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The Gold Experience

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Untitled

The Gold Experience is the seventeenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was produced entirely by Prince and released on September 26, 1995. The album charted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the Top R&B Albums.[2] The singles "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and "I Hate U" charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 3 and number 12, respectively.[2]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Blender[4]
Chicago Tribune[5]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[6]
Los Angeles Times[7]
NME7/10[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
The Village VoiceA[12]

The Gold Experience was released on September 26, 1995, by Warner Bros. Records and NPG Records.[13] It sold 500,000 copies in the United States and peaked at number six on the Billboard 200, failing to meet commercial expectations. According to biographer Jason Draper, it may have undersold because Prince was losing touch with younger listeners and how his contractual dispute with Warner Bros. Records overshadowed the album's promotion, which he had done well before it was released.[14]

Nonetheless, The Gold Experience was a success with critics.[14] Melody Maker called it Prince's best record in years,[15] while Vibe said it was his best since Sign o' the Times in 1987.[16] In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau wrote that it showcased not only the unbridled artistry displayed on his other records but also "a renewal. It's as sex-obsessed as ever, only with more juice—'Shhh' and '319' especially pack the kind of porno jolt sexy music rarely gets near and hard music never does."[12] He believed its best songs, specifically "Endorphinmachine" and "P Control", "funk and rock as outrageously and originally as anything he's ever recorded".[17] Jon Pareles was less enthusiastic in The New York Times, finding most of the songs to be minor successes and calling it "a proficient album, not a startling one; most of its songs are variations and retreads of previous Prince efforts."[18]

The Gold Experience was voted the 30th best album of 1995 in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by The Village Voice.[19] Christgau, the poll's supervisor, ranked it 10th best in his own year-end list.[20] In a retrospective review, Keith Harris from Blender cited The Gold Experience as the best album Prince recorded in the 1990s, "a mix of newly stripped-down funk and delicate balladry that reasserts his dynamic range".[4]

Several people speculated that the song "Billy Jack Bitch" was written about a Minneapolis Star Tribune gossip columnist known as "CJ".[21][22][23] Prince denied the song was about the columnist when CJ herself interviewed him.[24]

Track listing

All songs written by Prince, except where indicated.

  1. "Pussy Control" (censored as "P Control") – 5:59
  2. "NPG Operator" - 0:10
  3. "Endorphinmachine" – 4:07
  4. "Shhh" – 7:18
  5. "We March" (Prince, Nona Gaye) – 4:49
  6. "NPG Operator" - 0:16
  7. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" – 4:25
  8. "Dolphin" – 4:59
  9. "NPG Operator" - 0:18
  10. "Now" – 4:30
  11. "NPG Operator" - 0:31
  12. "319" – 3:05
  13. "NPG Operator" - 0:10
  14. "Shy" – 5:04
  15. "Billy Jack Bitch" (Prince, Michael B. Nelson) – 5:32
  16. "Eye Hate U" – 5:54
  17. "NPG Operator" - 0:44
  18. "Gold" – 7:23

Special edition vinyl bonus tracks:

  2. "I Hate U" (extended remix) – 6:17
  3. "I Hate U" (LP version) – 6:08
  4. "I Hate U" (Quiet Night Mix) – 3:56
  5. "I Hate U" (single version with guitar solo) – 4:25
  6. "I Hate U" (edit - no guitar ending) – 3:48

Credits and personnel

  • Prince - all other vocals and instruments
  • Tommy Barbarella, Mr. Hayes - keyboards (3, 4, 8, 12, 15, 16, 18)
  • Sonny T. - bass (3, 4, 8, 12, 15, 16, 18), backing vocals (5)
  • Michael B. - drums (3, 4, 8, 12, 15, 16, 18)
  • Ricky Peterson - additional keyboards (5, 7, 12, 16, 18)
  • Kirk Johnson - drum programming (5)
  • James Behringer - additional guitar (7)
  • Brian Gallagher - tenor saxophone (10, 12, 15)
  • Kathy Jensen - baritone saxophone (10, 12, 15)
  • Dave Jensen, Steve Strand - trumpet (10, 12, 15)
  • Michael B. Nelson - trombone (10, 12, 15), horn arrangement (15)
  • Nona Gaye - co-lead vocals (5)
  • Lenny Kravitz - backing vocals (15)
  • Mayte - spoken vocals (1, 5)
  • Rain Ivana (as NPG Operator) - voice (2, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15-18)

Produced by Prince, except: 7, 12, 16, 18, co-produced by Ricky Peterson, and 5, co-produced with Ricky Peterson and Kirk Johnson.[25]

Singles

Another track, "Shhh", charted from The Gold Experience in July 1994; it was not the album version, but rather a live version performed on The Beautiful Experience TV special, which aired in 1994. It received some R&B airplay, causing it to chart and peak at #62 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.

References

  1. ^ Sullivan, Jim (October 5, 1995). "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince The Gold Experience". The Boston Globe. Calendar section, p. 17. Retrieved July 19, 2013. he releases the long- delayed 'The Gold Experience' and zooms back up to the A-level of funk-rock. (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b "Gold Experience - Prince : Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Prince: Gold Experience > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  4. ^ a b Harris, Keith (June–July 2001). "Every Original CD Reviewed - Prince". Blender (1). Alpha Media Group.
  5. ^ Kot, Greg (September 29, 1995). "Sonic Gold". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  6. ^ Flaherty, Mike (29 September 1995). "The Gold Experience". Entertainment Weekly (#294). Time. ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  7. ^ Coker, Cheo H. (24 September 1995). "With 'Gold,' Prince Regains His Midas Touch". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. ISSN 0458-3035. OCLC 3638237. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  8. ^ "Prince - The Gold Experience". NME. IPC Media: 49. 23 September 1995. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 16 September 2011. Symbol's most consistently enjoyable, fully-rounded album for at least five years.
  9. ^ "Prince - The Gold Experience". Q. Bauer Media Group: 116. October 1995. Retrieved 16 September 2011. …the New Power Generation's finest hour.
  10. ^ Cooper, Carol (2 November 1995). "Prince: The Gold Experience". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  11. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Prince". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 655. ISBN 0743201698. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (November 14, 1995). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  13. ^ "Gold Experience (Cassette - Warner Bros./NPG #45999)". Allmusic. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  14. ^ a b Draper, Jason (2011). "The Exodus Has Begun". Prince: Chaos, Disorder, and Revolution. Backbeat Books. ISBN 1458429415. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  15. ^ Melody Maker. London: 38. October 14, 1995.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  16. ^ "Prince - The Gold Experience". Vibe. InterMedia Partners: 131–132. October 1995. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved 16 September 2011. …a Prince experience par excellence.
  17. ^ Christgau, Robert (October 1995). "Oct. 1995: Randy Newman, Prince". Playboy. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  18. ^ Pareles, Jon (17 September 1995). "Still Moaning, Still Shimmying". New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  19. ^ "Pazz & Jop 1995". The Village Voice. 1996. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  20. ^ Christgau, Robert (1996). "Pazz & Jop 1995: Dean's List". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  21. ^ Grove, Lloyd (7 June 2002). "The Reliable Source ‒ Live Transcript". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  22. ^ Webster, Nick (10 April 2004). "From Sex God to Doorstep Bible Basher". The Mirror.
  23. ^ blackvoices.com Template:Wayback
  24. ^ "About the Artist". ArtworkByCJ.com. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  25. ^ http://princevault.com/index.php/Album:_The_Gold_Experience
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