databank said:

I'd say that Prince can "afford" to do it without losing credibility because it's only a segue in the show filled with live music. He did it before, there were prerecorded intros to the Controversy, Lovesexy and Nude tour and prerecorded segues during the D&P and Act I/Act II tours and no one even thought of complaining about it at the time. I mean OBVIOUSLY Prince doesn't do a few minutes of sampler set out of laziness, he does it because he thinks it's cool. Whether it indeed is cool or not can be debated, but laziness isn't the key word here.

.

On a sidenote I remember some people calling laziness for the samples filled shows of 94-96 and this always made me laugh because the act of merging hundreds of individual samples with live music actually required a level of technicity for Tommy and Morris, who had to launch the right sample at the right time AND play the keyboard at the same time, that it was most likely much more challenging for Prince and the band than anything else Prince has ever done live before or since.

It would be fine to trigger samples along with live music. That's not what we had last night. We got a band pretending to play in the dark behind dancers an audience that for the most part had no idea that they weren't actually playing these tracks.

paulludvig said:

To those who don't like the sampler set - what did you think of the live versions of Hot Thing and Forever in My Life back in '87? I Wish U Heaven in '88?

Forever in My Life live 87 is one of my all time favorites.

djThunderfunk said:

SuperSoulFighter said:

Aerogram said:

Prince has never been afraid of hard work, that much is true. So the sets are not the product of being lazy, more of a way of saying "hey my band has those awesome rock chops, but I'm not gonna lie and tell you it can do justice to some of my funkier songs, so take a listen to this sampler set instead and don't you dare call me lazy King Sausage -- not when I'm playing two shows in one night!"

I'm pretty sure that's his meaning.

Playing 2 shows in 1 night... THAT's the problem. Why not just play one long concert in a bigger hall? Then everybody:s happy!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I don't like the sampler sets, although I get it. Casual fans and fans that never got to see the earlier tours want to hear those songs. To me, it's just Prince doing karaoke to Prince songs. I'd much rather have 3 full songs live than 10 snippets of songs on a sampler.

yeah he just mails it in nowadays it seems on his shows. Donna does most of the solos and he is pretty much just a cheerleader. His age is catching up to him fast

yeah he just mails it in nowadays it seems on his shows. Donna does most of the solos and he is pretty much just a cheerleader. His age is catching up to him fast. I would rather hear a guitar acoustic set. He could still sit on his ass and do medleys and let the crowd sing. Its just lazy and yes if another artist did it they would get ripped apart on here. I hate the sampler set. I can listen and sing along to the cd in my car or at home

I fucking hate the sampler set. But there was a while when he would play a medely of songs/hits and I hated that too. I think he is bored of his old shit. Prince is a fucking crowd pleaser. Always has been. And a while ago, his new shit pleased the crowd. Now it doesn't. He's fucked and he knows it. His bread & butter are casual fans and they want the fucking hits. I noticed this during the Lovesexy tour and I was pretty upset by it. The fans would only stand up when he played Purple Rain shit. Blame it on the Rain..........the Purple Fucking Rain.

Militant said:

I fucking love the sampler set.

I will never forget being in the O2 Arena and hearing the SOTT intro drums just BOOM out across the arena and everybody collectively losing their shit.

There's a point at a Prince show where I just want to hear some god damn Linn programming and some thick, stacked, gritty Oberheims. That's what the sampler set brings to the table. When he drops the "77-9311" drums and then segues into the"Hot Thing" beat (check Sweden 2011 bootleg) and grabs the bass and jams over it, that shit is fucking incredible.

Some of that 80's drum-and-synth programming simply can't be replicated live.

Birmingham last year. First show. Sampler set. Prince ends it with "I Would Die 4 U". There's a visceral, emotional reaction sometimes when you hear a song exactly the way you've listened to it for years and years, yet the person is right there singing it in front of you. The woman standing next to me turned to me smiling and hugged me with tears streaming down her face, she was so overcome with emotion.

I think anyone who complains about it hasn't seen Kraftwerk live. Four guys standing in front of laptops triggering loops and samples and yet it's one of the best live shows I have ever seen.

It's not lazy at all. It's genius.

But you're never going to be able to appreciate it by listening to a fucking bootleg. That misses the entire point.

