in the NPGMC download store, is It any good? Twenty - six minutes of music for 1.99 ?

i don't have that specific NPGMC download of The War, but the recording i have - which is from the NPG CD release - is one that i like a lot. i can't tell ya about the quality of the download, but if you're asking about the quality of the music, i say go for it.

The download is the same as the NPG CD and cassette version -- and the quality is the same WMA encoding rate as the other NPGMC downloads at the Musicology store.

I have The War on cassette (even though I cancelled my Crystal Ball CD order from 1-800-new-funk back in the day cuz I could get it in store months sooner, I somehow ended up on their mailing list and still received the cassette for free) -- the download is basically CD quality unless you're massively picky and a true audiophile.

Listen to the sample that you can hear at the club by moving "The War" slider up -- what you hear is pretty much what you're going to get. Very free-form, long, mid-tempo live jam. Cool guitar work. Small live crowd. Prince having fun and "getting deep." Any P collector who didn't get their hands on this a few years ago certainly can't complain about getting a legit copy for less than $2.
[Edited 5/20/05 14:39pm]

The recording quality's good - I downloaded it to burn to CD even though I have the old free cassette version - easier than rigging up my old tape deck to my PC to And you save 22 cants if you're a member!!!

I would say it's one of Prince's wierdest songs - a sombre, serious pseuodo-political rant about the future of mankind and how we are letting ourselves become increasingly controlled and manipulated. The (live) music is very low key with weird synth-notes throughout, it builds up slowly into a crescendo but drops back down just as it's about to get going.

When I first got it, I didn't quite get it, but I returned to it years later, and now I think it is brilliant, it has a really eerie atmosphere to it. Well worth the money, unless all you want from Prince is lightweight pop, rock, and syrupy ballads, in which case it's not for you.
[Edited 5/21/05 2:11am]
[Edited 5/21/05 2:12am]

still havent heard this tune since the day I saw it.

It's his Opus...Manifesto...Epic of a song. It's one of my top songs of his. I highly recommend anyone who is a Prince fan to get a hold of this song.

im still waiting for my copy.....damn you mr. postman...damn you!!!