ive been reinvestigating the NPG era lately, and now think D&P is probably his best 90s album (though to really improve it, i skip jughead and push, and have daddy pop and live 4 live edits without tony - thank you Trivial Pursuit!).

im not sure if money dont matter is the classic or 'best song on here' like a lot of people/critics seemed to think, i think they just say that as they think socially conscious song = automatically superior.

but D&P not only has the best singles of any 90s prince album (i mean, cmon, gett off, cream, thunder, insatiable?!), but album tracks that are almost as good and well honed (willing and able is so good, walk dont walk is great whimsy/cuteness, daddy pop has an incredble groove and is like a 90s family stone without sounding like its derivative, live 4 love is lyrically a bit messy, and maybe could do with editing as it ends up being a bit of a band showcase for some reason, but the guitar tone is incredible, makes me think a little of the edge from u2, and thunder, is maybe the best song he did in that theatrical/stagey queen/meatloaf-ish rock mode he got into in the 90s).

as far as this era of prince, i.e the era of prince going for more of a band sound, D&P seems the obvious winner.

if nothing else, im glad this D+P SDE came out, as its made me reevaluate an album i liked but never rated that highly - in a weird way, D&P is kinda underrrated by a lot of fans. yeah its prince trying to get back into the top ten, but he really tried hard on this album, in terms of the songwriting, which i appreciate.

[Edited 11/4/23 4:10am]

Under no circumstance and not even in the top 5.

nonsense my good fellow.

I've always liked D&P, but I like "The Gold Experience", "Love Symbol", and even "Come" even more.

i tried to get into the symbol album again, after listening to D&P but i find its got too much rapping on it. my name is prince is a banger, but also a gimmicky one. same for sexy mf, so i dont really listen to those two songs. its a good album showcase for the npg, but i dont think the songs are as strong as on D&P overall, though i do like sweet baby, blue light, god created woman, 3 chains, the max and the continental. morning papers just drags for me, and love 2 the 9s, i like it until it goes into its second part.

in the coaster ranking, yes.

themanfromneptune said:

There are some super strong singles but it maybe sneaks into my Top 5 for the 90s.

Only in terms of sales and hits.

"Best" is a completely subjective opinion...

.

For me, my favorite 90s album is "Gold Experience". "319", "We March", "Now", "Gold", "Endorphinmachine", even "P Control"... it's stuffed with great songs.

.

The second best thing he did in the 90s? "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World"! The radio single version. What a great song. The sound effects haven't aged well, but the song itself is sheer pop perfection.

.

Next in line might be "Love Symbol", but... I *really* enjoy "Chaos & Disorder". C&D is lean, pissed off, and guitar-heavy. LS is - let's be honest - bloated, but it's got some interesting tunes, "7" being the most original song on the disc.

.

D&P is next, I suppose. "Cream" is a classic, but everything else just doesn't click with me. And then there's "Come", which is okay, but too "laid back" for me.

.

"Rave" does nothing for me. "Emancipation" is one good 12 song album spread across 3 discs.

.

And the two NPG albums are just sort of there. "Return Of The Bump Squad" is a fun song, but everything else leaves me flat.

.

Again, these are my likes and dislikes.

Definitely in the top 5. The SDE prompted me to listen closely and there's a lot more there than I remember. Songs I'd never loved like "Live 4 Love" and the title track now sound masterful, and even fluff like Daddy Pop is really catchy and infectious.

Is it as good as The Gold Experience? Definitely not, but that's one of the greatest Prince albums. I now believe that everything through that album in the 90s -- GB, D&P, Symbol, Come, TGE -- are top shelf creations that make the case that Prince had a 17 or 18 year run of great albums released every year. Unbelievable.

[Edited 11/4/23 9:34am]

SoulAlive said:

I think the Love Symbol album is better,but I think TGE is Prince’s best album of the 90s.

Nope!

'The Gold Experience'

'The Truth'

'Exodus'

...all better (for me, musically)

.

'Diamonds and Pearls' had the best "LOOK", however.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

i tried to get into the symbol album again, after listening to D&P but i find its got too much rapping on it. my name is prince is a banger, but also a gimmicky one. same for sexy mf, so i dont really listen to those two songs. its a good album showcase for the npg, but i dont think the songs are as strong as on D&P overall, though i do like sweet baby, blue light, god created woman, 3 chains, the max and the continental. morning papers just drags for me, and love 2 the 9s, i like it until it goes into its second part.

If we're gonna compare those two albums.....I like D&P but much of it sounds really "safe"....too clean and polished.Prince wanted to make a radio-friendly album with some big hit singles and the strategy worked.Love Symbol is a bolder,more adventurous album.

i dont think any of the 90s albums are great back to back, front to end. except maybe the truth. not that every track on there is amazing, but its easier to listen all the way through. emancipation is prob my second favourite, but only if i skip a good half of it. its always weird to me to see gold be the favourite for so many fans - i do wonder if a lot of that is down to the story behind it, the way it was released, almost not released, the name change, the fighting with WB, etc etc. i like half of it, but its always sounded a bit 'rushed' to me (maybe for others, that translates as 'spontaneous'), whereas D&P has a much more carefully constructed feel to it.

the most underrated of the 90s albums is actually chaos and disorder. the stakes are lower, cos it was designed as a throwaway album (though id say batman is like that too!) so its not that ambitious exactly, but it does exactly what it sets out to do, its got really good songs like the last december, had u, i will, into the light, and its really short, so because of that, id say its actually more consistent than TGE

[Edited 11/4/23 11:28am]

Indeed...and I think "Eye Hate U" is the best Prince single of the 90s.

GiggityGoo said:

For me, my favorite 90s album is "Gold Experience". "319", "We March", "Now", "Gold", "Endorphinmachine"... it's stuffed with great songs.

No...

1 Love Symbol

2 Come

3 Crystal Ball

4 The Truth

5 Goldnigga or Exodus or both

Would put The Black Album at 5, but many of us had it before its realease in 1994.

[Edited 11/4/23 12:39pm]

It's easily his worst album of the 90s and it's not even remotely close.

Literally if you take the 13 Originals he "gave away" from D&P SDE and burn a CDR or make a Spotify playlist that "album" on shuffle will be miles superior to D&P proper.

[Edited 11/4/23 17:00pm]

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

its always weird to me to see gold be the favourite for so many fans - i do wonder if a lot of that is down to the story behind it, the way it was released, almost not released, the name change, the fighting with WB, etc etc. i like half of it, but its always sounded a bit 'rushed' to me (maybe for others, that translates as 'spontaneous'), whereas D&P has a much more carefully constructed feel to it.

It's the geetar, bro.

The achilles heel for a large swath of the fanbase. The guitar rawk segment of his fanbase suddenly stops the grandiose posturing about "following trends" when he busts out the PurpleAxe and starts chugging along with those 1970s riffs over the mix.

WhisperingDandelions said:

It's probably his second best album of the 90's with a good mix of hits and otherwise interesting songs- the best being the Love Symbol album. The Gold Experience album has one too many questionable songs to be the best but also has some of his strongest songs of the 90's. Pussy Control, We March, Now and- to some extent- Shy I could do without. I don't care for the album version of TMBGITW either. Chaos and Disorder is my personal favorite 90's Prince album so take that for what it's worth.

If we're just talking Prince and across the board, not breaking up the different albums under different names, then The Gold Experience is - hands down - his best 90s offering.

1. The Gold Experience
2. Come
3. Exodus
4. Chaos and Disorder
5. 

Nope. It's not even as good as .

-

The Gold Experience is THE best of the 90's.