I know probably most of us here think that overall this is a pretty bad to average album at

best but I did go out and buy a copy when it first came out and haven't thrown it out yet

so I still have it. I went back and listened to it and think its at least a pretty decent half

album. There are some songs on there that are just awful and unimaginative compared

to what we are used to hearing from P but I think there are a few good ones and one or

two decent ones like these few: Until You're in my Arms again, Mad Sex, (not great lyrics

but a somewhat catchy beat), Come On (FUNKY), The One (listenable at least), When you

love somebody (I think this one might actually be pretty decently done) and the hidden

track Wasted Kisses I think is just decent to maybe slightly above decent. Anyone else

feel this way or do yall just hate the WHOLE thing??

Actually, The One is near the very top of my list when it comes to P's slow jams. I just luuuuv that track. I also like Mad Sex, Come On and New Power Soul. Everything else is "average" or so but for Push it Up and Shoo-Bed-Ooh. I think those are rather sub-standard to say the least.

I'm sure it would be a horror to some but I actually listen to and enjoy NPS more than anything from the 1978-1981 period but put it at the lower end of his 90's output.

The only one I remember is "The One," and it's the only one I remember liking. I purged that disc from my collection long ago. It's not that I think it's particularly bad, I just feel it's very dull.

When u're in my arms again is the track i hate the most in Prince's career... But indeed songs like The one, mad sex and come on are just nice tracks.... I miss the guitar in this album, maybe that's why I don't play it that much.

The One is killer. Come On has a nice beat... ...strapped to da body, makin' love to da strings...

Supernova said:

How can you purge anything Princely??!!

CalhounSq said:

I don't understand the question, and I won't to respond to it.

Supernova said:

Its his most cohesive and satisfying album of the 90s.

Its at least as good as Controversy or Batman.

I put it on every now & then to see if my opinion of it has changed.
It never has: I thought it was horrible then & I still think it's horrible now (though "Wasted Kisses" is pretty good).

I feel the same as i did when i first listened to it, with one exception. Wasted Kisses, The One and Come on are fantastic. The rest are not. Originally, i was also a big fan of Push it up - now it just annoys me, i'm afraid.

BinaryJustin said:

That's crazy talk!

The only horrible songs on this disc are:

Push It Up

&

Eye Like Funky Music

The weak, but not horrible songs are:

Shoo Bed Dooh

&

Freaks on this Side

All of the other songs are either really good, or at least have some merit.

I LOVE the title track, The One, Wasted Kisses, Come On, Until Your In My Arms Again

Love2tha9s said:

When U Love Somebody has been so maligned on this board in the past. But let me admit with you that I loove this song. It is perhaps my favorite on the album, well at least the one I can play back to back, over and over ad nauseum.

I mean, the beat, lyrics, and energy reminds me of 1979-1980 Prince (like in the vein of When U Were Mine.)

"When you love somebody (horns: do, do, do do, do), every now and then it might rain/When you love somebody, with every sun shower there is pain/ whenever something's lost, something's gained. When you love somebody"

Love the horns in this song! Love the vocal delivery and oldtime quasi-philosophy.

It's a fun, fun song to sing to. Cheesy, yes. But totally Prince and adorable!


But I pretty much like the whole album.

My favorites are:

1. When U Love Somebody (although he could have cut off the ending with the rap. I always skip it.)

2. Come On (love the line ...' I don't need to play the good licks if there ain't gonna be no show. Better off sleepin' with my guitar if you ain't gonna sing, strapped to the body, making love to the strings!!! Great line/metaphor)

3. The One (oh...God! The beat and groove on this song are hot! Very sensual.)
4. Until U're in My Arms Again. (sweet sad song)


The others I don't really care much about , although in a good mood , I can be persuaded to scream "Freaks on This Side, the Freaks on this Side!" Ok, i guess I do like this wretched song.


You know what, I actually don't like Wasted Kisses. I'm glad it's there though, cuz I like hidden treasures.
[This message was edited Sat May 29 8:54:51 2004 by SynthiaRose]

There are some REALLY crappy songs on this disc, but a few obvious keepers.

I have to admit, though, as much as people hate "When You Love Somebody," I like the 2nd half of the song alot. Even the rap, and that 30 second guitar jam at the end of the song.

See that's the thing, everyone agrees that NPS and Emancipation and a few others are full of crappy songs, but no one can ever agree on which ones are crap. I mean, when I think of Prince songs that make me cringe, the first one that comes to mind is "Slow Love" and almost everyone would disagree with me about that.

Well since I bought it and it still works i'll continue to listen to it at least about half of it.

Tracks I always touch skip on are : Shoo b doo (however u spell it), Push it up, Freaks on

dis side, and I like funky music. Maybe I should go back through and try to give them

another chance but I seriously doubt I will ever like it as much as Symbol, Parade, 1999,

Purple Reign, Emancipation, Sign O' the Times, Around the World in a Day or even Lovesexy

(and I don't have copies of the last two to compare them to it at this time)

Oh and Also Prince and 4U I think are better than this disc. Maybe even TRC even with

all the Darth Vader crap.

"I Like Funky Music" would be one of his all-time best funk cutse were there not those tedious crowd samples and the inane beat - Replace that with a Linndrum and you would have had something that easily would have matched his heyday products.

I really like most of the songs on this album. I don't really understand why everyone is always hatin' it on here! "Come On" has got to be one of Prince's funkiest songs EVER! And what about the bonus track "Wasted Kisses"??? This is one of my favorite Prince albums, and I still play it all the time.

For me it is toss up between New Power Soul and Diamonds And Pearls for Prince's most disappointing album. I just find New Power Soul too uninspired sounding. Prince has said he can write songs in his sleep? Well I think he was at least half asleep when he wrote New Power Soul. I love "Wasted Kisses" I think it should have been a single. Could have been a hit, in my opinion. And there are a couple of other tracks I like "Come On" and the first half of "When You Love Somebody". But the rest is very average, in my opinion.

Love2tha9s said:

No, you're right. Those are the worst tracks on there.

The rest are fine.

Newpower Soul
Mad Sex
Until U're In My Arms Again
When U Love Somebody
Shoo-Bed-Ooh
Push It Up!
Freaks On This Side
Come On
The One
( Like) Funky Music
Wasted Kisses

Get your mits on the remixes of Come On. The long version where Prince raps the lyrics is really cool.

BinaryJustin said:

I so do NOT agree with that first comment, personally... I think Come is the most cohesive and is the most satisfying for me BUT I think the second one is fairly agreeable. Controversy and Batman also have some shyt tracks in the mix.

I've always had a soft spot for this album.
I saw Prince in 1998 in Oakland and sat about ten feet from the stage.
He was looking around the crowd, going side to side, and he came back to our side and said to a band member "I think the freaks are on this side!" Then he did it again, and led the crowd in a chant of "the freaks on this side! I think the freaks on this side!"
It seemed spontaneous (though it probably wasn't), and when I heard it on the album, it was like I had been there for it's creation. All the crowd noises felt like the concert was happening again.
He also did Mad Sex, had the crowd sing along to the chorus, and was into the whole "Push it Up" move, which I noticed he still does, unfortunately.
The album always takes me back to that amazing concert.
It seems, more than musicology, to be a companion to the concert.
It's a funky record, despite some weak moments.

I like the album simply because it DIDNT deal with concepts, and it wasnt a deepful meaning album.. and Im all about concepts, meanings and things to that area.. I just liked it cause it wasnt too serious.. it was fun, thats all it was meant to do.. and to be honest, so far its aging very nicely

@ newbie poster. Bless.

Surely the most tentative and vague critique EVER!

Yes, I too nearly think the album is almost perhaps halfway a fair-to-middling album.

Tracks I particularly think might well be reasonably acceptable or above are The One and Wasted Kisses.

Tracks I think are almost certainly not any worse or indeed better than less than roughly ok are Come On and the title track.

Whatever that means!

I don't like the album. It's one of his weakest. Mad Sex is terrible...Freaks on this side, Push it up, Until u're in my arms again, Shoo-bed-ooh ARE TERRIBLE!!!! I love Come on and Funky music and Wasted kisses. Dat's all!