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Thread started 02/19/15 6:03pm

nuttynutmeg

If Prince was just a session musician

If Prince was just a session musician, not the famous "Prince The Artist," would he be able to make a living? Would he be as successful as Nile Rodgers, Nathan East, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, as a session musician for hire? Would you hire him? And in what capacity? Background vox/bass/guitar/keyboard/synths/piano/drums? Is his instrumentation skills really on a par with some of the most successful session musicians?

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Reply #1 posted 02/19/15 6:11pm

SPYZFAN1

I think he would be able to hold his own. He's backed up his own artists live and in the studio, he's done guests apperances on other CD's and according to singer Col. Abrams P played guitar for him in the mid 70's.

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Reply #2 posted 02/19/15 6:14pm

paulludvig

Of course I would hire him. Think about it - if you hire Prince you don't have to hire anyone else. He can play all the instruments. Much cheaper that way.

The wooh is on the one!
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Reply #3 posted 02/19/15 6:21pm

thedoorkeeper

ok nuttynuts let me guess - you don't think he has the skills
and you wouldn't hire him to work with you and no he could never come
close to being as good as Nile Rodgers, Nathan East, etc. and
his instrumentation skills are not on par with the most
successful session musicians. Is that an accurate reflection
of your feelings?
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Reply #4 posted 02/19/15 6:48pm

nuttynutmeg

SPYZFAN1 said:

I think he would be able to hold his own. He's backed up his own artists live and in the studio, he's done guests apperances on other CD's and according to singer Col. Abrams P played guitar for him in the mid 70's.

Which track?

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Reply #5 posted 02/19/15 7:55pm

thedoorkeeper

SPYZFAN1 said:

I think he would be able to hold his own. He's backed up his own artists live and in the studio, he's done guests apperances on other CD's and according to singer Col. Abrams P played guitar for him in the mid 70's.



Straying off topic for a minute - never heard of Col. Abrams
until this mention. Searched for info on him and one interesting
aspect is I can't find his age. No birth date on any site
I checked. Anybody know when he was born?
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Reply #6 posted 02/19/15 11:14pm

Rebeljuice

I think what the OP is really asking is whether anyone thinks Prince could play any of the instruments on the song Happy.

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Reply #7 posted 02/19/15 11:29pm

FragileUnderto
w

avatar

Rebeljuice said:

I think what the OP is really asking is whether anyone thinks Prince could play any of the instruments on the song Happy.

lol

Cant believe my purple psychedelic pimp slap pimp2

And I descend from grace, In arms of undertow
I will take my place, In the great below
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Reply #8 posted 02/19/15 11:44pm

fusk

nuttynutmeg said:

If Prince was just a session musician, not the famous "Prince The Artist," would he be able to make a living? Would he be as successful as Nile Rodgers, Nathan East, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, as a session musician for hire? Would you hire him? And in what capacity? Background vox/bass/guitar/keyboard/synths/piano/drums? Is his instrumentation skills really on a par with some of the most successful session musicians?

.

i dunno, you seem to know more about session musicians than i do. Sounds like the answer is no.

.

I have to say -

I'm all for deconstructing the myth of prince, but the way you're going about it really irritates me. You're pointing out all these totally valid reasons why prince isn't the gold standard, but you're doing it by one-upping him with other gold standards that are equally fake. It just makes you sound like a snob.

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Reply #9 posted 02/20/15 12:55am

FragileUnderto
w

avatar

nuttynutmeg said:

If Prince was just a session musician, not the famous "Prince The Artist," would he be able to make a living?

Let me guess how you will end this thread

CONCLUSION : This thread is hereby closed as not a single reply has been able to prove he would be a successful session musician

lol

[Edited 2/20/15 0:56am]

Cant believe my purple psychedelic pimp slap pimp2

And I descend from grace, In arms of undertow
I will take my place, In the great below
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Reply #10 posted 02/20/15 1:22am

Rebeljuice

fusk said:

nuttynutmeg said:

If Prince was just a session musician, not the famous "Prince The Artist," would he be able to make a living? Would he be as successful as Nile Rodgers, Nathan East, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, as a session musician for hire? Would you hire him? And in what capacity? Background vox/bass/guitar/keyboard/synths/piano/drums? Is his instrumentation skills really on a par with some of the most successful session musicians?

.

i dunno, you seem to know more about session musicians than i do. Sounds like the answer is no.

.

I have to say -

I'm all for deconstructing the myth of prince, but the way you're going about it really irritates me. You're pointing out all these totally valid reasons why prince isn't the gold standard, but you're doing it by one-upping him with other gold standards that are equally fake. It just makes you sound like a snob.

I see you accidently his the "s" key....

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Reply #11 posted 02/20/15 1:22am

dandan

Nile Rodgers isn't a great session musician. He's a songwriter and producer who's contribution is his son- writing and production more than his actual guitar playing.

So, if Nile Rodgers was just a guitarist who wasn't famous and wasn't hired to write songs would he be a successful session player? Nope.


Prince would do far better than Nile lets put it that way.

I got two sides... and they're both friends.
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Reply #12 posted 02/20/15 3:53am

Angelsoncrack

dandan said:

Nile Rodgers isn't a great session musician. He's a songwriter and producer who's contribution is his son- writing and production more than his actual guitar playing.

So, if Nile Rodgers was just a guitarist who wasn't famous and wasn't hired to write songs would he be a successful session player? Nope.



Prince would do far better than Nile lets put it that way.


Have you read Niles autobiography? He's actually a more accomplished musician than you might think. My dad read my copy and he said the same as you, didn't think he was all that on guitar but after reading about his training he came to realise he's more than just his 'chucking' style or whatever he calls it. I wouldn't say he's as good as P though.
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Reply #13 posted 02/20/15 3:54am

Aerogram

avatar

I love Niles, perhaps you don't know he's absolutely in awe of Prince's guitar playing? I'm pretty sure he'd set you straight, not just for rhythm guitar but the rest of his skills. There used to be a video, fairly recent, of Niles and Prince playing Let's Dance, and jeez Niles was grinning so wide just watching Prince. They influenced each other, Niles produced a few albums heavily based on Prince's 80's sound and I think there was talk of them touring together recently.


The thing is most artists you have named on this thread and others would probably tell you you are way off on just about every opinion you have, especially Niles and Stevie.
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Reply #14 posted 02/20/15 4:04am

RJOrion

i wouldnt label Nile Rogers a "session artist"... co bandleader with Bernard Edwards in Chic...and producer/writer/arranger for many others...but much more than a session artist
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Reply #15 posted 02/20/15 5:12am

nuttynutmeg

dandan said:

Nile Rodgers isn't a great session musician. He's a songwriter and producer who's contribution is his son- writing and production more than his actual guitar playing.

So, if Nile Rodgers was just a guitarist who wasn't famous and wasn't hired to write songs would he be a successful session player? Nope.


Prince would do far better than Nile lets put it that way.

Quite the contrary, he's a session musician first, a very accomplished and skilled one, before he went on to form Chic with B. Edwards.

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Reply #16 posted 02/20/15 6:46am

Graycap23

avatar

What if Mike Tyson was only a sparring partner?

What if Michael Jordan only came off the bench?

What if Ferrari only made economy cars?

What if Bruce Lee was shy?

Where the hell are u pulling these asinine questions from?

FOOLS multiply when WISE Men & Women are silent.
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Reply #17 posted 02/20/15 7:20am

hw3004

nuttynutmeg said:

dandan said:

Nile Rodgers isn't a great session musician. He's a songwriter and producer who's contribution is his son- writing and production more than his actual guitar playing.

So, if Nile Rodgers was just a guitarist who wasn't famous and wasn't hired to write songs would he be a successful session player? Nope.


Prince would do far better than Nile lets put it that way.

Quite the contrary, he's a session musician first, a very accomplished and skilled one, before he went on to form Chic with B. Edwards.

Just like Jimmy Page is a session musician first, and a member of/ songwriter for Led Zeppelin as an afterthought?

I think, somehow, given he's generally considered to be one of the greatest guitarists in the world, P would do OK. Might need to do the odd shift in Mickey D's now and again, but he'd probably put pancakes on the table...

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Reply #18 posted 02/20/15 7:25am

Militant

avatar

moderator

He'd be the number 1 session musician out there.

Listen to Stevie Wonder's "So What The Fuss" where Prince just plays guitar, or Stevie Nicks "Stand Back" where Prince just played the synths. It's primarily those parts that make those songs as fantastic as they are.

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Reply #19 posted 02/20/15 10:12am

terrig

Aerogram said:

I love Niles, perhaps you don't know he's absolutely in awe of Prince's guitar playing? I'm pretty sure he'd set you straight, not just for rhythm guitar but the rest of his skills. There used to be a video, fairly recent, of Niles and Prince playing Let's Dance, and jeez Niles was grinning so wide just watching Prince. They influenced each other, Niles produced a few albums heavily based on Prince's 80's sound and I think there was talk of them touring together recently. The thing is most artists you have named on this thread and others would probably tell you you are way off on just about every opinion you have, especially Niles and Stevie.



omg that would be so awesome!!!!

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Reply #20 posted 02/20/15 10:27am

duccichucka

nuttynutmeg said:

If Prince was just a session musician, not the famous "Prince The Artist," would he be able to make a living? Would he be as successful as Nile Rodgers, Nathan East, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, as a session musician for hire? Would you hire him? And in what capacity? Background vox/bass/guitar/keyboard/synths/piano/drums? Is his instrumentation skills really on a par with some of the most successful session musicians?


Great question!

I think Prince would be a great session musician as a guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist. I think
his musicianship skills are adequate enough for him to make a living. Now, he's no virtuoso on
any instrument so that he could sit in on serious jazz or classical sessions and rip shit, but in a pop
music context, he definitely could hold it down.

Prince and Paul McCartney are the greatest pop musicians of all time, and I think both would be
able to have satisfying careers as session musicians if they chose to.

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Reply #21 posted 02/20/15 10:57am

steakfinger

Militant said:

He'd be the number 1 session musician out there.

