2funkE said:

2funkE said:

I am not sure I am buying into the reasons listed for it lack of success.
For me, I just never really liked it. Way too cheesy and contrived for my tastes.

TMBGITW is one of the most cheesy songs ever written. By anyone. Ever. It was also the biggest international hit he's ever had.

mynameisnotsusan said:

He was at war with his record company. There is no 'hit' without label support.

.

Oh please, they produced "gold colored" jewel cases for this release.

Noodled24 said:

TGE was only released on the condition that Prince stop defaming WB in public.

.

Huh? Exodus was supposed to be released by WBR in exchange for Prince keeping his trap shut. Which lasted for about a week or two...

IstenSzek said:

everyone always says that warners had no interest in seeing the gold experience do well,

but why? it was at a time when there was no downloads cutting into sales and they were
the ones who released it at that time, so why not push it? they were making money off it
as well, weren't they? seems illogical to let it tank. unless it was revenge, lol. oh, wait

.

It is nonsense. Warners simply couldn't do anything because Prince was too busy shooting himself in the foot.

Wasn't Gold an NPG/Warners release? Is it known for a fact that WB put up the cash for that gold plastic case?

I'd find it hard to believe they did, especially given they only agreed to release the album on the condition that Prince stop bullying them.

[Edited 10/4/16 6:20am]

BartVanHemelen said:

Noodled24 said:

TGE was only released on the condition that Prince stop defaming WB in public.

.

Huh? Exodus was supposed to be released by WBR in exchange for Prince keeping his trap shut. Which lasted for about a week or two...

"Prince: Slave Trade" documentary states Gold was only released on the condition Prince shut up.

"Exodus" was an NPG release. I can't see the Warner brand anywhere on the album.

Noodled24 said:

BartVanHemelen said:

.

Huh? Exodus was supposed to be released by WBR in exchange for Prince keeping his trap shut. Which lasted for about a week or two...

"Prince: Slave Trade" documentary states Gold was only released on the condition Prince shut up.

"Exodus" was an NPG release. I can't see the Warner brand anywhere on the album.

Michael B.....

'here's the short story:
the gold experience was never intended to be released through warner bros. prince didn't want them handling the release, even though they were his record company.
instead, prince offered EXODUS.. they took EXODUS, and began plans to release it INSTEAD of TGE.. somewhere down the line, prince and warner bros., came to an agreement, and set a release date for TGE..
so, the serial numbers do reflect the actual plan... chronologically, what was supposed to be released when..
shortly after TGE was planned to be released on warner bros., prince shose to release EXODUS on edel, the german label that handled the "the most beautiful girl in the world" single release, and maxi-single'

One of his best songs ever, it failed cause he was telling the truth and nobody was ready to hear it.

dodger said:

Noodled24 said:

"Prince: Slave Trade" documentary states Gold was only released on the condition Prince shut up.

"Exodus" was an NPG release. I can't see the Warner brand anywhere on the album.

Michael B.....

'here's the short story:
the gold experience was never intended to be released through warner bros. prince didn't want them handling the release, even though they were his record company.
instead, prince offered EXODUS.. they took EXODUS, and began plans to release it INSTEAD of TGE.. somewhere down the line, prince and warner bros., came to an agreement, and set a release date for TGE..
so, the serial numbers do reflect the actual plan... chronologically, what was supposed to be released when..
shortly after TGE was planned to be released on warner bros., prince shose to release EXODUS on edel, the german label that handled the "the most beautiful girl in the world" single release, and maxi-single'

Interesting. Although TGE was definitely intended to be released on WBR at one point because we know Prince wanted "Come" to be released as a Prince album and TGE released as a album.

TGE was recorded before Exodus. However Exodus was released before TGE. But not via WBR, and it only seemed to get a European release. When Gold was finally released it was NPG/WBR.

[Edited 10/4/16 8:39am]

alphastreet said:

One of his best songs ever, it failed cause he was telling the truth and nobody was ready to hear it.

I've always thought the sentiment he was trying to convey in the song was fairly obvious to everyone - at least until the "If she led a good life, heaven takes her soul" part which is an opinion thing.

.

What section of the lyrics do you think people weren't ready for?

Noodled24 said:

26ten said:

I have to disagree on this. Again - me noticing this or feeling it doesn't mean that I don't like the album or song, which I hope I've made clear.

.

They both end in big build up to a guitar solo which then turns into a wordless vocal refrain. They both have the name of a color in the titles and also within the chorus the color is mentioned several times.

.

Yes, they're both the closers and yes they're roughly about the same length, were both released as singles. I'm pretty sure I saw or read an interview where Prince referred to Gold as the Purple Rain of the 90's as well. This is a clear attempt to make a song in a similar vein as PR. I'm not talking about the way the song *sounds* there is a clear difference - but the man took the things that made PR so iconic and did the same thing all over again almost 10 years later - and it sounds like 10 years difference too. PR is very 80s (and awesome) and Gold is very very 90's (and awesome).

.

imo I guess- I'll drop it I promise

But that's like saying every ballad since "Do me baby" is a clear attempt to write a song like "Do me baby" initmate, falsetto, scream...

Lyrically, musically, the tempo, even the guitar solo (Which on Gold is like a duel with the synths). Even the underlying emotion of the songs... PR is ooking for salvation. Gold has an anger bubbling under it.

That is an interesting perspective. I personally don't hear the anger part of it - although with that said I'll keep that in mind next time I listen to it (probably today honestly haha ahhh binging on Prince is just a joy haha) - thank you for dealing with me and being open!

26ten said:

Noodled24 said:

But that's like saying every ballad since "Do me baby" is a clear attempt to write a song like "Do me baby" initmate, falsetto, scream...

Lyrically, musically, the tempo, even the guitar solo (Which on Gold is like a duel with the synths). Even the underlying emotion of the songs... PR is ooking for salvation. Gold has an anger bubbling under it.

That is an interesting perspective. I personally don't hear the anger part of it - although with that said I'll keep that in mind next time I listen to it (probably today honestly haha ahhh binging on Prince is just a joy haha) - thank you for dealing with me and being open!

I'd stress that he isn't really singing angrily. But some of the lyrics clearly come from his anger and frustration with the industry & fame.

Interestingly PrinceVault says the "working title" for TGE was simply "The Gold Album" (like The Black Album).

Noodled24 said:

26ten said:

That is an interesting perspective. I personally don't hear the anger part of it - although with that said I'll keep that in mind next time I listen to it (probably today honestly haha ahhh binging on Prince is just a joy haha) - thank you for dealing with me and being open!

I'd stress that he isn't really singing angrily. But some of the lyrics clearly come from his anger and frustration with the industry & fame.

Interestingly PrinceVault says the "working title" for TGE was simply "The Gold Album" (like The Black Album).

Really? I didn't know that! Noted! Very solid.

Noodled24 said:

26ten said:

That is an interesting perspective. I personally don't hear the anger part of it - although with that said I'll keep that in mind next time I listen to it (probably today honestly haha ahhh binging on Prince is just a joy haha) - thank you for dealing with me and being open!

I'd stress that he isn't really singing angrily. But some of the lyrics clearly come from his anger and frustration with the industry & fame.

Interestingly PrinceVault says the "working title" for TGE was simply "The Gold Album" (like The Black Album).

Thats right it was. It was referred to as The Gold Album in mid 94 when it was being tee'd up to be an independent release through Tommyboy/East/West later that year. I think the first time I saw it referred to as 'The Gold Experience' was the October negative Prince press release and NPG Store flyer, with the track listing then including 'Days Of Wild' and the 'release date....never!' strap line.

This was Prince throwing his toys out of the pram when WB said the independent release would not count towards his main contract.

Noodled24 said:

BartVanHemelen said:

.

Huh? Exodus was supposed to be released by WBR in exchange for Prince keeping his trap shut. Which lasted for about a week or two...

"Prince: Slave Trade" documentary states Gold was only released on the condition Prince shut up.

.

So? Since when is that a good source?

.
"Exodus" was an NPG release. I can't see the Warner brand anywhere on the album.

.

Which part of "supposed" is hard to comprehend? Oh, and you might wanna look at your copy of TGE and notice the record label logos.

.

Also note: https://princevault.com/i..._Good_Life

.

[Edited 10/4/16 13:42pm]

dodger said:

Noodled24 said:

"Prince: Slave Trade" documentary states Gold was only released on the condition Prince shut up.

"Exodus" was an NPG release. I can't see the Warner brand anywhere on the album.

Michael B.....

'here's the short story:
the gold experience was never intended to be released through warner bros. prince didn't want them handling the release, even though they were his record company.
instead, prince offered EXODUS.. they took EXODUS, and began plans to release it INSTEAD of TGE.. somewhere down the line, prince and warner bros., came to an agreement, and set a release date for TGE..
so, the serial numbers do reflect the actual plan... chronologically, what was supposed to be released when..
shortly after TGE was planned to be released on warner bros., prince shose to release EXODUS on edel, the german label that handled the "the most beautiful girl in the world" single release, and maxi-single'

.

