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re: As purely a musician, where do you rank Prince all time?
Posted on 10/13/26 at 6:32 am to geauxbrown
Posted on 10/13/26 at 6:32 am to geauxbrown
I've seen it. He talks about a 12 yo Prince (bit of hyperbole) peeking at him from behind a couch and not saying a word to him.
I'm talking all around POPULAR musician. Yes, you can most likely find someone better than Prince at each individual instrument.
My point is that there is nobody as good as him at everything that had the level of success he had.
We're talking every instrument known to man with the exception of horns. I don't recall ever seeing him play any of those type of instruments.
I'm talking all around POPULAR musician. Yes, you can most likely find someone better than Prince at each individual instrument.
My point is that there is nobody as good as him at everything that had the level of success he had.
We're talking every instrument known to man with the exception of horns. I don't recall ever seeing him play any of those type of instruments.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 7:45 am to tigahlovah
quote:
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.
Most non musicians think he was a total badass. He was mediocre at best, like a tiny black Bowie- more about looks, hair and fashion than music.
quote:
He's the most talented popular musician that's ever lived
As if..........
Posted on 10/13/26 at 8:24 am to The Silverback
I guess it is because the UK guys get more press (Maca, Steve Winwood, Jonsey, etc.) that we're hard pressed to come up with names of true American multi-instrumentalists - Prince and Todd Rundgren are maybe at the very top (I see you Dave Grohl).
Prince was a workaholic and was literally always working on something, recording demos, writing, etc. He played behind and wrote for many other artists, plus his own body of work is impressive.
I'm not sure he was "the GOAT" at any one thing, but he has to be a Top 5 "all around" guy and maybe only eclipsed by Maca. He was outstanding on guitar, synth and bass, very competent on drums and proficient in over a dozen others. Like Maca (and Winwood, Grohl), was able to produce, compose, sing, arrange and perform entire albums on his own.
Heck, he might be #1.
Prince was a workaholic and was literally always working on something, recording demos, writing, etc. He played behind and wrote for many other artists, plus his own body of work is impressive.
I'm not sure he was "the GOAT" at any one thing, but he has to be a Top 5 "all around" guy and maybe only eclipsed by Maca. He was outstanding on guitar, synth and bass, very competent on drums and proficient in over a dozen others. Like Maca (and Winwood, Grohl), was able to produce, compose, sing, arrange and perform entire albums on his own.
Heck, he might be #1.
This post was edited on 10/13/26 at 8:25 am
Posted on 10/13/26 at 9:01 am to randybobandy
quote:
Most non musicians think he was a total badass. He was mediocre at best, like a tiny black Bowie- more about looks, hair and fashion than music.
Bowie was better.
Much, much better.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 9:19 am to Ace Midnight
quote:Well said. Prince's genius was his depth. He wrote fantastic songs. Songs that stood on their own when others recorded them. He was an amazing producer. He completely understood musical arrangement in a way that few do. He was an amazing instrumentalist, vocalist, and showman.
Prince was a workaholic and was literally always working on something, recording demos, writing, etc. He played behind and wrote for many other artists, plus his own body of work is impressive.
quote:Agreed.
Heck, he might be #1.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 10:01 am to weagle1999
quote:
I dunno. He is the only artist I have seen live who killed it playing every instrument on the stage during the show.
Hank is a fine player, but there’s a reason he uses studio musicians on his records.
BTW, I’ve hunted with Hank dozens of times over the years and he would be the first to tell you he’s a jack of all trades and a master of none.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 10:02 am to tigahlovah
quote:
My point is that there is nobody as good as him at everything that had the level of success he had.
Can’t argue with this.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 11:02 am to dgnx6
quote:Who?
I would say #1 pop artist.
quote:What's this nonsense?
On all time hits written, McCartney is #3 and prince is #6.
quote:Yes, Lennon is better than Prince too. A lot better.
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 11:08 am to tigahlovah
quote:Yes there is - McCartney. I think there's an argument that he is both the best bass player and guitarist of all time. Not in a virtuoso sense, but in the exact sense you are talking about - total mastery in all regards, applied to the creation of high quality songs.
My point is that there is nobody as good as him at everything that had the level of success he had.
We're talking every instrument known to man with the exception of horns. I don't recall ever seeing him play any of those type of instruments.
McCartney just put out an album at 84 years old in which he plays 20+ different instruments.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 11:09 am to Ace Midnight
quote:The drawback is the quality of the songs. Even some of his biggest hits just aren't good.
