Just when haters were counting NPGMC out and bitching about ONA and not getting many downloads, we get Xpectation. If there was any doubt of the prevailing genius of Prince, this is a project that eliminates it. Madhouse? I think not. This is Prince doing the more traditional jazz that I have always dreamed of.

I agree. They saved face [no pun intended] at the very end
of the year. Xpectation is a cool album and I'm glad we got
it in the end.

The download of "Empty Room" is a very nice extra as well.
Especially since it sounds more like a studio live song than
an actual stadium recording [kinda like "the undertaker" cd]

It's kind of silly to see all these people coming down on
these downloads and calling it all bs and crap. Where the
hell do they get off anyway?

I mean, with the whole ona and the non-verbal treatment I
myself was also being quite negative. But this new album and
the extra download, to me anyway, completes the year in a
good and cool style.

I really honestly don't see any reason for anyone to keep
complaining now. But surely, someone will give me some tips

Do you really think they would have released xpecatation if fans didnt speak up?

Why did they totally ignore releasing anything from may till december?

They were cooing people to rejoin last year as well with new songs and promises. But once they have your money, it all stops.

I agree Face. I was definitely going to be dissapointed if the ONA Live box set was last thing members of the club received for their 2002 package. But with the release of Xpectation, I'll politely take those great songs and shut up now.

One thing I'm curious to know is exactly when these songs were recorded. Of course it doesn't take long for Prince to lay down new tracks, but the inclusion of Vannessa Mae is a really pleasant surprise. Xpectation makes me wonder that much more about Xenophobia (the album). Does anyone know if any of the Xpectation tracks were intended for Xenophobia?

Also, I wonder if Xpectation/Xenophobia were the songs Prince performed at the Jazz festival last year.

Regardless, though, as a fan of jazz, Xpectation has some really nice stuff on it. It shows a side of Prince that many people wouldn't xpect... which I suppose is the whole point. Listen to Xogenous and tell me that you couldn't hear that song being played on your local jazz radio station.

NPGMCsucks said:

Unfortunately, "NPGMCsucks", I have to agree with you. I'm willing to bet money that the NPGMC was overwhelmed with e-mails after the ONA Live Box Set asking "Is this it?" Is that all we get for 2002?" "If so, you'll never get my money again, etc. etc." And then like magic, Xpectation gets released.

I sure hope Prince is taking notes though. Xpectation is the exact kind of thing that makes die hard fans become a member of the club. We all know how prolific Prince is, and we all want access to exclusive material. It's really that simple.

Save face is the proper description.

For those of us who saw ONA and ONA Live as filler, may be right. Rational indicates Prince put 99% of his efforts into the concert promotion (no matter how shameless in the ego massaging). Ona Live is an after thought that, at best, started with Prince's attention.

Anyway, though I am bitter, I am also gushing all over Xpectation. It's nasty, it's mellow, a little frightning, and well free. Sometimes one can speak volumes by keeping their mouth closed. To me...

...so, if this is the material he will bring forth, then let it be. I can relate.

NPGMCsucks said:

No, I don't think they would have released it if fans hadn't spoken up; it must be due to the many 'thank u for a wonderful member year' e-mails many of us sent to the NPGMC!

Get real!

They are just going along as planned; they are certainly not rewarding people who can't be anything else than negative and for whom it is never enough, no matter what they send, organize or release!

NPGMCsucks said:

Well perhaps, but still, they did pull through both years
and delivered the goods.

And fact is that we don't know what the hell Prince had
planned for this year.

Ever since back in 1999 he's released something at the
new year. [one song, when eye lay my hands on you].

So perhaps he planned to release something at the end of
the year all along. Perhaps he did not. Who knows.

I don't. But I suppose all disgruntled people do.

Barbes said:

are you serious?

"rewarding"? people paid to join. theyre not ungrateful peons, theyre paying customers.

I think it's commendable that Prince has responded to complaints with some last minute new product, though I can't help but mention that the whole reason I joined NPGMC last year was because they were finally going to offer music on CD, rather than downloads. I don't have the proper resources to enjoy/burn mp3s, I don't like the quality of what I've heard, and quite frankly, I like having liner notes, nice packaging, and a solid object containing the music which I can carry around.

Yeah, I'm old skool. Sue me.

Even if I can't access Xpectation, I'm impressed that he offered a last minute response/appeal for renewals. Unfortunately, it's not going to woo me back into the fray. I'm still loving my ONA Live set, though it's something I coulda bought retail.

For some reason, downloads and Rainbow Children mousepads just don't hold the allure for me that they used to...

NPGMCsucks said:

I am totally serious!

We already received what was promised to us and yet everyone keeps complaining; "it's not exclusive enough because it is for sale now" (and than to think there are members who had Xpectation for SALE on Ebay within 30 minutes after downloading it ), "why didn't I get an EXTRA piano cd like some of the others", "I couldn't use the vip-ticket option because he didn't come to my country" etc.).

I was totally satisfied with the member-benefits I received before Xpectation.
Xpectation is a very nice extra treat, as is Empty Room.

We are not 'paying customers', we became members of a club and were promised some club-member benefits, which we received (4 cd's, opportunity to buy vip tix to concerts etc.).
If you want to be a paying customer, go to the retail section of the site and order something.

It's funny to me how soon some people seem to forget that being a member of the club isn't free.

Maybe the release of Xpectation was planned, maybe it wasn't. But if you're in business (any kind of business) your number one concern should be satisfying your paying customers.

It may be true that Prince.org has more than it's fair share of negativity. But can you imagine being the owner of a restaurant and 10 percent of your customers always walk away feeling unsatisfied saying the service is terrible, etc? The owner can keep ignoring the negative comments all he wants, but sooner or later a large enough unsatisfied customer base is going to have an impact.

Barbes said:

I'm all in favor of the downloads. I just question the timing of it all and what this means for year 3.

And here in America, when you pay for something, oh say $100, you're a customer.

The $100 is a member-fee, or however you may call that in English.
If you pay a member-fee you do not become a customer, you become a member of a club. I can't imagine that this is different in America, but hey, maybe I'm wrong .
I for one am happy that we have that distinct difference here in the Netherlands. It makes things so much easier to understand

If Xpectation had been on the cards all along, wouldn't the NPGMC have responded to all the negative comments and e-mails with something along the lines of; 'The Club year isn't over yet, please be patient'?
But no, we were told that we'd had our 4 CDs and they couldn't understand the negativity (and what about the 'Chocolate Invasion' commentaries?)
And, when asked why the website had been shut down, wasn't their reply 'All products and services for 2002 have been delivered'?
And didn't they say that Year 2 ended 31st December 2002?

I would say that it's almost certain that Xpectation was a result of people standing up to the Club and telling them what a rip-off it had been up to that point and, of course, the legal aspects of the advert in the tourbook.

I wouldn't say that Xpectation is a victory for NPGMC, but I will say that it's softened the effect for a large number of dis-satisfied customers.

It's blatantly obvious that Xpectation is released in response to the unsatisfied members of NPGMC. The fact that its a download not a CD merely confirms this.

Shame tho, if it WAS a CD, I could have been tempted to join next year, but as I don't have the equipment necassary for decent downloads etc it would be a total waste of money.

However, I am so glad for all you members out there recieving this album, most of what I have read of it is good and it's cool that Prince DOES listen sometimes.

Barbes said:

calling someone a member i think is only meant to soften the obligations npgmc has to fulfill.

your handing someone money in exchange for a product.

Barbes said:

I couldnt agree more. Clear thinking and the truth shine tthrough individual greed and a lack of gratitude

Personally I really hope that NPGMC 2003 will go on with the CD releases instead of the downloads, or eventually will let every single member to choose what it prefer, making available at the same time downloads and CDs.

I'm very satisfied with my 2002 membership and I think the download release of Xpectation is really great (IMO it's a musical gem), but I have to say that a minor (well, really minor) disappointment for me is to not have this album on CD with full sound quality and artwork (like the ONA CD), and I surely will buy it in case of official release.