The discussions WRT the WBR release of Exodus were after that album was released in Europe. I think those rumors were mid-/late 95, with news of it not getting a release in early 96. Apparently there was a catalogue number: 4/2-45937.

.

[Edited 10/4/16 13:47pm]

SquirrelMeat said:

Noodled24 said:

I'd stress that he isn't really singing angrily. But some of the lyrics clearly come from his anger and frustration with the industry & fame.

Interestingly PrinceVault says the "working title" for TGE was simply "The Gold Album" (like The Black Album).

Thats right it was. It was referred to as The Gold Album in mid 94 when it was being tee'd up to be an independent release through Tommyboy/East/West later that year. I think the first time I saw it referred to as 'The Gold Experience' was the October negative Prince press release and NPG Store flyer, with the track listing then including 'Days Of Wild' and the 'release date....never!' strap line.

This was Prince throwing his toys out of the pram when WB said the independent release would not count towards his main contract.

.

Warners would have never allowed him to release a full album independently. TMBGITW was an exception, and his future plans to release more singles were crossed when WBR objected to that, hence the never-ending series of TMBGITW remixes etc.

BartVanHemelen said:

.

So? Since when is that a good source?

Since they interviewed the people who were there. They've spoken to Alan, Sonny, Michael... AFAIK you haven't.

.
"Exodus" was an NPG release. I can't see the Warner brand anywhere on the album.

.

Which part of "supposed" is hard to comprehend? Oh, and you might wanna look at your copy of TGE and notice the record label logos.

Sigh. (and TGE was NPG/WB)
https://princevault.com/index.php?title=Album:_The_Gold_Experience

[Edited 10/4/16 13:59pm]

BartVanHemelen said:

SquirrelMeat said:

Thats right it was. It was referred to as The Gold Album in mid 94 when it was being tee'd up to be an independent release through Tommyboy/East/West later that year. I think the first time I saw it referred to as 'The Gold Experience' was the October negative Prince press release and NPG Store flyer, with the track listing then including 'Days Of Wild' and the 'release date....never!' strap line.

This was Prince throwing his toys out of the pram when WB said the independent release would not count towards his main contract.

.

Warners would have never allowed him to release a full album independently. TMBGITW was an exception, and his future plans to release more singles were crossed when WBR objected to that, hence the never-ending series of TMBGITW remixes etc.

The Prince/Warner feud wasn't completely one sided.

They didn't want to put out Come/Gold because it was too much. But the same year they released Come, they also released The Black Album. Which was a big fuck you to Prince who'd spent all of 1994 promoting the material on "The Gold Album".

BartVanHemelen said:

MickyDolenz said:

AlgeriaTouchshreek said:

Chiswick!!!!

"Fresh Horses!!!" - sorry, saw Garth Brooks album title there and immediately quoted Brian Blessed from Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.

SquirrelMeat said:

Thats right it was. It was referred to as The Gold Album in mid 94 when it was being tee'd up to be an independent release through Tommyboy/East/West later that year. I think the first time I saw it referred to as 'The Gold Experience' was the October negative Prince press release and NPG Store flyer, with the track listing then including 'Days Of Wild' and the 'release date....never!' strap line.

I remember that flyer I was a subscriber to the Prince Family newsletter back then and when that flyer was released,a letter-writing campaign was started.Fans were encouraged to send letters to Warners,demanding that they release the album or allow Prince to release it independently.Those were crazy times! No one knew when,or even if,this album would ever be released.

I think Prince should have stuck with the "Gold Album" title.I love the album but I think 'The Gold Experience' is a corny title for an album.

BartVanHemelen said:

SquirrelMeat said:

Thats right it was. It was referred to as The Gold Album in mid 94 when it was being tee'd up to be an independent release through Tommyboy/East/West later that year. I think the first time I saw it referred to as 'The Gold Experience' was the October negative Prince press release and NPG Store flyer, with the track listing then including 'Days Of Wild' and the 'release date....never!' strap line.

This was Prince throwing his toys out of the pram when WB said the independent release would not count towards his main contract.

.

Warners would have never allowed him to release a full album independently. TMBGITW was an exception, and his future plans to release more singles were crossed when WBR objected to that, hence the never-ending series of TMBGITW remixes etc.

I agree it was unlikely to happen, but following the independent success of TMBGITW, I believe (and several book sources hint at it too) that he asked Mo to push the deal further to get 'Gold' released independently. It would tie in with his twisted logic that Symbol releases were outside of WB and fitted with his rejected twin Come/Gold plan.

