v10letblues said:

This album had been called as one that did not age well since just a few years after its release. It's not new that people are saying it has not aged well. It sounded quaint to a lot of folks upon it's release. And for me personally, it had nothing to do with the "sound" or "production", it was just plain cheesy.

.

The album has great elements on it for sure, but on the whole, collapse under the heavy cheese. Eye Hate U for example is musically amazing, especially the mix with Eric Leeds featured more prominently, it the aforementioned cheese on the album version make repeated listening sometimes unbearable.

In the 90's Prince started moving in a cheesy direction that. just felt off to a lot of long time fans. It's no coincidence that record sales and his cache as an artist started to diminish a bit.

.

Anyway, as much as I dislike this era, I always felt 90's era Prince deserves it's own book. There is a great story to be told. An artist going through growing pains and the changes in music trends and consumer preferences.

.

It's an interesting chapter in his life, especially as he came back in the the 2000's with a vengeance and blew everyone away all over again. Especially with his live shows.

[Edited 1/28/21 3:55am]

the 90s would be an amazing story, definitely. the story of an artist no longer at the top but trying to stay there is always fascinating.

agree about the cheese. endorphinmachine is a pretty cheesy retro-70s-ish rock song with dumb lyrics. if anything prince did get quite a bit dumber/sillier in the 90s. still hugely entertaining, but the brain wasnt being engaged like it was in the 80s. TMBGITW is a lovely song, but its cheesy AF, mostly cos of the big, generic production.

but it was after 2001 that his albums no longer meant much, it was just about the live shows. like most heritage acts like the stones, etc.

also true that come and gold sounded a bit dated already when they were released, like they were a year or two behind. emancipation didnt sound like that, but it sounded just a bit too current instead.

in terms of gold though, i think it would have been a better album if it was just:

interactive, endorphin, shhh, billy jack. dolphin, shy, eye hate u, gold.

[Edited 1/29/21 9:50am]

[Edited 1/29/21 9:51am]

What I mean is that Kiss is so inextricably connected to the pop imagery of the '80s that, even if it is sonically different from the all the other songs of the era, it contibuted to shape the sound of the '80s in a broader way, due to its peculiarity.

You cannot think about the '80s without Kiss, and cannot listen to Kiss without placing it in the context of that decade.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

v10letblues said:

This album had been called as one that did not age well since just a few years after its release. It's not new that people are saying it has not aged well. It sounded quaint to a lot of folks upon it's release. And for me personally, it had nothing to do with the "sound" or "production", it was just plain cheesy.

.

The album has great elements on it for sure, but on the whole, collapse under the heavy cheese. Eye Hate U for example is musically amazing, especially the mix with Eric Leeds featured more prominently, it the aforementioned cheese on the album version make repeated listening sometimes unbearable.

In the 90's Prince started moving in a cheesy direction that. just felt off to a lot of long time fans. It's no coincidence that record sales and his cache as an artist started to diminish a bit.

.

Anyway, as much as I dislike this era, I always felt 90's era Prince deserves it's own book. There is a great story to be told. An artist going through growing pains and the changes in music trends and consumer preferences.

.

It's an interesting chapter in his life, especially as he came back in the the 2000's with a vengeance and blew everyone away all over again. Especially with his live shows.

[Edited 1/28/21 3:55am]

the 90s would be an amazing story, definitely. the story of an artist no longer at the top but trying to stay there is always fascinating.

agree about the cheese. endorphinmachine is a pretty cheesy retro-70s-ish rock song with dumb lyrics. if anything prince did get quite a bit dumber/sillier in the 90s. still hugely entertaining, but the brain wasnt being engaged like it was in the 80s. TMBGITW is a lovely song, but its cheesy AF, mostly cos of the big, generic production.

but it was after 2001 that his albums no longer meant much, it was just about the live shows. like most heritage acts like the stones, etc.

also true that come and gold sounded a bit dated already when they were released, like they were a year or two behind. emancipation didnt sound like that, but it sounded just a bit too current instead.

in terms of gold though, i think it would have been a better album if it was just:

interactive, endorphin, shhh, billy jack. dolphin, shy, eye hate u, gold.

[Edited 1/29/21 9:50am]

[Edited 1/29/21 9:51am]

Ye for sure. It was mostly aboutb his amazing live performances, but there were a handful of really great tracks from this era also. But yes, mostly Prince showing the world he was a badass.

Genesia said:

I'm just here to thank you for spelling "annals" correctly.

I vaguely remember that we had a similar conversation ten years ago. Whoever was in charge of creating the Purple Rain album cover artwork wasn´t paying attention. It says "There´s this purple suspicion that lurks in the anals of my mind."

v10letblues said:

This album had been called as one that did not age well since just a few years after its release. It's not new that people are saying it has not aged well. It sounded quaint to a lot of folks upon it's release. And for me personally, it had nothing to do with the "sound" or "production", it was just plain cheesy.

.

The album has great elements on it for sure, but on the whole, collapse under the heavy cheese. Eye Hate U for example is musically amazing, especially the mix with Eric Leeds featured more prominently, it the aforementioned cheese on the album version make repeated listening sometimes unbearable.

In the 90's Prince started moving in a cheesy direction that. just felt off to a lot of long time fans. It's no coincidence that record sales and his cache as an artist started to diminish a bit.

.

Anyway, as much as I dislike this era, I always felt 90's era Prince deserves it's own book. There is a great story to be told. An artist going through growing pains and the changes in music trends and consumer preferences.

.

It's an interesting chapter in his life, especially as he came back in the the 2000's with a vengeance and blew everyone away all over again. Especially with his live shows.

[Edited 1/28/21 3:55am]

It's all a matter of perspective. Let's look at this term "cheesy". I assume you are using it to mean over the top, or obvious. Well shit, Prince's entire aesthetic is cheesy.

"International Lover" is cheesy. "Soft and Wet" is cheesy. "Condition of the Heart" is INCREDIBLY cheesy. Hell, the entire "Lovesexy" album can be accused of being overwraught and cheesy. Again, it simply depends upon your perspective.

Simply put, there is nothing on The Gold Experience that is inherently "more cheesy" than anything Prince had already done to that point.

We are acting like Prince was a master over subtlety and understatement in the 80's, when almost the exact opposite is true. He was one of the loudest, flashiest, explicit, over the top performers/musicians of that decade.

actually, i think TGE should have been sequenced like this:

side 1

dolphin

interactive

endorphin

shhh

side 2

billy jack

shy

eye hate u

gold

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

actually, i think TGE should have been sequenced like this:

side 1

dolphin

interactive

endorphin

shhh

side 2

billy jack

shy

eye hate u

gold

I quite like your tracklist. So you would completely get rid of Pussy Control and Now?

Acknowledge Me would be a good addition to your tracklist

KoolEaze said:

lurker316 said:

I certainly wouldn't call Emancipation a great song.

Not sure anyone would.

skywalker said:

v10letblues said:

This album had been called as one that did not age well since just a few years after its release. It's not new that people are saying it has not aged well. It sounded quaint to a lot of folks upon it's release. And for me personally, it had nothing to do with the "sound" or "production", it was just plain cheesy.

.

The album has great elements on it for sure, but on the whole, collapse under the heavy cheese. Eye Hate U for example is musically amazing, especially the mix with Eric Leeds featured more prominently, it the aforementioned cheese on the album version make repeated listening sometimes unbearable.

In the 90's Prince started moving in a cheesy direction that. just felt off to a lot of long time fans. It's no coincidence that record sales and his cache as an artist started to diminish a bit.

.

Anyway, as much as I dislike this era, I always felt 90's era Prince deserves it's own book. There is a great story to be told. An artist going through growing pains and the changes in music trends and consumer preferences.

.

It's an interesting chapter in his life, especially as he came back in the the 2000's with a vengeance and blew everyone away all over again. Especially with his live shows.

[Edited 1/28/21 3:55am]

It's all a matter of perspective. Let's look at this term "cheesy". I assume you are using it to mean over the top, or obvious. Well shit, Prince's entire aesthetic is cheesy.

"International Lover" is cheesy. "Soft and Wet" is cheesy. "Condition of the Heart" is INCREDIBLY cheesy. Hell, the entire "Lovesexy" album can be accused of being overwraught and cheesy. Again, it simply depends upon your perspective.

Simply put, there is nothing on The Gold Experience that is inherently "more cheesy" than anything Prince had already done to that point.

We are acting like Prince was a master over subtlety and understatement in the 80's, when almost the exact opposite is true. He was one of the loudest, flashiest, explicit, over the top performers/musicians of that decade.

For me, it's the cringe factor. A lot of Prince's music is playful and sometimes silly, but still charming. The 90's era tried too hard by chasing trends and dumbing down every aspect his music in ways that are certainly not charming, but cheesy and cringe-worthy. And to me a lot of TGE is very cheesy and cringe-worthy.

But of course it's just personal preference and subjective. Just my own 2 cents.

[Edited 1/30/21 9:15am]

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

No album with pussy control as its first song will ever be taken seriously I'm afraid.

I must be in the minority here but I freakin love P Control!

It's that stupid NPG Operator that hasn't aged well.

[Edited 1/30/21 11:33am]

DarkHorse77 said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

No album with pussy control as its first song will ever be taken seriously I'm afraid.

I must be in the minority here but I freakin love P Control!

It's that stupid NPG Operator that hasn't aged well.

[Edited 1/30/21 11:33am]

Same here. Even if I am one criticizing the cheese factor on this album, this one works for me becasue it is INTENDED to be way over the top and tongue in cheek and playful.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Sorry for not being born in the 1960s

Don't feed the trolls. It's like watching a rerun and expecting a different ending.

v10letblues said:

I became a fan in early '95 so I will always hold The Gold Experience in high regard, but I definitely feel that I now hold Come and Exodus in higher regard. Some albums get better with time, some don't.

v10letblues said:

skywalker said:

It's all a matter of perspective. Let's look at this term "cheesy". I assume you are using it to mean over the top, or obvious. Well shit, Prince's entire aesthetic is cheesy.

