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As purely a musician, where do you rank Prince all time?
Posted on 10/11/26 at 7:16 pm
Posted on 10/11/26 at 7:16 pm
As the title says.
Posted on 10/11/26 at 7:33 pm to The Silverback
I wasn't even a fan, but you can't deny his musicianship.
Posted on 10/11/26 at 8:23 pm to The Silverback
Purely as a musician, I'd say he was pretty damn good, possibly one of the best of all time. He could play dozens of instruments, many of them at a virtuoso level. He single handedly wrote and played every instrument on every track on BOTH his first 2 albums.
Posted on 10/11/26 at 9:41 pm to The Silverback
Better question: Where do you rank Prince as a basketball player?
Posted on 10/11/26 at 9:58 pm to The Silverback
Near the bottom
Posted on 10/11/26 at 10:43 pm to jdd48
quote:
He could play dozens of instruments, many of them at a virtuoso level.
I think Hank Williams Jr. falls into this category as well.
Posted on 10/12/26 at 12:09 am to The Silverback
There was nothing about Prince's musicianship on any instrument that stands out. There are literally dozens if not hundreds of musicians better than him on any given instrument.
That said, he sold lots of music and he should be given credit for that.
That said, he sold lots of music and he should be given credit for that.
Posted on 10/12/26 at 7:11 am to The Silverback
He's the most talented popular musician that's ever lived, and second place isn't particularly close.
Not only was he great, his bands were great. And he was in control of their entire show down to every last detail.
Several of his band members were known to say that you couldn't argue with him when he corrected you, because he could take any band members instrument and play it better than they could ever dream of.
The downvotes that will follow this post are mostly due to people that couldn't get past his "persona" so to speak, which leads to ignorance of how bad arse he truly was.
Not only was he great, his bands were great. And he was in control of their entire show down to every last detail.
Several of his band members were known to say that you couldn't argue with him when he corrected you, because he could take any band members instrument and play it better than they could ever dream of.
The downvotes that will follow this post are mostly due to people that couldn't get past his "persona" so to speak, which leads to ignorance of how bad arse he truly was.
Posted on 10/12/26 at 7:36 am to The Silverback
Oh God, this nonsense again.
Posted on 10/12/26 at 8:58 am to tigahlovah
quote:
He's the most talented popular musician that's ever lived, and second place isn't particularly close.
Shawn Lane (maybe he doesn't meet your "popular" criterion) would run laps around Prince on guitar and keyboards. And yes, Shawn Lane produced an album on which he played all the instruments.
Posted on 10/12/26 at 9:07 am to TheWalrus
quote:
Near the bottom
That's either stupid or contrarian.
Posted on 10/12/26 at 4:33 pm to weagle1999
quote:
I think Hank Williams Jr. falls into this category as well
Uhh, no.
Jerry Douglas is a skilled musician. Hank Jr is your uncle who works construction and has a country band he plays with in the weekends.
Posted on 10/12/26 at 4:38 pm to The Silverback
Dei musician
Purple rain is ok
Purple rain is ok
Posted on 10/12/26 at 4:42 pm to tigahlovah
quote:
He's the most talented popular musician that's ever lived, and second place isn't particularly close.
Not more talented than McCartney - and if he is, it is certainly close. quote:I don't care about his persona. I care about his overall lack of compelling songwriting. McCartney has, what - 150 top tunes to his name? Prince has...6...maybe?
The downvotes that will follow this post are mostly due to people that couldn't get past his "persona" so to speak, which leads to ignorance of how bad arse he truly was.
Posted on 10/12/26 at 4:46 pm to The Silverback
Highly, but as some have pointed out, there are more skilled musicians. I believe his strength was really the ability to write musical hooks that helped him write and record some great pop music that was skillfully written and performed.
Just off the the top of my head
Guitar - Steve Lukather
Keys - Greg Phillanganes
Drums - JR Robinson, Keith Carlock, Bernard Purdue
Bass - Chuck Rainey
All men who were much better musicians than Prince.
Prince did have an incredible vocal range that helped him write and record multiple genres, something that is difficult for most artist to accomplish.
I also love that he was self taught musically and also taught himself the recording process while working as a janitor at a Minneapolis studio as a very young teen.
Just off the the top of my head
Guitar - Steve Lukather
Keys - Greg Phillanganes
Drums - JR Robinson, Keith Carlock, Bernard Purdue
Bass - Chuck Rainey
All men who were much better musicians than Prince.
Prince did have an incredible vocal range that helped him write and record multiple genres, something that is difficult for most artist to accomplish.
I also love that he was self taught musically and also taught himself the recording process while working as a janitor at a Minneapolis studio as a very young teen.
This post was edited on 10/12/26 at 4:47 pm
Posted on 10/12/26 at 7:26 pm to geauxbrown
How is Steve Lukather on the piano?
The point is,.Prince played EVERYTHING well and sold hundreds of millions of records.while doing it.
You just listed your "all.star lineup" of musicians at every instrument.
Prince created the #1 song of 1984 BY HIMSELF.
The point is,.Prince played EVERYTHING well and sold hundreds of millions of records.while doing it.
You just listed your "all.star lineup" of musicians at every instrument.
Prince created the #1 song of 1984 BY HIMSELF.
Posted on 10/12/26 at 7:47 pm to AlwysATgr
quote:
Shawn Lane (maybe he doesn't meet your "popular" criterion) would run laps around Prince on guitar and keyboards. And yes, Shawn Lane produced an album on which he played all the instruments.
Robbie Robertson
McCartney
Rundgren
Lennon
Townsend
Windwood
Stevie Wonder
Billy Corgan
Jeff Beck
John Paul Jones
Jeff Lynn...
All multi instrument players, writers and producers. The difference is they actually wrote, played and produced better music than Prince.
...so many more. Too many to list.
This post was edited on 10/13/26 at 9:03 am
Posted on 10/13/26 at 1:53 am to tigahlovah
quote:
How is Steve Lukather on the piano
My understanding is decent. However, the OP was a question about Prince, which was followed by commments about his musicianship.
My point was to simply say…while Prince was an excellent musician, regardless of the instrument, there are others who were/are much more proficient.
As my comment pointed out, his strong suits were his ability to write and record pop songs that had incredible hooks and his ability to do everything himself.
You should find the interview where Lukather talks about being asked by Warner Brothers and Ted Templeman to sit in on one of his very first sessions after signing.
It’s pretty funny.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 5:57 am to Big Scrub TX
quote:
Not more talented than McCartney - and if he is, it is certainly close.
I would say #1 pop artist.
On all time hits written, McCartney is #3 and prince is #6.
Lennon is also on the list but you got to remember they wrote together on some of their beatles hits.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 6:16 am to geauxbrown
quote:
Hank Jr is your uncle who works construction and has a country band he plays with in the weekends.
I dunno. He is the only artist I have seen live who killed it playing every instrument on the stage during the show.
This post was edited on 10/13/26 at 7:42 am
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