>I like that period a lot but most of those albums have some
>pretty low lows. TGE is the only one of those albums to dodge
>any major bullets (if you can get past P Control), maybe The
>Truth. But...


I love P Control.



>C&D: some really great stuff is often overlooked here but
>putting it side by side with ATWIAD makes absolutely no sense,
>because only one of those records had "I Rock Therefore I Am",
>lol -- game over. And "Right The Wrong." Those aren't the only
>dicey tracks, either, but "Rock" is especially embarassing.


I love "I Rock, Therefore I Am". One of his finest moments imo. It's one of the songs that I can tell really came from his core much in the same way that "Dig U Better Dead" did. He didn't just sing the words to these songs, he lived them. I think it comes through in everything about these joints. I really like the music on "Right The Wrong". Not one of my favorites due it being mainly talking, but I don't hate it.



>Emancipation: What kind of math are you doing where you turn
>one album into three, lol?


The kind that acknowledges there are 3 discs with enough music for 3 albums.


>But either way, only one of those
>discs (if treated as an album in itself) is solid from top to
>bottom (disc 2 all day!),

Disagreed. I like all 3 very much.


>The Truth: Definitely overlooked. Animal Kingdom is a harsh
>listen - when "Purple and Gold" dropped I had Animal Kingdom
>flashbacks, lol. I don't think song for song it's top-tier
>Prince but it's really, really good Prince, and a tighter,
>more coherent album than most other releases from this period.



Another song that represented him well since he was vegan at the time. So was I when it dropped. I always really liked the song. I can understand being unable to relate to it at all tho.



>NPS: There's no way this can be counted in an album streak.


It can if I'm counting, and I'm the one counting, so there's that.


>Folks clowned Push It Up and Freaks on This Side like crazy


That really doesn't matter to me. I think a lot of the clowning has to do with judging it as attempts to fit it contemporarily. I personally don't listen to Prince's music that way.


>the most
>interesting song on the album is a hidden/bonus track...


I disagree. "Wasted Kisses" is nice tho.



>With Emancipation and NPS in there, you really can't call this
>period an *album* streak.


I did, and I still do.


>I'd say it's a productive period for
>him with a lot of highs but it's maddeningly inconsistent and
>often poorly executed.



That's fine. You get to say whatever you like. I say it was a nice album streak.


>The closest post-TGE run to a streak, imo, would be Rainbow
>Children/One Night Alone/Musicology.


I considered that off the strength of the first 2. I just don't personally like the Musicology album enough. I tended to like latter career Prince less when he seemed to be going for something mainstream. I love Rainbow Children and One Nite Alone tho.