"International Lover" is cheesy. "Soft and Wet" is cheesy. "Condition of the Heart" is INCREDIBLY cheesy. Hell, the entire "Lovesexy" album can be accused of being overwraught and cheesy. Again, it simply depends upon your perspective.

Simply put, there is nothing on The Gold Experience that is inherently "more cheesy" than anything Prince had already done to that point.

We are acting like Prince was a master over subtlety and understatement in the 80's, when almost the exact opposite is true. He was one of the loudest, flashiest, explicit, over the top performers/musicians of that decade.

For me, it's the cringe factor. A lot of Prince's music is playful and sometimes silly, but still charming. The 90's era tried too hard by chasing trends and dumbing down every aspect his music in ways that are certainly not charming, but cheesy and cringe-worthy. And to me a lot of TGE is very cheesy and cringe-worthy.

But of course it's just personal preference and subjective. Just my own 2 cents.

[Edited 1/30/21 9:15am]

I guess it's just differenc strokes for different folks. For me, faux fake french accents and over indulgence on Parade is far cheesier than anything on The Gold Experience. "under the cherry moon" (the song) is one of the cheesiest/corniest things Prince ever recorded.

[Edited 1/31/21 8:58am]

skywalker said:

v10letblues said:

For me, it's the cringe factor. A lot of Prince's music is playful and sometimes silly, but still charming. The 90's era tried too hard by chasing trends and dumbing down every aspect his music in ways that are certainly not charming, but cheesy and cringe-worthy. And to me a lot of TGE is very cheesy and cringe-worthy.

But of course it's just personal preference and subjective. Just my own 2 cents.

[Edited 1/30/21 9:15am]

I guess it's just differenc strokes for different folks. For me, faux fake french accents and over indulgence on Parade is far cheesier than anything on The Gold Experience. "under the cherry moon" (the song) is one of the cheesiest/corniest things Prince ever recorded.

[Edited 1/31/21 8:58am]

Yep diffrent strokes. Can't wait for a possible Parade Super Deluxe!

i was not even 10 years old in 1986 but give me those faux fake french accents and over indulgence of Parade over the npg operator, the horrendous frat boy rock-rap of now, the ridiculousness and failed gender-political commentary of pussy control, the big dumb rock of endorphin any day!

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

i was not even 10 years old in 1986 but give me those faux fake french accents and over indulgence of Parade over the npg operator, the horrendous frat boy rock-rap of now, the ridiculousness and failed gender-political commentary of pussy control, the big dumb rock of endorphin any day!

The question isn't valid, tbh. Why? Because the album was dated upon arrival. Trust me. I was there. Prince was already second tier by this stage, at least compared to the other top pop/ rock acts at the time. In this context, Prince didn't help his cause by, this time, following trends. The woeful P CONTROL was an embarrasment (I was afraid to play this to my friends) and tracks like 319 were smeared with that years movie disaster SHOWGIRLS. Segues were 'out', in Spanish anyway; Mayte was the defintion of 'unecessary'; and GOLD was tired, tired, tired. A huge NO. Sorry.

RighteousOne said:

RighteousOne said:

The question isn't valid, tbh. Why? Because the album was dated upon arrival. Trust me. I was there. Prince was already second tier by this stage, at least compared to the other top pop/ rock acts at the time. In this context, Prince didn't help his cause by, this time, following trends. The woeful P CONTROL was an embarrasment (I was afraid to play this to my friends) and tracks like 319 were smeared with that years movie disaster SHOWGIRLS. Segues were 'out', in Spanish anyway; Mayte was the defintion of 'unecessary'; and GOLD was tired, tired, tired. A huge NO. Sorry.

i hear ya.

This is the era where you turned the music down on his new music if you listened for fear of judgment.

.

In the 80's if you listened to Prince, were also listening to a lot of other great music. You were into indie and avant-garde bands.

In the 90's it all changed. You didn't want to be caught listening to Prince's new music. It was a whole other beast. It was very cringey.

[Edited 1/31/21 18:46pm]

JayCrawford said:

RighteousOne said:

The question isn't valid, tbh. Why? Because the album was dated upon arrival. Trust me. I was there. Prince was already second tier by this stage, at least compared to the other top pop/ rock acts at the time. In this context, Prince didn't help his cause by, this time, following trends. The woeful P CONTROL was an embarrasment (I was afraid to play this to my friends) and tracks like 319 were smeared with that years movie disaster SHOWGIRLS. Segues were 'out', in Spanish anyway; Mayte was the defintion of 'unecessary'; and GOLD was tired, tired, tired. A huge NO. Sorry.

This is going to piss off a lot of Gold Experience lovers 🤣

I suppose so. I'm sure I've expressed myself harshly but there's no point disagreeing. If you did, you just wouldn't be in posession of the facts.

v10letblues said:

v10letblues said:

v10letblues said: