New Power Soul

Prince | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 30, 1998)
• Original Release Date: June 30, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Npg Records
• ASIN: B000009N83
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,642 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. New Power Soul

2. Mad Sex

3. Until U're in My Arms Again

4. When You Love Somebody

5. Shoo-Bed-Ooh

6. Push It Up!

7. Freaks on This Side

8. Come On

9. The One

10. I Like Funky Music

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

After Emancipation's three discs and Crystal Ball's four-pack, here's good news for folks with day jobs: Newpower Soul is one CD. The bad news? It may be less than two hours long, but it isn't any less indulgent or erratic. The fault lies in the Artist's seeming unwillingness to keep abreast of musical trends. It's odd that a musician who, at his height, redefined black music by going against the grain is now content to dredge up the most innocuous prefab funk and expect his fans to take it as innovation. Where once we partied like it was 1999, now the former Prince just wants us to "Push It Up!" to a woeful reprise of Emancipation's bland "Jam of the Year." This is funk as good-time boogie music, which of course it can be, but once he infused the bass line with a sly apocalyptic vision that meant more than just "get down." Unfortunately, on Newpower Soul there's little to be heard of the Artist's raging guitar lines--a sign, perhaps, that the prolific star has a rock record in the works? Best are midtempo tracks like "Come On," which motivates on a slinky slurred synth pattern and has that winking sexuality we associate with the Artist. Not bad but not great either, Newpower Soul is a minor speed bump on the long road that is the Artist's spectacular career. --Amy Linden

New Musical Express

Most of "New Power Soul" is bad George Clinton right down to the rubber-kneed basslines and appallingly shoddy cartoon sleeve. It's not a question of needing to know your porno-funk history to appreciate it either: stupid-fresh retro chic or not, this is ripe tripe on a silver platter.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Creative No Question!!, August 30, 2006

By 

Krisztian J. Kovacs "kriszthehun" (Burbank,Ca.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Power Soul (Audio CD)

This is my first review on a Prince album. I can not beleive there are reviews that negative about this gem! I mean sure we all have different tastes and we are not alike, thankfully. Anyone who says this album is not any good, has really not even listened to it at all, AT ALL, seriously, this has got to be the most creative, sexual, one of them all, and not to mention all the different styles and effects on this one! "The One" is truly beautiful typical Prince song and all the great stories like on "Shoo-Bed-Ooh", and the hardcore dance grooves like "Freaks on this side" and "New Power Soul" and "Mad Sex" and "Push it up"!!!! Come on now people, please do not keep others from this one, cause this is it! Prince shines on this album, he is at almost his finest!
You all will love this album, trust me, get it, sit back and INJOY! I know I do, even after all these years, and do not let the fact of that there were no songs that were commercial on the cd stop, songs do not need to be commercial to be good!!!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars His Royal Blandness..., December 21, 2001

By 

RjR (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Power Soul (Audio CD)

Wtih this album, the "Artist" really hit a nadir after a long, disappointing slide into irrelevance and self-indulgence which began - arguably - with 1992's "Symbol" album.

This is bland "party" music, with a capital "B" - although there are a couple of nice touches here and there such as the instrumental coda to "If You Love Somebody", "New Power Soul" is totally lacking in any excitement, originality or great songs.

When you think of what the guy is capable of, you can understand why he was loathe to put his own name as the "artist" or as Prince or whatever to this utterly insignificant recording (it was credited to the NPG). This one really is for the diehards (like me!) only.

PS. If you wanna check out some quality post-"Diamonds & Pearls" stuff by the Purple One, I would invest in "The Gold Experience", his most satisfying 90's collection or check out his latest, "The Rainbow Children" - a startling return to something approaching Prince form.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars one of his better 90's albums, May 9, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: New Power Soul (Audio CD)

I'm a fan of his music from the late 70's through the early 90's only and only like a few songs here and there afterwards. New Power Soul is a solid r&b/funk album that is one of his better works of the 90's. Come On is so catchy and could have been an instant hit. Get this CD today if you just love good r&b and funk music, you won't regret it