I am giving Emancipation a listen after many years... I think it would of been more tolerable if the songs weren't so damn long.... There are 24 songs over 4 mins 30 sec and most of them way to drawn out... I found myself skipping to the next track... Anyone else feeling the same?

macaylasdad said:

I am giving Emancipation a listen after many years... I think it would of been more tolerable if the songs weren't so damn long.... There are 24 songs over 4 mins 30 sec and most of them way to drawn out... I found myself skipping to the next track... Anyone else feeling the same?

Since day one.

I love this album but also skip all over the place when I listen to it.

The songs I don't like go on too long. The songs I do like, could go on longer.

I did a little creative editing years ago to shorten some of the songs. You can kinda hear where a lot of songs are supposed to naturally end, and where they were extended for the heck of it. Not every single one, but a decent handful.

Disk 1 is always nice on shuffle.

MattyJam said:

Yeah, it's obvious that some tracks are extended simply to bring the running time of each disc to exactly one hour. Kinda lame. Would rather the songs finish when they're meant to, I can just picture Prince looking at the running time of disc one and thinking "hmmm, what song could do with a latin breakdown section?".
[Edited 4/6/20 11:27am]

macaylasdad said:

MattyJam said:

Yeah, it's obvious that some tracks are extended simply to bring the running time of each disc to exactly one hour. Kinda lame. Would rather the songs finish when they're meant to, I can just picture Prince looking at the running time of disc one and thinking "hmmm, what song could do with a latin breakdown section?". [Edited 4/6/20 11:27am]

I hear that, he should of cut out that “dead” time and just added another song. [Edited 4/6/20 20:41pm]

But then he'd mess up his his 12 / 12 / 12 homogeny. You can't bust up the 12 / 12 / 12 in the name of maintaining the 60 / 60 / 60.

*Sigh* the armchair pop-song editors...

>

If y'all were getting off your seat and dancing, you probably might enjoy it, but instead, we hear "oh, there's so much music--too much music!"

Germanegro said:

*Sigh* the armchair pop-song editors...

>

If y'all were getting off your seat and dancing, you probably might enjoy it, but instead, we hear "oh, there's so much music--too much music!"

my days are dancing have been long over, especially if i had to dance to Sleep Around for the full but unneccessary 7 mins 42 secs...

macaylasdad said:

"People say 'you make too much music'! People say 'you can't keep up'! Well, I am under the impression that I make JUST enough music, and I am under the impression can't nobody keep it up like you." - Prince

MattyJam said:

macaylasdad said:

my days are dancing have been long over, especially if i had to dance to Sleep Around for the full but unneccessary 7 mins 42 secs...

Oh God, that one is insufferable. Definitely one of the worst culprits.

It wouldn't be so bad if the discs were scaled back in length like 1999 Deluxe (disc 2), that also has long drawn out songs like 1999 went from 6 mins to 3 mins 30 secs... perfect length! Automatic was 9 mins 26 sec to 3 mins 40 sec.... Emancipation could uset type of treatment. IMO.

Yeah I agree, there seems to be quite a few 'stretched' out tracks on Emancipation. For me, I don't think having shorter length tracks would change my overall opinion on the album. Emancipation is a bit of a roller coaster album in terms of song quality. I wouldn't want The Holy River (my favorite song on the album) shortened though...Even at nearly 7 minutes long, it's such a incredible, well crafted song, it works perfectly.

PurpleColossus said:

Yeah I agree, there seems to be quite a few 'stretched' out tracks on Emancipation. For me, I don't think having shorter length tracks would change my overall opinion on the album. Emancipation is a bit of a roller coaster album in terms of song quality. I wouldn't want The Holy River (my favorite song on the album) shortened though...Even at nearly 7 minutes long, it's such a incredible, well crafted song, it works perfectly.

Yes, agree on The Holy River. Even though it's possible the guitar solo was tagged on later to extend it, I think it works well.

.

Another longer track that is in the minority and is fine IMO is Joint 2 Joint

dodger said:

I’ve always wondered what a 1 disc Emancipation would look like...

dodger, this is stylishly underplayed …

which, of course, is the only good way to play Emancipation.

There is no "issue" with Emancipation, seeing as it was released the way that Prince wanted it to be released; three discs, three hours, 36 songs.

The only issue is that art is subjective, and that's not an issue, it's just the way life is.

Not everything needs to be your cup of tea, and you don't have to piss in anyone else's cup.

PurpleColossus said:

Yeah I agree, there seems to be quite a few 'stretched' out tracks on Emancipation. For me, I don't think having shorter length tracks would change my overall opinion on the album. Emancipation is a bit of a roller coaster album in terms of song quality. I wouldn't want The Holy River (my favorite song on the album) shortened though...Even at nearly 7 minutes long, it's such a incredible, well crafted song, it works perfectly.

It's a great song, love it.

