Q

New Power Generation
Newpower Soul

Yes, it's Prince by yet another nom-de-disc -- this time letting Paisley Park acolytes New Power Generation play some of the instruments, although make no mistake, the diminutive one is in charge of proceedings here. The career of the artist fleetingly known as Victor may have stalled -- "enslavement" by Warner Brothers notwithstanding -- but some things remain immutable in the man's ever-burgeoning canon -- namely the marrying of Sly-meets-Parliament funkadelicism with lashings of lyrical prurience.

.

Thus things kick-off predictably enough with the propulsive groove of Gemini Rising On The Seventh Day and the difficult-to-misinterpret Mad Sex which details a typical litany of groinular encounters over a snapping snare-drum-led, although it's ultimately a pedestrian funk jam. Until Ure In My Arms Again revisits the saccharine pop-soul of The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, while Shoo-Bed-Ooh starts promisingly, like a slippery re-working of Sly & The Family Stone's Family Affair before demurring to an insouciant chorus that The Real Thing might have thought twice about. After such an opening, Push It Up! and Freaks On This Side -- the latter featuring an angular horn arrangement worthy of Neal Hefti -- come as something of a relief, both being easier on the steamhammer rhythmic assault and multi-overdubbed Princely harmonies.

.

Come On, Gett Off's laid-back cousin, contains some deliciously elastic guitar chops and contrastingly cheesy string synthesizers and Prince's apparently helium-assisted vocals describing an unconventional love triangle in London. Further respite arrives on the leatherette-smooth muzak-ballad The One, although its airbrushed blandness is hardly a cause for celebration. Much better, despite the less-than-groundbreaking title, is the closing Funky Music wherein loquacious clavinets and popping percussion vie for dominance over a dance groove. Buried deep in the run-off groove, or CD equivalent thereof, is an uncredited bonus track, possibly titled Why Do I Waste My Kisses On You, that sees our narrator getting into a lather about burgundy stockings over some suitably sleazy jazz-funk stylings. So no change there, then. It's a meticulously executed exercise in treading water. It's been the case for too long now. More artistry next time, please.

***

David Sheppard

Rimshottbob said:

26ten said:

I am going to be experiencing this album again and will he playing it as much as I can. A cursory listen makes me remember how much I love Freaks On This Side and how clever and cool it is - and trippy. This, Come On, and Wasted Kisses are likely the Peaks of the album, but overall it's an album that at once could be way better if he didn't base so much of it around these sort of (dated now) catch phrases but is hysterically underrated. How do you all feel about this record? Is it one you listen to much compared to the rest of his work?

The beats were lacking in quality in comparison to works by Timbaland, Pharrell and high end producers at the time, (the traks and synths sounded dated and flat) but there are some good songs.

The One, Wasted Kisses, When U Love Somebody and Come On.
Freaks On This Side is good live, but lacks depth on the album.
Mad S** is cool too.

One of my very least favorite albums, but even still it has its moments.

With this and the Larry Graham/Chaka Khan albums (the New Power Pack), I think Prince was really lost and sounded uninspired.

Se7en said:

One of my very least favorite albums, but even still it has its moments.

With this and the Larry Graham/Chaka Khan albums (the New Power Pack), I think Prince was really lost and sounded uninspired.

It was a strange phase in hindsight but I think the Chaka Khan album was pretty decent. VIBE magazine and DMX praised it back then, and I liked it, too.

The Larry Graham album was my least favorite of those three.

KoolEaze said:

Hamad said:

KoolEaze said:

It was a strange phase in hindsight but I think the Chaka Khan album was pretty decent. VIBE magazine and DMX praised it back then, and I liked it, too.

The Larry Graham album was my least favorite of those three.

That was my first Chaka album & what started my fandom I’d even say it was her best & strongest album since CK. Prince is not the best at producing folks outside of his camp, especially in the 90s, but this one had lots of strong materials. Also, I imagine she had to be clean in order to work with Prince during those times, which explain why her voice was top-notch in the studio and live as well, you can sense the clarity & the focus which she lacked for a long time. I hope the album finds its way into streaming services soon.

