Maps of Music

N.E.W.S. (2003)

Where the lyrics of N.E.W.S. take you, and where it was really made.

The album was recorded in a single day at Paisley Park, yet it became the lowest-selling Prince album released to date.

Key places

Recorded over one day at Paisley Park (2003)

Recording site Paisley Park Studios — The album was recorded at Paisley Park Studios over a single day. Prince first released it through his NPG Music Club website. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• N.E.W.S.: the twenty-seventh studio album by American recording artist Prince
• Released June 30, 2003 by NPG Records
• Second instrumental album released under Prince's own name
• Four tracks, each about 14 minutes long
• Initially available through the NPG Music Club website on June 30, 2003; widely commercially available from July 29
• Produced by Prince and credited as "Directed By Prince"
• Fully instrumental; described as new age and jazz-funk

Background

• Seen as a modern incarnation of Madhouse, this time as a Prince release
• Original Madhouse member Eric Leeds took part
• New Power Generation members John Blackwell, Rhonda Smith and Renato Neto also took part
• Recorded improvisationally

Recording

• Recorded at Prince's Paisley Park Studios over a single day

Cover

• The album artwork folds out into a ninja star

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Prince Rogers Nelson, born June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota; died April 21, 2016 at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
• Signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1977 at age 18; first album For You released April 7, 1978.
• Career spanned funk, rock, R&B and pop, with estimated sales over 100 million records.

Career

• Breakthrough with Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981) and 1999 (1982).
• Purple Rain (1984) made him the first singer to hold the number-one film, album and single in the US at the same time.
• Sign o' the Times (1987) is widely considered his greatest work.
• Changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993, becoming known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince; reverted to Prince in 2000.
• Won seven Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• AllMusic reviewer William Ruhlman gave it 2 out of 5 stars and criticized it as directionless
• Most critics gave the album mostly negative reviews, several noting its lack of cohesion
• JazzTimes, Lucy Tauss: positive review calling it exploratory and evocative, an intriguing departure for the artist

Reappraisal

• The Guardian: ranked it last of Prince's 37 studio albums
• Stereogum: ranked it 20th out of 30 main Prince albums released by 2014
• Metro Weekly: in a 2014 feature ranking all Prince albums, rated it 36th out of 38 and called it a 56-minute exercise in tedium

Records

• Lowest-selling Prince album released to date, with about 30,000 copies sold
• Reached the top ten of the Billboard Internet sales chart
• Garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album artwork folds out into a ninja star.
• Original Madhouse member Eric Leeds plays on the album, linking it to the earlier band.
• The track "West" was later included on the 2018 compilation Anthology: 1995–2010.
• The album was first made available through Prince's NPG Music Club website before wider commercial release.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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