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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.

  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:

  1. "I Hate U" (extended remix) – 6:17
  2. "I Hate U" (LP version) – 6:08
  3. "I Hate U" (Quiet Night Mix) – 3:56
  4. "I Hate U" (single version with guitar solo) – 4:25
  5. "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][]

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.

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