Hey guys. So yesterday i relistened to part of Newpowersoul and today i listened to parts of emancipation, chaos, rave

. and I have to say that after listening to these albums the one i like the most is Newpowersoul (hard to evaluate emancipation so im gonna avoid it)l. SO my question is of the lesser acclaimed works post warner (ik chaos isn't post ) which if any do u like the most ?Keep in mind guys I'm only 18 and yes ive been listening to prince since i was 8, this is my first time really listening to some of these albums with frequency and a more mature prince pallet.

New power soul . While the album is far from perfect. The song newpowersoul reminds me of style(which is a better song) with pretty cool horn arrangment and demonstrate prince is a genius orchestrator. Until your in my arms again is actually a very sweet song and is a hidden gem on the album(kinda sounds MJish). When you love somebody is a pretty catchy pop song. I actually like Push It up and find it to be the funkiest song on the album(better than jam of the year until jam reaches the last jazzy minute). The one is actually very enjoyable and at times very attention getting. Overall, the rest of the album is 100 percent forgetable but not so bad i wanna turn it off.

Rave. Tried to relisten to this album and just couldn't its that bad. Rave un2 the joy fantasitc is probably the worst Prince song if not song ive ever heard. It makes the rest of the album so unlistenable. The highlight of the album is the greatest romance which is an okay song but sucks other than the chorus. hot with u is unbareable and the rest of the album is quiet boring. Mr. Pretty man is pretty funky but doesn't get more than pretty funky. OVerall terrible uncomplete album. To be fair everyday is a winding road is also okay and i haven't heard the full album but the first 4 tracks make the album unbareable.

Chaos. Not much to say about this album other than it doesn't stand out at all and none of the songs are good but non are terrible.

lastly, now to me Prince made a huge turn with rainbow children compared to the previous 4 albums. How does Rainbow comapre to these albums. TO me I like it because prince wasn't trying to shoot for the top of the charts like he was with the previous albums and it was prince being real and the album is much better than new power soul

popgodazipa said:

Rave is not nearly as bad as people make it here on the org. I worry that you may be suffering from a little bit of group think in your assessment...particularly in your Pre/post Warner statement. Having said that...So Far So Pleased is worth another listen or 3.Come On from NPS has a few pretty good remixes I would recommend. What did you think of Lotus and MPLS?

I think Rave is pretty bad i guess. It just seems so fake and the title track is horrible and i can't believe prince would release something that bad. I haven't heard Rave in2 which i hear is slightly better.

To me lotus and mpls are way different than np, rave, chaos. Lotus is alright and sounds good while playing. Dreamer and Colonized mind should be prince fan classics and are better than anything off the 3 albums just mentioned. However rest of lotus is eh and the album to me gets a 2.5-3 star rating. MPLS just sucks to me i can't even listen to it. MPLS is rave without the guests and a little more cheesie however i prefer it to rave cause even though its cheesier i don't have the sudden urge to blow my head off. i perer 20ten to mpls and almost to lotus . Lotus gets the slight edge.

Se7en said:

What you're missing before The Rainbow Children are a few years of Internet-only and/or fanclub releases (Rave IN2 The Joy Fantastic, One Nite Alone Piano & Voice, The War, C-NOTE, The Chocolate Invasion, Slaughterhouse, Xpectation). The reason I bring these up is because it was a very different time to be a Prince fan. He had a much bigger Internet presence, but his music was not really commercial. There are too many songs to list, but do some research and hear for yourself. To your original post, I say give Emancipation another try. If you're digging New Power Soul, then IMHO Emancipation is much better and closer to the "Prince" most of us are used to. I've said this before, but in the last decade or so I think of Prince's work as individual songs, not albums. There are a lot of good songs buried on otherwise bad albums.

Ur right about me not talking about the npg music club releases however i thought those were more expirimental in nature and haven't heard any of them except for one night alone which is pretty sweet

riocoolnes said:

Hey guys. So yesterday i relistened to part of Newpowersoul and today i listened to parts of emancipation, chaos, rave

. and I have to say that after listening to these albums the one i like the most is Newpowersoul (hard to evaluate emancipation so im gonna avoid it)l. SO my question is of the lesser acclaimed works post warner (ik chaos isn't post ) which if any do u like the most ?Keep in mind guys I'm only 18 and yes ive been listening to prince since i was 8, this is my first time really listening to some of these albums with frequency and a more mature prince pallet.