He made sure she was not drinking that hard liquor around him. I feel Chaka needed someone to scold her a little bit about that to be in his camp and get her back on track.

Shoe Bed Ooh is the bomb.

paisleypark4 said:

Post below mentions "Gemini Rising On The Seventh Day" as a song name, in place of "Newpower Soul". It comes from the lyric book?

I don't see this name listed on Prince Vault, but sounds like it was the name offered early on, perhaps on some promos?

I think on other exmaples like this we see a record of it on Prince Vault, but not on this ocassion. Any reaosn for that?

OldFriends4Sale said:

Q

New Power Generation
Newpower Soul

Yes, it's Prince by yet another nom-de-disc -- this time letting Paisley Park acolytes New Power Generation play some of the instruments, although make no mistake, the diminutive one is in charge of proceedings here. The career of the artist fleetingly known as Victor may have stalled -- "enslavement" by Warner Brothers notwithstanding -- but some things remain immutable in the man's ever-burgeoning canon -- namely the marrying of Sly-meets-Parliament funkadelicism with lashings of lyrical prurience.

.

Thus things kick-off predictably enough with the propulsive groove of Gemini Rising On The Seventh Day and the difficult-to-misinterpret Mad Sex which details a typical litany of groinular encounters over a snapping snare-drum-led, although it's ultimately a pedestrian funk jam. Until Ure In My Arms Again revisits the saccharine pop-soul of The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, while Shoo-Bed-Ooh starts promisingly, like a slippery re-working of Sly & The Family Stone's Family Affair before demurring to an insouciant chorus that The Real Thing might have thought twice about. After such an opening, Push It Up! and Freaks On This Side -- the latter featuring an angular horn arrangement worthy of Neal Hefti -- come as something of a relief, both being easier on the steamhammer rhythmic assault and multi-overdubbed Princely harmonies.

.

Come On, Gett Off's laid-back cousin, contains some deliciously elastic guitar chops and contrastingly cheesy string synthesizers and Prince's apparently helium-assisted vocals describing an unconventional love triangle in London. Further respite arrives on the leatherette-smooth muzak-ballad The One, although its airbrushed blandness is hardly a cause for celebration. Much better, despite the less-than-groundbreaking title, is the closing Funky Music wherein loquacious clavinets and popping percussion vie for dominance over a dance groove. Buried deep in the run-off groove, or CD equivalent thereof, is an uncredited bonus track, possibly titled Why Do I Waste My Kisses On You, that sees our narrator getting into a lather about burgundy stockings over some suitably sleazy jazz-funk stylings. So no change there, then. It's a meticulously executed exercise in treading water. It's been the case for too long now. More artistry next time, please.

***

David Sheppard

bwaaatch said:

Shock horror. Not to be outdone by NME in this department, Q magazine re-reviewed this album some time later, giving it 2/5. Further proof they weren't listening to it attentively. Maybe music journos are not really musicians, just hacks.

[Edited 11/4/21 12:09pm]

Hamad said:

KoolEaze said:

It was a strange phase in hindsight but I think the Chaka Khan album was pretty decent. VIBE magazine and DMX praised it back then, and I liked it, too.

The Larry Graham album was my least favorite of those three.

That was my first Chaka album & what started my fandom I’d even say it was her best & strongest album since CK. Prince is not the best at producing folks outside of his camp, especially in the 90s, but this one had lots of strong materials. Also, I imagine she had to be clean in order to work with Prince during those times, which explain why her voice was top-notch in the studio and live as well, you can sense the clarity & the focus which she lacked for a long time. I hope the album finds its way into streaming services soon.

I´d been listening to Chaka´s music and buying some of her albums since 1984. And I liked Come In2 My House a lot....still do.

As far as having to be clean when working with Prince is concerned, I do agree, but then again keep in mind that he often turned a blind eye to his heroes breaking the rules.

But if I recall correctly George Clinton managed to smuggle a hamburger into Paisley Park.

