* An escalation by BeautifulExperience *

2003 Prince released an album with just four instrumental songs called North, East, West and South, clocking in at nearly an hour of music, and until now I'm not sure if I love or hate this really strange album that came under the slogan "New directions in music" only a year before the overwhelming and at that time surprising success of Musicology. The cardboard sleeve of N.E.W.S. is designed as the windrose of a compass, with metaphors like AIR and LOVE, EARTH and PEACE, FIRE and TIME, WATER and DEPTH sprawled across each direction.

On N.E.W.S. Prince plays guitar, fender rhodes, digital keyboards and percussion. Renato Neto plays piano and synthesizers, Rhonda Smith plays acoustic and electric bass. Eric Leeds performs tenor and baritone "saxaphone", and John Blackwell plays the drums.

I don't know how to categorize this kind of music, so I don't even try to. Most of the time it feels like jazz, but there are elements of rock, funk, ambient and world music, too. Definitely these are four highly atmospheric soundscapes full of depth and musical surprises, and listening to this album in its entirety can be like a trip or a transcendental meditation. At the time of its release N.E.W.S. shattered all expectations anyone could have regarding Prince and his music of the past, and it showed an artist who let his imagination run wild. Thinking about the experimental and absolutely non-commercial character of this album nobody could be sure which lands this musician would explore next.

I don't know how to categorize this music either, and i don't care.

But i really like the album. I'm a big fan of Prince's instrumental music and N.E.W.S is an album that i return to on a regular basis. Maybe it could have been better if Prince had disgarded the 14min per track concept and just let the jams take the band where they wanted to go. Prince had a sterling band for this recording and could have utilized them to better effect imo.

However, i like the music and i really wish that Prince would release more instrumental material.

N.E.W.S. is one of my very favourite albums.

To me it's very much a feeling album, which is probably why opinions on this one are so diverse, almost polarised (that, and because it's so different to P's other work of course).

After his album, I lost touch with Prince's releases for about a decade (not that I didn't love , it was more to do with me and what sort of music I ventured into at the time). Finally, when I discovered Amazon and was keen to give it a test run, I decided to check in on Prince to see if he'd released anything recently *ahem* .

It seemed that The Rainbow Children was his latest album, so I ordered that. A few weeks later it arrived and blew me away.

"Woah. I've missed something." I thought. What I didn't realise until afterwards is that TRC was of course a new direction for Prince, so it wasn't so much about me missing the transition, so much as it was perhaps good timing.

The weekend came and, having already listened to TRC many times in the few days I'd had it, I headed down to the record store to find more.

I'd missed a few albums....

Only able to buy one though, I settled on the most interesting cover I could find, which in this case was a cardboard one that seemed to fold into itself much like origami. I asked the lady at the counter what style this particular Prince album was and she replied that she didn't know, as it had only just arrived - it was a new release.

Yay! Nice pick, I thought.

I can completely relate to what BeautifulExperience describes in relation to listening to the album from start to finish. It really does feel like a journey and can definitely take you into...interesting space.

North remains my favourite from first listen until now. I won't try and describe how it makes me feel, as I'm sure everyone's experience is different and personal, but I still can't listen to it in the car or I might run off the road!

I'm not sure why the 14mins was important to Prince, and I take Mikey's point, but it doesn't bother me much either way. Perhaps the equal timing offered balance in P's vision of the album.

Each piece is distinctly different though and includes lots of interesting effects. Any attempt to categorise the music would indeed be highly subjective and I suspect that was part of the point of the album. Like so much of his work, it can't accurately be labelled.

It was certainly an awesome group of musicians and I'm very grateful to have an album that showcases their talent, along with their ability to profoundly realise a vision held and directed by Prince.

I too would love to see more instrumental work if Prince was feeling so inspired to do so in the future...

Thanks for posting your escalation, BeautifulExperience

It's one of my favorites too.

beautiful album. its genuine.

i love it! especially North -- one of the most transporting songs i listen to at work. i'm ready for more instrumentals any time -- like good abstract art, more open to interpretation for me. i guess since he knows so many instruments, he's especially good at making songs without need for words.