New power soul . While the album is far from perfect. The song newpowersoul reminds me of style(which is a better song) with pretty cool horn arrangment and demonstrate prince is a genius orchestrator. Until your in my arms again is actually a very sweet song and is a hidden gem on the album(kinda sounds MJish). When you love somebody is a pretty catchy pop song. I actually like Push It up and find it to be the funkiest song on the album(better than jam of the year until jam reaches the last jazzy minute). The one is actually very enjoyable and at times very attention getting. Overall, the rest of the album is 100 percent forgetable but not so bad i wanna turn it off.

Rave. Tried to relisten to this album and just couldn't its that bad. Rave un2 the joy fantasitc is probably the worst Prince song if not song ive ever heard. It makes the rest of the album so unlistenable. The highlight of the album is the greatest romance which is an okay song but sucks other than the chorus. hot with u is unbareable and the rest of the album is quiet boring. Mr. Pretty man is pretty funky but doesn't get more than pretty funky. OVerall terrible uncomplete album. To be fair everyday is a winding road is also okay and i haven't heard the full album but the first 4 tracks make the album unbareable.

Chaos. Not much to say about this album other than it doesn't stand out at all and none of the songs are good but non are terrible.

lastly, now to me Prince made a huge turn with rainbow children compared to the previous 4 albums. How does Rainbow comapre to these albums. TO me I like it because prince wasn't trying to shoot for the top of the charts like he was with the previous albums and it was prince being real and the album is much better than new power soul

Rave isn't bad at all.I like the title track alot but its out of "time" with the rest of the lp.Mr.Prettyman is the highlight of that lp,one of his best songs of the 90's.I think that lp had alot of potential,songs that were commercial enough to be hits(hot with u,so far so pleased,undisputed)I wish he would have actually remixed these songs and sent them to clubs so that clubbers would actually be "Raving" to them but....

lol @ folks trying to bring NPS to worthy prominance

no, not even Wasted Kisses could save it

riocoolnes said:

Rave. Tried to relisten to this album and just couldn't its that bad. Rave un2 the joy fantasitc is probably the worst Prince song if not song ive ever heard. It makes the rest of the album so unlistenable. The highlight of the album is the greatest romance which is an okay song but sucks other than the chorus. hot with u is unbareable and the rest of the album is quiet boring. Mr. Pretty man is pretty funky but doesn't get more than pretty funky. OVerall terrible uncomplete album. To be fair everyday is a winding road is also okay and i haven't heard the full album but the first 4 tracks make the album unbareable.

Go to your room.

novabrkr said:

riocoolnes said:

Rave. Tried to relisten to this album and just couldn't its that bad. Rave un2 the joy fantasitc is probably the worst Prince song if not song ive ever heard. It makes the rest of the album so unlistenable. The highlight of the album is the greatest romance which is an okay song but sucks other than the chorus. hot with u is unbareable and the rest of the album is quiet boring. Mr. Pretty man is pretty funky but doesn't get more than pretty funky. OVerall terrible uncomplete album. To be fair everyday is a winding road is also okay and i haven't heard the full album but the first 4 tracks make the album unbareable.

Go to your room.

No, rioc is right. Rave was/is trash.

Its uninspired and lacks redeeming value as it seems like a song below his talents. Its primary melody and weak falsetto vocals seem lazy and to easy for him, like he was forcing the song.

At the very least, t's b-side material and not worthy of being the title of a major release.

The only decent thing about it was the Small Club live performance of it which is a top 5 live performance and top 5 guitar solo...the studio cuts are weakkkkkk

rdhull said:

novabrkr said:

Go to your room.

No, rioc is right. Rave was/is trash.

Its uninspired and lacks redeeming value as it seems like a song below his talents. Its primary melody and weak falsetto vocals seem lazy and to easy for him, like he was forcing the song.

At the very least, t's b-side material and not worthy of being the title of a major release.

