PRINCE - N.E.W.S

Recorded February 06, 2003 at Paisley Park Studios, 'N.E.W.S' was a continuation of sorts from the previous Madhouse albums Prince had done. While the first Madhouse disc was mostly a solo effort on Prince's part, he later opened the project to include other musicians he was working with like Sheila E., Levi Seacer and notably Eric Leeds. Leeds is the only constant having participated in virtually every incarnation of the Madhouse projects. And 'N.E.W.S' is no exception. Although it doesn't carry the Madhouse name, there's no denying the similarities.

This time around the group consists of Prince, John Blackwell, Renato Neto, Rhonda Smith and Eric Leeds. Similar to the NPGMusic Club release, 'C-NOTE', 'N.E.W.S' gets its title by combining the first letter of each song title. The album is a free-flowing jazz disc with each track clocking in at roughly 14 minutes in length. The first number is a breezy piece. 'North' has a very sensual second half. The song moves into a slow phase towards the end that is peaceful and quite lovely. 'East' is my favorite cut on the disc. It's unusual and relies heavily on a traditional Asian and somewhat wooden sound. The highlight of this track is the amazing staggered guitar progression. It's exciting and is a fine example of what sets Prince apart from other artists. 'West' starts off with a soulful lullaby that is relaxing and laidback. The song quickly transforms into a piece of 70s disco funk before becoming some type of Carlos Santana freak fest. Thankfully, it fades into some soft flute and sax playing. A harpsichord sounding keyboard eventually fades the song out giving it a full circle feeling back into a lullaby-like denouement. 'South' starts out like a continuation of 'West''s disco groove. The heavy bass and quick notes make it sound like something Sly & The Family Stone would've done. I wanna sing 'Hair'. The breakdown in this piece really picks up quickly and crescendos in a most satisfying way; but never really gains your attention again the way the first segment does. The cut eventually dissolves into a lovely Latin 'ish' soft jazz.

Although the songs are kinda long, they are enjoyable all the way through. One of my favorite pieces of Prince jazz and easily accessible, even for non-Prince listeners. My final words: PERFECT MOOD.

PRINCE - N.E.W.S
01. North
02. East
03. West
04. South