MikeyB71 said:

I don't know how to categorize this music either, and i don't care.

But i really like the album. I'm a big fan of Prince's instrumental music and N.E.W.S is an album that i return to on a regular basis. Maybe it could have been better if Prince had disgarded the 14min per track concept and just let the jams take the band where they wanted to go. Prince had a sterling band for this recording and could have utilized them to better effect imo.

However, i like the music and i really wish that Prince would release more instrumental material.

Well, I'm no musician, and if I even were an exceptional one I wouldn't dare to suggest what another one should do with his vision. I love N.E.W.S. just as it is, and I think this record changes all the time.

BeautifulExperience said:

MikeyB71 said:

I don't know how to categorize this music either, and i don't care.

But i really like the album. I'm a big fan of Prince's instrumental music and N.E.W.S is an album that i return to on a regular basis. Maybe it could have been better if Prince had disgarded the 14min per track concept and just let the jams take the band where they wanted to go. Prince had a sterling band for this recording and could have utilized them to better effect imo.

However, i like the music and i really wish that Prince would release more instrumental material.

Well, I'm no musician, and if I even were an exceptional one I wouldn't dare to suggest what another one should do with his vision. I love N.E.W.S. just as it is, and I think this record changes all the time.

Am i daring to suggest?

I am telling you what i think of the album, or am i not allowed to reply to your thread unless i think the exact way that you do?

If that is the case, what is the point of your thread?

PURplEMaPLeSyrup said:

i love it! especially North -- one of the most transporting songs i listen to at work. i'm ready for more instrumentals any time -- like good abstract art, more open to interpretation for me. i guess since he knows so many instruments, he's especially good at making songs without need for words.

I assume that you have heard the likes of Madhouse and albums such as Xpectation?

If not, you should try and check them out. Xpectation is probably closer in sound to N.E.W.S than to the Madhouse albums, but they are all good imo. C-Note is a good one too, though it is the one i listen to the least, not because it is bad, just because it sounds to me more like a high quality bootleg rather that a planned out album. Very good musicianship though.

[Edited 10/10/10 2:53am]

MikeyB71 said:

I assume that you have heard the likes of Madhouse and albums such as Xpectation?

If not, you should try and check them out. Xpectation is probably closer in sound to N.E.W.S than to the Madhouse albums, but they are all good imo. C-Note is a good one too, though it is the one i listen to the least, not because it is bad, just because it sounds to me more like a high quality bootleg rather that a planned out album. Very good musicianship though.

[Edited 10/10/10 2:53am]

I've only heard of them, so thank you for the suggestions -- i'll try to check them out!

It's nice to read some positive reviews of this amazing album, which is one of my favorites and indeed was a very surprising move from Prince's part.

I actually thought his jazz/experimental period would last much longer and i was really disappointed when i realized that he was back to mainstream pop/funk (even though i deeply love most of what Prince released these past 6 years... i deeply love it, but i ain't surprised by what i hear).

I want more stuff like N.E.W.S. or The War or Xpectation: these records were just brilliant and Prince was indeed exploring "new directions" in his music.

Chiquetet said:

N.E.W.S. is one of my very favourite albums.

To me it's very much a feeling album, which is probably why opinions on this one are so diverse, almost polarised (that, and because it's so different to P's other work of course).

After his album, I lost touch with Prince's releases for about a decade (not that I didn't love , it was more to do with me and what sort of music I ventured into at the time). Finally, when I discovered Amazon and was keen to give it a test run, I decided to check in on Prince to see if he'd released anything recently *ahem* .

It seemed that The Rainbow Children was his latest album, so I ordered that. A few weeks later it arrived and blew me away.

"Woah. I've missed something." I thought. What I didn't realise until afterwards is that TRC was of course a new direction for Prince, so it wasn't so much about me missing the transition, so much as it was perhaps good timing.

The weekend came and, having already listened to TRC many times in the few days I'd had it, I headed down to the record store to find more.

I'd missed a few albums....

Only able to buy one though, I settled on the most interesting cover I could find, which in this case was a cardboard one that seemed to fold into itself much like origami. I asked the lady at the counter what style this particular Prince album was and she replied that she didn't know, as it had only just arrived - it was a new release.

