The Gold Experience is the seventeenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on September 26, 1995, by Warner Bros. Records and NPG Records.[2] The album charted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the Top R&B Albums.[3] The singles "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and "I Hate U" charted on theBillboard Hot 100 at number 3 and number 12, respectively.[3]
Contents[]
[hide] *1 Reception
Reception[edit][]
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
Blender | [5] |
Robert Christgau | A[6] |
Entertainment Weekly | A−[7] |
Los Angeles Times | [8] |
The New York Times | favorable[9] |
NME | 7/10[10] |
Q | [11] |
Rolling Stone | [12] |
Vibe | favorable[13] |
In a contemporary review for Playboy magazine, music critic Robert Christgau said that the album's "strongest tracks ... namely, P Control and Endorphinmachine—funk and rock as outrageously and originally as anything he's ever recorded."[14] In a retrospective review, Keith Harris of Blender cited the album as "his strongest record of the '90s, a mix of newly stripped-down funk and delicate balladry that reasserts [Prince]'s dynamic range."[5]
Several people speculated that the song "Billy Jack Bitch" was written about a Minneapolis Star Tribune gossip columnist known as "CJ".[15][16][17] Prince denied the song was about the columnist when CJ herself interviewed him.[18]
Track listing[edit][]
All songs written by Prince, except where indicated.
- "Pussy Control" (censored as "P Control") – 5:59
- "NPG Operator" - 0:10
- "Endorphinmachine" – 4:07
- "Shhh" – 7:18
- "We March" (Prince, Nona Gaye) – 4:49
- "NPG Operator" - 0:16
- "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" – 4:25
- "Dolphin" – 4:59
- "NPG Operator" - 0:18
- "Now" – 4:30
- "NPG Operator" - 0:31
- "319" – 3:05
- "NPG Operator" - 0:10
- "Shy" – 5:04
- "Billy Jack Bitch" (Prince, Michael B. Nelson) – 5:32
- "Eye Hate U" – 5:54
- "NPG Operator" - 0:44
- "Gold" – 7:23
Special edition vinyl bonus tracks:
- "I Hate U" (extended remix) – 6:17
- "I Hate U" (LP version) – 6:08
- "I Hate U" (Quiet Night Mix) – 3:56
- "I Hate U" (single version with guitar solo) – 4:25
- "I Hate U" (edit - no guitar ending) – 3:48
Credits and personnel[edit][]
- 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.[19]
Singles[edit][]
- "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (#3 US, #2 US R&B, #1 UK, #1 Australia)
- "Eye Hate U" (#12 US, #3 US R&B, #20 UK)
- "Gold" (#88 US, #92 US R&B, #10 UK)
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.