Emancipation Album: 1996

A Triple-Disc Freedom Symphony

released worldwide by NPG Records/EMI (catalogue: 7243 8 54982 2 0 / CDEMD 1102) on November 19, 1996. 0(+>'s Emancipation 3×CD was the first post-Warner Bros. album, this 36-track, 3-hour celebration of marriage to Mayte Garcia and freedom from his old contract features covers (“Betcha by Golly Wow!”, “La, La, La Means I Love U”, “One of Us”), Kate Bush on “My Computer”, and samples from Funkadelic, Tower of Power, and Ice Cube. Issued as 3×CD, 3×cassette, and later 6×LP (2019), it’s the longest Prince album ever released.

The album stands out for its unique format: three discs, each featuring 12 songs and running exactly 60 minutes. At the time, Prince hinted to the press that the number of songs, discs, and the album’s length were somehow connected to the Egyptians and their pyramids.

Prince also posted on his official site "I was Akhenaten..."

The album was Prince’s third release that year, joining Chaos and Disorder and the soundtrack for Spike Lee’s film Girl 6, making 1996 one of his most prolific years for new material.

Notes:

Every use of the pronoun "I" throughout the song titles and liner notes is represented by a stylized "👁" symbol. This symbol is commonly transliterated as "eye" amongst Prince fans, as "👁 No" and "I Wish U Heaven" both appeared on Lovesexy.

The Eye was very important to Prince, not only the item figured and his art, but also in his personal life,, the first thing he said to me was " Eye don't know y eye wanted 2 meet U ?, but eye look in your eyes and understand"

Album Overview

Release Details

Label: NPG Records / EMI (worldwide).

Formats: 3×CD, 3×cassette (1996); 6×LP (2019 reissue).

℗ & ©: 1996 NPG Records.

Track Listing (all formats)

Disc 1 / Cassette 1

1. Jam of the Year (6:09)

2. Right Back Here in My Arms (4:43)

3. Somebody's Somebody (4:43)

4. Get Yo Groove On (6:31)

5. Courtin' Time (2:46)

6. Betcha by Golly Wow! (3:31)

7. We Gets Up (4:18)

8. White Mansion (4:47)

9. Damned If I Do (5:21)

10. I Can't Make U Love Me (6:37)

11. Mr. Happy (4:46)

12. In This Bed I Scream (5:40)

Disc 2 / Cassette 2

1. Sex in the Summer (5:57)

2. One Kiss at a Time (4:41)

3. Soul Sanctuary (4:41)

4. Emale (3:38)

5. Curious Child (2:57)

6. Dreamin' About U (3:52)

7. Joint 2 Joint (7:52)

8. The Holy River (6:55)

9. Let's Have a Baby (4:07)

10. Saviour (5:48)

11. The Plan (1:47)

12. Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife (7:37)

Disc 3 / Cassette 3

1. Slave (4:51)

2. New World (3:43)

3. The Human Body (5:42)

4. Face Down (3:17)

5. La, La, La Means I Love U (3:59)

6. Style (6:40)

7. Sleep Around (7:42)

8. Da, Da, Da (5:15)

9. My Computer (4:37)

10. One of Us (5:19)

11. The Love We Make (4:39)

12. Emancipation (4:12)

Reissues & Global Variants

CD releases

- 3×CD, Album – NPG/EMI 7243 8 54982 2 0 – Europe – 1996

- 3×CD, Album – NPG E2 54982 – Canada – 1996

- 3×CD, Album, Clean – NPG E2-55063 – US – 1996

- 3×CD, Album – NPG TOCP-1997~1999 – Japan – 1996

- 3×CD, Album, Clean – NPG 7243 8 55063 2 1 – Europe – 1996

- CD, Promo, Sampler – NPG 70876 11658 21 AV – US – 1996

- 3×CD, Album, Unofficial – NPG/EMI (2) – Bulgaria – 1996

- 3×CD, Album – NPG/EMI 7243 8 54982 2 0 – Taiwan – 1996

- 3×CD, Album, Promo – NPG TOCP-1997~1999 – Japan – 1996

- 3×CD, Album, Reissue, Digipak – The Prince Estate 19075918052 – US – 2019

- 3×CD, Album, Reissue, Blu-spec CD2 – The Prince Estate SICP 31296~8 – Japan – 2019

- 3×CD, Album, Reissue, Digipak – The Prince Estate 19075918052 – Europe – 2019

Cassette releases

- 3×Cassette, Album, Clean – NPG E4-55076 – US – 1996

- 3×Cassette, Album – EMI EKPC-0568-570 – South Korea – 1996

- 3×Cassette, Album – NPG 7243 8 54982 4 4 – Europe – 1996

- 3×Cassette, Album, Dolby HX Pro, B NR – NPG E4-54982 – Canada – 1996

- 3×Cassette, Album – NPG 7243 8 55064 4 4 E0825 etc. – Indonesia – 1996

- 3×Cassette, Album, Dolby HX Pro, B NR – NPG E4-54982 – US – 1996

- 3×Cassette, Album, Stereo, Longbox – NPG E4-55012 – US – 1996

- 3×Cassette, Album – NPG 7243 8 55064 4 5 – Malaysia – 1996

- 3×Cassette, Album – EMI TC-177 – Taiwan – 1996

- Cassette, Album, Dolby HX Pro, B NR – NPG 7243-8-54983-4-3 – Philippines – 1996

Vinyl release:

In 2019 as part of a partnership between The Prince Estate and Legacy Recordings (a Sony Music division), Emancipation was reissued for the first time on vinyl—22 years after its original CD and TC debut. The reissue launched on September 13, 2019, alongside remastered editions of two other mid-90s Prince albums: The Versace Experience (Prelude 2 Gold) and Chaos and Disorder.

A limited-edition 6LP purple vinyl box set (150-gram pressing), housed in a slipcase with individual LP jackets for each disc. It included a digital download voucher.

This was the album's first-ever vinyl release.

Emancipation I

A1 Jam Of The Year

A2 Right Back Here In My Arms

A3 Somebody's Somebody

B1 Get Yo Groove On

B2 Courtin' Time

B3 Betcha By Golly Wow!

Emancipation II

C1 We Gets Up

C2 White Mansion

C3 Damned If I Do

D1 I Can't Make U Love Me

D2 Mr. Happy

D3 In This Bed I Scream

Emancipation III

E1 Sex In The Summer

E2 One Kiss At A Time

E3 Soul Sanctuary

F1 Emale

F2 Curious Child

F3 Dreamin' About U

Emancipation IV

G1 Joint 2 Joint

G2 The Holy River

G3 Let's Have A Baby

H1 Saviour

H2 The Plan

H3 Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother / Wife

Emancipation V

I1 Slave

I2 New World

I3 The Human Body

J1 Face Down

J2 La, La, La Means I Love You

J3 Style

Emancipation VI

K1 Sleep Around

K2 Da, Da, Da

K3 My Computer

L1 One Of Us

L2 The Love We Make

L3 Emancipation

Production and Context

Produced, Arranged, Composed, Performed by 0(+> (all tracks). Mixed by 0(+> & Kirk Johnson. Recorded 1995–1996 at Paisley Park. Guests: Kate Bush, Mayte, Eric Leeds, Rosie Gaines, Rhonda Smith, Savion Glover. Samples from Funkadelic, Tower of Power, Ice Cube. First independent release after Warner Bros. contract ended.

Singles Released

- Betcha by Golly Wow! (1996)

- The Holy River (1997)

- Somebody’s Somebody (1997)

Album Chart Performance

- USA (Billboard 200): 11

- UK: 18

- Many European top 20 entries

Legacy and Collectibility

Emancipation is Prince’s 3-hour declaration of freedom and love, the longest album of his career. Original 3×CD sets fetch £10–£30 on eBay/Discogs, 3×cassettes £15–£40, 2019 6×LP box £80–£150. Verify catalogue 7243 8 54982 2 0. Streams on Spotify/Tidal preserve the epic scope. This triple set is a must-have for Prince completists and ‘90s R&B collectors.

Do you have Emancipation in your collection? Which hour hits hardest? Share in the comments!

Sources

Information is drawn from my personal knowledge and supplemented by web sources, including Prince Vault, Discogs, 45cat, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, Wikipedia, BBC Official Charts Company, Billboard Chart History and YouTube