Doo is the WORSE song on any of Prince's Albums

I find it more enjoyable than My Name Is Prince, Cream, The Continental, The Flow, Jughead, Push, Wedding Feast, Courtin Time, We Gets Up , Lolita, and many other songs that most fans like.

The beat is alright, and Prince´s rap part is something I still like to this day.

The other guy is a bit annoying, sure, but at least Prince gave some local rapper a shot.

Prince himself must´ve liked that song otherwise he would not have had a carpet at Paisley Park with a line from that song.

1) "Sleep Around".....2) "Mr Happy".....3) "Friend, Lover, Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky And Mike"...4) "Let's Have A Baby".....5) "Da, Da, Da"...6) "Style".

KingSausage said:

In no particular order: Style. Oh, God. Fucking kill me. I was on hold for SO MANY HOURS with 1-800-NEW-FUNK back in the day trying to track down my Crystal Ball pre-order. The good music was Style. On a loop. Again and again and again. Oh, God. Fucking kill me. Emale. Delete this one. It's got a virus. Mr. Happy. This song has never once made me happy. Friend/Sister/Dentist/Barbarian/Whatever. What a boring, long, and fucking boring ballad. If that was his song for Mayte, she should have got the marriage annulled. We Gets Up. Uggggggggggh. The only thing getting up here is my lunch.

I don't agree with some of what you've said here but I love the way you said it... Cracked me up!

KoolEaze said:

kpowers said:

Da Da Do Doo is the WORSE song on any of Prince's Albums

I find it more enjoyable than My Name Is Prince, Cream, The Continental, The Flow, Jughead, Push, Wedding Feast, Courtin Time, We Gets Up , Lolita, and many other songs that most fans like.

The beat is alright, and Prince´s rap part is something I still like to this day.

The other guy is a bit annoying, sure, but at least Prince gave some local rapper a shot.

Prince himself must´ve liked that song otherwise he would not have had a carpet at Paisley Park with a line from that song.

That's one problem I had with Prince was having some rapper rap a track on one of Prince's CD's. Sorry, want to hear Prince and no one else. Yeah Prince does a little rap on the track but sorry I don't want to hear from some lame rapper.

I can't believe two posters listed 'White Mansion'. Seriously? For me, that's the #1 song on the album, and probably one of my top-20 Prince songs overall.

.

I can understand a lot of the choices mentioned on this thread, but I don't get that one. What's not to like? Catchy, tuneful song with awesome nostalgic, funny, clever lyrics. It's pure class.

.

This sort of difference of opinion kind of sums up the "problem" of Emancipation. There are 36 songs, and no two Prince fans agree on which are best. In addition, there seems to be no consensus on whether the album would've been better as a double or a single-disc. I have my own 12-track Emancipation, and while I think it's certainly a lot better than the triple pound for pound, Emancipation is not really the sort of long-album that has really stand-out songs and really bad ones. I would say there are 2 or 3 exceptional songs and 2 or 3 really poor ones, and then about 30 or 31 good-ish but not great, and not well produced, songs. It's just a weird album.