This disc was released in mid 1998 as the follow up to The New Power Generation’s “Exodus” album from 1995 and Prince’s multiple disc set, “Crystal Ball,” which was originally from ‘97, but released just a few months before this project. Being that “NPS,” as it was abbreviated by many online fans, was supposed to be the follow up to an “N.P.G” album – that’s exactly who it was credited to, as opposed to “Prince” or “O(+>,” as he was then known, despite the fact that Prince himself was basically all over this record both vocally & musically. His explanation at the time was that he allowed his band to play on it a little more than he usually would, but for all we know that could’ve been a fib. Maybe he really credited “The NPG” as the main artist behind this project because he was going by that funny lookin’ thang instead of his name at the time, but hey – it is what it is. Another thing about this album, is that a lot of people out there slag it off and claim it to be one of Prince’s worst efforts. Not just because of the lyrics, which seemed somewhat subpar by the usual Prince standards, but also because of his longtime buddy Kirky Johnson’s “stale hip hop beats.” Well, everybody’s got their own opinion in life, but I’m gonna give you mine right now, beginning with Track One.
New Power Soul: This song could qualify as simply an introduction track, much in the same way rap acts do “intros” on CDs. You could even say it’s similar to Graham Central Station’s “We’ve been waiting” introductions that they used to include on their albums back in the ’70s. I guess that’s really just a matter of personal choice, but one thing that I most definitely can confirm is the fact that the lyrics “get freaky let the head bob” were originally used in 1995 on the “Exodus” album on the track “Big Fun.” Perhaps this chant was used so that the mainstream crowd would get a chance to hear this tune. One thing I always admired about this track though, was the way he mentioned all of this album’s song titles during his little ‘rap’ section: “Gemini risin’ on the 7th day/Makin’ mad sex until you’re in my arms okay?/Cuz when you love somebody like that it’s cool……” there’s some of that classic Prince attitude for ya. Very cool. He did this on the “Diamonds & Pearls” album too, but he did it much better on this disc.
Mad Sex: When this record was first released, a few online fans said that this song was about one of the Spice Girls, which was Scary Spice a.k.a. Mel B. It was pretty easy to see where they were coming from, thanks to such lyrics as: “do it till your tattoo’s dizzy and the stud in your mouth turns gold.” Clearly there was some kind of mutual admiration because not too longer after this CD was released, an interview between the two of them was shot at Paisley Park & aired on television in Europe. Eventually, the interview was pressed onto a video tape & made available for purchase through Prince’s old hotline & website, “1-800-New-Funk.” The special was dubbed “Beautiful Strange.” Looks like that “friendship” fizzled out pretty quick, but who couldn’t see that comin’?! Still, it’s not a bad track for what it is.
Until U’re In My Arms Again: I’ve read some other people’s reviews of this album, and it seems as though they always misinterpret the meaning of this song all the time….well….maybe not all the time, but it definitely has been misintrepreted by fans & non fans alike. Then again, can you really fault those people for thinking as such…especially when Prince is so secretive about his personal life it’s not funny? Anyways, I always viewed it as being Prince’s way of publicly announcing that the child he had with his former wife Mayte passed away a week after his birth. The reason why I say publicly is because he already sang about this on an indie album he made called “The Truth.” “New Power Soul,” on the other hand, was released on a major label, so…..that’s why I’ve made that observation. When you look at it from that perspective it’s a very tragic song.
When U Love Somebody: After a sad one, it’s time to get all up tempo once again. He even gets a little ‘rocky’ towards the end of this cut. Lyrically it’s all about monogamy, and it’s pretty obvious that this is what he’s singing about, because he even slams “them fools” who want to have sex with a woman in the back seat of their car….in hindsight, that lyric seems kind of strange being that this is the same man who once wanted to: “lay ya down in my daddy’s car… it’s u I really wanna drive.” But then again he was a lot older when he made this record, so….I guess I can excuse that lyric.
Shoo Bed Ooh: This song first came to my attention back in early ‘98 when Prince put up a sample of it on his old website, Love4Oneanother.com. For some reason it instantly struck a cord with me… perhaps because it was a very hip hop inspired track, and actually I was really looking forward to hearing it in its entirety. Once I did that I noticed that the lyrics were a bit on the graffilthy side….I guess that explains why certain copies of this album carried a sticker stating very simply: “Warning: Contains explicit language.” Such examples include: “The answer to the question of life is a grey haired bitch at least. Sucking on the ebony dancer in between these dirty sheets.” So much for not cussin’ anymore hey?
Push It Up: Essentially this song is just a remix of the song “Jam of the Year,” which was the opening track of Prince’s “Emancipation” album, originally released in 1996. The only difference is that he’s decided to include some special guests on the track, such as former Stevie Wonder backup singer Marva King, who was actually in the New Power Generation at the time. Former Sly Stone bassist Larry Graham comes in & says – or rather – sings his piece about how God wants life to be, while old school rapper Doug E. Fresh drops by & busts a few rhymes all the way through this cut. And examples of such rhymes? “Yo I wanna know who’s ready 2 show me/Get on down wit’ da one & only/Party ambassador flip styles like a spatula.” Riiiight, right. I suppose my grouchy attitude would then go against the entire meaning of this song, which is to push away all the negative feelings in life, but once you stop being so critical of the lyrics, you’re left with a relatively decent party jam…..well, I think so anyway.
