Emancipation (Prince album)

Emancipation is the nineteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on November 19, 1996, by NPG Records and EMI Records as a triple album. The title refers to Prince's freedom from his contract with Warner Bros. Records after 18 years, with which he had a contentious relationship. The album was Prince's third to be released that year (along with Chaos and Disorder and the soundtrack album of the Spike Lee movie Girl 6), which made 1996 one of the most prolific years for material released by Prince.

Emancipation
ACE
Studio album by
Prince
ReleasedNovember 19, 1996
RecordedJanuary 1995–October 1996
Genre
Length180:00
Label
ProducerPrince
Prince chronology
Chaos and Disorder
(1996)		 Emancipation
(1996)		 Crystal Ball / The Truth
(1998)
Singles from Emancipation
  1. "Betcha by Golly Wow!"
    Released: November 13, 1996
  2. "The Holy River / Somebody's Somebody"
    Released: January 13, 1997
  3. "Face Down"
    Released: April 1997 (promo)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB[3]
The Guardian[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
Music Week[6]
NME5/10[7]
Q[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Spin7/10[10]
The Village VoiceAβˆ’[11]

Overview

Emancipation marked the first album in Prince's career to include cover versions of songs written by other songwriters. He said that he had wanted to cover songs in the past, but was advised against it by Warner Bros. Four such covers appeared on the album: "Betcha by Golly Wow!" (previously a hit for the Stylistics), "I Can't Make You Love Me" (previously a hit for Bonnie Raitt), "La-La (Means I Love You)" (previously a hit for the Delfonics) retitled "La, La, La Means I Love U", and "One of Us" (written by Eric Bazilian, and previously a hit for Joan Osborne). Notably, Prince changed the chorus of "One of Us" from "What if God was one of us / Just a slob like one of us" to "... Just a slave like one of us".[12]

The album is notable for its format: it consists of three discs, each containing 12 songs with exactly 60 minutes per disc. Prince insinuated to the press at the time that the number of songs, discs and length of the album had a connection with the Egyptians and Egyptian pyramids.[13]

Response

In the United States, the album debuted at number 11. Though not a major seller, it did sell over 500,000 copies. Being three discs, it was qualified to being certified double platinum (the RIAA certifies based on the number of discs sold - 3 disc set).

The subsequent Jam of the Year World Tour was a major success (though very few songs from Emancipation were included in the concerts and the vast majority of the album's tracks remained unperformed), resulting in a significant comeback for Prince after the commercial and critical disappointment of Chaos and Disorder from four months earlier.

Track listing

All tracks written by Prince except where noted.

Disc 1
No.TitleLength
1."Jam of the Year"6:09
2."Right Back Here in My Arms"4:43
3."Somebody's Somebody" (Prince, Brenda Lee Eager, Hilliard Wilson)4:43
4."Get Yo Groove On"6:31
5."Courtin' Time"2:46
6."Betcha by Golly Wow!" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed)3:31
7."We Gets Up"4:18
8."White Mansion"4:47
9."Damned If I Do"5:21
10."I Can't Make U Love Me" (Mike Reid, Allen Shamblin)6:37
11."Mr. Happy"4:46
12."In This Bed I Scream"5:40
Disc 2
No.TitleLength
1."Sex in the Summer"5:57
2."One Kiss at a Time"4:41
3."Soul Sanctuary" (Prince, Sandra St. Victor, Thomas Hammer, Jonathan Kemp)4:41
4."Emale"3:38
5."Curious Child"2:57
6."Dreamin' About U"3:52
7."Joint 2 Joint"7:52
8."The Holy River"6:55
9."Let's Have a Baby"4:07
10."Saviour"5:48
11."The Plan"1:47
12."Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife"7:37
Disc 3
No.TitleLength
1."Slave"4:51
2."New World"3:43
3."The Human Body"5:42
4."Face Down"3:17
5."La, La, La Means I Love U" (Thom Bell, William Hart)3:59
6."Style"6:40
7."Sleep Around"7:42
8."Da, Da, Da"5:15
9."My Computer"4:37
10."One of Us" (Eric Bazilian)5:19
11."The Love We Make[14]"4:39
12."Emancipation"4:12

Notes:

  • Every use of the pronoun "I" throughout the song titles and liner notes is represented by a stylized "πŸ‘" symbol. This symbol is commonly transliterated as "eye" amongst Prince fans, as "πŸ‘ No" and "I Wish U Heaven" both appeared on Lovesexy.
  • "Mr. Happy" contains a sample of "What Can I Do?" (1994) by Ice Cube.
  • "Style" contains a sample of "Atomic Dog" (1982) by George Clinton.
  • "Sleep Around" contains a sample of "Squib Cakes" (1974) by Tower of Power.

