RJOrion said:

Why does everyone hate Shy so much? I can understand it not being everyone's cup of tea, but there seems to be a concensus that's not merely below average, it's downright terrible. I don't get it.

lurker316 said:

lurker316 said:

LoveGalore said:

lurker316 said:

Why does everyone hate Shy so much? I can understand it not being everyone's cup of tea, but there seems to be a concensus that's not merely below average, it's downright terrible. I don't get it.

For me, because there's just so many other songs we missed out on having at the time. We March and Shy feel out of place. I get that Prince must have wanted TGE to be more positive and bright than Come, but I wish [insert wishlist]. I don't skip it every time. But I also don't skip a lot of other boring songs. I def skip We March every time, fwiw.

I understand why people dislike We March... but I confess it's a guilty pleasure for me. It may be cheesy, but it's catchy too. If other people are listening I'll skip it, but if it's just me (which it usually is) I'll listen to it and involutarily bob my head to it.

RJOrion said:

LoveGalore said:

BS. Billy Jack Bitch is epic. I Hate U is epic. 319 is epic. Dolphin is epic. Shy is trash.

No...Billy Jack Bitch is trash (a hateful diss record about a female entertainment reporter?..over a throwaway beat?) Eye Hate U is a tired sounding ballad that any r&b act couldve done. 319 is just noisy garbage with cornball lyrics

I don't mind Eye Hate U and will listen to it, but I agree it's a bit derivative and uninspsired.

On the flip side, I disagree with you on 319. That's my favorite song on the album. Relative to the rest of the songs, I don't think its lyrics are too cornball. He's signing about taking some candid photos of a lady in a hotel room. What's weird about that? Sounds like fun to me.

In contrast, look how cringy the lyrics are in other songs on TGE:

Pussy Control: Its cornball lyrics are self-evident.

Shhh: Prince, a 37-year old man, singing about wanting to bang his girlfriend after high school instead of doing their homework.

TMBGITW: Kind of sappy.

Dolphin: He wants to know if someone would be more recepitive to him if he was a dolphin? Really?!?!? Don't get me wrong, I love this song. But the chorus is pure cornball.

Now: Lame drug references trying to appeal to a certain group to whom Prince would never appeal.

Eye Hate U: Court room scene.

Gold: The line "All that glitters ain't gold" is so fucking trite. In fact, most of the lyrics in this song are trite. He strung together a bunch of empty cliches and called it a song.

[Edited 3/8/23 10:08am]

lurker316 said:

lurker316 said:

LoveGalore said:

lurker316 said:

I don't mind Eye Hate U and will listen to it, but I agree it's a bit derivative and uninspsired.

On the flip side, I disagree with you on 319. That's my favorite song on the album. Relative to the rest of the songs, I don't think its lyrics are too cornball. He's signing about taking some candid photos of a lady in a hotel room. What's weird about that? Sounds like fun to me.

In contrast, look how cringy the lyrics are in other songs on TGE:

Pussy Control: Its cornball lyrics are self-evident.

Shhh: Prince, a 37-year old man, singing about wanting to bang his girlfriend after high school instead of doing their homework.

TMBGITW: Kind of sappy.

Dolphin: He wants to know if someone would be more recepitive to him if he was a dolphin? Really?!?!? Don't get me wrong, I love this song. But the chorus is pure cornball.

Now: Lame drug references trying to appeal to a certain group to whom Prince would never appeal.

Eye Hate U: Court room scene.

Gold: The line "All that glitters ain't gold" is so fucking trite. In fact, most of the lyrics in this song are trite. He strung together a bunch of empy cliches and called it a song.

[Edited 3/7/23 9:04am]

I mean you can do this with every single prince record. He wasn't the most poignant lyricist even when he was trying. See The Love We Make and others.

I agree. I've never considered Prince to be a good lyricist. That's not to say that he had no songs with great lyrics. I think Dorthy Parker and Joy In Repetition are fantastic. But when someone writes as many songs as he did, they're bound to get lucky occassionally.

With that said, for some reason, the cheesiness of the lyrics on TGE really stands out for me. Thankfully I can overlook them because the grooves are so catchy.

While I can understand some of the criticisms about the album, The Gold Experience is still easily in my top 3 favorite Prince albums from the 90's.

My fave 90s album. Some of the songs, and certainly the concept, are not aging well, but its still a very entertaining album. This is the album that got me back into him after a few years hiatis. The vinyl release last year helped me fall in love with it all over again.

lurker316 said:

I disagree with you on 319. That's my favorite song on the album. Relative to the rest of the songs, I don't think its lyrics are too cornball. He's signing about taking some candid photos of a lady in a hotel room. What's weird about that? Sounds like fun to me.

In contrast, look how cringy the lyrics are in other songs on TGE:

Pussy Control: Its cornball lyrics are self-evident.

Shhh: Prince, a 37-year old man, singing about wanting to bang his girlfriend after high school instead of doing their homework.

TMBGITW: Kind of sappy.

Dolphin: He wants to know if someone would be more recepitive to him if he was a dolphin? Really?!?!? Don't get me wrong, I love this song. But the chorus is pure cornball.

Now: Lame drug references trying to appeal to a certain group to whom Prince would never appeal.

Eye Hate U: Court room scene.