I'm not sure he was "the GOAT" at any one thing, but he has to be a Top 5 "all around" guy and maybe only eclipsed by Maca. He was outstanding on guitar, synth and bass, very competent on drums and proficient in over a dozen others. Like Maca (and Winwood, Grohl), was able to produce, compose, sing, arrange and perform entire albums on his own.
Heck, he might be #1.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 11:12 am to Big Scrub TX
quote:
Lennon is better than Prince too. A lot better.
Ehh. I like Prince’s music better than Lennon’s solo stuff.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 11:20 am to randybobandy
Well Clapton, McCartney, Jagger, Elton John, Gene Simmons, Billy Gibbons and a host of others completely disagree with your "mediocre at best" evaluation of Prince as a musician. Perhaps you would know better than those dudes?
Keith Richards and Boy George are about the only 2 that I've ever heard disparage him (I'm sure there's others), so there's that.
BTW, I can tell you paid very little attention to Prince's career, and there's nothing wrong with that.
He was music 25/8, and anyone that knew him would say so.
Keith Richards and Boy George are about the only 2 that I've ever heard disparage him (I'm sure there's others), so there's that.
BTW, I can tell you paid very little attention to Prince's career, and there's nothing wrong with that.
He was music 25/8, and anyone that knew him would say so.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 11:25 am to FortunateSon
quote:I just couldn't disagree more. Where are all these fantastic songs, especially after, say, 1986?
Prince's genius was his depth. He wrote fantastic songs.
Prince - as himself - had a total of 5 #1 songs. One of those was Batdance. Another was Kiss. I mean, those are just bilge. Putrid.
By far his best #1 was one of the 2 he penned that was not for him - Manic Monday by The Bangles.
ETA: Cream is no world-beater either.
This post was edited on 10/13/26 at 11:36 am
Posted on 10/13/26 at 11:48 am to Big Scrub TX
quote:
just couldn't disagree more. Where are all these fantastic songs, especially after, say, 1986?
Prince - as himself - had a total of 5 #1 songs. One of those was Batdance. Another was Kiss. I mean, those are just bilge. Putrid.
By far his best #1 was one of the 2 he penned that was not for him - Manic Monday by The Bangles.
ETA: Cream is no world-beater either.
Yea the majority of his stuff was shi÷. His later hits were anyway.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 11:57 am to hogcard1964
Interesting responses. I took "purely as a musician" to mean his musical aptitude and ability, not based on his overall popularity or whether anyone really liked his songs.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 12:02 pm to jdd48
OK
He was a decent musician that made some awful fuc%$#g music.
He was a decent musician that made some awful fuc%$#g music.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 12:09 pm to jdd48
quote:Songs are all that matter in the end!
whether anyone really liked his songs.
ETA: I mean that literally. Who would care at all if Lennon/McCartney were good at instruments or good behind a mixing board if it weren't ultimately expressed in high-quality songs?
This post was edited on 10/13/26 at 12:19 pm
Posted on 10/13/26 at 4:16 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:Can anyone comment on this? Do we have anyone here that would actually intentionally listen to these "songs"?
Prince - as himself - had a total of 5 #1 songs. One of those was Batdance. Another was Kiss. I mean, those are just bilge. Putrid.
Posted on 10/13/26 at 6:17 pm to Big Scrub TX
I personally like his deep cuts more than his hits, probably because you hear his hits constantly on the radio.
I'm as big of a Prince fan as their is, and love most of his hits, but if I never heard them again, I wouldn't miss them.
I'm not a huge fan of "bat dance", but it was made for the Batman movie soundtrack. That provides a little context. And if I'm not mistaken, he was having financial problems at the time (he had just built Paisley Park), so he hitched himself to a sure fire blockbuster movie.
If "Kiss" was released for the first time today, it would SOAR to #1, just like it did 40 years ago. BTW, I'm not talking about a posthumous release, I meant if he was 28yo today like he was in 1986 and released it.
If you haven't heard his non hits, a lot of them are better than what you always hear on the radio.
I'm as big of a Prince fan as their is, and love most of his hits, but if I never heard them again, I wouldn't miss them.
I'm not a huge fan of "bat dance", but it was made for the Batman movie soundtrack. That provides a little context. And if I'm not mistaken, he was having financial problems at the time (he had just built Paisley Park), so he hitched himself to a sure fire blockbuster movie.
If "Kiss" was released for the first time today, it would SOAR to #1, just like it did 40 years ago. BTW, I'm not talking about a posthumous release, I meant if he was 28yo today like he was in 1986 and released it.
If you haven't heard his non hits, a lot of them are better than what you always hear on the radio.
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