Chaos and Disorder

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Chaos and Disorder
Studio album by
Prince
ReleasedJuly 9, 1996
RecordedMay 1993; October 1993; Late 1994; Late 1995–early 1996; February – April 1996
Genre
Length39:13
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerPrince
Prince chronology
Girl 6
(1996) 		Chaos and Disorder
(1996) 		Emancipation
(1996)
Singles from Chaos and Disorder
  1. "Dinner with Delores"
    Released: June 12, 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Consumer GuideA−[2]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[3]
The Guardian[4]
NME2/10[5]
Q[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Select1/5[9]
Tom HullB+[10]

Chaos and Disorder is the eighteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on July 9, 1996, by Warner Bros. Records. The album reached number 26 in the United States—his poorest performance with an album of new material since his debut album For You—and number 14 in the United Kingdom.[11] Prince refused to promote the album, still engaged in his fight against his Warner Bros. contract, and it was released simply to fulfill his contractual obligations.[12] The inlay sleeve carries the message: "Originally intended 4 private use only, this compilation serves as the last original material recorded by (love symbol) 4 warner brothers records - may you live 2 see the dawn".[13]

The single "Dinner with Delores" was released in the United Kingdom only, and despite the low-key promotion, became a Top 40 hit, albeit a minor one by his previous standards. Despite having been out of print for years, the album was released digitally on Tidal in 2016, and on iTunes in 2018.[14] It was reissued on CD and vinyl in September 2019. The inlay sleeve shows a bloody hypodermic needle with a dollar bill inside it, and a human heart sitting in a toilet bowl.[13]

Production, release and re-appraisal[edit]

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.[15][16] 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."[17] 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".[18] 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."[2] 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."[15]

Warner Bros. contract[edit]

"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.[15]

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.[19]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Prince.

Chaos and Disorder track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Chaos and Disorder"4:19
2."I Like It There"3:15
3."Dinner with Delores"2:46
4."The Same December"3:24
5."Right the Wrong"4:39
6."Zannalee"2:43
7."I Rock, Therefore I Am"6:15
8."Into the Light"2:46
9."I Will"3:37
10."Dig U Better Dead"3:59
11."Had U"1:26

Singles[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Chaos and Disorder
Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 54
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] 17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 47
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[24] 39
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 8
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[26] 31
French Albums (SNEP)[27] 25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 42
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[29] 15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 32
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[32] 14
US Billboard 200[33] 26

References[edit]

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Prince: Chaos and Disorder Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Prince". robertchristgau.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  3. ^ Browne, David (July 26, 1996). "Chaos and Disorder (1996): Prince". Entertainment Weekly. No. #337. Time. ISSN 1049-0434. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  4. ^ "Prince: every album rated – and ranked". The Guardian. April 22, 2016. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022.
  5. ^ Perry, John (July 6, 1996). "TAFKAP - Chaos and Disorder". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  6. ^ "Prince - Chaos and Disorder CD Album". CDUniverse.com. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  7. ^ Hardy, Ernes (August 22, 1996). "Prince: Chaos And Disorder". Rolling Stone. No. RS 741. Wenner Media. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007.
  8. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (Revised 4th ed.). Firefly. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ^ Gilbey, Ryan (September 1996). "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince - Chaos & Disorder". Select: 99.
  10. ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Rock (1970s)". tomhull.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  11. ^ "Chaos and Disorder > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  12. ^ "Chaos and Disorder". www.goldiesparade.co.uk. Goldies Parade. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  13. ^ a b Prince, "Chaos and Disorder" (1996)(2019 reissue), CD inlay sleeve
  14. ^ a b "T.A.F.K.A.P Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  15. ^ a b c "From the archives:: Prince: 'If I knew the things I know now before, I wouldn't be in the music industry'". Los Angeles Times. April 21, 2016.
  16. ^ "Why Prince's 'Chaos and Disorder' Isn't a Throwaway".
  17. ^ "On Second Thought… Prince, "Chaos and Disorder"". May 2, 2016. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018.
  18. ^ "Prince's 'Chaos and Disorder' Turns 25 | Anniversary Retrospective".
  19. ^ "Inside Prince's Career-Long Battle to Master His Artistic Destiny". Billboard.
  20. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 225.
  21. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Symbol – Chaos and Disorder" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Symbol – Chaos and Disorder" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Symbol – Chaos and Disorder" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  24. ^ "Listen – Danmarks Officielle Hitliste – Udarbejdet af AIM Nielsen for IFPI Danmark – Uge 29". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Copenhagen. July 21, 1996.
  25. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Symbol – Chaos and Disorder" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  26. ^ "The Symbol: Chaos and Disorder" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  27. ^ "Lescharts.com – The Symbol – Chaos and Disorder". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Symbol – Chaos and Disorder" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  29. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Symbol – Chaos and Disorder". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  30. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Symbol – Chaos and Disorder". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Symbol – Chaos and Disorder". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  32. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  33. ^ "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 1, 2016.

Further reading[edit]

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