Prince (October 18, 1994) – Come Album RIAA Gold Certification

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On October 18, 1994, Prince's fifteenth studio album, Come, was officially certified Gold by the RIAA in the United States for 500,000 copies.

Come was the last album of newly recorded material released by Warner Bros. under the name Prince while he remained under the label's exclusive recording contract.

The album had been released worldwide in August 1994, eleven months after The Hits 1, The Hits 2 and The Hits / The B-Sides.

Prince subsequently described the album in the context of his contractual obligations to Warner Bros. At the time, he regarded the recordings as material belonging to his former identity while promoting The Gold Experience as representing his newer work.

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Most of the album was recorded during the first half of 1993.

Race dated from late 1991 before being reworked in 1993, while Letitgo was the final song recorded for the album, completed in March 1994.

The project went through several configurations during 1993 and early 1994. Material intended for the album was at one stage considered for inclusion in the planned three-disc The Dawn project before Come again became a separate release.

A March 1994 configuration submitted to Warner Bros. did not contain the eventual title track. Warner Bros. subsequently requested the inclusion of Come, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World and additional strong material.

Prince delivered the final configuration of Come on May 19, 1994, the same day he delivered a configuration of The Gold Experience.

STYLE & THEMES

Come captures Prince during one of the most transitional periods of his career.

The album combines funk, R&B, rock and experimental elements while documenting the divide Prince was creating between recordings associated with the Prince name and the newer music associated with his changed artistic identity.

The album artwork reinforced this concept through the inscription "Prince 1958-1993".

TRACK-BY-TRACK NOTES

• Come — Extended 11:13 opening track and the eventual title piece.

• Space — Features contributions from Michael B., Sonny T., Tommy Barbarella and Morris Hayes.

• Pheromone — One of the compositions developed during the evolving 1993 album configurations.

• Loose! — Another track that appeared through several configurations of the project.

• Papa — Features Michael B. on drums and Sonny T. on bass guitar.

• Race — Originated in late 1991 and was subsequently reworked in 1993. Mayte contributes additional background vocals.

• Dark — Features Michael B., Sonny T., Tommy Barbarella and Morris Hayes together with the New Power Generation Hornz.

• Solo — Written by Prince and David Henry Hwang.

• Letitgo — Recorded in March 1994 and the final newly recorded song added to the album.

• Orgasm — Short closing piece derived from the longer Poem.

BONUS TRACKS

None.

RELEASE HISTORY

Come was released in the UK on August 15, 1994 and in the United States on August 16, 1994 through Warner Bros. Records.

The album produced two commercially released singles, Letitgo and Space.

A German promotional release titled Come featured Poem, the original longer piece from which Orgasm was derived.

On October 18, 1994, approximately two months after its release, Come achieved RIAA Gold certification in the United States for 500,000 copies.

The album was subsequently reissued by the Prince Estate and Legacy Recordings on February 4, 2022.

NOTES

• Prince's fifteenth full-length studio album.

• October 18, 1994 marks the album's RIAA Gold certification rather than its original release date.

• Certified Gold in the United States for 500,000 copies.

• The album reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart.

• Reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.

• The finished album was delivered to Warner Bros. on May 19, 1994.

• The cover inscription reads "Prince 1958-1993".

• Prince later presented the album as contractual material associated with his former identity.

CHARTS & CERTIFICATIONS

AMERICA

Country	Chart	Peak
USA	Billboard 200	15
USA	Billboard Top R&B Albums	2

EUROPE

Country	Chart	Peak
UK	UK Albums Chart	1
Germany	Musikmarkt Top 100 Albums	9
Netherlands	Album Top 100	4

CERTIFICATIONS

Institution	Country	Date	Certification
RIAA	USA	October 18, 1994	Gold (500,000)
BPI	UK	August 1, 1994	Gold (100,000)
SNEP	France	February 19, 1995	Gold (100,000)

PERSONNEL

Prince — all vocals and instruments except where noted

Michael B. — drums on Space, Papa and Dark

Sonny T. — bass guitar on Space, Papa and Dark

Tommy Barbarella — keyboards on Space and Dark

Morris Hayes — keyboards on Space and Dark

Michael B. Nelson — trombone on Come, Race, Dark and Letitgo

Steve Strand — trumpet on Come, Race, Dark and Letitgo

Dave Jensen — trumpet on Come, Race, Dark and Letitgo

Kathy Jensen — baritone saxophone on Come, Race, Dark and Letitgo

Brian Gallagher — tenor saxophone on Come, Race, Dark and Letitgo

Mayte — background vocals on Race

Eric Leeds — flute on Letitgo

Kathleen Bradford — background vocals on Letitgo

Ricky Peterson — keyboards on Letitgo

Vanity — credited as "she knows" on Orgasm

PRODUCTION

Produced by Prince

Arranged by Prince

Engineered by Prince, Chronic Freeze, Ray Hahnfeld and Tom Tucker

Mixed by Chronic Freeze, Ray Hahnfeld and Tom Tucker

Assistant Engineering by Xanex Bess, Tom Garneau and Kimm James

Mastered by Chronic Freeze

Programming by Airiq Anest

Photography by Terry Gydesen

Art Direction by J.C. Munson

Label: Warner Bros. Records

Recorded At: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, Minnesota / The Record Plant, Los Angeles / Larrabee Sound Studios, Los Angeles

RELEASE VARIANTS TABLE

Artist	Title	Label	Country	Date	Format
Prince	Come	Warner Bros. Records	UK / Europe	August 15, 1994	LP / CD / Cassette
Prince	Come	Warner Bros. Records	USA	August 16, 1994	LP / CD / Cassette
Prince	Come	Legacy Recordings	Various	February 4, 2022	Reissue

TRACKLIST TABLE (ALL FORMATS)

Format	Tracklisting
CD	Come • Space • Pheromone • Loose! • Papa • Race • Dark • Solo • Letitgo • Orgasm
LP	Side One: Come • Space • Pheromone • Loose! Side Two: Papa • Race • Dark • Solo • Letitgo • Orgasm
2LP Promo	LP1 Side One: Come • Space • Loose! LP1 Side Two: Pheromone • Papa • Race LP2 Side One: Dark • Solo • Letitgo • Orgasm LP2 Side Two: Space (Universal Love Remix) • Space (Funky Stuff Remix) • Letitgo (Q.D. III Instrumental) • Letitgo (J. Swift #3 Instrumental)

SINGLES RELEASED

Single	Release
Letitgo	Commercial single
Space	Commercial single
Come (Poem)	German promotional release

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SOURCES Discogs, 45 World, Wikipedia, BBC Official Charts, Prince Vault, Sleeveographia2, RockfilesUK.

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