It would also make sense in regards to why Prince pulled the Gold/Black/WB soundtrack deal in late 94, that was going to count towards 2 of his WB contractual commitments. He had Tommyboy lined up, and thought Mo was going to deliver and it fell through.

That lead to the proper war from Oct 94; Slave, 'Release date never', Dolphin on Letterman, Exodus and the mass promotion, and the Ulimate Live Experience Tour, before Londell brokered the final deal in 95.

Only time will tell. The book and princevault material is vague and in places, contradictory.

Noodled24 said:

The Prince/Warner feud wasn't completely one sided.

They didn't want to put out Come/Gold because it was too much.

.

Among other things, yeah. Why would they release two albums, one of them clearly one that Prince would not promote, at the same time, adding to an already bloated discography, shortly after the disappointing sales of The Hits?

.

But the same year they released Come, they also released The Black Album. Which was a big fuck you to Prince who'd spent all of 1994 promoting the material on "The Gold Album".

.

TBA was the leftover of a deal that included TGE.

BartVanHemelen said:

Noodled24 said:

The Prince/Warner feud wasn't completely one sided.

They didn't want to put out Come/Gold because it was too much.

.

Among other things, yeah. Why would they release two albums, one of them clearly one that Prince would not promote, at the same time, adding to an already bloated discography, shortly after the disappointing sales of The Hits?

They did release two albums. Come & TBA. Both of which Prince didn't promote.

So their choice was one album he will promote and one he wont. OR two albums he wont. They opted for the latter.

But the same year they released Come, they also released The Black Album. Which was a big fuck you to Prince who'd spent all of 1994 promoting the material on "The Gold Album".

.

TBA was the leftover of a deal that included TGE.

Yes... Which is odd that given they'd told Prince two albums a year was just too much... they then released two albums in 1994 Come & TBA.

Noodled24 said:

Yes... Which is odd that given they'd told Prince two albums a year was just too much... they then released two albums in 1994 Come & TBA.

.

Yeah, crazy how the record company thought they might make some money by releasing something in time for Christmas: a legendary, much-bootlegged album.

.

They didn't plan this. Shit just happened.

BartVanHemelen said:

Noodled24 said:

Yes... Which is odd that given they'd told Prince two albums a year was just too much... they then released two albums in 1994 Come & TBA.

.

Yeah, crazy how the record company thought they might make some money by releasing something in time for Christmas: a legendary, much-bootlegged album.

.

They didn't plan this. Shit just happened.

Yeah... releasing an album every Prince fan already had a copy of. Genius.

I'm not saying they planned it (although logistically speaking they actually did). What I am saying is had they let Prince get on with doing his thing, WBR would have released "Come" which they did anyway. They'd have also had the much more accessible and radio friendly "Gold Experience" which Prince was actively promoting at every opportunity. Within that scenario, all they needed was for the "Come" album to break even.

Instead they were taking out adverts in Billboard mocking their own artist.

TL:DR The feud wasn't completely one sided.

[Edited 10/5/16 10:54am]

ThePanther said:

I was surprised to note the failure of 'Gold' on both the US mainstream and R&B charts! It reached a dismal #88 on the US charts, and fared even worse on the R&B chart.

.

Given Prince's P.R. issues that was starting at the time, his oversaturation of the market, and the rise of slow-jam R&B and mainstream hip-hop, I'm not surprised that 'Gold' wasn't a huge #1 or whatever, but I would have expected it to get some radio/MTV support (it had a glossy, easily digestible video) being that it was such an obviously strong song with easy hooks and a fairly maintream sound. It came out only a year after 'The Most Beautiful Girl...' had been an international smash, too.

.

It was a top-10 in the UK and top-20 in some European markets, which would seem to me to have been a logical chart-placing in the US, too. But instead it completely flopped. Why?

No promotion in the U.S.

PurpleColossus said:

I'm surprised Gold wasn't as big as Purple Rain. It's just as great as Purple Rain is...for me atleast.

I'm from Minneapolis. I saw Prince do Gold songs at Paisley back before the record was released. I actually bought the record at the NPG store in Uptown... That said, 'Gold" aint no Purple Rain. Pussy Control and Shh are fun songs, but... I honestly don't understand why the contigent of fans that think Gold is a masterpiece. To me it was another 90s dissapointment. I've never loved it, and I'm not surprised it didn't go as far as his other work.

Come was an infinitely better record if you ask me.