N.E.W.S.

Lore & Background

The album is the second instrumental album released under Prince's own name, containing four tracks of 14 minutes duration each. Recorded at Prince's Paisley Park Studios over a single day, the album was initially available through Prince's NPG Music Club website on June 30, 2003, before becoming widely commercially available on July 29. The album can be seen as a modern incarnation of Madhouse, but this time as a Prince release. Original Madhouse member Eric Leeds lends his talents, as well as The New Power Generation members John Blackwell, Rhonda Smith and Renato Neto. The album was recorded improvisationally. The album is the lowest-selling Prince album released to date, with just 30,000 copies sold, but it did become a top-ten hit on the Billboard Internet sales chart, and garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album. The album artwork folded out into a ninja star. Produced by Prince, the album is credited as 'Directed By Prince'.

In Their Own Story

The needle drops on Side A, and instantly the room feels colder, sharper. The air hums with the electric tension of 'North,' a driving rock rhythm that demands you stand tall against the wind. As the track fades into the transition groove, the temperature rises; the bass deepens into a lazy, rolling sway. We have crossed the equator into 'South,' where the beat is a heartbeat from a distant shore, smelling of salt and spices. The vinyl spins further, dragging us through the smoky jazz clubs of 'East' before landing softly in the golden-hour pop of 'West.' By the time the record stops, you haven't just heard an album; you've traveled the globe.

Reader's Guide

The album is fully instrumental and has been described as being new age and jazz-funk. The album received mostly negative reviews from critics, with several critics noting the album's lack of cohesion. Allmusic reviewer William Ruhlman gave it 2 out of 5 stars, criticizing it as directionless. Jazz Times' Lucy Tauss gave a positive review, calling it 'exploratory and evocative'. The Guardian ranked the album last out of Prince's 37 studio albums. Stereogum ranked it 20th out of 30 main Prince albums released by 2014. Metro Weekly rated it as #36 out of 38 Prince albums.

Did You Know?

• The track 'West' was included on the 2018 compilation Anthology: 1995–2010.
• The album was recorded over a single day at Paisley Park Studios.
• The album artwork folded out into a ninja star.