skywalker said:

I consider Newpower Soul a proper Prince album. His voice, he plays most of the instruments, it's his face on the cover, he stars in the videos.

And, over his left shoulder, his symbol is on the album cover, too.

darkroman said:

I file all my Prince and Related music chronologically so this sits in 1998 in my collection after Crystal Ball and then before Rave (another BMG (Arista) release).

What about "The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale?"

darkroman said:

I worked on the NPS campaign at BMG (RCA) and without any doubt it was a Prince project. Prince called the shots! But he was happy to indulge us to perform at Cafe De Paris and to shoot the Come On video in London. He was open to promotion but moved on very quickly to other projects - but we all know he liked to do that!

There was some conversation about Wasted Kisses being a single but Prince had moved on and wasn't interested.

Legally this was a New Power Generation release fronted by the Artist as Warners at this point were still restricting Prince using his name.

So this needs to be listed as a New Power Generation album but us fans know it's crafted and led by Prince!

I file all my Prince and Related music chronologically so this sits in 1998 in my collection after Crystal Ball and then before Rave (another BMG (Arista) release).

That's no different though from Madhouse, The Family or The Time. That's why Prince refused the latter two from using those respective names when he wasn't involved.

sexton said:

darkroman said:

That's no different though from Madhouse, The Family or The Time. That's why Prince refused the latter two from using those respective names when he wasn't involved.

Speaking as a fan I kind of see a difference in intent in these releases, New Power Soul as well. It's him telling you what kind of album you're getting in advance. If Madhouse was a "Prince" album you'd be well within your rights to go "where the fuck is the singing??"

jaawwnn said:

sexton said:

That's no different though from Madhouse, The Family or The Time. That's why Prince refused the latter two from using those respective names when he wasn't involved.

Speaking as a fan I kind of see a difference in intent in these releases, New Power Soul as well. It's him telling you what kind of album you're getting in advance. If Madhouse was a "Prince" album you'd be well within your rights to go "where the fuck is the singing??"

Yes I totally agree!

Sadly people and labels are tied into brands.

So this was a great way for Prince to do many different things without any preconceptions and less expectation to produce hits, so he was free to create and explore different things.

A.

jaawwnn said:

sexton said:

That's no different though from Madhouse, The Family or The Time. That's why Prince refused the latter two from using those respective names when he wasn't involved.

Speaking as a fan I kind of see a difference in intent in these releases, New Power Soul as well. It's him telling you what kind of album you're getting in advance. If Madhouse was a "Prince" album you'd be well within your rights to go "where the fuck is the singing??"

Yes, Prince placing his face front and center on the cover of Newpower Soul lets the buyer know this New Power Generation album is different from previous New Power Generation albums in that his role is no longer in the background. But in the end it's still a New Power Generation album and not a Prince album.

Although I did not ask where was the singing when I heard Xpectations which also has Prince's face very prominently shown on the cover so I disagree with vocals being a determining factor for what is or isn't a Prince album.

sexton said:

jaawwnn said:

Speaking as a fan I kind of see a difference in intent in these releases, New Power Soul as well. It's him telling you what kind of album you're getting in advance. If Madhouse was a "Prince" album you'd be well within your rights to go "where the fuck is the singing??"

Yes, Prince placing his face front and center on the cover of Newpower Soul lets the buyer know this New Power Generation album is different from previous New Power Generation albums in that his role is no longer in the background. But in the end it's still a New Power Generation album and not a Prince album.

Although I did not ask where was the singing when I heard Xpectations which also has Prince's face very prominently shown on the cover so I disagree with vocals being a determining factor for what is or isn't a Prince album.

I was wondering if you were gonna pull a "what about Xpectation" on me

"New Direction in Music by Prince" and only being available on a service only the biggest fans were even aware of is warning enough in that case.

You're absolutely right though, Newpower Soul has his face right there in the cover and a song like The One is clearly not some genre piece he threw together while jamming one day. It's a really interesting album, so many mixed messages!

[Edited 8/29/18 9:24am]

databank said:

The question remains open why Prince decided to label NPS as a NPG album instead of , it's never been explained AFAIK, though I suspect it may have to do with Larry choosing to release his own record as GCS instead of a "solo" album. Peace, that was announced to be the fourth (fifth if you count The War) NPG album in 2000 before being shelved and eventually morphed, alongside High, into TCI and TS, was also supposed to feature Prince on lead vocals.

Okay, that makes sense. The thing is that if Prince is fronting the project then to me it feels like a Prince album. And with "Peace" being fronted by him as well, then perhaps from NPS forward he began thinking of all these things (Prince, , and NPG) as one and the same, rather than the NPG being an entirely separate entity.

-

Anyhow, I'm glad they're including it with the main canon of albums. It bugs me when I scroll through a chronology and NPS is absent.