I read about half the posts on the thread, then I got bored and had to say something. Yes it is too long and theres a lot of filler, but when it came out in late 96 after Chaos and Disorder and all of this Symbol/WB barney nonsense, it felt like an Oasis and it was great to hear him making music again, 36 songs out of nowhere, it was a bonanza and fortunately there was enough here to prove he was still a complete genius.

.

Like many of you say, the best 10 - 12 songs are Purple Rain quality, the least 5 are not worthy of Bsides to NPS or Goldnigga. I think there were a few flaws in the album overrall and they are.

1. This obsession with an exact length of 60 mins per disc, led to some songs being extended and added with some extra garnishings (The screaming in Saviour for example).

2. The plastic sound was creeping in with a lot of crappy autotune and electrical noise on some tracks (The 3 Madonna style B side cuts on Disc 3)

3. He was in love, which was great, but some of the songs were way too saccharine - Friend, mother sister, wife etc. And the ballads are almost unlistenable

4. The rapping - all of it was atrocious - Prince was never a good rapper, but the rapping by Scrap D and 99 makes Tony M look like Ice Cube.

.

Still these 12 songs are Godlike (No order)

.

1. Somebody's somebody

2. One Kiss at a time

3. Soul Sancutary

4. The Holy River

5. One of us

6. White Mansion

7. In this Bed I scream

8. The Love we make

9. Sleep Around

10. Damned if I do

11. My Computer

12. Sex in the Summer

Was never going to live up the the pre-release hype.

A man whose widely circulating outtakes were better than most other acts 'best' material goes on a media blitz proclaiming he just wants to give the fans all his music. The label is stopping him. They can't keep up.

Protesting with a name change.

Then we hear the first release is THREE DISCS. Wow. Indrecidle. It's really happening!!!

Then it actually hits stores and... your milage may vary.

I find it funny how often the people that contribute to these threads by claiming that their own "12-track configuration" would have been "a classic" have no clue how to put together a cohesive record. I remember one that had 9-10 ballads on it and a few completely different type of tracks like "Face Down" at the end.

Another common, weird fixation by the orgers commenting on Emancipation is that they think the slimmed down version of the album should have contained exactly 12 tracks, like each individual disc on the actual release did. There's easily room for 15-18 full songs on a CD, and there's definitely more than just 12 songs "worth releasing" on Emancipation.

IstenSzek said:

peedub said:

206Michelle said:

peedub said:

any configuration of 'emancipation' that does not include 'sex in the summer' and 'friend, lover, sister, mother/wife' is just dumb.

I agree.

I disagree FLSMW is way too soppy by half and easily one of the worst songs he ever wrote, it is up there with Face Down and Da da da with me.

Adorecream said:

206Michelle said:

peedub said: I agree.

I disagree FLSMW is way too soppy by half and easily one of the worst songs he ever wrote, it is up there with Face Down and Da da da with me.

I think that FMSLW is very heart-felt. It is sappy, but it's genuine and from-the-heart. He holds nothing back in that song regarding his love for Mayte. I believe that it was the first-dance song at he and Mayte's wedding.

FMSLW can be sappy all it wants.
It has one of his most exceptional vocals ever.

I think Emancipation has three acts.
In Disc 1, we still have Prince who has the usual doubts about love commitments and the advantages of celibacy,
In Disc 2, a falling in love leaves place to intimacy, and eventually baby-making,
in Disc 3, the child is born and it's about the world he's going to grow up into.

Maybe it's not the exact original intent, but I find it has this kind of pace.

IstenSzek said:

bonatoc said:

One Kiss at a Time is absolutely GORGEOUS! Yes, the production is a little dated, very 90s, but my goodness, 's vocals are magnificent and full of emotion.

As an album it sucks. And it ushered in a new sterile, plastic, lead-footed sound that would dominate his output for the rest of his life.

.

Yes there are individual songs that stand out as good (maybe great, in a few instances) but no two fans seem to agree on which those are.

.

But even MOST of those best moments (never agreed upon by any two individuals) are hampered by truly dire production.

.

A three-hour album during which Prince's arranging brilliance all but evaporates before I very ears - and would never, ever return in FULL force.

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Here's the breakdown, as I see it:

.

UTTER WASTES OF TIME:

"Betcha By Golly Wow"

"We Gets Up"

"White Mansion"

"I Can't Make You Love Me"

"Mr. Happy"

"The Plan"

"La, la, la Means I Love You"

"Style"

"Da Da Da"

"One of Us"

.

BORING BUT INOFFENSIVE:

Right Back Here In My Arms

Courtin' Time

Sex In the Summer

Emale

Curious Child

Dreamin about U

The Human Body

Face Down

Emancipation

.

GOOD BUT INESSENTIAL:

Jam of the Year

Somebody's Somebody

Get Yo Groove On

Damned If I Do

In This Bed I Scream

One Kiss at a Time

Joint 2 Joint

Slave

New World

Sleep Around

My Computer

.

BITCHIN'-ASS REMINDERS OF PRINCE'S GREATNESS:

Soul Sanctuary

Holy River

Let's Have a Baby

Saviour

Friend Love Sister Mother Wife

The Love We Make

There's no need to defend Emancipation, it's a excellant record. PLenty of good tunes for those willing to patiently listen.

BalladofPeterParker said:

There's no need to defend Emancipation, it's a excellant record. PLenty of good tunes for those willing to patiently listen.

.

Lord have mercy, was I ever patient with that album.

.

I listened, and listened, and listened, until I was CONVINCED it was a good record.

.

It ain't.

CAL3 said:

BalladofPeterParker said:

There's no need to defend Emancipation, it's a excellant record. PLenty of good tunes for those willing to patiently listen.

.

Lord have mercy, was I ever patient with that album.

.

I listened, and listened, and listened, until I was CONVINCED it was a good record.

.

It ain't.

Maybe it's your ears

CAL3 said:

As an album it sucks. And it ushered in a new sterile, plastic, lead-footed sound that would dominate his output for the rest of his life.

.

Yes there are individual songs that stand out as good (maybe great, in a few instances) but no two fans seem to agree on which those are.

.

But even MOST of those best moments (never agreed upon by any two individuals) are hampered by truly dire production.

.

A three-hour album during which Prince's arranging brilliance all but evaporates before I very ears - and would never, ever return in FULL force.

.

Here's the breakdown, as I see it:

.

UTTER WASTES OF TIME:

"Betcha By Golly Wow"

"We Gets Up"

"White Mansion"

"I Can't Make You Love Me"

"Mr. Happy"

"The Plan"

"La, la, la Means I Love You"

"Style"

"Da Da Da"

"One of Us"

.

BORING BUT INOFFENSIVE:

Right Back Here In My Arms

Courtin' Time

Sex In the Summer

Emale

Curious Child

Dreamin about U

The Human Body

Face Down

Emancipation

.

GOOD BUT INESSENTIAL:

Jam of the Year

Somebody's Somebody

Get Yo Groove On

Damned If I Do

In This Bed I Scream

One Kiss at a Time

Joint 2 Joint

Slave

New World

Sleep Around

My Computer

.

BITCHIN'-ASS REMINDERS OF PRINCE'S GREATNESS:

Soul Sanctuary

Holy River

Let's Have a Baby

Saviour

Friend Love Sister Mother Wife

The Love We Make

Emancipation is an INCONSISTENT, UNEVEN album. It has some brilliant songs, and some others that make one want to press the >> button. I agree with every song on your "reminders of greatness" list. I would also add "Sex in the Summer" to that list because of the uniqueness of the song, since it has his son's heartbeat on it. SITS is an important part of his musical canon because it expressed his joy of becoming a father (which, sadly, was short-lived). In Mayte's book, she wrote that convinced the doctor, over the phone, to sell him the heartbeat monitor. He must have offered the doctor a nice chunk of change.

MattyJam said:

206Michelle said:

Emancipation is an INCONSISTENT, UNEVEN album. It has some brilliant songs, and some others that make one want to press the >> button. I agree with every song on your "reminders of greatness" list. I would also add "Sex in the Summer" to that list because of the uniqueness of the song, since it has his son's heartbeat on it. SITS is an important part of his musical canon because it expressed his joy of becoming a father (which, sadly, was short-lived). In Mayte's book, she wrote that convinced the doctor, over the phone, to sell him the heartbeat monitor. He must have offered the doctor a nice chunk of change.

.

I hear you, I thought about bumping that song up one category. It has a nice, pleasant vibe. The heartbeat adds a layer of almost unbearable sadness. The song itself, in terms of melody and arrangement... eh... It's okay.

BalladofPeterParker said:

CAL3 said:

.

Lord have mercy, was I ever patient with that album.

.

I listened, and listened, and listened, until I was CONVINCED it was a good record.

.

It ain't.

Maybe it's your ears

.

Nah, if that was the case I wouldn't like any of his music!

.

It's the shitty production mostly. Also the lazy songwriting. And the lack of self-editing.

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And its overall legacy of being THE album that ushered in the era of Prince sounding... ORDINARY.

.

Even the weaker tracks on earlier albums were often redeemed by curveball production and arranging choices. The kinds of things that made him so inimitably Prince. And 'Emancipation' is so lacking in those elements it's depressing.