Prince - Emancipation

Purple vinyl 6LP set!

Long out-of-print as physical products, Chaos and Disorder and Emancipation, two pivotal Prince albums from 1996, are each being reissued as The Prince Estate and Legacy Recordings continue their partnership this year. The 6LP set Emancipation is being made available on vinyl for the first time in more than 20 years and is now pressed on purple vinyl!

1996 was a pivotal year for Prince, who (in addition to Girl 6, the soundtrack album for Spike Lee's film) released Chaos and Disorder (his final album of new material for Warner Bros.) and Emancipation, a three-hour musical extravaganza celebrating Prince's full psychic, spiritual, emotional and creative liberation.

First released in November 1996 (just four months after Chaos and Disorder), Emancipation is as expansive and ambitious as anything Prince has ever recorded. A triple album-each 12 song disc showcasing exactly one hour of music-Emancipation found Prince celebrating life, love and music on his own terms. "This is my most important record," he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune at the time. "I'm free, and my music is free."

The album represents the incredible variety of his influences and moods. Romance and family are key themes ("Somebody's Somebody," "The Holy River," "The Love We Make"). Prince reflects on technology ("My Computer") and sex ("In This Bed Eye Scream"), and offers new, upbeat grooves ("Face Down," "Jam Of The Year") as well as four unique covers (Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me," the Philly soul classics "Betcha By Golly Wow" and "La, La, La Means I Love U," Joan Osborne's then-current rock hit "One Of Us"). Available for the first time on vinyl, Emancipation will include 6LPs-each with printed jackets and printed interior sleeves.

Emancipation was celebrated with a concert at Paisley Park on November 12, 1996, that was broadcast simultaneously on MTV, VH1, and BET. A press release issued by NPG Records after the event called the concert "a liberating performance." The album debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200 charts and sold over 500,000 copies, making it the fourth-best-selling triple album of all time in the U.S.