soul sanctuary -> holy river is pretty great too

lustmealways said:

the opening to disc 3 on emancipation is literally the best run of the album

Agreed.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Ive given up making the perfect emancipation single album Ive decided it only works as a three hour marathon with overrated poor raps like face down, da da da, dull uncomvincing party songs like we gets up, etc along with the great stuff like one of us, love we make, curious child. Even the covers which sound like christmas singles need to be there.

"Emancipation" has always been perfect as a 3-CD album.

Those "Emancipation" as a 1-CD album threads that have been popping up every 3-6 months for the past 27 years are fun and show that Prince fans have very diverse tastes, but they also remind me of the Amadeus quote: "My dear young man, don't take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all."

yeah, id prob just keep it as is, even with the songs i dont like that much (get yr groove on) or find annoying (we gets up, joint 2 joint). but theres some tracks i think are just plain bad and actively hate, so id get rid of those (face down, sex in the summer, style, da da da).

olb99 said:

he wanted to make a big statement and draw attention to the fact he COULD release three albums in one go. releasing one a year was standard for him. plus, he had just gotten away from warners, and wanted to do what they didnt let him do. this is prob the most important reason, other than the fact he had heard MJ's history set was counted as two units per album sold as it was a double and thought he could go one better (this is from michael bland, so i assume its right).

but yeah, quality control aside, maybe doing what springsteen or guns n roses did, i.e. release diff albums on the same day would have been better than a triple CD set.

Not that I think it's his best album (which IMO is SOTT), but Purple Rain truly was the album he was born to make.

The album, movie, and tour cemented his place in musical history. Ask almost anyone, it's the look most associated with him too.

The "purple" look that he started for Controversy, continued with 1999 and perfected with Purple Rain. He's hardly ever mainted the same basic look for this long across this many albums.

Se7en said:

Not that I think it's his best album (which IMO is SOTT), but Purple Rain truly was the album he was born to make.

The album, movie, and tour cemented his place in musical history. Ask almost anyone, it's the look most associated with him too.

The "purple" look that he started for Controversy, continued with 1999 and perfected with Purple Rain. He's hardly ever mainted the same basic look for this long across this many albums.

ANd I would say elements of that look from 1981 extened through 1986 with Parade. The buttons on the pants, even the "Kiss" jacket was studded. A lot of the elements of his dress just went to other places. The paisley landed elsewhere. Bobby was still in a suit & tie of sorts.

Letting go of The Revolution was him letting go of most of that aesthetic, too. Because SOTT's look was quite different. The silhouette was the same - the long jacket, something on the side of the pants, but other elements changed up. He almost went for comfort in those days. Long leggings that were part jumpsuit, loose Flashdance-esque jumpers, long flowy hair, the 5 o'clock shadow. I noticed he started doing more color blocking too. The Lovesexy era showed that more (like those pics just outside Paisley Park of the band). That relaxed look sorta permeated through the Nude Tour a bit.

But I would agree Purple Rain feels like an obvious answer, but it rings true with the sheer amount of history around it, the attention, etc. I've long said almost everyone has their Thriller, and that was his. Madonna's was probably Like A Prayer (burning crosses, Blond Ambition Tour, Dick Tracy tie-in, Truth or Dare etc). I think Springsteens was Born in the USA. Just that one iconic, huge, can't-match-that-again album. Not every band has it, but when one does - we know it.

MattyJam said:

olb99 said:

"Emancipation" has always been perfect as a 3-CD album.

Those "Emancipation" as a 1-CD album threads that have been popping up every 3-6 months for the past 27 years are fun and show that Prince fans have very diverse tastes, but they also remind me of the Amadeus quote: "My dear young man, don't take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all."

I actually think the opposite. I would like to have seen him release the 3 albums seperately a year apart, one in 96, one in 97, one in 98. I think a lot of quality songs got lost in the shuffle or didn't get the appreciation/attention they deserved from both the fanbase and Prince himself, by virtue of just doing a massive data dump dropping 36 tracks in one go like he did.

I see what you mean and at the same time, we've had 27 years to "digest" those 3 CDs. Even 5 years later, it would have made no difference to release them over 3 years or at the same time.

Again, maybe this is another "symptom" of how diverse we are as Prince fans. I like multiple albums / box sets. I like to be "overwhelmed" by a release. But I understand why some people will like shorter albums.

At the end of the day, I really appreciate the fact that he released those "epic" albums ("Emancipation", "Crystal Ball", "Lotusflow3r", mainly). "Crystal Ball" in 1987 would have been epic as well. In a parallel dimension, Prince would have released only 2/3-LP/CD albums. Every year. That's my dream.

olb99 said:

MattyJam said:

olb99 said: I actually think the opposite. I would like to have seen him release the 3 albums seperately a year apart, one in 96, one in 97, one in 98. I think a lot of quality songs got lost in the shuffle or didn't get the appreciation/attention they deserved from both the fanbase and Prince himself, by virtue of just doing a massive data dump dropping 36 tracks in one go like he did.

I see what you mean and at the same time, we've had 27 years to "digest" those 3 CDs. Even 5 years later, it would have made no difference to release them over 3 years or at the same time.

Again, maybe this is another "symptom" of how diverse we are as Prince fans. I like multiple albums / box sets. I like to be "overwhelmed" by a release. But I understand why some people will like shorter albums.

At the end of the day, I really appreciate the fact that he released those "epic" albums ("Emancipation", "Crystal Ball", "Lotusflow3r", mainly). "Crystal Ball" in 1987 would have been epic as well. In a parallel dimension, Prince would have released only 2/3-LP/CD albums. Every year. That's my dream.

