"The Black Album"

"Come"

"Chaos And Disorder"

"The Vault: Old Friends For Sale"

All three are amazingly well put together albums.

Prince was an albums guy and you can tell. The Black Album was always a completely planned album but the others are really compilations yet he sound and tone of these albums feel as if these were actual albums he wanted to put put as is. These are damn good albums. The dark vibe on "Come" would have been conflicted had he used some of "the gold experience" tracks on there like "Endorphinmachine". I even think "Dolphin" would have felt out of place on there. Both Chaos and Vault stick to their vibe. Lately I've come to appreciate them. It was hard to do back in the day when it seemed like new albums were coming out every 3 months and you didn't get a chance to reallty get into each one.

homesquid said:

"The Black Album"

"Come"

"Chaos And Disorder"

"The Vault: Old Friends For Sale"

All three are amazingly well put together albums.

Four. But I totally agree.
He obviously knew they were great; he didn't release anything but (even though individual tastes may not agree). He always had to have the edge and reason, even if he was poking WB in the eye.

homesquid said:

"The Black Album"

"Come"

"Chaos And Disorder"

"The Vault: Old Friends For Sale"

All three are amazingly well put together albums.

Prince was an albums guy and you can tell. The Black Album was always a completely planned album but the others are really compilations yet he sound and tone of these albums feel as if these were actual albums he wanted to put put as is. These are damn good albums. The dark vibe on "Come" would have been conflicted had he used some of "the gold experience" tracks on there like "Endorphinmachine". I even think "Dolphin" would have felt out of place on there. Both Chaos and Vault stick to their vibe. Lately I've come to appreciate them. It was hard to do back in the day when it seemed like new albums were coming out every 3 months and you didn't get a chance to reallty get into each one.

I generally agree with everything you wrote, but Come isn't too my taste. The title track is possibly my least favorite Prince song ever. It's very derivative R&B. (I prefer the most unique (and therefore more Princely) Glam Slam Ulysses verasion.) I hate that track so much it colors the whole album for me. Plus, Space is elevator music.

I agree with you. I love these albums.

The one I keep going back to more than any of them is The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale. It flows really well. When the Light Go Down, which I can't say enough, is one my fave songs, period.

I've liked Chaos since day one.

Come is ok. I am not a fan of the WAY too long title track. But the rest is good. Letitgo is another fave. That song should've been a hit.

I don't consider the Black Album as a contractual album (even tho technically it is). I consider it an 80s album that extends the SOTT album sound/vibe.

LoveGalore said:

Throwing it out there but The Vault is really the only obligatory compilation here. The rest were projects he actually spent a fair amount of time on - in the case of Come, it went through countless iterations. C&D also has alternate configurations. TBA was going to be an actual album in his prime.

This.

And The Vault may have been obligatory, but it's a gem start to finish.

LoveGalore said:

Throwing it out there but The Vault is really the only obligatory compilation here. The rest were projects he actually spent a fair amount of time on - in the case of Come, it went through countless iterations. C&D also has alternate configurations. TBA was going to be an actual album in his prime.

I'd have to agree. Old Friends 4 Sale is really the only "compilation," as defined.

I actually love COME (and ...well). I think it's dark, moody, emotional. It's a walk through raw, animalistic, and unhinged emotions. I believe that album is overlooked a lot in favor of The Gold Experience (which is the 90's Purple Rain) especially since they were pitted against each other. One was WB, one was NPG.

The lyrics in "Come" are really dark, masochistic. It's not grim, but it's some underground scenarios playing out in those lyrics. But with the re-buildup near the end, it feels redemptive before it ends. "Space" alleviates a lot of that moody shit with its ethereal and breathy ode to love. But then he falls short again and goes back to animalistic impulses with "Pheromone." A song like "Papa" is almost that moment after a fight or a moment a couple has, when one sits down and says, "I'm sorry I did that... I just... this happened when I was a kid and it haunts me still." Then he tries to shake it off and dives into a nihilistic fervor with "Loose!" It goes on, but the journey is cathartic, to say the least.