At 180 minutes with 36 tracks, Emancipation's songs average out to exactly 5 minutes. 1999's tracks average out to over 6 minutes apiece and the album is also built around programmed beats. But 1999 is short by double LP standards, and Emancipation could only be squeezed onto 4 LPs with some nifty engineering. In the era before CDs, Emancipation wouldn't be a triple album, it would be an extra long quadruple album. This isn't a complaint, but an observation.

TheBigBang said:

There is no "issue" with Emancipation, seeing as it was released the way that Prince wanted it to be released; three discs, three hours, 36 songs.

The only issue is that art is subjective, and that's not an issue, it's just the way life is.

Not everything needs to be your cup of tea, and you don't have to piss in anyone else's cup.

.

If the OP has an issue with it than yes, there is an issue - it's his/her issue and he/she felt like discussing it.

.

And if people didn't share their own issues/opinions about anything, there would never be a discussion worth having.

.

So I'll add to the piss in the cup by saying "Emancipation" is one of the very bottom-rung albums Prince ever released - and while I agree with the OP I go even further to say very few of the 36 tracks really merited public scrutiny in the first place.

.

It's a bloated indulgence of an album that really is the line that divides his career in two. It set an absolutely horrible precedent in terms of production style that dogged most of his work until the very end.

CAL3 said:

TheBigBang said:

There is no "issue" with Emancipation, seeing as it was released the way that Prince wanted it to be released; three discs, three hours, 36 songs.

The only issue is that art is subjective, and that's not an issue, it's just the way life is.

Not everything needs to be your cup of tea, and you don't have to piss in anyone else's cup.

.

If the OP has an issue with it than yes, there is an issue - it's his/her issue and he/she felt like discussing it.

.

And if people didn't share their own issues/opinions about anything, there would never be a discussion worth having.

.

So I'll add to the piss in the cup by saying "Emancipation" is one of the very bottom-rung albums Prince ever released - and while I agree with the OP I go even further to say very few of the 36 tracks really merited public scrutiny in the first place.

.

It's a bloated indulgence of an album that really is the line that divides his career in two. It set an absolutely horrible precedent in terms of production style that dogged most of his work until the very end.

CAL3 is speaking truths! PEREFECTLY stated!

TrivialPursuit said:

I did a little creative editing years ago to shorten some of the songs. You can kinda hear where a lot of songs are supposed to naturally end, and where they were extended for the heck of it. Not every single one, but a decent handful.

Disk 1 is always nice on shuffle.

Trivs that would be amazing! I don't hate Emancipation i just feel Prince could of trimmed that "fat" of the length of some of the songs. That's all. The album will be remembered for the quality of the music not for the novelty of being 12 songs per disc, exactly one hour in length.

TheBigBang said:

There is no "issue" with Emancipation, seeing as it was released the way that Prince wanted it to be released; three discs, three hours, 36 songs.

The only issue is that art is subjective, and that's not an issue, it's just the way life is.

Not everything needs to be your cup of tea, and you don't have to piss in anyone else's cup.

Doesn't need to be my cup of tea and if I want to piss in my own cup, I will. You can't tell me you enjoy these drawn out songs? Again, I don't dislike Emancipation, the album is ok. Not great. Not terrible. The three discs, three hours, 36 songs was a novelty to Prince, I rather he said here are 36 songs and enjoy, If it was 2 hours in length I would of been satisfied. It was too drawn out IMO.

macaylasdad said:

I am giving Emancipation a listen after many years... I think it would of been more tolerable if the songs weren't so damn long.... There are 24 songs over 4 mins 30 sec and most of them way to drawn out... I found myself skipping to the next track... Anyone else feeling the same?

.

You show signs of millennial-type behaviour:

reduced attention span.

That is not an issue related to the CD but it is related to the person complaining.

If 4.5 minutes are a problem, then what about real music?

udo said:

macaylasdad said:

I am giving Emancipation a listen after many years... I think it would of been more tolerable if the songs weren't so damn long.... There are 24 songs over 4 mins 30 sec and most of them way to drawn out... I found myself skipping to the next track... Anyone else feeling the same?

.

You show signs of millennial-type behaviour:

reduced attention span.

That is not an issue related to the CD but it is related to the person complaining.

If 4.5 minutes are a problem, then what about real music?

No sir....i am a Gen X product, give me what I need and I will do what needs to be done. As far as "real" music is concerned. The most covered song in history is a song called "Yesterday"...over 2000 covers of the song that came in JUST over 2 mins 03 seconds...btw the group was the Beatles. I don't think there will be over 2000 covers of Sleep Around, Style or Joint 2 Joint of that "real" music you're speaking of.. Just sayin.

[Edited 4/9/20 12:33pm]

Germanegro said:

I believe that there are no "too long songs." > The only case to be made for such is where completely repetative notes extend throughout, where melody is the objective, and even that can be a subjective measure, right? I am sorry but not sorry that none will convince me that this is ever the case for any song in the Emancipation collection. > Yes, long songs exist. Especially the ones that a listener does not favor. > IMO shortening an Emancipation song is akin to artistic trespassing and censorship! Armchair editors, please stand down.

Love your point of view.