If you really think about it though I don't think Xpectation was a last minute downloadable album because there have been a page made etc... With all the works involved in the process of making it available to us I don't think they did it last minute... Anyway it is sure we would have had it anyways...

There were posts in December alerting everyone that there would in fact be another album released for NPGMC 2002 members. Doesn't anyone else remember that?

starr said:

No, what did it say? The site has been down for most of December.
[This message was edited Sun Jan 5 12:33:16 PST 2003 by JWbrainwash]

My mistake, it was November. Check out the below noted thread from 11/8/2002:

"ONA live" is NOT the last release of this year's NPGMC

I wonder why he named it "Xpectation"...

xpectations, xpectations...

dennis said:

hmm its not that hard to figure out.. whats the last SOUND u hear in the last song? out of the NINE tracks?

So far, it doesnt prevail any genius, but that doesnt mean eye think its a beautiful and great album...


perhaps if prince played all those instruments.. well, that would be a different story now wouldnt it..

I'm very much looking forward to hearing Xpectation.

In 2001 and 2002 both I think NPGMC has delivered what they said they would, and a little bit more perhaps. The only gripes I have ever had with the club really have been down to customer service problems etc. Music-wise it certainly isn't a bad deal, once you finally get what you pay for.

Personally I like to know what I'm paying for so the ideal system for me would be if Prince just sold his new material from his site so we have the option to purchase (or not) with full knowledge of what you would be getting and when you'd be getting it. You know, like a real business.

If there is a club in 2003... well I guess it is unlikely we'll see Prince again so soon for another European tour! So it's really all about the music for me. If the music is only available from the club, that'll mean I probably will join in 2003. However if it is available (legally) from other sources i.e. the CDs are released to retail I'd prefer that option myself.

I think it's great that Prince released this for the club, whether or not it was planned all along or a last minute response to fan comments. I think it shows the beauty of the internet over sending out CDs, that you can get stuff up and out to fans incredibly quickly.

As for those fans that who complain they don't have the equipment to download music, geez, I've got a lowly 56k modem and a service provider which disconnects me after 2 hours, and I managed to download Xpectation alright. It took a bit of time and effort, that's all. The NPGMC is after all an internet based club, so to be on it and on here you MUST have some sort of internet connection.

As for Xpectation, though I appreciate it, it's not my personal cup 'o' tea. It always seems to me that when Prince does pure instrumentals they lack structure compared to his well worked out songs which actually transfer to instrumentals much better. Can you hum an Xpectation tune right now? Probably not, just because it's jazzy doesn't mean you can't have a hook.

Also, he tends to let others take the lead too much, with Vanessa Mae it starts to sound like her track with Prince happening to backing up on keyboards rather than the other way around. And when Prince leads it sounds so much better.

I agree with MetalOrange...Xpectation is not my personal cup of tea either (I felt the same way about the Madhouse albums so it is a matter of musical taste).

However it is VERY NICE to receive it (regardless of whether it is in response to complaints or had always been planned - I suspect former rather than latter sadly).

Empty Room Live is awesome a another brilliant surprise.

I have said it before and I will say it again. The NPGMC needs to communicate clearly and unambiguously in order for us to all stop complaining. Had they said...

"Xenophobia/Xpectations will be released as a download at the end of the year in addition to the ONA CD and the ONA Live CD plus another surprise" then we would have all been frothing at the mouth.

I just hope that Prince and his gang learn from this.

Personally I would like the club to keep the CDs (but be clear whether they are 4 physical disks or 4 albums) but also provide a surprise download every couple/few months or so throughout the year (just think of allthoise smiling faces)

One other thing...

I think this "album" IS Xenophobia (rather obvious with all the X's) but that the title track is removed because it is on ONA Live AND it is a little dig at all us fans who all have different Xpectations on what we should get from the club.

Victory? Victory, you say? Not victory. Begun, the Club War has.

Sorry, watched Star Wars on an airplane. Yoda is cuter than Prince, these days.