With Chaos and Disorder, I don't always know just how much he planned on releasing that or not. The "intended for private use" thing feels odd, but maybe that was there just as a plot line in his narrative of WB demanding new music; which is very plausible. Probably more realistic.

An interesting note on Princevault about OF4S: " Prince (as ) began recording songs specifically for the album in late 1994, soon after completing work on The Gold Experience, but the album was worked on further and assembled in April 1996 (at the same time The Vault... Old Friends 4 Sale was compiled)." So OF4S was compiled three years before it was released. I suppose that's just as plausible that Prince saw the light at the end of the tunnel and had his ducks in a row before then. He played off OF4S when it came out, but he full well had the final say-so of what was on it, etc.

For me, from that period, the three best albums are The Gold Experience, Exodus, and Come. Chaos and Disorder is a close 4th place. They're all very different and show Prince really pulled out the stops when he's challenged.

I've always said Prince put out his best music when he had conflict in his life, something he was pushing back against. Once he got "free" in 1996, his music changed. He never had that same OOMPH as before. That.... that something.

TrivialPursuit said:

LoveGalore said:

Throwing it out there but The Vault is really the only obligatory compilation here. The rest were projects he actually spent a fair amount of time on - in the case of Come, it went through countless iterations. C&D also has alternate configurations. TBA was going to be an actual album in his prime.

I'd have to agree. Old Friends 4 Sale is really the only "compilation," as defined.

I actually love COME (and ...well). I think it's dark, moody, emotional. It's a walk through raw, animalistic, and unhinged emotions. I believe that album is overlooked a lot in favor of The Gold Experience (which is the 90's Purple Rain) especially since they were pitted against each other. One was WB, one was NPG.

The lyrics in "Come" are really dark, masochistic. It's not grim, but it's some underground scenarios playing out in those lyrics. But with the re-buildup near the end, it feels redemptive before it ends. "Space" alleviates a lot of that moody shit with its ethereal and breathy ode to love. But then he falls short again and goes back to animalistic impulses with "Pheromone." A song like "Papa" is almost that moment after a fight or a moment a couple has, when one sits down and says, "I'm sorry I did that... I just... this happened when I was a kid and it haunts me still." Then he tries to shake it off and dives into a nihilistic fervor with "Loose!" It goes on, but the journey is cathartic, to say the least.

With Chaos and Disorder, I don't always know just how much he planned on releasing that or not. The "intended for private use" thing feels odd, but maybe that was there just as a plot line in his narrative of WB demanding new music; which is very plausible. Probably more realistic.

An interesting note on Princevault about OF4S: " Prince (as ) began recording songs specifically for the album in late 1994, soon after completing work on The Gold Experience, but the album was worked on further and assembled in April 1996 (at the same time The Vault... Old Friends 4 Sale was compiled)." So OF4S was compiled three years before it was released. I suppose that's just as plausible that Prince saw the light at the end of the tunnel and had his ducks in a row before then. He played off OF4S when it came out, but he full well had the final say-so of what was on it, etc.

For me, from that period, the three best albums are The Gold Experience, Exodus, and Come. Chaos and Disorder is a close 4th place. They're all very different and show Prince really pulled out the stops when he's challenged.

I've always said Prince put out his best music when he had conflict in his life, something he was pushing back against. Once he got "free" in 1996, his music changed. He never had that same OOMPH as before. That.... that something.

I don't disagree. But let's face it - a LOT of life altering shit happened to Prince in '96. I'm guessing it was the single most fraught year of his life.

I near shit myself every time I listen to The Vault album for the first second or two. It's mastered awfully loud isn't it?

Chaos and Disorder and The Vault Old friends 4 sale should not have been "Contractual obligation filling" albums. They're really good.

TrivialPursuit said:

mb71 said:

I near shit myself every time I listen to The Vault album for the first second or two. It's mastered awfully loud isn't it?

