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Prince's music

#101
Gospel Bass Player said:
Man...what can I say about Prince's music...A man of mystery, often misunderstood, a musical genius of enormous proportions. It has been said that Prince could take your woman...lol Musically, he could play upwards of twenty instruments extremely well. A cultural Icon and pioneer of the Minneapolis Sound. I could go on...but,,,lol Too much to say about this man. On his first album he played all of the instruments...a truly gifted musician. He was erotic and sex was often used as a musical theme. He was funky and appreciated worldwide. He was very private, and always seen with a beautiful woman. He did not let his physical stature in anyway diminish his genius or influence on music or pop culture. To many he stood like a giant. What other man could wear makeup, six inch heels and still appear masculine, sexy and a heartthrob. In one video of Prince with James Brown and Michael Jackson on the same stage...he upstaged them all. It has been said that within his vault we have unheard of music for years to come. He fought for the rights of musicians to "own" their own music and not be "pimped" by the major record lables...I stand in awe of his musical genius and his impact musically will continue to be felt all around the world.
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I don't see your post as a compliment to Prince. I see it as an indictment of the culture he appealed to.

I especially found the makeup and heels comment, uh, enlightening.

Reminds me of a line in The Matrix: "I want to come back as someone important...like an actor." ;)
 
#104
Prince was incredibly talented but he also released way too many albums too quickly (about 50 albums and 130+ music videos). Doing that can dilute and bury the high quality music he recorded underneath a huge pile of not so great music. Ironically, he was very possessive of how and where his music was released mainly due to his dispute with Warner Brothers and the music industry over copyright issues. While he had a lot of top rated hits he also pumped out a lot of music that would get ejected from the CD player after a few spins. He had a high ratio of duds-to-gems music which can give the wrong impression of his true talent. But at least he was recognized for a lot of his own work and many of the stuff he wrote for others.

I would argue that his live performances are among the best of any musician/band leader ever, past or present. He was always very professional and dedicated to giving the best performance possible and demanded the same high standard of his band and crew. Check out any video of him doing a solo on lead guitar and listen to what other top musicians have to say about him.
 
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#105
I don't particularly care for Country music. Nevertheless, I heard a Patsy Cline song that just blew me away. Her voice was amazing. A friend of mine gave me a cd; George Strait - Pure Country. I listened to it, and as a matter of fact I'm listening to it now to attest to my comments... The musicianship is tight and George Strait is what Country music is all about because it SOUNDS COUNTRY not pop country; there's a difference. Anyone should be able to appreciate a tune like 'I Cross My Heart'. 'Overnight Male' has swing written all over it, 'Last In Love' a love song (I hate love songs; shoot me in the head with a BB gun; but appreciate the sentimentality).

The point is, imo, how can one be considered a true musician and not appreciate true musicianship? Sid Vicious paid homage to Frank Sinatra - My Way; Kurt Cobain paid homage to Lead Belly - Black Girl (Where Did You Sleep Last Night); Prince paid homage to The Funk, Jazz, Soul, Rock, all genres. Hell, I was into Prince from the beginning. I happily thought he was a serious rocker (We truly need more Black rockers), and actually fell out with him after listening to Diamonds And Pearls ("WHAT THE HELL IS THIS???" I said to myself), eventually I got into the funky. I think Graffiti Bridge is way under-appreciated. PlectrumElectrum and Art Official Age almost suck, but the production and musicianship are TIGHT as PRINCE and the lyrics are more the focus (again, I thought Prince was going back to his rock roots, but... whatever). Prince was a very creative dude and to his credit, you can't put a finger on his music or box him in. Prince was a creative genius PERIOD
 
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#106
I was with it until 1999. I could only listen to Lady Cab Driver.
I tolerated Purple Rain and Around the World in a Day. After that album (1986) I totally disengaged. Why?
Too self indulgent. Too pornographic. Too boring. No one to tell him "Naw, this is no good."
All that said, I saw him live twice, and was blown away both times.
 
