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The Gold Experience Prince album
Warner Bros. Records
albumWhen you stop a man from dreaming, he becomes a slave.
Recorded at Paisley Park Studios throughout 1993 and into early 1994 side by side with Come and intended for release on Prince’s thirty-sixth birthday, 7 June 1994, The Gold Experience was twice postponed by Warner Brothers so to ensure it could not compete with Prince’s recent output.
Keen to race through his contractual obligation to provide Warner Bros Records the requisite six albums, 1994 had already witnessed the release of Come that August, followed that November by The Black Album. Prince wished to release both Come and The Gold Experience together, the former under Warner credited to ‘Prince’ and the latter credited to Prince Love Symbol and issued by NPG Records. Warner’s withholding of The Gold Experience sprouted Prince’s embittered dispute over that contract and the label’s ownership of his music, heightened by the fact that he considered The Gold Experience his career best material. To Prince, $100 million for six albums be dammed if at the expense of creative control. In response in March 1995 Prince released an entirely new LP, Exodus, under his independently owned label NPG Records, albeit credited to the New Power Generation to avoid legal repercussions. Its material unleashed his outrage at Warner.
The fallout with Warner would consume Prince in the years that followed and was the trigger to his name change on 7 June 1993 to Prince Love Symbol to frustrate the company’s marketing of his music. And so The Gold Experience became Prince’s first album issued under his unpronounceable new moniker. The LPs earliest tracks date from pre-name change January 1993, when Dolphin and Endorphinmachine were produced for Prince’s dance show Glam Slam Ulysses and carried over to the configuration of the album.
The Interactive Tour staged across Prince’s chain of Glam Slam nightclubs throughout 1994 showcased his new music, causing fans to get increasingly rankled at not being able to buy it. When finally released in September 1995, 18 months later than Prince had wanted, The Gold Experience enjoyed both critical and commercial success, racing to 500,000 unit sales in the US and 100,000 in the UK. It charted at 6 and 4 in those territories. The album fittingly received Gold certification by RIAA on 7 December 1995. The Gold Experience picked up Grammy nominations in 1995 for Best R&B Album and Male R&B Vocal Performance (for Eye Hate U) – The Most Beautiful Girl In The World receiving its nomination in the Pop Vocal category the previous year.
The intended single The Most Beautiful Girl In The World became highly unusual in that, due to the contractual dispute, it preceded the album it was to promote by a staggering 19 months. The lead single was instead Eye Hate U, released in Europe as an EP pointedly titled The Hate Experience; despite featuring very highly regarded remixes it fell just outside the US top ten. In March 1995, with no release date in sight for The Gold Experience, Prince pressed ahead with the supporting tour The Ultimate Live Experience despite being far from certain the album would ever see the light of day. During this tour, the house screens displayed the album’s artwork emblazoned: “release date… NEVER!”. It became the first tour ever in promotion of an album not available to buy and under the very real prospect of never being released. Warner did eventually release The Gold Experience on 25 September 1995 long after the tour finished. In concession, Warner granted studio credit to NPG Records. On 22 December that year, Prince printed an announcement in the press stating that “irreconcilable differences” had made it impossible for Warner to market his music effectively and that he had given formal notice to terminate his recording agreement. The balance of his recording contract would be furnished from the vault.
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World was one of the most crucial singles Prince would ever release. Not only was it Prince’s first release under his adopted name The Artist Formally Known As Prince (Prince Love Symbol), Warner Brothers had sanctioned the single under the proviso Prince release just one track as well as pay for the pressing and distribution himself. So he did – putting it out for Valentine’s Day 1994 under NPG Records, his independently owned label created to replace the recently closed Paisley Park Records the joint venture Prince established with Warner Bros Records in 1985. The single’s distribution was managed by Bellmark Records. Uncomfortably for Warner, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World bagged Prince his first UK number one single, topping the chart for 2 weeks. His success with the single and its self-financed distribution instilled a confidence to pursue his career as an independent artist. It was a breakthrough moment for him on several aspects, most crucially severing Prince’s dependence on Warner. A celebratory EP The Beautiful Experience duly followed on 17 May 1994 containing new cuts of the main track, circumventing Warner’s one-song restriction. As if to harden the blow to Warner The Most Beautiful Girl In The World garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Male Vocal Performance in 1994, as well as a World Music Award win. Two fruitful award seasons in 1994 and 1995 provided Prince high profile platforms to articulate his outrage at Warner, a so-called music industry ‘Slave’ on a one man crusade for artistic freedom. The track was slightly amended when included on The Gold Experience when the album was finally released in September 1995.
The album’s second single, Gold adopted the anthemic footprint of Purple Rain. Its B-side Rock N’ Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis) was a track Prince wrote in response to Lenny Kravitz’s Rock N’ Roll Is Dead. Languishing at 88 in the US Hot 100 but reaching the top-ten in the UK, Gold laid bare the crossroads Prince faced: on one hand Prince turned his back on his Warner era catalogue, making replacements for hits such as Purple Rain; and on the other, the label knew efforts to keep investing in their one-time star artist was a lost cause. Gold was later reissued as a special vinyl pressing by The Prince Estate on 5 April 2019. The intriguing Billy Jack Bitch is about gossip columnist “CJ” Cheryl Johnson of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Spurned by not being recognised, Prince referred to her as Billy, in return she wrote of him as Symbolina owing to his height: “What if I called you silly names just like the ones that you call me”. Kravitz provides backing vocals to the track, although uncredited.
The liner notes for The Gold Experience written by Jim Walsh, music critic for the St Paul Pioneer Press, are of particular significance. They paint a faltering rather than the fawning portrait typically expected for an album – candidly discussing Prince’s declining popularity in the US resulting from his name change to Prince Love Symbol and dispute with Warner, and that by 1993 Prince had grown bored of being Prince. Agreeing to publish such an deprecating critical assessment as liner notes demonstrate just how deeply Prince was re-evaluating himself and divorced from his past. The Gold Experience encapsulates Prince at his most transformational moment, that its wholesale reworking of musical style declared not only a change of personal identity but artistic direction also. Because of all this The Gold Experience is considered the high point of Prince’s 1990s output.
Cover story
Reminiscent of photographer Randee St. Nicholas’ 1991 cover shot for Diamonds And Pearls, her second and final album cover collaboration with Prince displays him shrouded behind a glistening curtain of gold, in lieu of strings of pearls. Gold is the colour Prince adopted to showcase to the world he had moved on from the purple reign that was the hallmark of his Warner Bros era. From his Purple Rain-esque close of his 1995 album and a new custom symbol-shaped guitar replacing the iconic Cloud Guitar, Prince was firmly the Artist Formally Known As. Emblazoned with a golden Prince Love Symbol everything both on and in The Gold Experience highlights rebirth, both as an identity and an artist, in the fight for creative freedom. The original packaging was to be wrapped in gold foil however this proved too cost prohibitive for mass production. Prince led the artistic direction himself for the cover, choosing one of his most trusted photographers, as this was his most important release to date.
2022 and 2023 reissues
Following the resolution of a legal dispute that caused the album to fall out of print after its initial run, it was met with delight The Gold Experience was republished by The Prince Estate and Sony Legacy in 2022. Issued as a special translucent gold coloured double vinyl version on Record Store Day on 18 June 2022, its D-side also reissued the five original remixes of the maxi-single Eye Hate U. The RSD release cover reproduced the original US promo version of the album given limited circulation in 1995. The RSD version followed the 17th June general release in CD format issued as a digipak. The sales found the album re-enter the Billboard 200 at number 47, and 46 in the UK. Sony Legacy gave the LP reissue full commercial release on 9 June 2023 coinciding with the 30th year since Prince’s name change to Prince Love Symbol.
Performers
- Vocals/Guitar
- Prince Love Symbol
- Drums
- Michael Bland
- Keyboards
- Tommy Barbarella Endorphinmachine, Shhh, Dolphin, 319, Billy Jack Bitch, Eye Hate U and Gold
- Morris Hayes Endorphinmachine, Shhh, Dolphin, 319, Billy Jack Bitch, Eye Hate U and Gold
- Ricky Peterson We March, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, 319, Eye Hate U and Gold
- Bass Guitar
- Sonny Thompson Endorphinmachine, Shhh, Dolphin, 319, Billy Jack Bitch, Eye Hate U and Gold
- Programming
- Kirk Johnson We March
- Eric "Statik" Anest The Most Beautiful Girl In The World and Beautiful
- Trombone
- Michael B. Nelson Now, 319 and Billy Jack Bitch
- Tenor sax
- Brian Gallagher Now, 319 and Billy Jack Bitch
- Baritone sax
- Kathy Jensen Now, 319 and Billy Jack Bitch
- Trumpet
- Dave Jensen Now, 319 and Billy Jack Bitch
- Steve Strand Now, 319 and Billy Jack Bitch
- NPG Operator
- Rain Ivana
Data
- Producer
- Prince Love Symbol
- Label
- NPG Records
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- Cover/Design
- Randee St. Nicholas, Amanda Costanzi, Michael Van Huffel and Prince
- Released
- 30 years ago on 25 September 1995
- Reissued
- 17 June 2022
- Running Time
- 65:22
- US Chart Peak
- 6
- US R&B Peak
- 2
- UK Chart Peak
- 4
- Prince Album
- #17
- Orig. Formats
-
Tracklist
- P. Control (5:59)
- NPG Operator #1 (0:10)
- Endorphinmachine (4:07)
- Shhh (7:18)
- We March [feat. Nona Gaye and Mayte] (4:49) 1
- NPG Operator #2 (0:16)
- The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (4:25)
- Dolphin [feat. Lenny Kravitz] (4:59)
- NPG Operator #3 (0:18)
- Now (4:30)
- NPG Operator #4 (0:31)
- 319 (3:05)
- NPG Operator #5 (0:10)
- Shy (5:04)
- Billy Jack Bitch [feat. Lenny Kravitz] (5:32)
- Eye Hate U (5:54)
- NPG Operator #6 (0:44)
- Gold (7:23)
Released as a single
1 Co-written with Nona Gaye.
Singles from The Gold Experience
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
NPG Records
- Released
- 9 February 1994
- Distribution
- Bellmark Records
- US Chart Peak
- 3
- UK Chart Peak
- 1
- Cover/Art
- J.C. Munson
- Formats
-
- The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (4:07)
- Beautiful [Edit] (3:57)
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
NPG Records
12"/Maxi-Single
- Released
- 28 March 1994
- Distribution
- Bellmark Records
- US Chart Peak
- No Release
- UK Chart Peak
- 1
- Cover/Art
- J.C. Munson
- Format
-
- The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (4:07)
- Beautiful [Edit] (3:57)
- Beautiful [Extended Club Version] [remix by Simon Harris] (6:25)
- Beautiful Beats [remix by Simon Harris] (3:30)
Eye Hate U: The Hate Experience
NPG Records
- Released
- 12 September 1995
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- US Chart Peak
- 12
- UK Chart Peak
- No Release
- Cover/Art
- Randee St. Nicholas, Michael Van Huffel and Steve Parke
- Formats
-
- Eye Hate U [Album Edit] (4:27)
- Eye Hate U [Quiet Night Mix by Eric Leeds] (3:55)
Eye Hate U: The Hate Experience
NPG Records
12"/Maxi-Single
- Released
- 12 September 1995
- Distribution
- WEA Records
- US Chart Peak
- No Release
- UK Chart Peak
- 20
- Cover/Art
- Randee St. Nicholas, Michael Van Huffel and Steve Parke
- Format
-
- Eye Hate U [Extended Remix] (6:17)
- Eye Hate U (6:07)
- Eye Hate U [Quiet Night Mix by Eric Leeds] (3:55)
Eye Hate U: The Hate Experience
NPG Records
12"/Maxi-Single
- Released
- 19 September 1995
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- US Chart Peak
- 12
- UK Chart Peak
- No Release
- Cover/Art
- Randee St. Nicholas, Michael Van Huffel and Steve Parke
- Formats
-
- Eye Hate U [Edit] (4:27)
- Eye Hate U [Extended Remix] (6:17)
- Eye Hate U [Quiet Night Mix by Eric Leeds] (3:55)
- Eye Hate U (6:07)
Eye Hate U: The Hate Experience EP
NPG Records
12"/Maxi-Single
- Released
- 19 September 1995
- Distribution
- WEA Records
- US Chart Peak
- No Release
- UK Chart Peak
- 20
- Cover/Art
- Randee St. Nicholas, Michael Van Huffel and Steve Parke
- Format
-
- Eye Hate U [Edit W/O Guitar] (3:50)
- Eye Hate U [Album Edit] (4:26)
- Eye Hate U [Quiet Night Mix by Eric Leeds] (3:55)
- Eye Hate U [Extended Remix] (6:17)
- Eye Hate U (5:58)
Gold
NPG Records
- Released
- 30 November 1995
- Distribution
- Warner Bros. Records
- US Chart Peak
- 88
- UK Chart Peak
- No release
- Cover/Art
- Steve Parke
- Formats
-
- Gold [Edit] (4:43)
- Rock N' Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis) [feat. Mayte] (4:34)
Gold
NPG Records
- Released
- 30 November 1995
- Distribution
- WEA Records
- US Chart Peak
- No release
- UK Chart Peak
- 10
- Cover/Art
- Steve Parke
- Format
-
- Gold [Edit] (4:43)
- Rock N' Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis) [feat. Mayte] (4:34)
- Eye Hate U [Extended Remix] (6:17)
Also available as a limited gold jewel cased CD.
Supporting tour
The Ultimate Live Experience
1995
- The Ultimate Live Experience (UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland)
24 shows from 3 to 30 March 1995 - Japan ’96 (Japan)
7 shows from 8 to 20 January 1996
The Gold Experience album review
Sex, Fetishes, Loneliness, Vindication, Love and Hate are the experiences Prince shares here. All neatly linked by sultry female narration courtesy of the NPG Operator. Personally, The Gold Experience is my favourite Prince record of all (and reputedly Prince’s favourite too). Your reviewer skipped college that day to rush to HMV on Oxford Street then back home to play this the first morning of release, just elated to finally have the thing in my hands following so much will it/won’t it from Warner Bros.
Putting it on almost thirty years later still surprises how great it is. Prince goes in hard, guns blazing. The sound is bold, fresh, and adventurous, and at a quality and tightness it can only be considered a crime against music to think this was almost a shelved Prince album. The Gold Experience is famous as ‘that’ album as the straw that broke the relationship between Warner and Prince, ending one of the greatest label/artist combos in music. So along came a rare moment, that a tour teasing audiences with ‘Release Date: NEVER’ on venue jumbo screens displaying the album’s artwork, preceded the record it was promoting by countless months. What was more astonishing, that between the release of the lead single and the album eventually dropping, two Prince albums had gotten released in the interim (Come and The Black Album – the reason Warner delayed it). The tour is one of his greatest.
The Gold Experience houses Prince’s worldwide smash The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (his final smash hit single) but it is the delicious guitar solo of Shhh where you can actually hear thing literally sing its heart out. The album’s rawness, topped by Endorphinmachine that opens like a sonic boom and leaves the listener catching up. It and Dolphin elevate this as one of the best albums of Prince’s career and unquestionably his best of the decade. Dolphin highlights a sense of renewal, a creative rebirth, a closure with the past. Eye Hate U (Prince’s breakup with Carmen Electra), Shy and the tight-ass Billy Jack Bitch keep the unleashed newness alive and still present even 30 years of listening later. Closing with the Purple Rain reboot Gold are we finally ordained “2 the dawn”, a glance back before walking us into the new era. And what a dizzyingly satisfying awakening it was. The Gold Experience sets the gold standard that future Prince albums were to be measured against. The Gold Experience is a historical record of the context that surrounded it, the transition from Prince to Prince Love Symbol. No one knew then where that journey would take us but we excitedly signed up for the ride.
The Gold Experience is rated 5 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.
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