Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993, but it wasn't until 1995 that he actually released a record credited to that symbol. During those two years, he released a greatest-hits collection, an official version of his much-bootlegged
Black Album, and a final
Prince album, the lackluster
Come. Throughout 1994, he pressured
Warner to release another album,
The Gold Experience, but the company refused and he staged a public protest in the media, calling himself a slave to the label. By the summer of 1995, the artist and the company had made amends and the record was released in the fall. In a way,
The Gold Experience lives up to the manufactured hype created while it languished on the shelf. More of a creative rebirth than a change in direction, the record finds
Prince and
the New Power Generation running through a typically dazzling array of musical styles, subtly twisting new sounds out of familiar forms. Much like
The Love Symbol Album, it follows a loose concept, interweaving a variety of
pop,
funk,
rock,
soul, and
jazz styles into a vague story. Song for song,
The Gold Experience is slightly stronger than its predecessor, as
Prince's melodies are more immediate, especially on the
Philly soul tribute
"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and the pure
pop of
"Dolphin." Also, the band's performance is lively and confident, bringing an effortless virtuosity to
funk workouts (
"P Control"), and fuzzed-out rockers (
"Endorphinmachine"), as well as
ballads like
"Eye Hate U." The Gold Experience is somewhat weighed down by interludes that attempt to further the story but wind up interrupting the flow of the music, yet that doesn't stop the album from being
Prince's most satisfying effort since
Sign O' the Times. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine