Prince 0(+> (July 9 1996) Chaos And Disorder - Album

Chaos and Disorder is Prince’s eighteenth studio album and the second (and final) album of new material released under his symbol name while under contract with Warner Bros. Often regarded as a contractual obligation album, it was released in July 1996.

RELEASE DETAILS

Artist: Prince (as )

Label: Warner Bros. Records

Catalogue: 9362-46314-2

Format: CD

Country: Worldwide

Released: July 9, 1996

Length: 39:09

THE STORY

A high-energy, band-oriented album featuring a mix of rock, funk, and soul. Many tracks were recorded between 1993 and 1996, with the New Power Generation heavily involved. It includes the single “Dinner With Delores” and closes with the solo Prince track “Had U.”

CONTEXT & NOTES

Prince described the album as a contractual release to fulfill his Warner Bros. obligations. It was the last original album he delivered to the label before moving on to Emancipation. The project was assembled quickly in 1996 alongside The Vault... Old Friends 4 Sale. (Note: Original vinyl release did not occur until the 2019 reissue.)

TRACK LISTING (1996 Original CD)

Chaos And Disorder — 4:18

I Like It There — 3:15

Dinner With Delores — 2:45

The Same December — 3:23

Right The Wrong — 4:38

Zannalee — 2:43

I Rock, Therefore I Am — 6:14

Into The Light — 2:46

I Will — 3:35

Dig U Better Dead — 4:00

Had U — 1:25

Total Length: 39:09

PERSONNEL Musicians Prince (as ) — all vocals and instruments (except where noted)

ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS AND BACKGROUND

• Michael B. — drums (tracks 1–6, 8–9)

• Sonny T. — bass guitar (tracks 1–6, 8–9)

• Mr. Hayes (Morris Hayes) — keyboards (tracks 1, 4–6, 8–9)

• Tommy Barbarella — keyboards (tracks 1, 4–6, 8–9)

• Rosie Gaines — background vocals (tracks 1, 7–10)

• NPG Hornz (Michael B. Nelson, Kathy Jensen, Dave Jensen, Brian Gallagher, Steve Strand) — horns (tracks 5, 7)

• Scrap D. & Steppa Ranks — rap (track 7)

• Mayte, Ophélie Winter — additional vocals (various)

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Production

• Prince (as ) — production, arrangement, mixing, engineering

• Various engineers including César Sogbe, Dave Friedlander, Ray Hahnfeldt, Steve Durkee

• Mastering: Steve Durkee, Kirk Johnson, Stephen Marcussen

• Art Direction & Photos: Parke

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PACKAGING HIGHLIGHTS

• Standard jewel case CD

• Liner notes explicitly state it as the final original material for Warner Bros.

• Minimalist design with “contractual obligation” tone

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CHARTS 

• America

• USA: Billboard 200 | 27 Jul. 1996 | 26 | 4 weeks

• Europe

• Austria: Alben TOP 100 | 21 Jul. 1996 | 17 | 9 weeks

• Belgium: Albums Flanders | 20 Jul. 1996 | 24 | 5 weeks

• Belgium: Ultratop 200 Wallonia | 27 Jul. 1996 | 47 | 2 weeks Finland: Top 50 Albums | Week 29/1996 | 31 | 2 weeks France: Top 50 Albums | 13 Jul. 1996 | 25 | 1 week

• Germany: MusikWoche Top 100 Albums | 22 Jul. 1996 | 42 | 8 weeks The Netherlands: Album Top 100 | 20 Jul. 1996 | 8 | 8 weeks

• Norway: VG-Lista Topp 40 Albums | Week 29/1996 | 15 | 4 weeks

• Sweden: GLF Top 60 Albums | 12 Jul. 1996 | 32 | 2 weeks

• Switzerland: Alben TOP 100 | 14 Jul. 1996 | 21 | 9 weeks

• UK: UK Albums Chart | 20 Jul. 1996 | 14 | 4 weeks

While Prince insisted that the album "was done very quickly", and that they were "seeing how fast and hard we could thrash it out", more than a third of it dates back to sessions for The Gold Experience and Come. It also marked the return of Rosie Gaines, who sang on five songs, and Michael B. and Sonny T., in what were to be their last sessions as regular New Power Generation members. A re-appraisal of the album after Prince's death lauded it as "a rocker with moments of some of Prince's finest guitar playing." Another described it as a "tightly-focused, grunge-oriented rock-funk collection" where "the grit and punch of the musicianship is what gives the album its overall raw edge". The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote in his review that, "anybody expecting a kissoff or a throwaway radically underestimates his irrepressible musicality. Apropos of nothing, here's a guitar album for your earhole, enhanced by a fresh if not shocking array of voices and trick sounds and cluttered now and then by horns." At the time of its release, Prince told the Los Angeles Times: "I was bitter before, but now I've washed my face. I can just move on. I'm free."

Warner Bros. contract

"We've come to a point where we feel that if he's happier somewhere else, we don't have any beef with him."

— Bob Merlis, senior vice president of publicity at Warner Bros.

After Chaos and Disorder it was 18 years before Prince released another album on Warner Bros., 2014's Plectrumelectrum, under a deal which gave back Prince control of his masters, the absence of which on his original contract had been a source of considerable acrimony.

SOURCES Album liner notes, Discogs, 45cat, Official Charts, Wikipedia, Prince Vault.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE All album artwork, photographs, logos, and original text excerpts remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This entry is a transformative, non-commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference.