From time to time I like to share some stories about albums I love that are duds – either I’ve found a way in to appreciate it through sheer stubbornness – or I just loved it on first listen.
“And I hear it as a listener that was so fully committed to the bit as to be buying anything and everything. And back then, that was how we showed our fandom...”
Quietly heartbreaking, that line.
Agree with all you said. I tried so hard to love Emancipation. It felt like I was trying to fix a loveless marriage. It could have worked in places, but he’d over-produced it to the point of harrowing blandness.
Like you, I’d been his loyal foot soldier for many years, but this felt like a yank-the-curtain-back Wizard of Oz moment - the oppressed genius who had 3000 unreleased songs in his famed “vault” finally got to make his grand triple-album statement...and it only had a handful of good tracks on it.
‘Jam of The Year’ was such a dud opener, for me. Oh remember hearing Rosie Gaines’ hard-out vocal ending to it and feeling a massive, shuddering cringe envelop me. I knew then, it was over.
Yeah the acoustic disc on Crystal Ball is a total low - but the album I hate the most, as a full album, is Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, it's long and boring, and has nothing good on it at all.
What was even worse about Rave (I love the title track, but that was recorded in 1988) is that he sold out to everything he’d been preaching for the last few years by signing with another major label - AND made a shit album no one liked as well, that was trying SO hard to be unashamedly commercial. It was the ultimate humiliation.
Thanks for doing the playlist. Have downloaded
Looking forward to sitting down with your single-album version though!
It does have jam of the year though, soz! But I moved it to the middle - works better there
“And I hear it as a listener that was so fully committed to the bit as to be buying anything and everything. And back then, that was how we showed our fandom...”
Quietly heartbreaking, that line.
Agree with all you said. I tried so hard to love Emancipation. It felt like I was trying to fix a loveless marriage. It could have worked in places, but he’d over-produced it to the point of harrowing blandness.
Like you, I’d been his loyal foot soldier for many years, but this felt like a yank-the-curtain-back Wizard of Oz moment - the oppressed genius who had 3000 unreleased songs in his famed “vault” finally got to make his grand triple-album statement...and it only had a handful of good tracks on it.
‘Jam of The Year’ was such a dud opener, for me. Oh remember hearing Rosie Gaines’ hard-out vocal ending to it and feeling a massive, shuddering cringe envelop me. I knew then, it was over.
The acoustic disc on Crystal Ball is the pits if that counts. Emancipation is actually pretty consistent considering.
Yeah the acoustic disc on Crystal Ball is a total low - but the album I hate the most, as a full album, is Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, it's long and boring, and has nothing good on it at all.
What was even worse about Rave (I love the title track, but that was recorded in 1988) is that he sold out to everything he’d been preaching for the last few years by signing with another major label - AND made a shit album no one liked as well, that was trying SO hard to be unashamedly commercial. It was the ultimate humiliation.
Yep!