It's more because I love Emancipation and over the years, everytime I think I'm done discovering something great about it, another song will creep up and open up to me that I never liked before. This has happened so many times with this album, and I honestly think the record didn't get the credit it deserved at the time and subsequently, mainly because 36 songs is just too much for the average listener to digest.

I'm one of those fans that rates Emancipation as probably his best 90s album.

Hey, folks!

Don't forget, "It's the album was born 2 make".

He was only a two/three-year-old!!!

I went back and added "Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife," and moved "Courtin' Time." This is my new final, and it's 75 minutes.

1. Damned If 👁 Do
2. Right Back Here In My Arms
3. Somebody’s Somebody (livestudio)
4. Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife
5. Emale
6. Get Yo Groove On (edit)
7. One Of Us
8. Saviour
9. Sleep Around (edit)
10. White Mansion (re-edit)
11. One Kiss At A Time
12. Courtin’ Time
13. In This Bed 👁 Scream
14. Soul Sanctuary
15. The Love We Make
16. My Computer

I did a test run on it today. I like it. The puts two heavy hitter ballads on what is essentially side A, but I think the 3 more upbeat or midtempo openers, plus Track 5 and 6 balance that a bit.

TrivialPursuit said:

I went back and added "Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife," and moved "Courtin' Time." This is my new final, and it's 75 minutes.

1. Damned If 👁 Do
2. Right Back Here In My Arms
3. Somebody’s Somebody (livestudio)
4. Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife
5. Emale
6. Get Yo Groove On (edit)
7. One Of Us
8. Saviour
9. Sleep Around (edit)
10. White Mansion (re-edit)
11. One Kiss At A Time
12. Courtin’ Time
13. In This Bed 👁 Scream
14. Soul Sanctuary
15. The Love We Make
16. My Computer

I did a test run on it today. I like it. The puts two heavy hitter ballads on what is essentially side A, but I think the 3 more upbeat or midtempo openers, plus Track 5 and 6 balance that a bit.

Just to give you an idea how different mine would be:

1. Emancipation

2. New World

3. The Human Body

4. Face Down

5. Somebody's Somebody

6. Joint 2 Joint

7. The Holy River

8. We Gets Up

9. Courtin Time

10. Curious Child

11. Dreamin' Bout U

12. Soul Sanctury

13. In This Bed :eye: Scream

14. Friend Lover Sister Mother/Wi

15. Saviour

16. The Love We Make

all emancipation tracklistings are perfect/imperfect.

my most recent one is:

in this bed...

courtin time

white mansion (edit that ends before the final instrumental section)

emale

curious child

dreamin about u

joint 2 joint

holy river (single edit)

lets have a baby

the plan

my computer

one of us

love we make

"SOTT"/"Lovesexy" That's when Prince seemed the most special and unique. This was his peak artistically. Of course he still had great recording career afterwards but he changed after "Lovesexy" underperformed.

TrivialPursuit said:

Se7en said:

Not that I think it's his best album (which IMO is SOTT), but Purple Rain truly was the album he was born to make.

The album, movie, and tour cemented his place in musical history. Ask almost anyone, it's the look most associated with him too.

The "purple" look that he started for Controversy, continued with 1999 and perfected with Purple Rain. He's hardly ever mainted the same basic look for this long across this many albums.

ANd I would say elements of that look from 1981 extened through 1986 with Parade. The buttons on the pants, even the "Kiss" jacket was studded. A lot of the elements of his dress just went to other places. The paisley landed elsewhere. Bobby was still in a suit & tie of sorts.

Letting go of The Revolution was him letting go of most of that aesthetic, too. Because SOTT's look was quite different. The silhouette was the same - the long jacket, something on the side of the pants, but other elements changed up. He almost went for comfort in those days. Long leggings that were part jumpsuit, loose Flashdance-esque jumpers, long flowy hair, the 5 o'clock shadow. I noticed he started doing more color blocking too. The Lovesexy era showed that more (like those pics just outside Paisley Park of the band). That relaxed look sorta permeated through the Nude Tour a bit.

But I would agree Purple Rain feels like an obvious answer, but it rings true with the sheer amount of history around it, the attention, etc. I've long said almost everyone has their Thriller, and that was his. Madonna's was probably Like A Prayer (burning crosses, Blond Ambition Tour, Dick Tracy tie-in, Truth or Dare etc). I think Springsteens was Born in the USA. Just that one iconic, huge, can't-match-that-again album. Not every band has it, but when one does - we know it.

I agree with everything you've written here.

Se7en said:

TrivialPursuit said:

ANd I would say elements of that look from 1981 extened through 1986 with Parade. The buttons on the pants, even the "Kiss" jacket was studded. A lot of the elements of his dress just went to other places. The paisley landed elsewhere. Bobby was still in a suit & tie of sorts.

Letting go of The Revolution was him letting go of most of that aesthetic, too. Because SOTT's look was quite different. The silhouette was the same - the long jacket, something on the side of the pants, but other elements changed up. He almost went for comfort in those days. Long leggings that were part jumpsuit, loose Flashdance-esque jumpers, long flowy hair, the 5 o'clock shadow. I noticed he started doing more color blocking too. The Lovesexy era showed that more (like those pics just outside Paisley Park of the band). That relaxed look sorta permeated through the Nude Tour a bit.

But I would agree Purple Rain feels like an obvious answer, but it rings true with the sheer amount of history around it, the attention, etc. I've long said almost everyone has their Thriller, and that was his. Madonna's was probably Like A Prayer (burning crosses, Blond Ambition Tour, Dick Tracy tie-in, Truth or Dare etc). I think Springsteens was Born in the USA. Just that one iconic, huge, can't-match-that-again album. Not every band has it, but when one does - we know it.

I agree with everything you've written here.

Gheezus and the Org didn't explode?