darlingnikkkki said:

It was 3 CDs too long for me. Given the circumstances in his life that time, the timing of the release was awful and should have been delayed to allow grieving for his son. Rewatching that Oprah interview during that time to promote the album makes me sad. Ultimately led to the demise of his marriage.

Sometimes the best music is born from trauma. At any rate, all of Prince's music is experience translated to sound, this time period is no different. There was really nothing else he could have done, he had to get the music out of him. CD2 specifically I believe has some of the most beautiful love songs he has ever done.

NO.

not for me, some have said that he could have culled one great album out of the three disks, but i liked it just the way it was and prince made a good amount off of it even though it didn't sell like hotcakes. He was pioneering in a way that got him called all kinds of names in those days but in many ways, he was right to do things that way. minus some of the antics, it was all good.

leadline said:

darlingnikkkki said:

It was 3 CDs too long for me. Given the circumstances in his life that time, the timing of the release was awful and should have been delayed to allow grieving for his son. Rewatching that Oprah interview during that time to promote the album makes me sad. Ultimately led to the demise of his marriage.

Sometimes the best music is born from trauma. At any rate, all of Prince's music is experience translated to sound, this time period is no different. There was really nothing else he could have done, he had to get the music out of him. CD2 specifically I believe has some of the most beautiful love songs he has ever done.

i love cd 2, out of the three, that's the best, style and joint to joint as well as the love songs, dude never ceased blowing my mind in those years, can't speak for anyone else.

leadline said:

darlingnikkkki said:

It was 3 CDs too long for me. Given the circumstances in his life that time, the timing of the release was awful and should have been delayed to allow grieving for his son. Rewatching that Oprah interview during that time to promote the album makes me sad. Ultimately led to the demise of his marriage.

Sometimes the best music is born from trauma. At any rate, all of Prince's music is experience translated to sound, this time period is no different. There was really nothing else he could have done, he had to get the music out of him. CD2 specifically I believe has some of the most beautiful love songs he has ever done.

This music wasn't born from trauma, those events happened during the promotion and run up to its release. As darlingnikkkki says, I think going full steam ahead with the album had a detrimental knock-on effect to his life and career. In the end EMI tanked any way and the whole project was cut short, which may have come as somewhat of a relief for Prince for those personal reasons, but also professionally. I remember at the time he was bigging it up as 18 singles (or whatever the figure was) and a years long project. Now we all know Prince would've got bored and/or sabotaged it far before any such goals were achieved. So one way or another, the project was never going to live up to the hype. That's all promotionally speaking of course, not musically. I agree CD2 has several tender and touching moments that show his happiness and positive attitude at that time.

NouveauDance said:

leadline said:

Sometimes the best music is born from trauma. At any rate, all of Prince's music is experience translated to sound, this time period is no different. There was really nothing else he could have done, he had to get the music out of him. CD2 specifically I believe has some of the most beautiful love songs he has ever done.

This music wasn't born from trauma, those events happened during the promotion and run up to its release. As darlingnikkkki says, I think going full steam ahead with the album had a detrimental knock-on effect to his life and career. In the end EMI tanked any way and the whole project was cut short, which may have come as somewhat of a relief for Prince for those personal reasons, but also professionally. I remember at the time he was bigging it up as 18 singles (or whatever the figure was) and a years long project. Now we all know Prince would've got bored and/or sabotaged it far before any such goals were achieved. So one way or another, the project was never going to live up to the hype. That's all promotionally speaking of course, not musically. I agree CD2 has several tender and touching moments that show his happiness and positive attitude at that time.

why did emi tank? prince, for a guy who wanted to sell well sometimes just did some stupid shit, he was always cutting things short like that. At that point, it was probably ok, he wasn't having it easy with the kid's death and the pretending things were a-ok struck everyone as bizarre. Today we know it was one of the great losses of his life, but then, he was right, it wasn't our business.

It's a fantastic album, I wouldn't change any of it.

PeteSilas said:

NouveauDance said:

This music wasn't born from trauma, those events happened during the promotion and run up to its release. As darlingnikkkki says, I think going full steam ahead with the album had a detrimental knock-on effect to his life and career. In the end EMI tanked any way and the whole project was cut short, which may have come as somewhat of a relief for Prince for those personal reasons, but also professionally. I remember at the time he was bigging it up as 18 singles (or whatever the figure was) and a years long project. Now we all know Prince would've got bored and/or sabotaged it far before any such goals were achieved. So one way or another, the project was never going to live up to the hype. That's all promotionally speaking of course, not musically. I agree CD2 has several tender and touching moments that show his happiness and positive attitude at that time.

why did emi tank? prince, for a guy who wanted to sell well sometimes just did some stupid shit, he was always cutting things short like that. At that point, it was probably ok, he wasn't having it easy with the kid's death and the pretending things were a-ok struck everyone as bizarre. Today we know it was one of the great losses of his life, but then, he was right, it wasn't our business.

I dont think he was pretending everything was OK. Oprah asked him about his family, he said it exists, which is true, son alive or gone, his family does exist. We all have different ways we deal with stuff, that was just Prince's way.

CherryMoon57 said:

It's a fantastic album, I wouldn't change any of it.

Agree - it is an amazing album.


The Love We Make

Holy River

Joint 2 Joint

Betcha By Golly Wow

Let's Have A Baby

Just amazing stuff on there.

jesus people, it was one cd too short


DISC 4:


2020: I'm A DJ
Feel Good
(If It Ain't) GutBucket
Slave 2 The System
Van Gogh
Love (Never Has 2 Say Goodbye)
Muhammed Ali
Stone
Heart In My Hand
Journey 2 the Center Of Ur Heart
With God As My Witness
She Gave Her Angels



etc etc.


why take bring it down to a single disc. i say, slap another disc onto it

I am remember being really excited when this came out, then I listened to it and i was highly disappointed.... I felt da-da-da, joint 2 joint, my computer, emale, slave, human body all could of been left off. A very unbalanced album.

[Edited 6/30/19 19:42pm]

NouveauDance said:

I think SOTT benefited from being cut down to a double LP. Although the whole of Crystal Ball was largely on par with what was released, in my opinion focusing it down only improved it as an album, giving it a clearer focal point (the title track) and tightening it up overall.

.

People have been making 1CD versions of Emancipation since 1996. We all have our own versions, and it definately could use a go with the weed whacker - but in the end I think all you end up with are the better songs on an overall disappointing set. The production, mixing and instrumentation would be the same and that's where the biggest problems lie. A single CD Emancipation is a Musicology, 3121 type album - nice, inoffensive R&B/pop with little sonic interest. I do think the better songs on Emancipation do have stronger songwriting than the similar pop albums that followed though, they're just let down by that anodyne production.

^^^100% this.

Of course?

It is what it is though.

[Edited 7/1/19 0:07am]

NouveauDance said:

I think SOTT benefited from being cut down to a double LP. Although the whole of Crystal Ball was largely on par with what was released, in my opinion focusing it down only improved it as an album, giving it a clearer focal point (the title track) and tightening it up overall.

.

People have been making 1CD versions of Emancipation since 1996. We all have our own versions, and it definately could use a go with the weed whacker - but in the end I think all you end up with are the better songs on an overall disappointing set. The production, mixing and instrumentation would be the same and that's where the biggest problems lie. A single CD Emancipation is a Musicology, 3121 type album - nice, inoffensive R&B/pop with little sonic interest. I do think the better songs on Emancipation do have stronger songwriting than the similar pop albums that followed though, they're just let down by that anodyne production.

100%. While there are undoubtedly some dodgy tracks on SOTT, and some far, far superior ones left in the Vault, I think SOTT ties together pretty well. The title track being front and center is such a big part of that

PeteSilas said:

why did emi tank? prince, for a guy who wanted to sell well sometimes just did some stupid shit, he was always cutting things short like that.

I don't recall the intricacies, I'm sure someone will reply with the accurate info but basically EMI went under. Wikipedia says it was folded in to Virgin Records in 1997. This is why the promotion stopped just as Face Down was being readied to be a commercial single (TV performances, video and promotional singles).

The idea that any Prince album is too long is a sacrilege.

I remember "liking" to "really liking" Emancipation when it came out. I did not "love" it as I had with Come/Gold/Chaos in the short time leading up to Emancipation.

I grew to love certain songs over time, and still only really like or like most of the songs. Some of the songs are kind of "meh" -- like Da, Da, Da and My Computer, and The Plan.

This Emancipation debate eventually pops up every so often. Everyone has their definitive 1-disc or 2-disc versions. I don't mind 3 discs, but THIS album, coming after a long-hard-fought battle with WB, had to be ironclad. It wasn't ironclad.

In 2019 we should be talking 8CD outtakes sessions/deluxe editions, not 1CD reductions.

Genesia said:

The idea that any Prince album is too long is a sacrilege.

OK listen, I will forever stand by the Tony M. edits I did on Diamonds and Pearls and albums. that's less, and I'm okay with it.

TrivialPursuit said:

Genesia said:

The idea that any Prince album is too long is a sacrilege.

OK listen, I will forever stand by the Tony M. edits I did on Diamonds and Pearls and albums. that's less, and I'm okay with it.

I solved that one by almost never listening to those albums.

Genesia said:

TrivialPursuit said:

OK listen, I will forever stand by the Tony M. edits I did on Diamonds and Pearls and albums. that's less, and I'm okay with it.

I solved that one by almost never listening to those albums.

I loved the latter more than the former. But when I took that joker out, they really were totally different listens.

I once tried to put together a one-disc Emancipation that was basically just all the uptempo tracks and one or two of the more radio-friendly slower ones (eg. Somebody's Somebody).

I always feel like it's missing the point to try to edit it, though. It's an overgrown ugly duckling of an album - that's part of its character, really. But at least that means it's an album you can really get lost in, to an extent.

I always thought the fact that Emancipation was 3 discs was Prince's final "neener neener" to WB, "I always wanted to release a 3-disc album, but you wouldn't let me. So this is what I'm doing, now that I'm free."

TrivialPursuit said:

Genesia said:

I solved that one by almost never listening to those albums.

I loved the latter more than the former. But when I took that joker out, they really were totally different listens.

Trivs, your edits of D&P is what needs the official release! Tony M (i am sure is a nice guy) had no place on ANY Prince albums!

Genesia said:

I always thought the fact that Emancipation was 3 discs was Prince's final "neener neener" to WB, "I always wanted to release a 3-disc album, but you wouldn't let me. So this is what I'm doing, now that I'm free."

I've thought of that, too.

IstenSzek said:

jesus people, it was one cd too short


DISC 4:


2020: I'm A DJ
Feel Good
(If It Ain't) GutBucket
Slave 2 The System
Van Gogh
Love (Never Has 2 Say Goodbye)
Muhammed Ali
Stone
Heart In My Hand
Journey 2 the Center Of Ur Heart
With God As My Witness
She Gave Her Angels



etc etc.


why take bring it down to a single disc. i say, slap another disc onto it

jusr release it with 51 songs he originally said it was to have

2 cds too short. Great album.

VaultCurator said:

Sorry. I'm embarrassed now.

I'll try my best to stop being a noob from now on.

Don't be embarrassed.

Yes its been raised before, but everyone still hasn't come round to accepting my cut is the definative single disc

1. Jam of Year

2. Right Back Here in My Arms

3. Somebody's Somebody

4. Damned If Eye Do
5. In This Bed I Eye Scream

6. Joint 2 Joint

7. The Holy River

8. Saviour
9. New World

10. Style

11. My Computer

12. The Love We Make

has anyone ever heard the original version of the song Emancipation with the completely different lyrics?