Personnel
  • Prince – lead vocals and various instruments
  • Mr. Hayes – keyboards (1–6, 2–10, 3–10), backing vocals (1–4)
  • Tommy Barbarella – keyboards (1–6, 2–10, 3–10)
  • Tom Burrell – additional keyboards (1–10)
  • Joe Galdo – music programming
  • Ricky Peterson – piano (2–1), additional keyboards (2–10)
  • Kathleen Dyson – guitar (2–1, 2–4, 2–6, 3–11), backing vocals (1–4)
  • Mike Scott – guitar (3–5)
  • Rhonda Smith – bass (1–4, 1–7, 1–10, 2–1, 2–6), backing vocals (1–4)
  • Sonny T. – bass (1–6, 2–10, 3–10)
  • Michael B. – drums (1–6, 2–10, 3–10)
  • Kirk Johnson – drums (unspecified tracks)
  • Eric Leeds – saxophone and flute (1–1), saxophone (1–4,1–7, 1–10, 2–4, 2–6, 3–6)
  • Walter Chancellor Jr. – saxophone (1–1, 3–6)
  • Brian Gallagher – tenor saxophone (1–5, 1–9, 2–10, 3–7)
  • Kathy Jensen – baritone saxophone (1–5, 1–9, 2–10, 3–7)
  • Brian Lynch – trumpet (1–7, 2–4, 3–6)
  • Steve Strand – trumpet (1–5, 1–9, 2–10, 3–7)
  • Dave Jensen – trumpet (1–5, 1–9, 2–10, 3–7)
  • Michael B. Nelson – trombone (1–5, 1–9, 2–10, 3–7)
  • Rosie Gaines – backing vocals (1–1)
  • Kathleen Bradford – backing vocals (2–12)
  • Rhonda Johnson – backing vocals (2–12)
  • ChantΓ© Moore – backing vocals (3–5)
  • Kate Bush – backing vocals (3–9)
  • Mayte – Spanish spoken word (1–9), backing vocals (3–10)
  • Ninety-9 – vocal sample (1–2, 3–4), spoken word (2–7)
  • Scrap D. – rap (1–11, 3–8)
  • Michael Mac – scratches (2–7)
  • Savion Glover – tap performance (2–7)

Singles and Hot 100 positions
  • "Betcha by Golly Wow!" (#31 US Airplay, #10 US R&B Airplay, #11 UK, #20 Australia)
    1. "Betcha by Golly Wow!"
    2. "Right Back Here in My Arms"
  • "The Holy River" (UK CD 1) (#58 US Airplay, #19 UK)
    1. "The Holy River" (radio edit)
    2. "Somebody's Somebody" (edit)
    3. "Somebody's Somebody" (live studio mix)
    4. "Somebody's Somebody" (Ultrafantasy edit)
  • "Somebody's Somebody" (promo CD) (#15 US R&B Airplay, #19 UK)
    1. "Somebody's Somebody" (radio edit)
    2. "Somebody's Somebody" (album version)

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for Emancipation
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[33] Platinum 100,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[34] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[35] 2Γ— Platinum 666,666^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Emancipation – Prince". AllMusic. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  2. Harris, Keith (June–July 2001). "Prince β€” Every Original CD Reviewed: Emancipation". Blender. No. 1. New York. Archived from the original on August 20, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  3. Sinclair, Tom (December 13, 1996). "Emancipation". Entertainment Weekly. No. 357. New York. ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  4. Glaister, Dan (November 22, 1996). "Sign of the times". The Guardian. London.
  5. Gardner, Elysa (November 20, 1996). "A Work of Self-Liberation and Devotion Fit for a Prince". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  6. "Reviews: Albums" (PDF). Music Week. November 9, 1996. p. 10. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  7. Beaumont, Mark (1996). "TAFKAP: Emancipation". NME. London.
  8. Maconie, Stuart (January 1997). "Prince: Emancipation". Q. No. 124. London.
  9. Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Prince". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 654–57. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. Powers, Ann (February 1997). "Prince: Emancipation". Spin. Vol. 12, no. 11. New York. p. 85. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  11. Christgau, Robert (January 28, 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  12. Farley, Christopher John (November 25, 1996). "The Artist Formerly Known as Hot". Time. Vol. 148, no. 24. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  13. DeCurtis, Anthony (October 17, 1996). "Records 3 hours of "Emancipation"". Rolling Stone. p. 36 – via Music & Performing Arts Collection, ProQuest.
  14. Inspired by the death through heroin overdose of musician Jonathan Melvoin. Used as the finale of 2020 TV series We Are Who We Are.
  15. "Australiancharts.com – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  16. "Austriancharts.at – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  17. "Ultratop.be – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  18. "Ultratop.be – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  19. "Listen – Danmarks Officielle Hitliste – Udarbejdet af AIM Nielsen for IFPI Danmark – Uge 47". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Copenhagen. November 24, 1996.
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  21. "Lescharts.com – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  22. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  23. "Charts.nz – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  24. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  25. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). SΓ³lo Γ©xitos: aΓ±o a aΓ±o, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: FundaciΓ³n Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  26. "Swedishcharts.com – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  27. "Swisscharts.com – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  28. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  29. "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  30. "Prince Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  31. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  32. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  33. "Canadian album certifications – Prince – Emancipation". Music Canada.
  34. "Japanese album certifications – Prince – Emancipation" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved September 11, 2019. Select 1997εΉ΄4月 on the drop-down menu
  35. "American album certifications – Prince – Emancipation". Recording Industry Association of America.
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