Shoo-Bed-Ooh has such a sexy groove but ironically deals with the ills of sexual promiscuity. A Walk Don't Walk ode but darker. The synths slow jam to the ol' skool disco reminants of I Wanna Be Your Lover. Soulful jam, soulful lyrics...

The answer 2 the question of life is a grey-haired bitch at least
Suckin' on the ebony dancer in between these dirty sheets

His vocals melt all over this one, and when the last chorus swings around, the feel good factor feels great.

IstenSzek said:

And I would agree with you, especially on Wasted Kisses. It's shocking if you take it straight up.

DavidEye said:

Prince should have served this album up as Bob George if he needed to mask his voice. The Exodus Has Begun testifies to that.

That album was a catastrophy. Just another example of why Prince can't cut it anymore.

Possibly the best single by Prince in the 90s, this is Prince as nasty as Camille gets. The beat is so damn funky it hurts, the synth lines are just sublime and those guitar pickings just after he sings...

I'm better off sleepin' with my guitar if u ain't gonna sing
Strapped up 2 the body makin' love 2 the strings
Come On!

Even the remixes had the sickness.

WHY do people go so nuts over Wasted Kisses? It's an okay song, but from the buzz on the Org I was expecting to be blown away... NOT

CalhounSq said:

I agree, the production is awful too. It says a lot when people think this is one of the better songs on NPS. The album is a dog of the highest order. Funk for people who've never listened to funk!

WildheartXXX said:

Aren't you the one that thinks Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic is a funk anthem?

Anji said:

Rave is a great piece of Electro Funk, he should never have released it though as it sounds ridiculous and out of place on the album its on. It's not title track worthy but walks all over the likes of Wasted Kisses and Mad Sex.

To the darkness, let there be light

It is something of a tradition that Prince kicks off albums with manifesto sounding songs but sometimes they are slacker than the core e.g. Around The World In A Day, Christopher Tracy's Parade, Can't Stop This Feeling I Got. I've also heard many people criticise Eye No, The Future and Thunder. Newpower Soul most definitely falls into that category.

See, I'm not completely gone.

Wow, I love the title track. It's at least in my top five off of that album. I actually likes me some NPS, but I'll be the first to admit that the production leaves a bit to be desired. It's kind of on an even keel with me with Rave, as far as Prince albums go.

I also love Christopher Tracy's Parade and Thunder, since we're talking about first tracks...

NPS is one of my very favorite Prince albums...and I've been buying everything he's put out since 1999. For those who have said that is was a poor excuse for an album because of its "electric drums", "lack of lead guitar", "cheesy lyrics", "poor album cover", etc. etc. etc. that I keep hearing on this and every other Prince NG, I say, listen past all those things. You will find great songs in there. And a great album!

...and p.s. I've heard alot of people say, "Its good for what it was - a party album...nothing more, nothing less."

As somewhat positive as that comment may be, I hate to think people believe that Prince would just put out some half-hearted effort just to give us something to dance to. IMHO there is alot of heart put into those songs and it is much more than just a "dance record". According to the BBC Purple Reign program that was the talk about a month ago, the Black Album was supposed to be just a dance record too, but it meant enough to Prince for him to be so adhement about not putting it out.

Prince actually surprised me with his chant of Mad Sex. The lyrics reveal a somewhat more complex picture however and it makes me wonder whether Prince actually does want to bed this bushy head mulatto girl. Regardless, the beat is magnetic and the piano and horns, jazzy cool. His vocal delivery is really raw on this one, almost spitting them out. The girl is clearly getting on his nerves.

Break another heart, u sorry..."skench!"
1 day U're gonna tumble down, down, down

Anji said:

you are beyond help. are there any handguns in your house? if so, either put them away so you don't to anything rash. or, since it's all over for you now anyway, eat hot lead.

j/k

Anji said:

The girl gets on most people's nerves!



Getting back to the subject, 'Come On' is fantastic, as is 'The One'. Its definitely a Prince album though - not an NPG project.

If you're lookin' 4 a man who will make U feel like time has just begun
A man that'll make U feel like U're the only thing that ever mattered underneath the sun
If U're lookin' 4 somebody who will turn your bad day in2 one long night fun of fun
Look no further, baby

'm the one

The orchestration reminds me of The Electric Man from the Nude Tour. Hauntingly soulful...

ya know. because of this thread, i dusted off this CD. It ain't half bad. SOTT or Lovesexy it ain't.

BUT.

it does have some good funky pop songs. I like Mad Sex.. groovy. And I've always loved The One and Come On.

New Power Soul - I like it. In the days of Prince's commercial viability, there could be several hit singles on this album.

Imagine this as the followup to D&P... besides The One and Come On, Until U're in My Arms Again and When U Love Somebody just SCREAM hit single.

an unfairly bashed album, in my opinion. And I've been one of the bashers. 5 years later, I suddenly like it. Strange.

I will say this: NPS produced the last CD maxi-single from our little man, and it is a good one:

Come On

Sure, there was the maxi for TGRES, but that wasn't a true-to-form Prince maxi single. Come On rocks and raps, and the "Late Nite Mix" is very smooth.

Doozer said:

Oh yeah...and the remix for "The One" is sweet, too.

NewPower Soul stands head and shoulders above most of his 90's work--TGE, for example, sounds FORCED. NPS is just pure PLAY; the whole album is consistent, and there's not a single jam on there that's compromised by trying to get on the radio. Of the things we claim to love about Prince--clever lyrics, strange altered voices, odd noises and distortions, unusual song structure, going to strange new places--NPS is a loaded weapon.

I will never understand why so many P fans are dissin on this album...I suspect it's just a matter of time...like a fine wine, NPS ages well.

teller said:

This is a killer album, sorry for the expression, but for me it is.

This is a killer album, sorry for the expression, but for me it is. And don't ask me why,please! There are things I can't explain, in no lenguage!

Doozer said:

Where is this from again? Was it on a cd single or something?

CalhounSq said:

It comes from a promo CD for "The One". I have it somewhere and the remix is truly nice.

I glad to see some orgers finaly coming out in defense of this album. For too long. I have seen too many folks diss the album.

I love the funkyness of "Mad Sex"! Everytime I hear it I start bobbing my head. That joint definitely has some contagious funk going on!!

The One has such a sexy hypnotic flow to it... and the way he did it at The Celebration.. when he included it in that medley with "The Question of U" and "Fallin'"... I damn near died!! :

And "Come One" will always have a special place in my cd player. That was the song that I first ever danced face to face with Prince on! Me & him... nobody else onstage.. we're groovin'... then he sticks his leg between mine! This was in Chicago.. Hit N Run 2000! That move right there made me 4-ever luv this joint!

I like most of the stuff on the album, but those 3 are just my 3 standouts! Glad to see that other people are feelin' the album too. It's not as bad as some folks wanna lead you to believe!

I'm glad to see this album get some respect, too. I love the entire album. It's one of his funkiest by far. No one use the horny horns like Prince, nowadays.

::cough:: bump!

RedZRyder said:

The concept for NPS is great but its delivery is appalling. I can honestly say my brother can come up with better drum tracks in an hour on his mac than the crap Prince put on NPS; they are embarrassingly bad. Mad Sex without the music is good as is several others. Come On would've been a classic but suffers because of its drum track. I want to love NPS but it really is badly delivered. It's cheap, it's tacky and it ain't funk.