how can anyone consider revolution a weak band when it had
killer keyboard player,killer bass player and prince as a killer guitar player

thebanishedone said:

Weak compared 2 Prince's other bands.

thebanishedone said:

the only killer keyboard player in the revolution is dr fink, renato comes close but i think fink is still a little bit better

sonny t and rhonda r better than brown mark..tho brown mark is better than Josh i will say

prince is still prince so that doesn't make sense there and if i might add, prince's guitar playing is even better now than it was with the revolution

thebanishedone said:

Drums and bass were weak. They just did as they were told.

But.....

They still worked as a band. The whole was better than the parts.

it's the band he had when he ascended to mainstream pop culture, the band from the film that made him an icon...the only reunion card he can play with the mainstream, the revolution is princes e street band. when you consider what his albums are doing why wouldnt anyone on this board buy a VH1 storytellers live set shown on tv over and over and offered on itunes. it's just one night, it's not a confirmation that they were better than the lovesexy lineup

dreamshaman32 said:

he was getting noticed with the triple threat tour that featured dez not wendy. hell when i 1st saw purple rain the movie, i was looking 4 dez cause i knew him from the 1999 and LRC videos. but in the end it's prince not the revolution

L4OATheOriginal said:

Not according 2 some folks around here.

Graycap23 said:

very true ..2 some it was all about the revolution and prince is just an after thought

L4OATheOriginal said:

I'm just glad that my EARS work.

Wow, I can't believe that this thread is still going. Graycap and L4OAtheOriginal, you two have made some very strong, valid points. You seem to have a keen understanding of music/musicianship, which has obviously contributed to your posts. I've enjoyed reading your comments. Again, I am not trying to bash anyone's "taste" in music, but some of these comments/perspectives are really off. Reading over the thread, this one REALLY stood out to me.

Michiel said:

I think that serious funk fans would strongly disagree with you here. Most funk fans consider Prince's pre-Revolution music as his funkiest where hardcore funk is concerned. Nothing the Revolution did compares to Let's Work, Head, Sexy Dancer or Lady Cab Driver. The Revolution music (again to clarify - ATWIAD & Parade as well as "Computer Blue") was more of a Funk/Pop/Rock fusion that would not be classified as straight up funk. I have never heard anyone mention the Revolution in the same breath as The JBs, P-Funk or even the Stone City Band. The Time was funkier than the Revolution, which Prince knew and was highlighted on that Purple Rain tour. In actuality, Prince's funkiest songs of the Revolution era were not made with the Revolution. They were solo efforts or even collabs with Sheila E more so than with his band or W&L.



I really can't wrap my head around this statement at all. So you don't think Prince's jazz musician father and jazz singing mother might have "hipped" their son to jazz at some point in his pre-Eric Leeds life?

I cannot comment on the suspended chords because I don't know what role W&L played here. The psychedelic influence again is a hard call, because it is obvious that some of Prince's early influences explored psychedelica too. Perhaps, W&L were better equipped to help him explore that sound and were influential in that sense. I am just thankful that it was a passing style and did not stick around too long.



I think the mid to late '80s themselves called for more extravagant stage shows from all major artists in general. Also, Prince was establishing himself as a mainstream, crossover, big ticket/arena artist then, so of course he had to go all out. I think he worked it back then so that he could pull back now and let the music be the focal point for not only the band but the audience as well. I still found the SOTT/LoveSexy bands and the NPG (Nude Tour, Diamonds & Pearls -ACT I & II) shows far more enjoyable than the Parade or Purple Rain shows. I like the Musicology/3121/Earth Tour shows better too. Whenever I watch the PR/Parade shows, I see the weaknesses in the Revolution and also how strained Prince seems trying to "do everything by himself." With the later bands he had musicians he could really rely on like Miko, Levi, Sonny T, etc., so he could be a bit freer. Also, when he added better vocalists, it challenged him to bring his singing up a level, especially when you see the live shows with Rosie Gaines. I think she helped bring out the best in P as a singer.

-grammar edit-
[Edited 3/18/08 11:06am]

Graycap23 said:

mine work fine 2 ..i just listened 2 a slaugherhouse of funky ass tracks back 2 back and my neck is killing me lol ..(1+1+1 is 3, days of wild and supercute) ghatdamn!!!

bellanoche said:

bravo