I decided to build my archive of PDFs of all RS magazine reviews of Prince's album. It will be interesting to read them so many years later. I'm stuck with Emancipation. I cannot find it. I believe I checked all issues around the release date and nothing.

Do you know if there was ever one?

Or do you know of a good data base of reviews?

The RS review one referenced by Wiki is from 2004 so it's not the original one.

Thanks

I don't think they did one; There was an interview with him right around that time, but no review. The interview is really depressing to read because it's almost solely about the baby (who would've been dead either at the point of the interview or shortly thereafter).

Thanks, billy! Yes, there is a Free At Last article around that time. That must have the interview you are talking about. I saved it and will read in the coming days. So weird the skipped the album review....

Rolling Stone Magazine reviewing black music has always been a joke and a farce

did you check the old prince in print website, they used to accumulate old Prince articles, including reviews, many from Rolling stone. Last I checked site, annoying advertising kept interfering rendering it an unpleasant experience, used to enjoy the site, and contributed a Rolling Stone review for the "Prince" record, I think the first time they did album review of Prince

https://sites.google.com/...ember-1996

runningbear said:

did you check the old prince in print website, they used to accumulate old Prince articles, including reviews, many from Rolling stone. Last I checked site, annoying advertising kept interfering rendering it an unpleasant experience, used to enjoy the site, and contributed a Rolling Stone review for the "Prince" record, I think the first time they did album review of Prince

No, bear. Good idea. I just googled and couldn't find it. If you know the address, could you let me know. I'll keep trying later. I want to say i was not aware of that website, but it does sound vaguely familiar. Maybe i saw it once years ago.

PRNinPrint said:

https://sites.google.com/...ember-1996

Thank you! I did get the actual PDF of the magazine itself. But i was expecting a review of the album to be also issued, but couldn't find one. I'll look into this google address you used for this just in case.

PRNinPrint said:

https://sites.google.com/...ember-1996

wow! Awesome website!!

I'll be having a lot of fun with it! Thanks!

carlitoz said:

PRNinPrint said:

https://sites.google.com/...ember-1996

wow! Awesome website!!

I'll be having a lot of fun with it! Thanks!

That is the interview. The review is a few issues back in RS 745.

I have a copy of the Emancipation review.

[Edited 2/17/21 14:15pm]

PRNinPrint said:

carlitoz said:

wow! Awesome website!!

I'll be having a lot of fun with it! Thanks!

That is the interview. The review is a few issues back in RS 745.

I have a copy of the Emancipation review.

[Edited 2/17/21 14:15pm]

Thank you again, print. I looked for it as you told me and saved it for my records, but it's not a review. It's not in the records section. It was more a short article saying Prince is in the studio recording Emancipation. It also was published before the release of the album. The actual section is "In the studio". But thanks anyway! Perhaps there was never an official review.

carlitoz said:

PRNinPrint said:

That is the interview. The review is a few issues back in RS 745.

I have a copy of the Emancipation review.

[Edited 2/17/21 14:15pm]

Thank you again, print. I looked for it as you told me and saved it for my records, but it's not a review. It's not in the records section. It was more a short article saying Prince is in the studio recording Emancipation. It also was published before the release of the album. The actual section is "In the studio". But thanks anyway! Perhaps there was never an official review.

Oh, yeah that's right. I just got my 1996 folder out and read it after many years. More like a pre-review interview. I don't see a Eman review for RS in my stuff, and in my other stuff, and the stuff under that stuff...

I don't think RS did review Emancipation, a bit odd

Here is the previously awesome website, there are reviews for a ton of Prince records, mostly including RS, now I get quirky add over top in seconds

https://princetext.tripod.com/

runningbear said:

I don't think RS did review Emancipation, a bit odd

Here is the previously awesome website, there are reviews for a ton of Prince records, mostly including RS, now I get quirky add over top in seconds

https://princetext.tripod.com/

Ohh, that website... look and click quick!

idk if i would care that much about what RS had to say about prince in this period.

they werent really that sharp.

tbh after a certain period many critics seemed to be pretty weak on reviewing his albums, it was either too blindly positive, or too lazily negative.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

idk if i would care that much about what RS had to say about prince in this period.

they werent really that sharp.

tbh after a certain period many critics seemed to be pretty weak on reviewing his albums, it was either too blindly positive, or too lazily negative.

