funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

any one who includes da da da and style but hates my computer might have to just consider that their view is highly personal and not objectively correct lol

[Edited 10/8/21 5:08am]

As are all views and lists with peoples favourite one disc compilations. There's no objectively correct single disc arrangement of Emancipation. It's almost as if different people like different things and that's what makes Emancipation so special.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Any one-disc Emancipation configuration without Face Down on it is an epic fail.

MattyJam said:

Any one-disc Emancipation configuration without Face Down on it is an epic fail.

Here's something I agree with

I think Face Down (and similar songs like Laydown) are hella cringe.

LoveGalore said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Face down I file under prince trying to be edgy.

I prefer the X-Tended Rap Money Mix of Face Down. It's kind of cheesy, but it sticks in my ear.

Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother, Wife - was his and Mayte's first wedding dance.

AZStreet said:

I was in high school when Emancipation came out and I remember that MTV (still a big deal at the time) was heavily promoting the Emancipation release/video premiere party which featured a short concert by Prince at PP. Bill Belamy was the host - even though he hadn't been a big presence on MTV for years at that point - and I remember feeling slightly embarrassed for all involved - even though I loved Prince and was recording the special (and still have it on VHS somewhere). Prince just wasn't relevant anymore at that point to the masses - and certainly not to high schoolers - and it all just felt super forced and not at all something that felt natural to MTV at that moment in time. Not to mention that "La La La..." was a terrible choice for a lead single and the video was cringe inducing, even though it's a nice song.

Personally, Emancipation quickly fell out of my rotation due to the cheesy, dated production, the cheap synths and the absolute lack of edge. It definitely didn't sound "cool" and still doesn't. There are still some great songs on there that I really enjoy - The Love We Make is an all-time great IMHO - but I'd have to file Emancipation way beneath Gold Experience and most everything before that.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

The singles (betcha... aa the first one) were bad choices But they weren't trying to go for a cool audience They were trying to appeal to those ppl who liked TMBGITW But then this album doesnt have any great singles I dont think 3 discs but no real hits there Well apart from sleep around that is Which would have been a good one, even if it sounds like George Michael lol

Hehe. It's odd because TMBGITW was incredibly popular in the mainstream and was played on the radio all the time. I think even the two years in-between that release and Emancipation further removed Prince from pop culture relevancy whereas someone like Madonna was still enjoying mainstream success and was all over MTV at the time. It's weird to think that just a few years prior he was still massively popular...

I'm not necessarily saying Prince was going for a "cool" audience with Emancipation (unlike the blatant attempt to do so with RAVE), just that normally, Prince albums to that point just felt cool. Or at least had some songs that sounded fresh. Emancipation just didn't aside from a couple.

as someone mentioned,"Sleep Around" should have been the first single.It's an excellent dance track and I think it would have done well in the clubs.

SpookyPurple said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

The singles (betcha... aa the first one) were bad choices But they weren't trying to go for a cool audience They were trying to appeal to those ppl who liked TMBGITW But then this album doesnt have any great singles I dont think 3 discs but no real hits there Well apart from sleep around that is Which would have been a good one, even if it sounds like George Michael lol

Hehe. It's odd because TMBGITW was incredibly popular in the mainstream and was played on the radio all the time. I think even the two years in-between that release and Emancipation further removed Prince from pop culture relevancy whereas someone like Madonna was still enjoying mainstream success and was all over MTV at the time. It's weird to think that just a few years prior he was still massively popular...

I'm not necessarily saying Prince was going for a "cool" audience with Emancipation (unlike the blatant attempt to do so with RAVE), just that normally, Prince albums to that point just felt cool. Or at least had some songs that sounded fresh. Emancipation just didn't aside from a couple.

gold was out just a year before (even if recorded a few years before).

i think he stopped being cool during the slave era somehow.

i mean, in one sense that made him coolER, but also made him seem WEIRDER and more out of touch, just another moany rich celeb.

that lost him a lot of cool points, even if it did have a big effect on artists being aware of publishing etc. for the general public though, its hard to really care that much.

emancipation was also generally just a muted album, and one that sounded sanitised, and over laboured, drained of the usual spontaneity you get from a prince album.

it was basically the start of prince as a middle aged artist.

gold and C&D were still prince as a cool artist, just about.

theres also the fact that he was no longer with WB.

soon as that deal ended, prince was a lone ranger, having to manage all his own affairs.

for someone like prince, that obv didnt seem to work that easily for him and prob made it harder to be as care free, which prob contributed to his air of coolness, or not caring, the ability to be a bit careless as well as free of responsibilty. before he just had to worry about the music, now he had to worry about a lot more, and couldnt be a bratty artist anymore, challenging the execs. now there was no one to ruffle except himself. he had to play it safer.

[Edited 10/13/21 13:22pm]

TrivialPursuit said:

It's not top tier, but it's a high second tier. It was the beginning of his acrylic production phase that lasted for another 20 years.
(...)

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As i read here somewhere; the introduction of the ''Fischer Price'' sound.

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Vannormal said:

TrivialPursuit said:

It's not top tier, but it's a high second tier. It was the beginning of his acrylic production phase that lasted for another 20 years.
(...)

-

As i read here somewhere; the introduction of the ''Fischer Price'' sound.

-

That term is in the NewPower Soul thread right now. I believe it fits for that record, but the acrylic nature of his production was broader in scope, and went from Emancipation to Hit n' Run Phase Two. I had to giggle at the Fisher-Price term, though.

re listening to this after a very long time, it really is a good album.

even if you dont like the production, and its not as bad as i remember, or i dont dislike how i used to now, its really good 90s prince. and by that, its really good. doesnt make me go wow, but kind of hard to deny that its of a certain quality. the main issue apart from the longer than needed songs, and the fact there are so many, is just that a lot of material here is like what prince would normally have given to other artists. i.e. good material, but just not as original or novel as you want from prince. but id say this is still up there with anything else in the 90s, if not at the top actually. its also, apart from the truth, the last album where prince didnt start looking back, i.e. trying to sound like old prince from the 80s (at least occasionally). i.e. he was still thought of and working as a 'current' artist. from the rave album on, that changed.

beyond all that though, his vocals on betcha and lalala - those have got to be two of his best right? really lovely.

[Edited 10/27/21 8:37am]

getting close to the 25th anniversary of this albums release (it came out on 19th november 1996)!