I don't usually go in for "what if" scenarios, but this one has been coming to mind since 1996.

Remember when Prince said he would fulfill his WB contract with vault material? Imagine if, instead of Come and C&D, he gave WB "real" vault material; the stuff fans had been asking for, from 1982 - 1988: Crystal Ball / Dream Factory sessions, outtakes like Purple Music etc.

Then, in November 1996, imagine a 3CD set coming out, with all the Gold Experience / Come / Glam Slam Ulysses / C&D tracks that we knew he had been storing up; including Acknowledge Me, Mad, Days Of Wild... A full 3CD set of grooves played by Michael, Sonny, Tommy, Morris and Prince.

Whether this would have been a commercial success or not we'll never know - I think it would have sold more than Emancipation on word of mouth alone. I also think it would have been critically acclaimed.

I'm going to burn a 3CD set myself of all these sessions - anyone already done something like this? Care to share a tracklist?

i've made this CD-R set several times. it's maddening trying to perfect it



but a worthwhile endeavour nonetheless...

I think the reason I (and maybe others) were so let down by Emancipation is that I'd been expecting something like this - something that really blew us away. Emancipation was "lite" in comparison...

It came closer to happening than you think!

BorisFishpaw said:

Wait, wait, wait - you can't just say that and not explain. Please tell us more...

I made my own 'Gold/Come era' 3CD set a while back.
Here's the tracklist (almost all the tracks are different in
some way to the released versions).

"The Dawn"

disc 1:
01. Welcome 2 The Dawn (2:08)
02. NPG Operator (0:11)
03. Come (part 1) (2:57)
04. Endorphin Machine (3:50)
05. Space (5:11)
06. Days Of Wild (7:15)
07. NPG operator (0:17)
08. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (4:54)
09. The Pope (4:32)
10. Ripopgodazippa (4:36)
11. NPG Operator (0:06)
12. Race (8:01)
13. Empty Room (3:16)
14. NPG Operator (0:06)
15. Mad (5:29)
16. Rock & Roll Is Alive (4:30)
17. Shhh (7:25)

disc 2:
01. Pussy Control (5:38)
02. NPG Operator (0:08)
03. Peach (3:04)
04. Chaos & Disorder (4:12)
05. Shy (4:56)
06. NPG operator (0:14)
07. Pheromone (4:27)
08. 319 (3:19)
09. 18 & Over (6:10)
10. NPG Operator (0:14)
11. Lemme See That Body Get Loose (4:30)
12. Papa (2:48)
13. NPG Operator (0:05)
14. Billy Jack Bitch (7:06)
15. Hate U (8:50)
16. Let It Go (5:31)
17. Don't Talk 2 Strangers (3:12)

disc 3:
01. Interactive (3:01)
02. Acknowledge Me (6:33)
03. NPG Operator (0:09)
04. Somebody's Somebody (3:43)
05. Love Sign (4:31)
06. What's My Name (3:01)
07. The Ride (7:36)
08. NPG Operator (0:20)
09. Now (3:59)
10. Face Down (2:09)
11. NPG Operator (0:09)
12. The Same December (3:27)
13. Extraordinary (2:25)
14. Dolphin (6:17)
15. Come (part 2) (9:06)
16. NPG Operator (0:38)
17. Gold (7:22)
.

booyah said:

Prince had wanted to put out a triple album for ages. He
assembled double and triple album versions of tracks that
eventually surfaced on Come and TGE etc. While he was
toying with the idea of making it a triple album it was going
to be called 'The Dawn' (one of many times an album with
that title had been in the works). That was when he created
all the NPG Operator segues (hence all the "Hello, welcome
2 the Dawn" bits, and the website of the same name etc.)
It became apparent that he wasn't going to be able to release
a triple album anytime soon (independantly or through WB)
so the triple album idea was shelved, and TGE and Come
were born. He would later resurrect the title 'The Dawn' as
a potential album soon after Emancipation was released, but
this album (also believed to be a triple album) remains
unreleased.

BorisFishpaw said:

That sounds like a great set!!!

but which npg operator tracks are those? (sorry, I'm kinda out of it today)

Here's a little more detail about the tracks...

"The Dawn"

disc 1:
01. Welcome 2 The Dawn (2:08)
- edit of the acoustic version (acts like an intro to the album)
02. NPG Operator (0:11)
- "Hello, welcome 2 the dawn, playground 4 the New Power Generation. There are over 500 experiences 2 choose from, press 'Come' 2 begin"
03. Come (part 1) (2:57)
- a mix of the 'Beautiful Experience' remix and the 'Glam Slam Ulysses' version. Segues into...
04. Endorphin Machine (3:50)
- original 'raw guitar' version. Segues into...
05. Space (5:11)
- album version, with a little bit of the 'Universal love' and 'funky stuff' version mixed in. Segues into...
06. Days Of Wild (7:15)
- edit of the 'Crystal Ball' version mixed into the guitar solo version from NPGMC year 1.
07. NPG operator (0:17)
- same as on TGE
08. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (4:54)
- mix of TGE version and the Mustang '96 version.
09. The Pope (4:32)
- uses parts of the 12" mix near the end, and a sample of D.M.S.R.
10. Ripopgodazippa (4:36)
- same as on 'Crystal Ball'
11. NPG Operator (0:06)
- "If u would like 2 access another experience, here's how"
12. Race (8:01)
- full length video version mixed with the 'Outta Space' extended portion of 'Super Hero'
13. Empty Room (3:16)
- circulating unreleased version
14. NPG Operator (0:06)
- "please access another experience"
15. Mad (5:29)
- from NPGMC year 1. segues into...
16. Rock & Roll Is Alive (4:30)
- 'Gold' b-side. Segues into...
17. Shhh (7:25)
- TGE version

disc 2:
01. Pussy Control (5:38)
- the VH1 fashion awards version, with added intro
02. NPG Operator (0:08)
- "That was just an example of the many experiences The Dawn has 2 offer. There are over 500 experiences 2 choose from, here's a sample"
03. Peach (3:04)
- album version mixed the the coda from 'The Purple Medley'. Segues directly into...
04. Chaos & Disorder (4:12)
- C&D version
05. Shy (4:56)
- TGE version
06. NPG operator (0:14)
- segue used before '319' on TGE
07. Pheromone (4:27)
- 'Come' version, with added into beats from the unreleased instrumental version
08. 319 (3:19)
- includes the hotel lobby intro
09. 18 & Over (6:10)
- circulating unreleased longer version
10. NPG Operator (0:14)
- "And now a word from our sponsors..."
11. Lemme See That Body Get Loose (4:30)
- mix of 'Loose' and 'Get Loose'
12. Papa (2:48)
- 'Come' version
13. NPG Operator (0:05)
- "Hello, welcome 2 the dawn. U have just accessed..."
14. Billy Jack Bitch (7:06)
- circulating unreleased long version
15. Hate U (8:50)
- mix of TGE version and the 'extended remix'. Segues into...
16. Let It Go (5:31)
- 'Come' version. Segues into street sounds which overlap...
17. Don't Talk 2 Strangers (3:12)
- 'Girl 6' version

disc 3:
01. Interactive (3:01)
- CB version
02. Acknowledge Me (6:33)
- CB version extended using part of the 'Good Life: Big City Mix'
03. NPG Operator (0:09)
- "Welcome 2 the dawn. U have just accessed the beautiful experience, beautiful experience...fades out into rain sounds and intro to...
04. Somebody's Somebody (3:43)
- the 'livestudio mix'. Segues into street sounds and gunshots, which segues into...
05. Love Sign (4:31)
- 1800-NEW-FUNK version. Mixed to give it an ending
06. What's My Name (3:01)
- CB version
07. The Ride (7:36)
- mix of 'Undertaker' version and 'CB' version
08. NPG Operator (0:20)
- pre 'Now' segue from TGE
09. Now (3:59)
- TGE version, extended by using the acapella version of...
10. Face Down (2:09)
- over the 'Now' backbeat
11. NPG Operator (0:09)
- "Hello, welcome 2 the dawn, playground 4 the New Power Generation. Please enjoy your experience"
12. The Same December (3:27)
- C&D version. birdsong ending segues into...
13. Extraordinary (2:25)
- 'The Vault' version. Segues into...
14. Dolphin (6:17)
- TGE version mixed with the 'Undertaker' versions outro. Segues into...
15. Come (part 2) (9:06)
- mix of 'Poem' over the 'Come' backbeat and a slightly edited 'Come' album version. Segues into...
16. NPG Operator (0:38)
- pre-'Gold' segue from TGE
17. Gold (7:22)
- TGE version

Damn, that's one fine 3 disc set you've compiled there.
I made a few versions myself. But I'd have to dig them
up again to see what the tracklists are.

And I agree with what someone else said before, that
people were expecting "Emancipation" to be an expansion
on the same theme.

By now we were used to hearing these wild new songs by
Prince, harder beats, roaring guitarsolo's and exquisite
ballads. The Come/Gold Prince sound was much louder, and
more alive than he'd been for years. It all sounded so
inspired and soaring.

When talk began about Emancipation and the reported 52
songs he'd completed for that set [as Mayte said in an
interview] were supposed to be the best stuff he'd come
up with in ages and the stuff he'd kept to the side for
when he'd be "free".

So my mind boggled at the possibility of a 3 disc album
with stuff like the Come/Gold/Ulysses material on it.

That's why Emancipation was kind of a let down, because
eventho it's 36 songs, the whole sound is so homogenised
that it isn't varied enough.

Some of his best albums are all over the place [Sign O
The Times most notably].

I remember the first time I listened to Emancipation my
heart started to sink about halfway through disc one.

By the time I got to disc three I was so disappointed
with it that I couldn't even listen to it anymore for
a few weeks.

The one thing I missed most on Emancipation was guitar.
Where did the guitar go to all of a sudden? It seemed
like an extention of his body at the Gold era and now,
with Emancipation it had all but completely diminished.

IstenSzek said:

That's exactly what I thoughts , I was very disapointed , DAMN where's the BIG SOUND and the guitar solo gone !
Imagine "emancipation" play with the new power generation (94/95) with the same production as "the gold experience" !

It would have been swish, but still would have bombed.