I´ve never seen Chaka live in concert but my friends did, and unfortunately she was drunk almost every time they saw her. Glad she´s still alive and well though.

paisleypark4 said:

Hamad said:

KoolEaze said: That was my first Chaka album & what started my fandom I’d even say it was her best & strongest album since CK. Prince is not the best at producing folks outside of his camp, especially in the 90s, but this one had lots of strong materials. Also, I imagine she had to be clean in order to work with Prince during those times, which explain why her voice was top-notch in the studio and live as well, you can sense the clarity & the focus which she lacked for a long time. I hope the album finds its way into streaming services soon.

He made sure she was not drinking that hard liquor around him. I feel Chaka needed someone to scold her a little bit about that to be in his camp and get her back on track.

Really ? Are you sure about that? If so, that´s really nice of him to protect her from herself.

KoolEaze said:

Hamad said:

KoolEaze said:

I´d been listening to Chaka´s music and buying some of her albums since 1984. And I liked Come In2 My House a lot....still do.

As far as having to be clean when working with Prince is concerned, I do agree, but then again keep in mind that he often turned a blind eye to his heroes breaking the rules.

But if I recall correctly George Clinton managed to smuggle a hamburger into Paisley Park.

I´ve never seen Chaka live in concert but my friends did, and unfortunately she was drunk almost every time they saw her. Glad she´s still alive and well though.

If I have to say so, all of her best was pre-1984. I recommend you should definitely give her Rufus era a spin, it’s a treat for Prince fans especially Clare Fischer’s best orchestration IMO along with his P work, was with her. Her “Whatcha Gonna Do For Me” also remains a big feather on her hat as far as her solo work was concerned As far as P was concerned, I can’t really say what was his attitude, seeing George Clinton had to smuggle a hamburger - of all this - tells me what I need to know about the comp-like atmosphere in Paisley Park I don’t think Chaka had to go through all of that, knowing her personality & her disdain for authority figures, it wouldn’t be hard for her to tell him to go fuck himself. However, I seem to remember from reading her book that she had to go through a clean period shortly after she was released from her WB contract for her own sake. I could be wrong though.

Oh I love her work with Rufus and am aware of it....it´s just that I discovered her first when I was 12 years old when she covered I Feel For You. I caught up on her earlier music later in life when I was in my 20s.

As far as that hamburger incident is concerned, I really don´t know the details anymore or if George was or wasn´t allowed to eat that burger. I bet with him, eating a burger was the smallest thing to worry about .

26ten said:

How do you all feel about this record? Is it one you listen to much compared to the rest of his work?

I do listen to it!!

But not all of it...

some of the tracks aren't timeless to me...

But his was what? Approximately his 20th album?

Still got it!!!

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

the mistake ppl make in evaluating this album is thinking of it as a prince album and comparing it to other prince albums, when youre really meant to compare it to exodus and gold nigga. its got prince on the cover, and singing a lot, but its an npg album, ie. more funk and rnb influences, not so much pop. i.e certain things like melodies, pop songwriting, or just trying to do something differnt isnt that important, its just meant to deliver funkiness in some way or another.

Yeah but 3121 is funkier than that album production wise. Its the flat beats and flat outdated synths that make it half baked. Listen to Lolita, Black Sweat and 3121 compared ro Freaks, Shoobedoo and New Power Soul.

Major differences here in production, arrgangment and instrumentation. Sound like he had more money to buy better equipment or something.

paisleypark4 said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

the mistake ppl make in evaluating this album is thinking of it as a prince album and comparing it to other prince albums, when youre really meant to compare it to exodus and gold nigga. its got prince on the cover, and singing a lot, but its an npg album, ie. more funk and rnb influences, not so much pop. i.e certain things like melodies, pop songwriting, or just trying to do something differnt isnt that important, its just meant to deliver funkiness in some way or another.

Yeah but 3121 is funkier than that album production wise. Its the flat beats and flat outdated synths that make it half baked. Listen to Lolita, Black Sweat and 3121 compared ro Freaks, Shoobedoo and New Power Soul.

Major differences here in production, arrgangment and instrumentation. Sound like he had more money to buy better equipment or something.

