Disco de Prince: “Gold Experience”

'The Gold Experience' was recorded during Prince's bitter feaud with Warner Brothers,in which he chose to begin referring to himself as O(-> (or the Artist Formerly Known As Prince).This was the first release credited only to that symbol,the first popular artist to refer to himself as something other then a written name.That indulgance aside this CD is a return to form from the rather lacking Prince albums just before.The same modern elements of hip-hop and harder rock are still there but more focused and well performed,not tacked on.The album itself plays like a computer program with every other of the 18 cuts being the voice of the NPG operator explaining the 'feel' of the upcoming song.'P Control' is one of the better examples of Prince being able to successfully integrate rap and hard funk and since both are presented in tough,driving fasion it works.Like much of the material here it is very politcal-in terms of music,race,sex and social status.This ends up basically being one half rock and another half funk.Of course "Endorphinmachine","Shh","We March" and the fabulous "Dolphin" are great rock songs-some poppier the some harder edged.Prince pulls some crazy guitar solo's and riffs out of left fiend and really commits himself to the music entirely.Of the funky tunes the ripping "319","Now",the haunting "Shy" and the back to basics "Billy Jack Bitch" all assault you with rhythm.The three most powerful songs are two fabulous epics-the rock hysteria of "Gold" and the soulful "Eye Hate U".The next one (and the biggest hit from the album) is the catchy ballad "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World"-it is very gentle,humane and beautiful-the flowering of a fully mature Prince.No matter what he's playing-rock,funk,pop,hip hop or some unique hybrid in between Prince is always Prince and always has his own distinct style to go on in each style he chooses to explore.And although often neglected this was the beginning of a whole new beginning for O(-> and his music.There were many times where quality slipped,such as right after this but it never last too long.This deserves to be revisited.

Of the horribly inconsistent albums Prince released throughout the 90s, he achieved gold with 1995's "The Gold Experience". This 18-track opus takes us through his "experience" with the aid of a female NPG Operator as our guide. It's a return to the old Prince we enjoyed and here's why:

The songwriting:

The music:

The vocals:

It's shocking that this album was such a commercial failure despite being a critical hit. And it's even more unfortunate that most music stores don't carry TGE anymore, it's a must-have from his 90s work. Prince is a musical genius and icon stuck in his own self-indulgence; hopefully he'll someday have that drive again to create another album as consistent as this one.

The early 90's were a rough time for Prince after "Diamonds and Pearls" when he decided to experiment heavily with hip-hop, go even funkier, and fuse genres that seemed impossible to bridge together. "Come" and this album were actually recorded at the same time but you would never know it listening to these songs.

Prince wanted to release this album under his new symbol and prove that his newer direction was superior to the songs found on "Come" but his record label didn't green-light 2 Prince releases in one year so we'll never know what the response would've been. I think Prince did though when he decided to call this "The Gold Experience".

This in my opinion is the best album he put out in the 90's; it's cohesive, it's energetic, and feels like Prince is back in action again (although the little interludes were unnecessary). You can't compare this to Purple Rain, Sign O' The Times, or any of his other classic albums because this has elements of all his past albums and the hip-hop/R&B/funkier sound is actually PERFECTED here whereas it sounds out of place or flat out ridiculous on some of his other albums. The songs "Gold", "Most Beautiful Girl In the World", and "Endorphinmachine" are some of his best songs period.

If you can find this album, buy it without hesitation because it's out of print and shouldn't be. Either Prince or Warner Bros. needs to get these songs reissued in a way that will satisfy both parties because this is a modern day classic.

I stumbled across this out of print album and fortunately bought it at a reasonable price AND in perfect condition...just a terrific album...an undervalued gem...the other reviewers have already extolled its virtues so I'll just say that I HIGHLY recommend seeking it out and buying it. Enjoy!

After releasing a three disc compilation (which was a commercial disaster, stalling at platinum status), changing his name to a symbol, releasing the most hyped album of the 80's in 1994 (which didn't exactly live up to the hype), and releasing a final Prince offering (the lackluster "Come"), Prince made an artistic and commercial comeback in 1994 with the huge hitsingle "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World". A year later, in 1995 he released "The Gold Experience", but although the album received positive reviews it failed to catch fire commercially, stalling at (the almost appropriate) gold status. This is really a shame, since this is his best effort of the 90's, easily blowing away such later releases as the lackluster "Newpower Soul" and the slightly stronger "Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic". A lot of the tracks on this album are really enjoyable, most notably the powerful fuzzrocker "Endorphinemachine", the wonderful pop rocker "Dolphin" and the anthemic "Gold", which strangely reminded me of both "Purple Rain" and "Hey Jude". There are some weaker moments on this album ("Now" and "Shhh"), but the good moments more than make up for that. An excellent album from one of the most exciting hitmakers of the 80's/early 90's.... Now if he'd only just bring back Wendy & Lisa....