Picked it up!!Immediately liked it.I see why a lot of ppl don't like it.It's not for everyone.I just have listened to a lot of jam music and jazz so I dig it.(I like miles and rush,for Pete's sake!)It is really well executed and performed and it's very funky.This is a man still full of a lot of ideas.There's like 4 or 5 different grooves in each song!This is nothing more than free form fusion.

I'm glad he released this and just because he didn doesn't mean it will be 10 years before he does another "regular" album.I am curious,however,to hear what these grooves would sound like in a pop song format with vocals and such.

This album is not for listener who like quick fixes and pop fluff.This is for "listeners".And that's cool either way.Prince never reallyw as for everybody.That's one reason he had to destroy what he built.The fun and adventure is in the re-creating.

I like the album a lot, but he shouldn't have released it to stores

IMO Xpectation is three times the album that N.E.W.S is.

lovemachine said:

It's funny how individual perceptions can vary. I never got into Xpectation. I found it to be very boring. N.E.W.S., on the other hand has grabbed me. I listen to it almost daily and gain something new from it on each listen. Is it groundbreaking? No. But, at a bare minimum, there are some good grooves and interesting musical moments. That's what got me to be a Prince fan in the first place. I think his music just keeps maturing every year. Can't wait to hear what his next vocal album sounds like.

By the way, I was listening to The War last night. I could already hear "N.E.W.S."-type sounds/experiments back then. I think this is a direction he has been toying with for years and finally got to a point where he wanted to do a whole album in this style. Ahhh. What joy to be a Prince fan. Never a dull moment.

-Peace!

Im glad NEWS is out. I think its cool for others to see what he's capable of. This is basicly live studio right? If this was a live bootleg, people would be raving about it and coplaining that he never released it. I like the fact he's putting out something very different to the public, I think its kind of daring. I like it.