Agreed, and Rolling Stone as an institution had fairly lost it after by 1990 if not 1985, barely anyone under 30 was reading it at that point. Good individual writers but no longer a powerful force, and it's not a magazine that got its power from the margins so if it's not the center of culture what is it exactly?

[Edited 2/18/21 1:50am]

bonnie184 said:

I remember USA Today crowned it album of the year.

.

IIRC the reviews of Prince albums in USA Today were done by a fan who often contributed to The Prince Family newsletter; it was said she'd give a five star review to Prince releasing an album of him farting in a bucket for an hour.

runningbear said:

I don't think RS did review Emancipation, a bit odd

.

It's not odd. RS only did a handful of reviews per magazine, and they only published an issue every forthnight, so in the end they only reviewed a selection of all released albums. Magazines like Q often boasted of having 100+ reviews each month, so RS's approach would miss out on plenty of music.

.

(Then again, them skipping an album is kind of a sign as well.)

the most accurate take on this was in an interview with the face

https://theface.com/archive/prince-the-face-archive-emmancipation-paisley-park

Emancipation is the record that Prince claims expresses who he is more fully than any previous album. Yet I find listening to it an unsatisfying experience. It is too polished, too pristine, stripped clean of the filth and the funk that characterised his earlier work. In the same way that I found talking to him frustrating, it is equally disappointing to listen to his latest work, because where there was once honesty, abandon, exposure, there is now surface and silence in place of a beating, vital heart.

whole piece is really worth reading.

BartVanHemelen said:

runningbear said:

I don't think RS did review Emancipation, a bit odd

.

It's not odd. RS only did a handful of reviews per magazine, and they only published an issue every forthnight, so in the end they only reviewed a selection of all released albums. Magazines like Q often boasted of having 100+ reviews each month, so RS's approach would miss out on plenty of music.

.

(Then again, them skipping an album is kind of a sign as well.)

ok, not unusual that they only reviewed a mere fraction of all records produced

But in terms of a major artist, in this case Prince, Rolling stone up to 2001 reviewed every major Prince release except For You, Black album, Emancipation and maybe the Vault, there were a lot of RS Prince reviews to be had

RJOrion said:

Rolling Stone Magazine reviewing black music has always been a joke and a farce

-

exactly

-

BartVanHemelen said:

bonnie184 said:

I remember USA Today crowned it album of the year.

.

IIRC the reviews of Prince albums in USA Today were done by a fan who often contributed to The Prince Family newsletter; it was said she'd give a five star review to Prince releasing an album of him farting in a bucket for an hour.

-

If the range of his farts equals the range of his voice, I'd like to hear that album.
Maybe the best album of the nineties, who knows.

-

Vannormal said:

I thought Rolling Stone was very respective and appreciative of Prince's talents in their reviews and year end awards UNTIL

a 2 star review of Come...

Indeed, portions of Come, including “Space” and “Loose!,” exhibit so little creativity, you wonder whether they were born during studio catnap

After this nonsense, why bother reviewing Prince's records objectively, really

runningbear said:

After this nonsense, why bother reviewing Prince's records objectively, really

.

ALL REVIEWS ARE SUBJECTIVE.

.

Sheesh, that I have to inform someone of this blatantly obvious fact in 2021...

RJOrion said:

Prince did record and release "farts in a bucket"... it was packaged as the Apollonia 6 album.

It's STILL the only album i never purchased.

i don't even have a bootleg of it

i only have the "Sex Shooter" 12" single.

PRNinPrint said:

https://sites.google.com/...ember-1996

The fact that he thought Jimmy Jam would be intimidated by Get Yo Groove On

MendesCity said: