Publication: San Francisco Chronicle [US]
Date: November 30, 1996
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Title: "Prince Puts It All Together"
Reviewed By: Aidin Vazairi

PRINCE "Emancipation" *** (out of 5)

The stubborn, sweet-voiced songwrite who made a splash in the 80s with lavish funk pieces like "When Doves Cry" and "Kiss" celebreates his release from a debilitating Warner Bros. contract with an ambitious 3-CD, 36-song, three-hour album. Despite its staggering length, it is the most diverse and artistically satisfying music the glyph has produced since he dropped the Prince moniker at the beginning of the new decade.

"Emancipation", released November 19, displays the 38-year-old musician's finest musical facets as each 12-song disc moves through erotic ballads, ferocious rockers, beat-heavy jams, Latin-jazz escapades and searching soul grooves. He combines his strengths as songwriter and producer to make music as exciting and challenging as any of his earlier material, from the spare purity of "Let's Have A Baby", a chilling ode to his new bride on their wedding night, to the riff-fueled "Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don't". Throughout it all, his confidence and enthusiasm keep the work engaging.

Even on the odd assortment of covers that litter the set - ranging from Joan Osborne's "One Of Us" to Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" to the Delfonics' "La, La (Means I Love You)"[sic] - his individuality makes each track his own. The is best evidenced by his remake of the Stylistics' 1972 hit "Betcha By Golly, Wow", a deft hip-hop and R&B workout that recalls the momentum of gems like "Controversy" and "Cream".