The only decent thing about it was the Small Club live performance of it which is a top 5 live performance and top 5 guitar solo...the studio cuts are weakkkkkk

You go to that same room too.

rdhull said:

lol @ folks trying to bring NPS to worthy prominance

no, not even Wasted Kisses could save it

I 'bout died when he played that in Vegas, though.

I revisted NPS a few years back and it's not bad at all. Hearing it with fresh ears definitely helped. It does have that plastic Emancipation vibe...but there are generally good songs on there. The title track, When U Love Somebody, The One, and Come On are all quality songs.

Rave is NOT aging well...but one of few bright spots for me is the title track. I always loved that one. I also like Man o War, Strange But True, and Wherever U go are all decent but the rest is so bleh...and that remake of the Sherly Crow songs is one of the few Prince I hate so much it makes me angry.

Rainbow Children is not too bad, the music that is. The lyrics (on most of the songs) are awful. There are gems on there tho.

I like both The Vault (a LOT) and Chaos & Disorder. Was Come a contract obligation? I can't remember...I am not a huge fan of that one but again it does have its moments.

Come was not intended as a contract filler album. It might have gotten that type treatment as far as the promotion of it was concerned, but Prince had wanted it to be released at the same with The Gold Experience.

Why does everyone hate on the lyrics to Rainbow children. Never truly understood that Idc wat he's saying lol it sounds good coming out of his mouth especially on songs like muse 2 the pharoah.

novabrkr said:

rdhull said:

No, rioc is right. Rave was/is trash.

Its uninspired and lacks redeeming value as it seems like a song below his talents. Its primary melody and weak falsetto vocals seem lazy and to easy for him, like he was forcing the song.

At the very least, t's b-side material and not worthy of being the title of a major release.

The only decent thing about it was the Small Club live performance of it which is a top 5 live performance and top 5 guitar solo...the studio cuts are weakkkkkk

You go to that same room too.

novabrkr said:

rdhull said:

No, rioc is right. Rave was/is trash.

Its uninspired and lacks redeeming value as it seems like a song below his talents. Its primary melody and weak falsetto vocals seem lazy and to easy for him, like he was forcing the song.

At the very least, t's b-side material and not worthy of being the title of a major release.

The only decent thing about it was the Small Club live performance of it which is a top 5 live performance and top 5 guitar solo...the studio cuts are weakkkkkk

You go to that same room too.

It's probably the worst opening track on a Prince album just listen to it. When the drum machine kicks in it sounds so terrible and wat is up with the weird noises in the song. His vocals are just annoying on the song and the guitar sounds weak especially wen he plays that little riff from the Max.

You still have a lot to learn, young padawan.

skywalker said:

I think Rave is pretty bad i guess. It just seems so fake and the title track is horrible and i can't believe prince would release something that bad. I haven't heard Rave in2 which i hear is slightly better.

Fascinating. "Rave un2 the joy fantastic" (the song) is classic Prince of the 88/89 era. Also, the guitar riff from "the Max" is from this song, not the other way around. [Edited 3/25/13 14:13pm]

Well the riff works alot nicer in the max than on rave. I haven't heard the version of the song from 88 era but ive heard the rave un2 the joy fantastic sample used around that era on one of the batman songs i believe.

riocoolnes said:

skywalker said:

Fascinating. "Rave un2 the joy fantastic" (the song) is classic Prince of the 88/89 era. Also, the guitar riff from "the Max" is from this song, not the other way around. [Edited 3/25/13 14:13pm]

Well the riff works alot nicer in the max than on rave. I haven't heard the version of the song from 88 era but ive heard the rave un2 the joy fantastic sample used around that era on one of the batman songs i believe.

In any event, I like what you are saying because you are doing (what is sometimes unthinkable at Prince.org) and talking bad about a Prince song from a "golden" Prince era.

Question: Your critique of the song seems to be about the production value (which is oh so very 1988 Prince). What are your thoughts on the Lovesexy album? Batman?

I like Waiting Room.

I also like Wasted Kisses, The One and Come On.

[Edited 3/25/13 15:13pm]

skywalker said:

riocoolnes said:

Well the riff works alot nicer in the max than on rave. I haven't heard the version of the song from 88 era but ive heard the rave un2 the joy fantastic sample used around that era on one of the batman songs i believe.

