I'm sure that every fan(fam) goes to the record store(or mailbox for the NPG music club members) with anticipation about new Prince material. My question is which album let you down the most? Which great album had a poor and disappointing follow up in your opinion. For me it was when
"Crystal Ball" was followed up with "New Power Soul" I will admit however that Power Soul did grow on me after a while and I warmed up to it nicely!


"All understand and all stand under this affirmation now...by the power invested in me by God all negativity bows!"

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[This message was edited Wed Feb 26 2:21:58 PST 2003 by IstenSzek]

I would say that everything that followed Emancipation and up to (but not including) Rave was a disappointment.

With Emancipation, it seemed like we had a fresh new start, with unlimited possibilities. Instead we get Crystal Ball, New Power Soul, and The Truth.

There are quite a few gems on even the bad albums, so it's not a complete loss. I just think that his "free" momentum fizzled out shortly after Emancipation . . .

But if I had to pick ONE to throw away, it would definitely be NPS.

Chaos and Disorder being followed up after the Gold Experience. At 14 years old, I was just getting 2 the point where i started 2 understand Prince's music and lyrics, so TGE was like heaven 4 me. It was the first new Prince album I had bought on teh day it came out. So when Chaos came out, I saved all my money, even sold some stuff at my grandmother's yard sale 4 the money, and I had my mother rush me 2 Eastland mall in Detroit 2 get it. When I went 2 the counter, the clerk (also a big fan) looked at me in disgust and said, U actually want this?? When I got home, I knew exactly what she meant. I was expecting something as good as or better than TGE and that was the first time I was ever disappointed in a Prince record. The same can be said 4 New Power Soul, another disappointment 4 me.

Album - The Vault
(Although do like some songs)

Single - The War
(Must listen to it again)

Mindbells9 said:

I agree with you about Chaos and Disorder. TGE to me showed Prince moving in a new promising direction. When I purchased Chaos And Disorder it was the first time I was truly dissapointed with one of his albums.

I have to admit I found Emancipation a big disappointment when I bought it. After hearing all the Come/Gold Experience tracks (and other stuff from that time, like Days Of Wild, Acknowledge Me etc.) I found it a bit bland and samey.

I was hoping that making a 3CD set would give Prince the space to really go for it, and give us a kaleidoscopic album that showcased the diverse range of musical styles he's capable of. Rock songs that rocked, Funk jams that grooved like a mutha, Ballads that put you in tha mood, and the odd bit of 'wha tha f..' weirdness. Unfortunately what I heard was pretty much all one flavor, with bland production and only the odd bit of experimentation.

I have grown to like it a lot more since, and accept it for what it is (not what I wanted it to be), but even now, it's not one the albums I really go back to much.

as a side note...
I don't really count Chaos and Disorder or The Vault as disappointing because I knew before I bought them that they were just contract filler albums, so I really wasn't expecting much from them anyway. A similar thing applies to Newpower Soul because it was clearly billed as an NPG album, not Prince, so I was expecting something more in line with Goldnigga or Exodus.

thecuriousfellow said:

I agree,though"New Power Soul" is still difficult for me to play,without a cringe or two.

new power soul was pretty weak as an album overall but it did contain 2 or 3 decent songs. the rest is forgettable.

nah, when NPS was followed by RUTJF and then by TRC... that was dissapointing

Why does everyone hate NPS? I really think there is something that you all don't get because I BUMPED that record HARD and so did everyone I knew! It was an awesome, real, dark-funky disc! RAVE was where I felt some dissapointment. NPS is really dank, dark, and depressing, but it's SUPPOSED to be! His wife was leaving him for crying out loud! whatever. I LOVED IT. I still do, you can have TRC. lol.