Yay! Nice pick, I thought.

I can completely relate to what BeautifulExperience describes in relation to listening to the album from start to finish. It really does feel like a journey and can definitely take you into...interesting space.

North remains my favourite from first listen until now. I won't try and describe how it makes me feel, as I'm sure everyone's experience is different and personal, but I still can't listen to it in the car or I might run off the road!

I'm not sure why the 14mins was important to Prince, and I take Mikey's point, but it doesn't bother me much either way. Perhaps the equal timing offered balance in P's vision of the album.

Each piece is distinctly different though and includes lots of interesting effects. Any attempt to categorise the music would indeed be highly subjective and I suspect that was part of the point of the album. Like so much of his work, it can't accurately be labelled.

It was certainly an awesome group of musicians and I'm very grateful to have an album that showcases their talent, along with their ability to profoundly realise a vision held and directed by Prince.

I too would love to see more instrumental work if Prince was feeling so inspired to do so in the future...

Thanks for posting your escalation, BeautifulExperience

Thanks for your words, it's been a great pleasure to read such a feedback full of depth and diversity. And I especially like the anecdotes, the stories behind your experience.

MikeyB71 said:

BeautifulExperience said:

Well, I'm no musician, and if I even were an exceptional one I wouldn't dare to suggest what another one should do with his vision. I love N.E.W.S. just as it is, and I think this record changes all the time.

Am i daring to suggest?

I am telling you what i think of the album, or am i not allowed to reply to your thread unless i think the exact way that you do?

If that is the case, what is the point of your thread?

Sorry, I didn't want to offend you.

databank said:

It's nice to read some positive reviews of this amazing album, which is one of my favorites and indeed was a very surprising move from Prince's part.

I actually thought his jazz/experimental period would last much longer and i was really disappointed when i realized that he was back to mainstream pop/funk (even though i deeply love most of what Prince released these past 6 years... i deeply love it, but i ain't surprised by what i hear).

I want more stuff like N.E.W.S. or The War or Xpectation: these records were just brilliant and Prince was indeed exploring "new directions" in his music.

It's nice to see that there seem to be a lot of people who love this album.

The War is great, but unfortunately I only have it on cassette. Xpectation is a record I didn't get into until now, but I want to explore it next.

I haven't listened to this for ages - I will dig it out tonight and listen again, thanks for reminding me.

iwannacu said:

I haven't listened to this for ages - I will dig it out tonight and listen again, thanks for reminding me.

You're welcome!

BeautifulExperience said:

databank said:

It's nice to read some positive reviews of this amazing album, which is one of my favorites and indeed was a very surprising move from Prince's part.

I actually thought his jazz/experimental period would last much longer and i was really disappointed when i realized that he was back to mainstream pop/funk (even though i deeply love most of what Prince released these past 6 years... i deeply love it, but i ain't surprised by what i hear).

I want more stuff like N.E.W.S. or The War or Xpectation: these records were just brilliant and Prince was indeed exploring "new directions" in his music.

It's nice to see that there seem to be a lot of people who love this album.

The War is great, but unfortunately I only have it on cassette. Xpectation is a record I didn't get into until now, but I want to explore it next.

Crystal clear copies in MP3 are available 4 free all over the internet ^^

Love N.E.W.S and West is one of my fav instrumentals from Prince

wow...

lot of positive reviews....

Don't get me wrong, I love the album

but last time I saw a thread for this album, everybody blasted it

databank said:

BeautifulExperience said:

It's nice to see that there seem to be a lot of people who love this album.

The War is great, but unfortunately I only have it on cassette. Xpectation is a record I didn't get into until now, but I want to explore it next.

Crystal clear copies in MP3 are available 4 free all over the internet ^^

Thank you, but I'm not the one who's sure where to find it.

EmbattledWarrior said:

wow...

lot of positive reviews....

Don't get me wrong, I love the album

but last time I saw a thread for this album, everybody blasted it

Yeah, I think that's the problem with this forum: A lot of guys are really into dissing everything they don't like or don't get.

I am positively surprised by the many constructively written feedbacks until now.