HonestMan13 said:

i love come 2 my house. not crszy about gcs though.

great cd one of the underrated classic prince cd's

Am I the only person who has mad love for Mad Sex?

Here's my take on Newpower Soul. I got into Prince in the summer of 1996 with Chaos And Disorder. Like most folks new to Prince I was smitten with his music. When Emancipation was released I loved it and still do. With the delay in getting Crystal Ball I started to sour on Prince just a little bit. The Truth was ok but, probably due to it's limited availability, it didn't seem like a real Prince album to me. So when I heard about Newpower Soul I was extremely excited. In my mind this was the real followup to Emancipation. As far as the general public was concerned that was basically true. For me, Newpower Soul was going to be his "comeback." I had really high expectations and the album did not in any way live up to them. I just think that, in general, the songwriting seems very uninspired. I was expecting a grand slam and Prince delivered a bunt. At this time I was still "discovering" his older albums and I was still giddy about nearly all of his music. Newpower Soul was sort of the start of me losing faith in Prince. Over the years I can appreciate the album a little bit more than I initially did but I still feel like it is a lacklustre album and, for me, it was the beginning of several years of mediocrity from Prince.

rialb said:

started in 96? Yeah, you know wht you are talking aboout alright.

From best to worst:

01. Purple Rain (10)
02. Sign "☮" The Times (10)
03. 1999 (10)
04. Lovesexy (10)
05. Parade (10)
06. Around The World In A Day (10)
07. The Gold Experience (10)
08. Dirty Mind (10)
09. Controversy (9)
10. Diamonds & Pearls (9)
11. Love Symbol Album (9)
12. Come (9)
13. Black Album (9)
14. The Rainbow Children (9)
15. Graffiti Bridge (8)
16. Prince (8)
17. Crystal Ball (8)
18. Emancipation (8)
19. For You (8)
20. Batman (8)
21. LotusFlower / MPLSound (8)
22. Musicology (7)
23. Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (7)
24. Chaos & Disorder (6)
25. The Truth (6)
26. Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (6)
27. The Vault... Old Friends 4 Sale (6)
28. The Chocolate Invasion (6)
29. Slaughterhouse (6)
30. 3121 (5)
31. Planet Earth (5)
32. Newpower Soul (4)
33. ONA Piano (3)
34. N.E.W.S. (2)
35. ONA... Live (2)
36. Indigo Nights (2)
37. Kamasutra (0)
[Edited 2/19/10 3:08am]

I liked this album for the most part.

When U Love Somebody
Shoo-Bed-Ooh
Mad Sex
Come On
The One
Wasted Kisses

are all excellent tracks, in my opinion.

Push It Up was alright. I gained more of a liking for it after seeing & Doug E. Fresh perform it live at MSG.

I always enjoyed this album from day one without any apology. Good to see a few others coming out of the closet as its horrible reputation needs revising.

Brofie said:

Those 3 albums worked perfectly together.
Especially Come 2 My House!!!

New Power Soul is in my Top Ten

jdcxc said:

No I have never heard of an official remix to "Mad Sex", maybe he meant the remix to "Come On"??

this was released on cd single...

There's definitely a 'Mad Sex' remix . . . .

SUPRMAN said:

I have never heard about this, in what format was this released?

Vinyl or maybe download from npgmusicclub???

SUPRMAN said:

Cool.... Is "Newpower Soul" even at your #1 position ???

I would love to see all of your top 10 Prince albums then...

- and where do you rank Kamasutra???
[Edited 2/22/10 22:22pm]

rialb said:

started in 96? Yeah, you know wht you are talking aboout alright.

Brofie said:

Are you saying that because I have "only" been a Prince fan for fourteen years that my opinions are any less valid than those of someone who has been a fan since the For You album? If so that's just silly. It is only a good thing for Prince, and for fans of Prince, that he is continuing to pick up new fans.

Brofie said:

I was just gonna say, you started in 96 and were already losing faith in him in 98!

A CELEBRATION: NEWPOWER SOUL
With Crystal Ball still rotating its way through my playlist, the word came out that a new album was due to drop. Credited as a New Power Generation release NewPower Soul I was curious how much of it would be a group workout and how much of it would be pure .

Slotting the cd into my player, I loaded up NewPower Soul. And as instructed the groove did make my head bop, up and down up and down. As if hypnotising me into the groove. While lacking the punch of some of the other album openers the bouncy vibe laid the work for the album – focused on dance grooves and fun rather than reinventing or pushing musical bounds.

Case in point, Mad Sex, a slithering little song that just kicks back in the groove of the track. Nothing overwhelming about it, the track quickly lost my attention and ended up being background music. Saved for the lyric book that tried to entice me back with every new verse.

With its ethereal vibe Until Your In My Arms Again is a song that shows off the artistry of song writing, of laying down on a page the truth, in all it’s painful glory. The longing is tangible, the pain real. The sadness ever present despite the beautiful arrangement and vocal.

When You Love Somebody to me always feels like it would have been more at home on emancipation. It has a Disc 1 vibe to it, sliding up next to somebody’s somebody. Now you know I love SS, so I was bound to fall for this track too. A playful track punctuated by horn stabs and carried by a hopeful though that you accept the good and the bad in relationships and a flip side to the whole “why do you put up with such $hit” line. What the final breakdown has to do with the song I don’t know, but it’s funky so I let it be. Lol.

When I first heard Shoo-bed-ooh I was hooked on the stripped back feel of the track, but now whatever appeal it had has overstayed its welcome. It just feels lightweight. Shame, cause I once really loved this song.

Unfortunately lightweight is how I would describe Push It Up! Unfortunately by referencing “Jam of the Year” it just highlights what the song isn’t, a kick a$$ funk jam. Instead it comes across undercooked and under baked.

Thankfully Freaks on This Side with its sample of “Now” does justice to the comparison. With a modern funkadelic feel, the track warbles along through the verses and hits with a hook in the chorus. A smile raiser.

From the first note of Come On I was there. The prancing beat, and slinking synth bass line had me. Then that playful melody danced across my speakers. So before a word was spoken I had bought it. Thankfully the chorus lived up to the catchiness of the groove. And was I ever so pleased it was the lead single with the remixes that came along with it.

The sex you up title has be awarded to The One. It had always been a hidden gem in the catalogue with its simmering seduction and enchanting arrangement. Lost on many during the 2003 live tour of Australia I for one was happy it was in the set. Reminiscent of The Question of U, it’s one of my favour ballads.

It’s a shame Funky Music follows it. This run of the mill funk groove did nothing to me back then and fails to move me today. Dressed up in all the production value it can muster, it just fails to impress.

Am I alone in thinking the most interesting track on the set is Wasted Kisses? I remember when I first listened to the album, Funky Music lost me and I pressed stop. It wasn’t until I played the album a second time later that night as I was drifting off to sleep that after a few minutes of silence I was jolted upright by the song. There is a great deal of sadness inherent in this track, and I think that is the appeal. Addressing the same issues as I Hate U, but done with a darker funkier edge it remains a favourite of mine.

In whole the album was disappointing. I remember it not sticking around too long amongst the stuff I listened to that year. And to be honest it was the start of a sense of apathy that crept into my appreciation for Prince / . From here and the next few releases I would buy them religiously, listen to them find a gem or two and then kind of park the album. It was a time where if I wanted to really feel the funk I was delving back into the catalogue than relishing the new material. Even today as I relisten to the album I can’t help but think it is a tad disjointed, almost a rushed collection of individual songs than a cohesive set. Sure there are some wonderful songs on here, but as an album it just doesn’t sit right.

Swa

But Wasted Kisses in Vegas was kinda right...right?

Dave1992 said:

Try to put yourself in my place.I had just got Chaos And Disorder and Emancipation (two albums that I love). Soon after I started buying the older albums I had missed. To me albums like Dirty Mind, 1999, Purple Rain and Sign 'O The Times were all new. On the strength of The Gold Experience and Emancipation Prince seemed to be if not at his peak still capable of delivering fantastic music. Then came Newpower Soul and Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, two albums that most fans seem to agree are among his most disappointing. Given the circumstances I think many people in my situation also would start to lose faith in Prince.

Some fo the tracks worked much better live imo, but generally I just feel it was a step backwards from 'Emancipation' both lyrically and musically, in that it lacked direction. As a side album, it's ok.

I like this album more than Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth. Maybe that's not saying much, but it's something.

Part of what I like is it captured the Jam of the Year tour feeling. When I saw him in 1998, he played parts or all of these songs, including Mad Sex, I Like Funky Music, Push it Up, and seemed to make up Freaks on This Side (my side, of course) on the spot that night.

When I hear the songs it takes me back there. It's a fun, funky album, with a few moments that I am not crazy about, like If U Love Somebody in particular.

I like this album more than Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth. Maybe that's not saying much, but it's something.

Part of what I like is it captured the Jam of the Year tour feeling. When I saw him in 1998, he played parts or all of these songs, including Mad Sex, I Like Funky Music, Push it Up, and seemed to make up Freaks on This Side (my side, of course) on the spot that night.

When I hear the songs it takes me back there. It's a fun, funky album, with a few moments that I am not crazy about, like If U Love Somebody in particular.