The Gold Experience

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The Gold Experience
Studio album by The Unknown Symbol
Released	September 26, 1995
Recorded	January 1993–July 1994
Genre	Pop, Rock, Funk
Length	65:19
Label	NPG Warner Bros.
Producer	Prince
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A) link Rolling Stone link
The Unknown Symbol chronology
The Black Album (1994) The Gold Experience (1995) Girl 6 (1996)

The Gold Experience is an album released by Prince (his stage name at that time being an unpronounceable symbol, see album art) on September 26, 1995. The album is considered by some fans to be the Purple Rain of the 1990s, due to the rock and roll feel, accessibility of the tracks, and Prince's own admission that the song, "Gold," would be the next "Purple Rain."

Prince wanted to release The Gold Experience under the symbolic moniker in 1994, alongside Come, which was marketed as a "Prince" album of "old" material. Ironically, both albums contained material from Prince's musical production called Glam Slam Ulysses. The plan was to show the superior quality of the newer material as opposed to the older "Prince" material. Plans were thwarted by Warner Bros., which felt the market would be over-saturated with Prince material, and withheld the album. Prince was prompted to protest by appearing in public with the word "Slave" written on his face and stating The Gold Experience's release date would be "never."

Some songs originally intended for the album, such as "Interactive" and "Days of Wild," were removed by the time of the album's release. It has been alleged by some that "Days of Wild" was nixed by Warner Brothers at the request of some of the larger retail chains, because of its lyrical content. By the time the album actually was released in 1995, Prince's interest in it had passed, and he was working on songs for his 3-CD opus, Emancipation, which could be partially responsible for the album's lack of commercial success. Despite that, The Gold Experience garnered Prince his best reviews in nearly a decade.

The Gold Experience produced three singles, each with an accompanying music video: "I Hate U," "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," and "Gold." Additionally, a video for "Dolphin" was released prior to the release of the album. The singles enjoyed success on the R&B and Pop charts, with the exception of "Gold." "P Control" was also intended to be released as a single, but was canceled because it did not receive enough airplay. It was, however, performed at the 1995 VH1 Fashion Rocks Awards.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Singles and Hot 100 chart placings 3 Promotional, radio only, withdrawn singles & charting album cuts 4 External links

[edit] Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged by Prince; except where indicated

1. "P Control" (5:59)
2. "npg operator"(0:11)
3. "Endorphinmachine" (4:06)
4. "Shhh" (7:17)
5. "We March"(Prince/Nona Gaye) (4:49)
6. "npg operator" (0:17)
7. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (4:25)
8. "Dolphin" (4:59)
9. "npg operator" (0:19)
10. "Now" (4:30)
11. "npg operator" (0:31)
12. "319" (3:05)
13. "npg operator" (0:09)
14. "Shy" (5:03)
15. "Billy Jack Bitch" (5:31)
16. "I Hate U" (5:54)
17. "npg operator" (0:44)
18. "Gold" (7:23)

[edit] Singles and Hot 100 chart placings

• "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (#3 U.S., #2 R&B, #1 UK, #1 Australia)

1. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
2. "Beautiful"

• "I Hate U" (#11 U.S., #3 R&B)

1. "I Hate U"
2. "I Hate U" (Quiet Night Mix)

• "Gold" (#88 U.S., #10 UK)

1. "Gold"
2. "Rock'N'Roll Is Alive (And It Lives In Minneapolis)"
3. "I Hate U" extended remix (maxi-single)

[edit] Promotional, radio only, withdrawn singles & charting album cuts

• "319"/"Pussy Control" (withdrawn single)(explicit lyrics)

1. "319" – 3:05
2. "Pussy Control" – 5:59

• "P Control" (promotional only)

1. "P Control" (house mix)
2. "Chauntounette Controlle"

• "Endorphinmachine"

1. "Endorphinmachine" – 4:07

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 & peak at #62 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.

[edit] External links

• The Gold Experience lyrics

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