Gold: The line "All that glitters ain't gold" is so fucking trite. In fact, most of the lyrics in this song are trite. He strung together a bunch of empy cliches and called it a song.

[Edited 3/7/23 9:04am]

Had Interactive made it onto TGE, I would have included that on my list of songs with cringy lyrics on this album. Singing about tech is always cringy.

lurker316 said:

lurker316 said:

Why does everyone hate Shy so much? I can understand it not being everyone's cup of tea, but there seems to be a concensus that's not merely below average, it's downright terrible. I don't get it.

i have always liked it.It has a completely different sound/vibe from the other tracks.The lyrics are kinda provocative.It's an odd track but yet it somehow works.

lurker316 said:

RJOrion said:

LoveGalore said: No...Billy Jack Bitch is trash (a hateful diss record about a female entertainment reporter?..over a throwaway beat?) Eye Hate U is a tired sounding ballad that any r&b act couldve done. 319 is just noisy garbage with cornball lyrics

I don't mind Eye Hate U and will listen to it, but I agree it's a bit derivative and uninspsired.

On the flip side, I disagree with you on 319. That's my favorite song on the album. Relative to the rest of the songs, I don't think its lyrics are too cornball. He's signing about taking some candid photos of a lady in a hotel room. What's weird about that? Sounds like fun to me.

In contrast, look how cringy the lyrics are in other songs on TGE:

Pussy Control: Its cornball lyrics are self-evident.

Shhh: Prince, a 37-year old man, singing about wanting to bang his girlfriend after high school instead of doing their homework.

TMBGITW: Kind of sappy.

Dolphin: He wants to know if someone would be more recepitive to him if he was a dolphin? Really?!?!? Don't get me wrong, I love this song. But the chorus is pure cornball.

Now: Lame drug references trying to appeal to a certain group to whom Prince would never appeal.

Eye Hate U: Court room scene.

Gold: The line "All that glitters ain't gold" is so fucking trite. In fact, most of the lyrics in this song are trite. He strung together a bunch of empy cliches and called it a song.

[Edited 3/7/23 9:04am]

I think the lyrics of Dolphin (Dauphin) are some of the best he's written regarding his feud with WB.

"REVISITING THE GOLD EXPERIENCE":

So, I take it I'm the only person who called up 1-800-New-Funk after the VH1 Awards asking when were the songs performed going to be released and getting mad at the operator for not having an answer for me. So glad my roommates and I video taped the performance to watch over and over again of course that's lost now oh well. We were just happy to hear Prince's latest releases. Absolutely an extra special time when that was released.

I used to get annoyed by the "Welcome 2 The Dawn" interruptions on the CD.

There must have really been a pearls before the swine vibe when it was released though.

Is that the case?

JorisE73 said:

I was hoping for this tracklisting to be released back then:

Oh wow,I remember that flyer! back in those days,I subscribed to The Prince Family newsletter.Who remembers Diana Dawkins? Anyway,she posted the flyer in one issue and suggested that we all do some kind of letter-writing campaign to make Warner Bros release The Gold Experience album.Those were exciting times,lol.It was frustrating too because it appeared at times that the album would never be released.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

LoveGalore said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Ultimately its just another 90s prince album The name change didnt mean much except that it gave him good publicity Without it this was just another decent but not spectacular release The story around it is actually better than the album as a whole Prince stopped making great albums in 88 really But then a lot of artists did in the 90s thanks to cds allowing more space Prince was no different sadly

Dude you're nuts. He stopped making great albums in 1988? Anyways

The Gold Experience

Come

Exodus

Chaos and Disorder

all solid ass albums.

LoveGalore said:

lurker316 said:

Why does everyone hate Shy so much? I can understand it not being everyone's cup of tea, but there seems to be a concensus that's not merely below average, it's downright terrible. I don't get it.

For me, because there's just so many other songs we missed out on having at the time. We March and Shy feel out of place. I get that Prince must have wanted TGE to be more positive and bright than Come, but I wish [insert wishlist]. I don't skip it every time. But I also don't skip a lot of other boring songs. I def skip We March every time, fwiw.

Exactly this. I stupidly disliked We March for years solely because I had it in my head it replaced Days Of Wild. It's grown on more recently.

.

I've always liked Shy but if I had to pick the 2 weakest tracks it would be those 2.

RJOrion said:

lurker316 said:

Why does everyone hate Shy so much? I can understand it not being everyone's cup of tea, but there seems to be a concensus that's not merely below average, it's downright terrible. I don't get it.

Me either, but different people hear different things...musical tastes are usually divided and debated by age, gender, and race.

I also like Shy. Although... there is a promise of funkiness at the beginning that is not fulfilled.

SoulAlive said:

to those of you dissing “I Hate U” that song is Prince at his absolute best! He delivers a really amazing vocal in the verses and that courtroom part is so bold and unique.Classic Prince!! This song perfectly csptures the pain of heartbreak.It’s arguably his finest single of the 90s.

SoulAlive said:

to those of you dissing “I Hate U” that song is Prince at his absolute best! He delivers a really amazing vocal in the verses and that courtroom part is so bold and unique.Classic Prince!! This song perfectly csptures the pain of heartbreak.It’s arguably his finest single of the 90s.

Yes, and the raw angst ridden guitar solo at the end...

It's a top 5 P song for me.

LoveGalore said: