When I first heard NEWS, I wasn't impressed at all.

For starters, it was instrumental only which didn't really appeal to me. Secondly, it was only four tracks which told me that essentially, I would only be listening to four different musical experiences, no matter how long they were. And thirdly, on first (and twelfth) listen, the whole thing sounds like one long meandering jazz-influenced jam with no structure or purpose.

My first thought was that Prince had finally hit rock-bottom and had come up with an album that could only be described as 'Muzak'.

But something niggled me.

I'm a Prince fan and I've loved every single album that he's put out. Some more than others, certainly, but he's never put out any music that I really don't like. There are some of his songs and albums that I don't rate particularly highly, but that's only when comparing them to the rest of his work. I'd still rather listen to any Prince song/album than just about any other artist's work.

So why didn't I take to NEWS as much as the others?

It was different, sure. It was off-the-wall as Prince albums went, it was only four very long tracks and it didn't seem to contain melodies as such. But ultimately, it was still Prince and when it came to new, original material, he hadn't let me down yet except for when he'd came up with the bland, inspiration-free 'Rave Un2' CD. But this was different and I normally liked Prince when he was 'different'. I needed to force myself to listen to it a lot more.

And so I did.

And eventually, I started to like it. Just like any other Prince album, there were different rhythms, unorthodox noises, subtle melodies that don't initially make themselves known for a good while and, crucially, a whole range of different musical styles. It's just that there were no vocals.

My conclusion was that it was a B-class Prince album. Okay to listen to if you were in the right mood, but not up there with any of his classics.

But then, last weekend we had a mini-heatwave over here in the UK and I decided to sit in the garden with a beer and a personal CD player and play NEWS through from start to finish.

It was the most satisfying musical experience that I'd had for a while.

Listening to Musicology has been great (and still will be for a good while, yet), but NEWS is a Prince album that you can truly 'explore'. The subtle noises, riffs and melodies that aren't immediately apparent suddenly spring up and expose themselves. The 14 minute tracks finally reveal that they really do have as good a structure as any one of his four-minute pop classics. And as for the huge range of emotions displayed here... Well, it would be difficult for any lyrics, no matter how great, to do the music any justice.

I don't care what anybody says, NEWS is a true Prince classic.

I'm no 'fam' by any means, but I do think that this CD did encourage me to appreciate the music more as it stood, rather than what I wanted it to be. It defied my expectations of what a Prince album should sound like and challenged me to appreciate it fully.

It normally takes me about two weeks to truly appreciate a new Prince disc as a genuine Prince album. This one's taken me ten months, but it was most definitely worth the wait.

As we reached the end of the 1990s, it was hard to believe that Prince would be able to come up with something truly unique ever again. In 2003 he did so and, although without a doubt it's the hardest Prince album to get into, I genuinely feel that NEWS is one of his finest moments.

It may not be everybody's cup of tea, but ensure that you let it brew fully before you judge it's flavour. And unlike the rest of Prince's albums which you appreciate after the first few sips, this one may not hit you until you're near the bottom of the cup.

I absolutely agree with what you wrote, a hundred percent. Bravo.

http://www.prince.org/msg...sg_1556103

Peace
(From a fellow NEWS lover)

Agreed. It takes time to fully appreciate, but if you're patient with it and work at "digging out" the intricate melodies as you said, it can be a very enjoyable album.

leadline said:

Sorry, I hadn't seen that thread. If I had, I'd have bumped it with my views.

Nice to see a fellow NEWS appreciator.

I fully love this album - I have it nearly all the time at work along with xpectation - cool to know others dig it too

Anxiety said:

People are too critical of every Prince album when it's new. The latest has to live up to everyone's highest hopes. Only when it becomes a "catalog" cd do people appreciate it for what is IS in the overall context of his discography, and not what it ISN'T.

NEWS is awsome to own!

If one has a habit of comparing a Fusion album to an album of songs (whether it be r&b, pop, country, folk, rock, etc.), that's where you stumble right out of the gate. It's comparing watermelons to bananas. With instrumentals you set out to create something entirely different that you would otherwise by creating songs. A recording artist who has made his life's work with songs is going to have a lot of fans whose ears either aren't ready for NEWS, or aren't interested in fusion coming from him in the first place regardless of quality. To me it was obvious that Prince wanted to showcase not only his music, but his band's chops too. I dug this disc the first time I ever listened to it, but it's been a long-running theme that even some of the most hardened Prince fans need time for some of his work to digest.
`
[This message was edited Sat May 1 19:02:36 2004 by Supernova]

I've thought that of Xpectation too. That is a great album. I love NEWS too. Was The Rainbow Children the first album of this century? I've loved everything he's done since that album. I think his sound has changed and not changed at the same time. Very bizzare. I mean that to some, he sounds totally different. But really, to those that accept him and actually enjoy his music, he sounds the same in the sense that I can hear where he may be treading in life. To me, sounds like he still has his connetion good and proper with the creative river. That's genius to try different music, sound different and the same at the same time.

I guess only those that have experienced the same thing with his music will know what I'm going on about.

100% agree. And you can add XPectation and C-NOTE to these comments, too. All are wonderful instrumental albums.

LoveRobot said:

Xpectation is a beautiful album...

It evokes such emotion...

2 of my favorite tracks are 'Xotica' and 'Xcogitate'.

N.E.W.S. is a great album to listen to when I'm feeling mellow...like tonight

Doozer said:

Funny, Xpectation and C-NOTE kicked my butt from the first listen...NEWS took a while to sink in. I think it's more ambient than the other two, which seem more tune-driven and "instant gratification" to me by comparison.

Anxiety said:

Hmmm...C-NOTE took the longest for me to completely enjoy. XPectation was a total home run for me right off the bat. Especially since it was a) "free" as part of the club and b) a complete surprise.

I've given up listening to it....for now...

WELCOME "HAYSTACK"... we've been waiting for you. There is one reason and one reason only why you finally "got it" concerning N.E.W.S, and that is because you finally listened to the album for what it IS instead of what you wanted it to be. Your preconcieved notions and expectations have been clouding your judgement about N.E.W.S for ten months, but you finally let go, and now you understand. I'm happy for you.

Your review of N.E.W.S will hopefully help some people understand the rationale behind why Prince does some of the things he does. I believe Prince realizes that 30 or more years from now and long after he is gone, people will still be listening to his catalog of music, and when those folks listen to his music in the future, they will listen to his music without any expectations for it being popular, or sounding "as good as or better" than something he's already done. Instead, they will simply listen to his music for what it is. And with that mindset, they will have a much better appreciation for his work than some of us do today. The thing that sets Prince apart from all others is the variety of his work and how it is all done extremely well. And N.E.W.S is no exception.

I learned a long time ago to never discount the quality of Prince's work, no matter what it is that he creates. If he releases it to the public, you can rest assured there's something special about it, whether you can relate to it or not.

I totally agree. When NEWS came out I was pleasently surprised. Although Prince had released Xpectation and the Madhouse albums there it was again that feeling why I am into Prince for 20 years now. Prince was stretching himself and surprising us.

The only point so far I disagree with Haystack is on Musicology. While TRC, ONA, Xpectation and NEWS have all been and still are musical journeys for me Musicology seems to be much harder to get into for me. But I am coming back to the album trying to listen. But even if I should not been able to enjoy Musicology there are no complaints because the albums mentioned before are such a treat.

Peace

I fell in love with N.E.W.S. the first time I heard it, and like Fran I wasn't too impressed with Musicology after the first few listens, though I must admit it is starting to grow on me now.

Maybe I'm just getting too old.

FutureShock said:

Thank you O wise one

I'd leave the patronising, amateur psychology alone, if I were you.

I think Xpectation and TRC are great albums. NEWS is good - it does have intricate little melodies, interesting sounds and some structure. It shows off some wonderfully talented musicians.

But in my opinion Prince is still very much an amateur when it comes to larger works. How can he be anything but an amateur when he hasn’t really tackled larger works before, perhaps except for The War which is more like a jam. This is one area where Prince hasn’t yet excelled like almost every other area in which he has.

The basis for my argument is that NEWS has no real structural development. It is a series of smaller sections tacked together. Thematic material undergoes no development, it is just put out there once – as in the popular music style.

I really like the concept for NEWS and have wondered for ages why current musicians don’t write larger works. I hope there is more of it from Prince, but who knows every album is different.

Haystack said:

Bitch please

FutureShock said:

May I include a review I wrote on Amazon (UK) last October?

All Points Of The Compass, October 2, 2003

N.E.W.S. is a superb instrumental statement by the musical genius Prince (guitar, Fender Rhodes, digital keyboards & percussion) and his collaborators, Eric Leeds (saxophones), Renato Neto (keyboards), Rhonda Smith (bass), John Blackwell (drums).

N.E.W.S. is not the product of one dimensional formula, it fails to sit in a particular genre, visiting Funk, Jazz, Pop, Ambient, etc etc. Prince has ackowledged the importance of Miles Davis and N.E.W.S. has been compared to Bitches Brew. The working methods are similar, basic material presented to the players is the basis of improvisation. The recordings of the jams have then been enhanced in the mixing, editing and overdubs added. Although the post-production only serves to enhance the original takes, Weather Report shared this approach.
The result in N.E.W.S. is beguiling and full of surprises. Each of the four tracks North, East, West & South share the same duration of 14 minutes. Within each track there's an array of feelings and modes of expression. A real journey to all points of the compass.

Prince has been open and informative about the "music industry" and the detrimental changes to the way record companies treat their artists. In 1993 on his 35th birthday, Prince changed his name to the unpronounceable O ( + > as a protest against the restrictions and repression Warner-Time his record company imposed. Like most musicians, he looked to his success as a means of enabling him to release material that wasn't so blatantly market oriented, Warner's refused to give him reign, their priority was profit not music.
Without the support of the indsutry, his popularity waned and he seemed to be outcast. Not deterred he went through period which enabled him to put his priorities in order and continue to create music and release it himself. At one point he threatened to re-record all his previous output and release it to compete against the practices of Time-Warner. In 1999 the RIAA ammended their agreements with artists to demote them to person-for-hire. Composers no longer owned their own music, and the industry appeared to lose all respect.

Then in 2000 he reverted to being called Prince, and with a new band and loads of new material emerged with an amazing album, The Rainbow Children. Followed by touring which resulted in the best live recordings by anyone, One Night Alone. The recordings are live unedited and recorded directly from the Front Of House mixer.

N.E.W.S. has parellels in the earlier instrumental album Kamasutra but is a whole lot stronger and more confident in delivering instrumental music. No longer straight jacketed by corporate music, free to give full reign to his musical genius and explore, unrestrained by the narrowness of the music industry. Princee is an extremely prolific composer, like Mozart or JS Bach, performing & composing music without interruption all his life. A virtuoso on guitar, piano, bass, drums and possesses an awesome vocal range.

The subdued sleeve of N.E.W.S. is also innovative. There is no images of musicians, simply a fold-out cardboard sleeve in rich colours, some fans have framed this it is so extrordinary.

One message on the prince.org site told of someone who's mother borrowed N.E.W.S., she normally didn't like Prince, but played N.E.W.S. incessantly, in the car, in the house, everywhere for some weeks, she found it so interesting she could not stop the fascination and discovered new aspects each time. It was the first time she had treated any music in that way.

I feel the same way. I haven't tired of it yet. One of the best ways of describing freedom and feelings is through music. N.E.W.S. is a wonderful example of music or a very high-order.

I am so happy others enjoy this cd as well. Though it is a little that fell in love with N.E.W.S instantly while it has taken me over a year to begin to dig Xpectations and C-Note (I'm still pissed over the Xenophobia debucile). Though N.E.W.S. is divided into four tracks, in my ears it is a single musical oddessy. As some one mentioned, these tracks are almost human in the way it defines emotions in its sporadic glory.

FutureShock said:

Is that the best you can do?

Instead of throwing around pathetic insults, why not try and intelligently justify your initial patronising comments?

You're not psychic and you have no idea how other people think. The sooner you realise that, the better. Until then, stop trying to tell people what they were/are thinking.

I'm still not very impressed with the album, tho'.

Therapy said:

I agree with this thread - it is a great album. We'll all do well to remember that next time an album seems "different" enough to write off at first listen.

I'd love Prince to do some more work which is completely different like this. Having said that, I love Musicology and the current 'pop' phase he's in too. Of course, releasing a live jazz instrumental album on Blue Note would probably end all that

booyah said:

(Yes, I'm quoting myself - get over it)

Speaking of which, what would be on this album? If it's live as in with an audience, I would guess it's a kind of extended C-Note, ie. some of the many many instrumentals he played during soundchecks of the ONA tour (probably not including the tracks Copenhagen, Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo).

If it's live meaning recorded in one take with no overdubs, however, it could be anything...