It lacked a bit of the typical, angry edge I loved so much during the Gold Experience years, but I find the kind of weird production and, of course, songs like The One, Wasted Kisses, Come On, Mad Sex, When U Love Somebody, Until U're In My Arms Again and the title song quite brilliant. Still, he hinted at getting more "safe" in his music, lyrics and style during the second half of the 90s, which takes away just that little bit of funkiness to make this album 9/10 for me.

So: 9/10 on funkiness, but 8/10 overall. I like it very much.

I don't think it's one of his best albums in the 90s but I like the emphasis on funk and there are four songs that are really good. In order of greatness: Wasted Kisses, Come On, The One and Freaks On This Side. I'm listening a lot to Come On presently. That beat is awesome! "When I ask you are you hungry, you said you already ate..."

My favorite albums of the 90s are The Gold Experience and , they are more diverse.

I got into Prince's music in 1996 with Chaos and Disorder. My next album was, of course, Emancipation, which I loved then and I still think it is one of his very best albums. Like a lot of folks I was somewhat soured on Crystal Ball because of how long it took to arrive and also I was a little disappointed with the song selection. At the time I thought that the Truth was a bit of a letdown but I chalked that up to it being a release for the hardcore fans. I was convinced that Prince's next release would be as good as, if not better than, Emancipation. It would be the album that would not only blow away the faithful but I was sure that it would be the album to return Prince to favour commercially. To say that I had high hopes for Newpower Soul would be an understatement. I still remember that I had to wait a couple of weeks to get a copy as it wasn't available anywhere near my small town, which in retrospect should have told me that there was something wrong with the album. My mother, bless her heart, was able to get me a copy when she went on a trip to "the city." By the time I finally got a copy of the album the anticipation was killing me. Never in my life was I so disappointed with an album. I thought it was the worst pile of crap that I had ever heard. The only song that I loved was "Wasted Kisses" and it was buried on the end of the disc. After hearing the great version of "Come On" that Prince performed on the Tonight Show I was very disappointed with the somewhat tame version on the album. Newpower Soul was when I started losing faith in the little guy. For me, the songs are just weak. I also agree with the folks who fault the album for it's "plastic" sound. I still listen to the album a fair bit and have largely gotten over my initial disappointment but I consider it to be his worst album ever.
[Edited 6/13/09 14:11pm]
[Edited 6/13/09 14:12pm]

rialb said:

'Indigo Nights' and 'Planet Earth' are the two biggest disappointments for me.
I still don't see why so many people dislike this album.
I think it's his best R&B album.

My Top Ten:
1. Crystal Ball
2. Sign O the Times
3. Parade
4. Graffiti Bridge
5. Purple Rain
6. New Power Soul
7. 1999
8. Dirty Mind
9. Prince
10.Emancipation

Im more shocked Chaos got you in2 Prince-his second worst album-after NPS-man i hate this plastic rubbish though i admit-the one is superb-as is wasted kisses-but the rest-i hate