The Gold Experience
Studio album by Prince And The Artist
Released	September 26, 1995
Recorded	1994–1995
Genre	R&B, funk, pop, rock
Length	67:48
Label	NPG/Warner Bros.
Producer	Prince
Prince And The Artist chronology
The Black Album (1994) The Gold Experience (1995) Chaos and Disorder (1996)
Singles from The Gold Experience
"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" Released: February 24, 1994 "P Control" Released: 1995 "Dolphin" Released: 1995 (UK only) "Endorphinmachine" Released: 1995 (Japan only) "I Hate U" Released: September 12, 1995 "Gold" Released: November 30, 1995

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
Robert Christgau	A[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
The New York Times	favorable[6]
NME	7/10[7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Vibe	favorable[10]

The Gold Experience is the seventeenth studio album by Prince (his stage name at that time being the love symbol he created). It was released on September 26, 1995. Keith Harris of Blender cites it as "his strongest record of the '90s, a mix of newly stripped-down funk and delicate balladry that reasserts [Prince]'s dynamic range."^[2]

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. 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".

Songs originally intended for the album, such "Acknowledge Me", "Ripopgodazippa", "Interactive" and "Days of Wild", were removed by the time of the album's release. It is believed that "Days of Wild" was nixed because Prince was never satisfied with the studio version. 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 was 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 album has been long out of print but still remains a fan favorite.

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. "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.

The song "Billy Jack Bitch" was speculated by many sources to have been written about a Minneapolis Star Tribune gossip columnist known as "CJ".^[11][12][13] Prince denied the song was about the columnist when CJ herself interviewed him.^[14] Lenny Kravitz appears in the chorus but he was not credited on the album liner notes, probably because of problems with his record label not giving authorisation.

The song "319" appears on the soundtrack of the 1995 film, Showgirls.

Track listing [edit]

All tracks composed and arranged by Prince, except where indicated.

CD [edit]

1. "P Control" – 5:59
2. "Endorphinmachine" – 4:07
3. "Shhh" – 7:18
4. "We March" (Prince, Nona Gaye) – 4:49
5. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" – 4:25
6. "Dolphin" – 4:59
7. "Now" – 4:30
8. "319" – 3:05
9. "Shy" – 5:04
10. "Billy Jack Bitch" (Prince, Michael B. Nelson) – 5:32
11. "Eye Hate U" – 5:54
12. "Gold" – 7:23

Vinyl [edit]

Side one

• "P. Control" - 5:59
• "NPG Operator" - 0:10
• "Endorphinmachine" - 4:06
• "Shhh" - 7:16

Side two

• "We March" - 4:49
• "NPG Operator" - 0:16
• "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" - 4:25
• "Dolphin" - 4:59

Side three

• "NPG Operator" - 0:18
• "Now" - 4:30
• "NPG Operator" - 0:31
• "319" - 3:05
• "NPG Operator" - 0:10
• "Shy" - 5:04
• "Billy Jack Bitch" - 5:32

Side four

• "Eye Hate U" - 5:54
• "NPG Operator" - 0:44
• "Gold" - 7:23

Special Edition Vinyl Bonuses [edit]

19. "I Hate U" (Extended Remix) – 6:17
20. "I Hate U" (LP Version) – 6:08
21. "I Hate U" (Quiet Night Mix) – 3:56
22. "I Hate U" (Single Version with Guitar Solo) – 4:25
23. "I Hate U" (Edit - No Guitar Ending) – 3:48

Early configurations [edit]

February 1994 untitled cassette [edit]

Referred to as "The Gold Album" because of the cover color.

1. "Come" (Original 1993 version, shorter than released)
2. "Endorphin Machine" (Original version before keyboard and synth overdubs)
3. "Hide the Bone"
4. "Chaos and Disorder" (Late 1993 version without Rosie Gaines vocal overdubs, with alternate mixing and some different sound effects)
5. "Listen 2 the Rhythm" (Alternate version of "Listen to Your Heart")
6. "Now"
7. "Right the Wrong"
8. "Acknowledge Me"
9. "Ripopgodazippa"
10. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
11. "319"
12. "Shy"
13. "Billy Jack Bitch" (Full version before being edited for release)
14. "Eye Hate U"
15. "Gold"

March 1994 configuration [edit]

1. "NPG Operator"
2. "Interactive" (Shorter version)
3. "NPG Operator" (Officially unreleased)
4. "Days of Wild" (Different version than released)
5. "NPG Operator"
6. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
7. "NPG Operator"
8. "Now"
9. "Acknowledge Me"
10. "Ripopgodazippa"
11. "NPG Operator"
12. "319"
13. "NPG Operator"
14. "Shy"
15. "Billy Jack Bitch"
16. "Eye Hate U"
17. "NPG Operator"
18. "Gold"

April 1994 [edit]

Believed to have been known as "The Gold Album", pressed on CD and given hand-drawn gold artwork, although no formal title is known. Includes segues, like an excerpt of the Coca Cola Theme before "Gold". Included covers of The Rolling Stones' "Angie", and Graham Central Station's "The Jam".

1. "Strength" (Officially unreleased)
2. "Ripopgodazippa"
3. "Interactive"
4. "Space"
5. "Endorphinmachine"
6. "Days of Wild" (Different version than released)
7. "Now"
8. "Angie" (Officially unreleased)
9. "319"
10. "The Jam"
11. "Gold"

May 1994 configuration [edit]

1. "NPG Operator"
2. "Interactive" (Longer version)
3. "NPG Operator" (Officially unreleased)
4. "Days of Wild" (Different version than released)
5. "NPG Operator"
6. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
7. "NPG Operator"
8. "Now"
9. "Acknowledge Me"
10. "Ripopgodazippa"
11. "NPG Operator"
12. "319"
13. "NPG Operator"
14. "Shy"
15. "Billy Jack Bitch"
16. "Eye Hate U"
17. "NPG Operator"
18. "Gold"

Summer 1994 configuration [edit]

1. "Chaos and Disorder" (Late 1993 version without Rosie Gaines vocal overdubs, with alternate mixing and some different sound effects)
2. "Listen 2 the Rhythm" (Alternate version of "Listen to Your Heart")
3. "Now"
4. "Right the Wrong"
5. "Acknowledge Me"
6. "Ripopgodazippa"
7. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
8. "319"
9. "Shy"
10. "Billy Jack Bitch"
11. "Eye Hate U"
12. "Gold"

13 October 1994 configuration [edit]

1. "P. Control"
2. "NPG Operator"
3. "Endorphinmachine"
4. "Shhh"
5. "We March"
6. "NPG Operator" (Officially unreleased)
7. "Days of Wild" (Different version than released)
8. "NPG Operator"
9. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
10. "Dolphin"
11. "NPG Operator"
12. "Now"
13. "NPG Operator"
14. "319"
15. "NPG Operator"
16. "Shy"
17. "Billy Jack Bitch"
18. "Eye Hate U"
19. "NPG Operator"
20. "Gold"

Singles and Hot 100 chart placings [edit]

• "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (#3 U.S., #2 R&B, #1 U.K., #1 Australia)
• "Eye Hate U" (#12 U.S, #3 R&B, #20 U.K.)
• "Gold" (#88 U.S., #92 R&B, #10 U.K.)

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 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.

References [edit]