Listen to Stevie Wonder's "So What The Fuss" where Prince just plays guitar, or Stevie Nicks "Stand Back" where Prince just played the synths. It's primarily those parts that make those songs as fantastic as they are.

That's all pretty subjective, though. For example, I think his guitar part on "So What The Fuss" didn't add to the song at all and I was kind of let down by it. I think for guitar that was one of the few time I actually had a better idea for a guitar part. But that's just what I like. I love what he did on the Stevie Nicks song, so there's that. As for the question at hand, I'm quite sure Prince could have been a great session musician and very successful. I'm sure he would've put in the work necessary if he'd gone down that path and his life philosophy according to his own words is to be the best at whatever you set out to do. I know as a multi-instrumentalist myself that Prince is an AMAZING bassist. I would say that I'm most interested in his bass playing if we're talking strictly instrumental skills. No matter what I think of the quality of his music lately, (I like it, mostly) the bass guitar is always a surprise everytime he picks it up. Of course that's just my opinion.

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Reply #22 posted 02/20/15 11:03am

Graycap23

avatar

Prince is a session musician.................on ALL of his projects.

FOOLS multiply when WISE Men & Women are silent.
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Reply #23 posted 02/20/15 11:47am

duccichucka

Militant said:

I know as a multi-instrumentalist myself that Prince is an AMAZING bassist. I would say that I'm most interested in his bass playing if we're talking strictly instrumental skills. No matter what I think of the quality of his music lately, (I like it, mostly) the bass guitar is always a surprise everytime he picks it up. Of course that's just my opinion.

He'd be the number 1 session musician out there.

Listen to Stevie Wonder's "So What The Fuss" where Prince just plays guitar, or Stevie Nicks "Stand Back" where Prince just played the synths. It's primarily those parts that make those songs as fantastic as they are.


As a multi-instrumentalist as well, I agree with you that Prince's base work is amazing and much
more interesting as a musician than his keyboard parts and his guitar work. I disagree with him
being the #1 session musician out there as he's not as virtuosic as an instrumentalist as this
board portrays him and individually, there are musicians more adept at their instrument than
Prince is.

So, if you wanted to hire ONE session musician to play all the parts on your album, I'd hire Prince
or Paul McCartney or, hold your breath, even Lenny Kravitz. If you wanted to hire virtuosic ses-
sion musicians, then you'd hire individual musicians. Yet, pop music doesn't require virtuosity, so
yes, Prince could be a top session musician.

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Reply #24 posted 02/20/15 11:51am

dandan

Angelsoncrack said:

dandan said:

Nile Rodgers isn't a great session musician. He's a songwriter and producer who's contribution is his son- writing and production more than his actual guitar playing.

So, if Nile Rodgers was just a guitarist who wasn't famous and wasn't hired to write songs would he be a successful session player? Nope.


Prince would do far better than Nile lets put it that way.

Have you read Niles autobiography? He's actually a more accomplished musician than you might think. My dad read my copy and he said the same as you, didn't think he was all that on guitar but after reading about his training he came to realise he's more than just his 'chucking' style or whatever he calls it. I wouldn't say he's as good as P though.


Oh I don't doubt his guitar playing, or his music knowledge. It's just his guitar playing alone is not really what he is hired for.

I got two sides... and they're both friends.
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Reply #25 posted 02/20/15 3:42pm

SPYZFAN1

Colonel Abrams (not sure if I spelled it right) was a popular R&B-club singer in the mid 1980's. His biggest hit was called "Trapped". He had a great voice..similar to Teddy Pendergrass. Col Abrams said that he did not do any recordings with P..he just played guitar in his backup band. When the "Purple Rain mania" was going on back then, he mentioned this in a interview.

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Reply #26 posted 02/20/15 5:39pm

ashynevermind

Militant said:

He'd be the number 1 session musician out there.

Listen to Stevie Wonder's "So What The Fuss" where Prince just plays guitar, or Stevie Nicks "Stand Back" where Prince just played the synths. It's primarily those parts that make those songs as fantastic as they are.

LOL, the greatest ever, how would you quantify that, disciple?

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Reply #27 posted 02/20/15 7:24pm

KingSausage

avatar

Militant said:

He'd be the number 1 session musician out there.

Listen to Stevie Wonder's "So What The Fuss" where Prince just plays guitar, or Stevie Nicks "Stand Back" where Prince just played the synths. It's primarily those parts that make those songs as fantastic as they are.




THIS. Fuck yeah.
"Drop that stereo before I blow your Goddamn nuts off, asshole!"
-Eugene Tackleberry
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Reply #28 posted 02/20/15 8:25pm

ashynevermind

A hypothetical scenario that can never be proven or demonstrated.

In his own universe of course he seems competent, but even today session musicians are sometimes required to read charts which he cannot.

oh, the praise for your superhero P, shouldn't that be the net thread? What would be/is Prince's superpower?

laughable...

[Edited 2/20/15 20:47pm]

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Reply #29 posted 02/20/15 8:51pm

JoshuaWho

Not one of those you named can play guitar like Prince so just as a guitar player, he would be the top session man. Nevermind what he could do on bass and keys.

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