Gold and I (I've found it's secret) Gold and I (I've found it's secret) September came and the signs were the album was being released imminently."I hate U"'s single release confirmed the rumours.The song received rave reviews (single of the week in Melody Maker,"the best love song in ages-Echoes")A page was set up on the internet to celebrate the release and catalogue the expectedly high chart positions across the world.The song limped in at no.20 in the UK charts and limped back out a week later.The "I hate U" page disappeared without a trace,as it became evident the song wasn't going to be the huge hit TMBGITW was.It did hit no.12 in the US Billboard chart,due mainly to excessive airplay,but it was downhill from there on.The album proper followed in October,and it similarly dented the top 10 charts in the UK,top 20 US,but didn't stick around for long.The second single release Gold in the winter faired better over here,although it only reached no.10,it's descent was slower,and it actually hung around the top 40 for 8 weeks (the same as it's spiritual forefather Purple Rain) and received a significant amount of airplay across all the radio stations.Sadly,the album didn't return to the charts during Gold's 2 month stay.In America the single stormed the Billboard top 100 at 100,and failed to ignite the chart (peak:88).Consequently his 12 year run of top 10 hits annually over there has now ended,though still holds true in the UK.His 1996 Brit award win also failed to reprise interest in the album as yet.
The Gold Experience was put in the curious position of being underrated by the critics,and overrated by the fans.The music press in general gave the album good reviews,based on first impressions,but failed to give it a second listen,and let the album grow on them,as they used to in the 80's (eg.Lovesexy's initial reviews were mixed,but the album emerged as a classic in time,from an initial 3 star review in Q to a 5 star review).The critics are fallible,inevitably they altered their reviews of britpop leaders Oasis' recent album from good to great in the wave of the britpop phenomenon,but aren't so interested in reappraising 0(+>'s work nowadays,assuming superficiality perhaps.Combining different reviews of the album,every song was praised as great by somebody and maybe slated by someone else eg.P Control (marvellous-NME,Tedious-Q),Dolphin (Thrilling- q,mediocre-NME),0(+> as ever,dividing critics.
A percentage of the fans think the album is his best work under any name,a view I don't agree with.They think this for 2 reasons in general
A criticism levelled at TGE by fans on the internet soon after the album's release was that some of the songs sounded better live (on The Beautiful Experience specifically) than the studio versions."Sssh" and "Now" in particular lost something on record,which the fans had become acquainted to via extensive live performance and watching TBE.Perhaps this is a problem associated with being introduced to a song "live",and experiencing a thrill or emotion which can't always be relived when playing the song at home.Personally, I was slightly disappointed when first hearing "Billy Jack Bitch" on the album,having seen the excellent performance of it on the UK's "The Sunday Show" many times before,which had a bounce not quite captured in the studio version.Similarly,"Days of Wild" really comes alive on stage,the chorus hitting home better than on record (described as hollow by some hacks when played to them on the original version touted by 0(+>).I also prefer the original adrenalin-charged rock of "Endorphinmachine" without the hammond organ ,though the album version continues to grow on me.Ultimately it all boils down to us all having pre-conceived ideas of the songs on the album thanks to bootlegs,live performances etc.,which were changed as the album evolved to the version released officially.We should of course judge the album on it's own merits,nothing else.
0(+>'s own views on the album are uncertain.Though he originally cast it as superior to anything previous,he called it "The worst of the best" in one interview.Perhaps this was why he took off "Days of wild",a song destined for better things ("Emancipation "perhaps) along with the fabulous "Acknowledge me",another song originally slated for the album,saving the best fir something special in the future.When the album was subsequently released,many saw it as a concession on 0(+>'s part,but if he never really saw the album as his greatest,then the hype he created around it was a clever move on his part to make warners think they'd got something special out of him and effectively won the battle in the eye of the public.0(+> could sit back and smile,knowing he had kept his very best work until he was out of his contract with them.
The commercial disappointment of the album can be blamed on a lack of promotion on Warners part and a lack of interest by the public in general.There was a long gap between single releases,and Warners refusal to pay for a video for "I hate U" hardly started the ball rolling.Whether you count "TMBGITW" or "I hate U" as the first single,the song was a ballad,the first time one has been released as the initial single,an inevitable concession to the stagnant singles charts of recent years,where lacklustre acts like Mariah Carey and Michael Bolton can sell millions with staid MOR soul ballads and awful covers,forcing real artists to follow suit or lose out (look at the releases of Madonna,Jackson,U2,Bon Jovi,Def Leppard recently,for he most part,ballads).If Warners wanted to sell the album they should have released another single quicker after " I hate U",something which would have stood out amongst the mainstream dross eg.Dolphin;Prince's music's main selling point has always been that it is something new and different from what you're used to hearing.If they're going to promote him as one of many instead of one of a kind,no wonder the public aren't going to be interested.He is just another performer in an already oversubscribed musical marketplace!-