Prince & The New Power Generation - Newpower Soul (1998)

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