The rules: Take your favourite of the three discs (for me, Disc 3) and replace your two least favourite songs from that disc (so for me, Da Da Da and La La La Means I Love U) with your one favourite song from each of the other two discs (In This Bed Eye Scream and The Holy River).

So my Emancipation would be:

1. SLAVE
2. NEW WORLD
3. THE HUMAN BODY
4. FACE DOWN
5. THE HOLY RIVER
6. SLEEP AROUND
7. STYLE
8. IN THIS BED EYE SCREAM
9. MY COMPUTER
10. ONE OF US
11. THE LOVE WE MAKE
12. EMANCIPATION

Question - play the game and tell us how you would feel about that as a standalone album?

For me, as it is, Emancipation is my favourite 90s Prince album and I'm glad it was released in all it's glory, warts and all. This is just for fun and a silly variation on the now legendary "what if it was one disc" threads.

Looking at my results, I would really miss a tonne of tracks... but it's fun to be a harsh editor, even if in no just world would Style make the cut over Joint 2 Joint.
[Edited 1/3/24 9:03am]

This is so original and freshly new!

Given new tech, i could fit every Prince song on an iPod.

nayroo2002 said:

This is so original and freshly new!

Given new tech, i could fit every Prince song on an iPod

I'd still not want Emancipation on it.

1. Emale

2. Right back here in my arms

3. soul sactuary

4. the holy river

5. SAviour

6. dreamin bout U

7. face down

8. white mansion

9. one kiss at a time

10. Slave

11. Curious Child

12. New world

Steelclawz said:

1. Emale

2. Right back here in my arms

3. soul sactuary

4. the holy river

5. SAviour

6. dreamin bout U

7. face down

8. white mansion

9. one kiss at a time

10. Slave

11. Curious Child

12. New world

i read this list the same way as me lookin' at someone's "smile" after they've smoked crack for two years straight

nayroo2002 said:

Steelclawz said:

1. Emale

2. Right back here in my arms

3. soul sactuary

4. the holy river

5. SAviour

6. dreamin bout U

7. face down

8. white mansion

9. one kiss at a time

10. Slave

11. Curious Child

12. New world

i read this list the same way as me lookin' at someone's "smile" after they've smoked crack for two years straight

lol thanks ... i guess i didnt play the game the way it was meant, but these songs in my opinion

would be the best 12 if he realeased emancipation as only 1 disc

[Edited 1/3/24 15:02pm]

Oi opening with Emale is an album destined for failure.
Also White Mansion is a crusty white dog turd. Glad to see this thread come up again and again I'm sure it gets on everyone's nerves

DISC 2

Sex in the Summer

One Kiss at a Time

Soul Sanctuary

Emale

Curious Child

Dreamin' About U

Joint 2 Joint

The Holy River

My Computer

White Mansion

The Plan

Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife

Slave
New World
The Human Body
Face Down
In This Bed I Scream
Joint 2 Joint
Sleep Around
Da Da Da
My Computer
One of Us
The Love We Make
Emancipation

Landonfunkmonkey said:

Slave New World The Human Body Face Down In This Bed I Scream Joint 2 Joint Sleep Around Da Da Da My Computer One of Us The Love We Make Emancipation

Very similar to mine, althought I was stuck between Joint 2 Joint or The Holy River from Disc 2 and went with the latter, but it was a tough call.

This is my forever Emancipation go-to. Periodt.

Side A:

Damned If Do | 5:21

Right Back Here In My Arms | 4:44

Somebody's Somebody (Livestudio Mix) | 3:47

Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife | 7:38

Emale | 3:39

Get Yo Groove On (My Edit) | 4:42

One Of Us | 5:20

Saviour | 5:49

Side B:

Sleep Around (My Edit) | 5:09

White Mansion (Re-Edit) | 4:36

One Kiss At A Time | 4:41

Courtin' Time | 2:47

In This Bed Scream | 5:41

Soul Sanctuary | 4:42

The Love We Make | 4:39

My Computer | 4:37

Run time: 1:17:51

TrivialPursuit said:

I'd like to hear your edits!!

MattyJam said:

TrivialPursuit said:

This is my forever Emancipation go-to. Periodt.

Side A:

Damned If Do | 5:21

Right Back Here In My Arms | 4:44

Somebody's Somebody (Livestudio Mix) | 3:47

Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife | 7:38

Emale | 3:39

Get Yo Groove On (My Edit) | 4:42

One Of Us | 5:20

Saviour | 5:49

Side B:

Sleep Around (My Edit) | 5:09

White Mansion (Re-Edit) | 4:36

One Kiss At A Time | 4:41

Courtin' Time | 2:47

In This Bed Scream | 5:41

Soul Sanctuary | 4:42

The Love We Make | 4:39

My Computer | 4:37

Run time: 1:17:51

I'd like to hear your edits!!

"Get Yo Groove On" and "Sleep Around" just cuts out a lot of the breakdown superfulous stuff. I edited "Jam Of The Year" with all that talking shit in it, too. Tightened it up. The drunk guy in "Get Yo Groove On" was the same idea.

"White Mansion" was just me playing around. A bit longer drum intro, and something different at the end instead of the tag ending. When he sings 'Big white mansiooooon" at the end before the tag ending, I looped the opening drum beat under it for 4 beats or so, then looped an ambient noise from the song under it for a few seconds, then faded it. It wasn't about the song, it was just me playing with it.

I would like to edit down "Friend, Lover..." a bit. It's just a tad too long. "Saviour," a favorite, could use a slight trim, to just under 5 minutes.

Emancipation is already great as it is.
I wouldn't change it for anything.
According to my mood, I skip some songs.

TrivialPursuit said:

Yeah, you'd have to edit all those ocean sounds at the end of FLSMW for it to work midway through an album.

Also, where on earth is The Holy River? You can't omit that one, it's the heart and soul of the entire project. And I still ain't forgiven you for no Face Down!!! 😉

MattyJam said:

Yeah, you'd have to edit all those ocean sounds at the end of FLSMW for it to work midway through an album. Also, where on earth is The Holy River? You can't omit that one, it's the heart and soul of the entire project. And I still ain't forgiven you for no Face Down!!! 😉

It's not that those aren't nice songs, but they don't fit the mood I was going for. They're also so far apart in style, I found no space for them. "The Holy River" is nice, but it's sorta milktoast. It's to "Purple Rain" what "Heal The World" was to "Man in the Mirror."

"Face Down" is more specific to that disk 3 business.

WHen I worked out my list, I divided the songs into Side A and B, rather than just one long list. I built each side in the same ways. Strong starters, a ballad by the time track 3 or 4 came around, then other stuff, and a strong finish. "My Computer" almost sounds like a coda to it all because "The Love We Make" ends the set the way "Purple Rain" does.

For me, "Saviour" is that gospely song on there, that fills the rather bland nature of "The Holy River." He's going to town on "Saviour." "The Holy River" feels more like a coasting through an intersection.

TrivialPursuit said:

I didn't care for Saviour for the longest time. It opened up to me in the last year or so, although I still wouldn't rank it in the same league as The Love We Make or The Holy River. I think it's that chorus - it's just really corny, whereas TLWM/THR feel much more heartfelt.

MattyJam said:

I didn't care for Saviour for the longest time. It opened up to me in the last year or so, although I still wouldn't rank it in the same league as The Love We Make or The Holy River. I think it's that chorus - it's just really corny, whereas TLWM/THR feel much more heartfelt.

I purposely included "The Love We Make" and "Saviour" because they both had that uplifting feel to them in some way. The simplicity of "The Holy River" has always watered it down for me. The guitar section is great, but the song itself is the corny factor for me. Luckily through all that, I had stuff to choose from.

TrivialPursuit said:

This is my forever Emancipation go-to. Periodt.

Side A:

Damned If Do | 5:21

Right Back Here In My Arms | 4:44

Somebody's Somebody (Livestudio Mix) | 3:47

Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife | 7:38

Emale | 3:39

Get Yo Groove On (My Edit) | 4:42

One Of Us | 5:20

Saviour | 5:49

Side B:

Sleep Around (My Edit) | 5:09

White Mansion (Re-Edit) | 4:36

One Kiss At A Time | 4:41

Courtin' Time | 2:47

In This Bed Scream | 5:41

Soul Sanctuary | 4:42

The Love We Make | 4:39

My Computer | 4:37

Run time: 1:17:51

Not entirely convinced Damned If Eye Do works as an opener if I'm honest. But I like the idea of a SOTT-esque 8 tracks per side edit.

Also curious as to why you didn't close Side B with The Love We Make which is the obvious choice rather than My Computer? I actually really like the run of tracks on the Disc III, from My Computer/One Of Us/The Love We Make - those songs sound great together.

Man, I never tire of discussing this album, there's just so much to unpack.

MattyJam said:

Not entirely convinced Damned If Eye Do works as an opener if I'm honest. But I like the idea of a SOTT-esque 8 tracks per side edit.

Also curious as to why you didn't close Side B with The Love We Make which is the obvious choice rather than My Computer? I actually really like the run of tracks on the Disc III, from My Computer/One Of Us/The Love We Make - those songs sound great together.

Man, I never tire of discussing this album, there's just so much to unpack.

I love the rock edge for "Damned If Do," and the extended salsa section with horns. And the way it ends sorta goes right into "Right Back Here In My Arms."

I thought about ending with "The Love We Make." But I didn't want to end with a "Purple Rain" type ending. And "Adore" is a love ballad to end on. "The Love We Make" is not a love ballad. "Sometimes It Snows In April" is a song about death, but I wasn't trying to mimic that either.

So, two thought processes here (and I did think it out).

1) Do I want to end the set with a song about drug abuse and death?

2) Do I want to have the tracklist jump from upbeat, slow, mid-tempo, slow (if the last two were reversed?)

I thought well, "The Love We Make" sorta brings the tempo down more from "Soul Sanctuary," and "My Computer" is mid-tempo enough that it's not so jarring. It pulls the mood back up a bit after "The Love We Make." It acts as a relief to a heavier song before. I was trying to mitigate the jolt factor in the last bits there. I also wanted the overall feel of the set to be positive. So again, "My Computer" is a salve for that.

And actually, "Soul Sanctuary" wasn't in a slightly earlier version. But it was just too nice to not include. I struggled to keep the ballad vs uptempo balance throughout the whole thing.

1. Sex in the Summer

2. One Kiss at a Time

3. Soul Sanctuary

4. Emale

5. Curious Child

6. Dreamin' About U

7. Joint 2 Joint

8. The Holy River

9. Let's Have a Baby

10. In This Bed eye Scream

11. The Plan

12. The Love We Make