Prince: The Gold Experience (2LP, translucent gold vinyl, with bonus remixes) [LEGACY]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set on translucent gold vinyl recreates the limited 1995 promo edition, adding five versions of "I Hate U" on side four. The album reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the R&B chart, and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" climbed to No. 3 on the Hot 100.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Translucent gold vinyl
• Five bonus "I Hate U" mixes
• Replica of the 1995 promo edition
• Stereo mix
• Pressed in the EU

About the album

Japanese television viewers knew "Endorphinmachine" long before many Prince fans did: the Fuji network used it as the theme for its K-1 kickboxing broadcasts for a quarter of a century. That says plenty about The Gold Experience, a record with real punch, made by Prince under his unpronounceable symbol and produced entirely by the man himself.

"P Control" and "Endorphinmachine" open with hard funk and rock, "Dolphin" floats, "Now" struts, and Nona Gaye joins him on "We March." The NPG Operator links the songs like a futuristic switchboard, Mayte adds spoken parts, and the album ends on "Gold," one of his great anthems. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" remains one of his sweetest ballads, and "I Hate U" a slow-burning drama.

Melody Maker called it his best in years, Vibe his best since Sign o' the Times, and Blender later named it his finest record of the 1990s. Prince gave his own pronoun an eye symbol on this one, which we'd suggest is about as Prince as a man can get.

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Tracklist

Listen

On NPG / Legacy (cat# 19439953161), a reissue of the 1995 album.