In any event, I like what you are saying because you are doing (what is sometimes unthinkable at Prince.org) and talking bad about a Prince song from a "golden" Prince era.

Question: Your critique of the song seems to be about the production value (which is oh so very 1988 Prince). What are your thoughts on the Lovesexy album? Batman?

I'm not really a fan of lovesexy. Way perfer the black album. Love alphabet street and Anna stesia. But the rest of the album is too poppy and and ik im gonna get killed for this i believe newpowersoul, trc, batman, and emancipation were better albums.

Batman, with batdance, partyman, vicki waiting, and the future to me make the album pretty good. THis album is above average and really nothing more and if i were to rate it out of 5 stars i think it gets a solid 3.5 and is an album i can listen to quite regularly.

Now lets add another question

Jam of the year or Push it up.

Push it up through out the whole song is way more consitent however the last minute and a half of jam of the year push it over the top.

riocoolnes said:

Now lets add another question

Jam of the year or Push it up.

Push it up through out the whole song is way more consitent however the last minute and a half of jam of the year push it over the top.

I like Jam of the Year, all of the way through. Push it up is a notch lower for me because of Larry's Graham's low and sloppy vocal delivery.

Still, I love the part when Doug and Prince rap towards the end. Spatula and Macktacular? What?!?

skywalker said:

riocoolnes said:

Now lets add another question

Jam of the year or Push it up.

Push it up through out the whole song is way more consitent however the last minute and a half of jam of the year push it over the top.

I like Jam of the Year, all of the way through. Push it up is a notch lower for me because of Larry's Graham's low and sloppy vocal delivery.

Still, I love the part when Doug and Prince rap towards the end. Spatula and Macktacular? What?!?

I think both songs work way better live but its an easy choice for Jam Of the Year, mainly because as you say Larry's vocal in Push It Up is embarrassing

I also agree with you about Prince and Dougie's rap - best part of the song

riocoolnes said:

I like The Rainbow Children, but that's as far as I go. Pretty much every track between the Emancipation-NPGMC eras is unlistenable to me.

riocoolnes said:

Se7en said:

What you're missing before The Rainbow Children are a few years of Internet-only and/or fanclub releases (Rave IN2 The Joy Fantastic, One Nite Alone Piano & Voice, The War, C-NOTE, The Chocolate Invasion, Slaughterhouse, Xpectation). The reason I bring these up is because it was a very different time to be a Prince fan. He had a much bigger Internet presence, but his music was not really commercial. There are too many songs to list, but do some research and hear for yourself. To your original post, I say give Emancipation another try. If you're digging New Power Soul, then IMHO Emancipation is much better and closer to the "Prince" most of us are used to. I've said this before, but in the last decade or so I think of Prince's work as individual songs, not albums. There are a lot of good songs buried on otherwise bad albums.

Ur right about me not talking about the npg music club releases however i thought those were more expirimental in nature and haven't heard any of them except for one night alone which is pretty sweet

I don't know if I'd consider the NPGMC stuff "experimental". To me, SOTT was far more experimental.

The new NPGMC material had a strange quality to it . . . lots of sound samples, thin production and a more electronic sound (vs. live band).

A lot of people call these his "lost" years.

NewPowerSoul probabaly gets the worst rap as far as level of criticism vs. actual quality of content goes. Granted, the production is plastic and some of the funk is phoned in, but there's a lot of fun songs on this album. And any record that has 'The One', 'Come On, and 'Wasted Kisses' on it can't possibly suck as badly as everyone thinks. Those three songs are better than anything on Planet Earth, N.E.W.S. or Rave. Rave has aged horribly and was never that good to start with. It's the opposite of a grower.

Around the World in a Day took a lot shit from critics and made its way to the bargain rack rather quickly. I don't listen to it much because it;s not really my style but it's at least interesting, especially when it's not trying too hard to be clever and artsy and bending over backwards to be too obvious about what an "artistic statement" it is.

Honorable mention goes to Exodus. I'm not sure how it's perceived critically, but it doesn't seem like it gets much love around here and that disc is funky as shit. I've made prince fans out of non-believers by giving them that record. Same with the "Chocolate Invasion/Slaughterhouse" stuff.