#107
Such an extreme talent. Some here say "they don't get it" but we're not here to get it. Prince started recording for Warner at 17. His first 3 albums for them had little critical acclaim although many musicians were listening to this upstart for his use of the technology at that time. It was when he did the tour for Controversy that I had a chance to see him live. It was at the University of Pennsylvania Class of 1923 Ice Skating Rink in '81. Everything was tight! I had seen Zawinul, Hancock, Clinton, Mingus, EWF, Sly, Santana, Hendrix, War, Ohio, McCoy Tyner, Lee Morgan, Marvin Gaye, the Motown Revue, Stevie, and others who came along prior to his time and yet he was so polished at such a young age. It has been well documented here the fact he was a musician among musicians but what he did as a businessman should show you who "don't get it" how you can produce and sell your music and not be slaves to some corporate machine. Do you get that? He paved the way and in doing so he dropped album after album in order to fill a quota for Warner so he could be released from a bad contract without any personal penalty. And he did it while dropping hits not bombing like a loser evolving his vision to what we've seen and we hear there's things in the vault waiting. Speaking as a fan I'd like to see his tele' in the Smithsonian.
 
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#108
Craig Fones said:
Prince was incredibly talented but he also released way too many albums too quickly (about 50 albums and 130+ music videos). Doing that can dilute and bury the high quality music he recorded underneath a huge pile of not so great music. Ironically, he was very possessive of how and where his music was released mainly due to his dispute with Warner Brothers and the music industry over copyright issues. While he had a lot of top rated hits he also pumped out a lot of music that would get ejected from the CD player after a few spins. He had a high ratio of songs that were duds-to-gems which can give the wrong impression of his true talent. But at least he was recognized for a lot of his own work and many of the stuff he wrote for others.

I would argue that his live performances are among the best of any musician/band leader ever, past or present. He was always very professional and dedicated to giving the best performance possible and demanded the same high standard of his band and crew. Check out any video of him doing a solo on lead guitar and listen to what other top musicians have to say about him.
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Kinda reminds me of Willie Nelson. Great musician. Bad business man. Sometimes success depends on your ability to delegate to people that know certain aspects of your business better than you.

I wonder if Elvis would have been any good in West Side Story...
 
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#109
Robroy said:
Kinda reminds me of Willie Nelson. Great musician. Bad business man. Sometimes success depends on your ability to delegate to people that know certain aspects of your business better than you.

I wonder if Elvis would have been any good in West Side Story...
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Prince was a great businessman. His estate is worth an estimated $800 million.

Elvis probably would have done just fine. The truly great ones are always deeper than we regular people realize.
 
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#112
Prince was always an inspiration to me. i love his music... even the expimental stuff when he was just trying to fulfill his WB contract. He was a great musician, singer, producer, arranger and writer. The best part is that he did things "his way and on His own terms" and was extremely successful in the process. He was one of the last great ones still breathing today.
I feel very fortunate to have seen him live 5 times over the years starting with the Purple Rain tour in 1984. He will be missed!

R.I.P Prince.
 
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#113
This is one of the things that shaped my personal view of Prince:

Invalid Link Removed

It hints at a deeper issue: That ludicrous symbol as his legal name. It's when I stopped taking him seriously. Artists on the bleeding edge walk a tightrope between "trend setting" and "dumb". For me, he fell on the "dumb" side.

BTW, I decided to listen to some of his stuff that was "masked by the pop stuff".

So far:
Adore (boring and not very well sung)
When You were mine (Really not impressed)

BTW, I was in a band that did Purple Rain. The BL loved it. I hated it. It is one of those rare songs that, as I listened at home to try to learn the song, I wondered why anyone liked it. I really TRIED to like it, but was absolutely not successful.
 
#114
vdbass said:
I was with it until 1999. I could only listen to Lady Cab Driver.
I tolerated Purple Rain and Around the World in a Day. After that album (1986) I totally disengaged. Why?
Too self indulgent. Too pornographic. Too boring. No one to tell him "Naw, this is no good."
All that said, I saw him live twice, and was blown away both times.
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If you have any desire, check out some of his stuff in the last ten years, beginning with 3121, about. A little more experimental, a little less "pornographic." Some interesting collaborations. I keep suggesting Lotusflow3r in this thread, 3rdeyegirl is good too.
 
#120
One of the best things about Talkbass is that it widens my horizons. I remember reading the reverent posts of Dio fans when he died. I had heard his music, but I had never really listened to it. After reading their posts, I went back and really listened. My goodness, Dio was a powerful singer! It was metal, and not my favorite music, but Ronnie Dio had a gift. Hopefully, open minded people are saying that about Prince.
 
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