Freaks On This Side: I’m going to be straight up & say, very simply that I just could not stand this…atrocity the 1st time I heard it. So why did I end up liking it anyway? Perhaps it was because it came naturally to me when I was listening to it for the second time. Actually the reason why I reacted the way I did was probably moreso because Prince had decided to use a sample of a crowd chanting the phrase “Freaks on this side” as the chorus, instead of actually singing the chorus. Frankly I wasn’t quite used to hearing that back when this disc first got released. Interestingly when I saw him in concert in 2003 he actually ended up using this chant to hype the crowd up…..sadly it wasn’t us in the New Power Generation Music Club that he was referring to – it was the other folks all the way up there in the top row that he was talkin’ to. Oh well. Next track.
Come On: This song is really just a slammin’ slice of funk, which seems to be all about how he’d much rather be comitted to one woman through the rite of marraige. However, being that this is Prince singing, he can’t help but notice those two sexy girls over there: “Could it be your girlfriend who’s never ever been straight?/When I ask you are you hungry/You say I already ate. You can play me if you wanna……” Well, let’s just say I’ve no qualms with that lyric! I don’t think too many other straight fellas would either. Other than, that this song somewhat marked the return of his alter ego “Camille” taking the lead vocals. However, this character wasn’t credited as such in the liner notes, which means he most probably just used that voice for the sake of it……but then again, it’s a part of who Prince is as an artist. The video clip for this song featured him dressed as a very arrogant old man slash street musician, who turned over a new leaf after he was handed a Jehovah’s Witness pamphlet by Larry & Tina Graham…….and so begun the outright anger & hatred towards this legendary bassist. Oh yeah! I almost forgot – Chaka Khan sings backing vocals on this track. The three of them – Prince, Larry & Chaka were all working together on albums when this disc dropped…..in fact it was the first release in a series of three CDs.
The One: When Prince was promoting this album, he said in an interview that this song’s meaning went from being about having respect for the one woman in his life (or something along those lines) to a song about having respect for God. Personally I could never hear anything too religious or spiritual about it, but hey – if that’s the way Prince sees it, then so be it. As far as I was concerned though, he was just singing about how he was willing to treat his woman with all the love & respect in the world, by doing things like “pay your bills, buy you pretty dresses and take you anywhere you wanna eat.” Of course “make love to you every night of the week” just had to be the next line in the song that only goes without saying. There was definitely a time where I thought some of those lyrics were a bit on the corny side, but after he combined this song with “The Question Of U” & Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’” in concert in 2003, the lyrics didn’t bother me.
I Like Funky Music: Once again the “Camille” lead vocals are in effect on this cut. So are the explicit lyrics: “If U ain’t got no partner U can use yo’ hair/Or shake it like a hooker baby I don’t care/Whateva U do U gotta make the people stare….” I loved that lyric back in ‘98, and I still love it now. Prince also decided to throw in a few funky hornlines toward the end of this song, which came to us courtesy of one of his old B-Sides – “Feel U Up.” Ironically, that song also featured an uncredited “Camille” on lead vocals. So… just how are you gonna resist a line up like that?! Well… if you’re one of those fans out there who absolutely abhors Prince’s attempts at hip hop, or if you just can’t stand hip hop itself, then you’d most probably be the first one to say bad things about this cut, because it features yet another rhyme from Doug E Fresh. That reminds me I remember some guy I went to school with laughing hysterically at the line: “Move it baby move it, I know you can do it.” What’s so funny about that? I dunno….but this is my favourite cut on the entire disc. Hands down!
Wasted Kisses: This track is not listed on the back cover, nor on the CD itself. However, it is somewhat slyly alluded to in the lyrics booklet. Being that it’s a so-called “hidden track,” how else could he have done it? Anyways a few fans out there have tried to analyse the meaning of this song & some of them think it may have been about his dead child. Personally I very strongly disagree with such a fucked up analysis because how low would you have to be to write a song asking why you wasted your kisses on your own flesh & blood? I prefer to think that it’s a fictitious song about a man who gets mad at his ex-lover so he shoots & kills the guy she’s cheating on him with & turns off his life support machine….actually that’s why those fans thought it was about his kid, cause apparently that’s what he did to his child…..okay I’m gonna hold my tongue here, let me just get on with this review.
Verdict: This is not supposed to be looked at in the same light as albums like “Sign O the Times,” “Parade” or “Love Sexy.” “New Power Soul” was just a fun party record that Prince put together with his band The New Power Generation in 1998. On a slightly sadder note though, it’s pretty clear that Prince’s head was well & truly effed up when he made this record, because on the back sleeve it says: “Conceived and born at Paisley Park. Bathed & circumcized by “O(+>” & Hans-Martin Buff. Graduation ceremony performed by…” Perhaps this was yet another way of dealing with the death of his child? Personal issues aside this is still quite an enjoyable record in my eyes….in fact I thought it was absolutely fantastic when I first heard it……maybe that was just cause I was jonsing for some new Prince material.