It's those percussion/horn blasts right off the top, I think. But yes - very loud.

paisleyparkgirl said:

Chaos and Disorder and The Vault Old friends 4 sale should not have been "Contractual obligation filling" albums. They're really good.

Just because he was filling his contract doesn't negate their quality.

Other than the black album I thought the remaining were generally prince fodder; whatever was lying around put on cd and classed as an album for nothing more than contractual purposes. The vault sums this up perfectly.

Genesia said:

LoveGalore said:

Genesia said:

It's those percussion/horn blasts right off the top, I think. But yes - very loud.

That's how ya know Prince supervised the mastering. Way way too loud. Five Women's intro hits are SHARP. That said, it's a great album. Even the I'll Do Anything stuff feels at home there. The whole album blew my young mind.

That loooong piano intro on When the Lights Go Down.

Thanks for your replies. I'm convinced Prince didn't want to give them hit singles but couldn't help himself but give them good albums because he was an artist.

paisleyparkgirl said:

Chaos and Disorder and The Vault Old friends 4 sale should not have been "Contractual obligation filling" albums. They're really good.

They are.
That was Prince thumbing his nose at WBR.

come was prince's response to madonna's erotica.

two very connected albums.

homesquid said:

"The Black Album"

"Come"

"Chaos And Disorder"

"The Vault: Old Friends For Sale"

All three are amazingly well put together albums.

Prince was an albums guy and you can tell. The Black Album was always a completely planned album but the others are really compilations yet he sound and tone of these albums feel as if these were actual albums he wanted to put put as is. These are damn good albums. The dark vibe on "Come" would have been conflicted had he used some of "the gold experience" tracks on there like "Endorphinmachine". I even think "Dolphin" would have felt out of place on there. Both Chaos and Vault stick to their vibe. Lately I've come to appreciate them. It was hard to do back in the day when it seemed like new albums were coming out every 3 months and you didn't get a chance to reallty get into each one.

I think Dolphin fits perfectly on Come and think it would have been the most bitter or harshest (lyricaly) song on there.

Genesia said:

LoveGalore said:

Genesia said: That's how ya know Prince supervised the mastering. Way way too loud. Five Women's intro hits are SHARP. That said, it's a great album. Even the I'll Do Anything stuff feels at home there. The whole album blew my young mind.

That loooong piano intro on When the Lights Go Down.

yes! And then to think on NPGMC Prince (or was it at one of the ONA soundchecks?) hinted there was a longer version of that track with a longer intro.

paisleyparkgirl said:

Chaos and Disorder and The Vault Old friends 4 sale should not have been "Contractual obligation filling" albums. They're really good.

Weren't all his albums put out as part of a contract and therefore contractual obligations?

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

come was prince's response to madonna's erotica.

That's entirely untrue. A lot of Come and all of Erotica were recorded during the same period, that being 1991-92

http://www.princevault.com/index.php?title=Album:_Come

Most tracks on the album were recorded in the first half of 1993, although Race dates back to late 1991 (originally recorded during the album sessions, but re-worked in 1993), and the last track recorded for the album, Letitgo, was recorded in March 1994, nine months after Prince changed his name.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotica_(Madonna_album)#Background

Erotica was released on October 20, 1992 by Maverick Records

TrivialPursuit said:

also, funny how madonna did her sex book, and then shortly after, prince decides its time to do a photography book himself... (albeit not quite as attention grabbing as madonnas).

EnglishGent2 said:

paisleyparkgirl said:

Chaos and Disorder and The Vault Old friends 4 sale should not have been "Contractual obligation filling" albums. They're really good.

Weren't all his albums put out as part of a contract and therefore contractual obligations?

Yes but some folks have an ability to "get the point" without it being sppon fed to them.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

also, funny how madonna did her sex book, and then shortly after, prince decides its time to do a photography book himself... (albeit not quite as attention grabbing as madonnas).

Yeah, cuz no one's ever done a coffee table book before.

What's next, florals for spring?

TrivialPursuit said: