Happy Birthday NEWS!

A year ago today, June 30, copies of NEWS arrived in people's mailboxes. By the end of the day, most of the trays had fallen out...

I liked NEWS when I first heard the previews online, and within 6 months, I absolutely loved it - now I rarely listen to it, but it still blows me away. It's also amazing how much everything has changed in a year. A year ago, Prince was releasing an obscure album of four 14-minute jazz fusion pieces through his website. When it arrived in stores, no-one even knew. Now, a year later, he is on one of the top-grossing tours in the world, his new album has been top 10 since release, and he's back at the top in a way he hasn't been since Diamonds And Pearls, if not Parade.

What a year to be a Prince fan.

A year old...and it still sucks...hee hee...makes Madhouse look like John Coltraine.


All the NEWS that is fit to suck...


North, South, East, West...this Prince album ain't the best.


Okay, I'm done...I can't believe how much has changed in a year as far as the direction of Prince's career. I really thought that NEWS was the final nail in the coffin...that it was just going to be obscure albums with 37 minute long tracks and no possible commercial potential from then on. Glad I was wrong and glad the man extracted his head from his anus.

Some day i vow to listen to this album ...

it still sits in my car somewhere ....

Wow, a year already?
NEWS is definately not his best album, but it's great to just chill out on after a hard days work. It definately gets deep in places, especially EAST and SOUTH, which is what I love about it. I know a lot of people have expressed their dissapointment with this album, but please give it another chance. Turn the lights off, stick on some decent headphones and turn it up real loud. You might be surprised at what you get! Still, it is amazing what a year can make. This time last year heaps of people were predicting a "comeback" for 2004, but I don't think anyone predicted just how big 2004 has been so far, and we're only half way there!!!

I really don't know how people can diss this album, it is amazing! I listen to it on my Ipod to and from work at least once or twice a week - long drawn out suites which have to be listened to more than once to appreciate (like classical/jazz music for instance). The musicianship is sublime, which the great John Blackwell's drumming the driving force and Prince rythmic guitar work a joy to hear - his solo's are also excellent, although cut too short in places. More could have been made of the delicately beautiful melody at the end of East. don't forget the Amazing bass work on North (and throughout). For those of you who love Call my Name, then West is the instrumental version!

C'mon in Prince's own words, you gotta be brave and be prepared to "dive headlong off a cliff (musically)". That's what he did with this album and I love him for it!

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[This message was edited Wed Jun 30 8:46:24 2004 by gottagottagotta]

news has its place....works when im taking a or just chillin at home trying to relax, and get a few things done

no matter what you think about the album, it was still nice to be a Grammy nominated artist again

violett said:

In the bath is actually the only time I listen to it as well.

meltwithu said:

But then we realized he was nominated in teh same category as Kenny G and suddenly felt sheepish.

.....and it still sucks

booyah said:

this is NEWS?

I love NEWS I think it's a great record! Insult me at your leisure I don't care!

lovemachine said:

better to lose to kenny g than lionel "can't slow down" ritchie

I love NEWS too! IMHO it's one of his best

toejam said:

Only thing "deep" about that CD is the SH*T that it sounds like!

"EAST" frickin' rules!!!


It's hard to take the whole album in one sitting though... I very rarely do...

NEWS is by some way the stinkiest album prince has ever released. i sold mine without even making a copy, i was so disgusted.

news is a nice album. it's good to listen to while doing something else. south is really nice, especially the way blackwell was banging the drum kit with military precision. that song reminds me of soldiers marching into battle. the other songs on the album are low key. you can listen to the news and forget that it's on. it's almost like a fusion of ambient trance, jazz and the minneapolis sound. you can still hear prince all over it. i always liked his acoustic songs. i think that prince's new stuff is so much better than the old. i still love all of the classic hits, but the modern stuff is much tighter.

I listened to this again recently. The instruments are great, because it's the NPG, but I don't know why I ever liked NEWS. It sounds like 56 minutes of Paisley Park jams and noodlings that would end up on some obscure bootleg for absolute fanatics -- nothing really worth an official album release.

Still, North is nice.