He bought Pro Tools for his production and probably made upgrades to the soundboards at Paisley Park.

joyinrepetition said:

paisleypark4 said:

Yeah but 3121 is funkier than that album production wise. Its the flat beats and flat outdated synths that make it half baked. Listen to Lolita, Black Sweat and 3121 compared ro Freaks, Shoobedoo and New Power Soul.

Major differences here in production, arrgangment and instrumentation. Sound like he had more money to buy better equipment or something.

He bought Pro Tools for his production and probably made upgrades to the soundboards at Paisley Park.

Makes sense! That is why his stuff sound up to date then

OperatingThetan said:

bwaaatch said:

Post below mentions "Gemini Rising On The Seventh Day" as a song name, in place of "Newpower Soul". It comes from the lyric book?

I don't see this name listed on Prince Vault, but sounds like it was the name offered early on, perhaps on some promos?

I think on other exmaples like this we see a record of it on Prince Vault, but not on this ocassion. Any reaosn for that?

Likely just a lazy mistake on the journalist's part, which was common during this period, particularly in UK publications. 'Wasted Kisses' isn't like any other song in Prince's career and isn't a typical sleazy sexual song in terms of its meaning or symbolism either, which is just another sign that the writer was not paying particularly close attention.

But when Prince raps the titles of all of the songs, he starts off with Gemini Risging on the 7th Day, so it's not inconcievable that it was a title at one point.

The irony for me is that from the time of Emancipation 1996 through 2004 i saw Prince more than I ever have in concert nearly 45 times (counting aftershows and all) but I also feel production wise Emancipation and NewPower Soul and even some of what he was doing on Choc. Invasion and the unreleased stuff from that era that turned up on Crystal Ball, alot of is very weak and poorly produced. It was said earlier about the band during the Emancipation and NPS days and I have to agree, with the exception of Mr Hayes and Rhonda it was very pedestrian and no one stood out. I had heard that reason he did not play much of or hardly any of Emancipation on the tour for it was that the band couldnt really play it and because of the production being so thin they couldnt really jam on things together. But i also feel that during this time especially 1996-1999 PRINCE had to play a lot of shows whereever he could, not that he had money issues but he KNEW deep down the sales for his music were way down because of the SLAVE era and name change and now he had no label, even though EMI had Emancipation for PROMO they quickly grew tired of the project.

lastdecember said:

The irony for me is that from the time of Emancipation 1996 through 2004 i saw Prince more than I ever have in concert nearly 45 times (counting aftershows and all) but I also feel production wise Emancipation and NewPower Soul and even some of what he was doing on Choc. Invasion and the unreleased stuff from that era that turned up on Crystal Ball, alot of is very weak and poorly produced. It was said earlier about the band during the Emancipation and NPS days and I have to agree, with the exception of Mr Hayes and Rhonda it was very pedestrian and no one stood out. I had heard that reason he did not play much of or hardly any of Emancipation on the tour for it was that the band couldnt really play it and because of the production being so thin they couldnt really jam on things together. But i also feel that during this time especially 1996-1999 PRINCE had to play a lot of shows whereever he could, not that he had money issues but he KNEW deep down the sales for his music were way down because of the SLAVE era and name change and now he had no label, even though EMI had Emancipation for PROMO they quickly grew tired of the project.

I saw many shows during that era, too, and I agree with you that some of them were a bit lacklustre.

However, one has to keep in mind the tragedy he had just gone through regarding his child (and the second child), plus all the financial problems he was having between 1995 and 1996, plus the fact that he had disbanded one of his tightest bands of all time. Plus he wasn´t selling records like he used to. The weakest link back then, according to most fans, was Kirk Johnson and his drumming skills, and I agree with that , having seen him live multiple times, but then again I am not a musician or a drummer, and Michael B. once said that he considered Kirk to be one of the best drummers in Minnesota, so I don´t think I´m really qualified to make a judgment regarding his drumming skills.

It was a strange era.

In hindsight I have to say hats off to Prince for still being able to tour and give so many concerts despite what was going on behind the scenes (health issues, financial issues, grief, marriage falling apart etc. ) .

langebleu said:

25 September 1998

https://www.princevault.c...ember_1998

I was at that show!