FCK YES. TELL IT. Agreed.

I'll suffer What If for a million samplers if it means he's still performing

Listening to Sign O' the Times played live with no sample at the Xenophobia celebration... that's how shit should be done.

[Edited 3/15/15 18:05pm]

I'm sorry but have you guys ever seen aanyone with a longazzz face at a prince show complaining about a sampler set?

He does it

a- people LOVE IT. the corwd always goes nuts.

b- because more than likely it will SOMEONES VERY FIRST Prince concert

c- PEOPLE LOVE IT.

They really really do. I would bet most people at his shows are not us psychopaths from the org. They came out wanting to hear Purple Rain and Little Red Corvette and Kiss, and it would be crazy of him not to make those people happy. They love him for it!

motherfunka said:

I don't like the sampler sets, although I get it. Casual fans and fans that never got to see the earlier tours want to hear those songs. To me, it's just Prince doing karaoke to Prince songs. I'd much rather have 3 full songs live than 10 snippets of songs on a sampler.

Prince's goal is to play as few full length songs as possible. Although on the 2013-14 3EG tour BEFORE he got to the 2 shows in 1 night crap..., he was playing a lot of full length songs. Now he's lazy again. I just saw soon to be 68 year old Elton John play 25 full length songs, and 1 little medley of the 2 Lion King songs. Yes Prince is better than Elton John, but Elton gave more effort, and at his age, he should not be willing to do more work than Prince. Elton will retire before he'll go up on stage without his band and do Karaoke.

skywalker said:

djThunderfunk said:

It would be fine to trigger samples along with live music. That's not what we had last night. We got a band pretending to play in the dark behind dancers an audience that for the most part had no idea that they weren't actually playing these tracks.

You were at the show last night?

11pm

djThunderfunk said:

skywalker said:

djThunderfunk said: You were at the show last night?

11pm

And how did the crowd respond to the sampler set?

terrig said:

I'm sorry but have you guys ever seen aanyone with a longazzz face at a prince show complaining about a sampler set?

He does it

a- people LOVE IT. the corwd always goes nuts.

b- because more than likely it will SOMEONES VERY FIRST Prince concert

c- PEOPLE LOVE IT.

They really really do. I would bet most people at his shows are not us psychopaths from the org. They came out wanting to hear Purple Rain and Little Red Corvette and Kiss, and it would be crazy of him not to make those people happy. They love him for it!

He used to make the same kind of people happy by having the band play the same songs which people loved too. So, what's your point.

It's not about if people love it. It's about how lame it is to sing along karaoke still to recordings of songs compared to how great it is to have the band play those same songs.

Really, I find it shocking that anyone would defend this. "Real music by real musicians", right? I'm just sayin', this band's reworked versions of Let's Go Crazy, Little Red Corvette, ICNTTPOYM, etc. are great. GREAT!! The same people loving the hits on the sampler love these versions that the band actually plays.

skywalker said:

djThunderfunk said:

11pm

And how did the crowd respond to the sampler set?

They loved it. But, I don't think most of them knew the band wasn't playing. The girls weren't lit up and through most of the set they had dancers in front of them. Anyone who didn't know better would assume the band was playing most of it.

As I said above. This is irrelevant anyway. The crowds have also always loved the songs being played live too, so, the crowd loving it does not make it an acceptable alternative for someone of Prince's calibre.

KingSausage said:

Shouldn't Prince aim higher than the lowest common denominator? Making the casual fans happy is great, but not exactly an artistic achievement.

It depends on the situation. Prince is better than most at working the crowd and knowing what to give them. A few people here are suggesting that he is just "phoning it in", and that's not what's happening at all. Read the reviews.

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If you want to see Prince go for the "artistic achievement", play deep cuts, instrumental jams, and obscure hardcore fan favs....go to an after show. Go to Paisley Park.The old NPGmusic Club sound checks totally catered to that part of the fan base. Do we miss it?

-

I was at Paisley Park in thge 90's when he recorded "The War." I was into it. However, like most people here, I am a borderline psychotic Prince superfan. It was artistic as hell, exhausting, and amazing. Yet, I would not expect a casual fan to sit/stand through 20min plus of Prince monologuing about "microchips in yo neck." You know why? It's totally self indulgent and kinda boring to most.

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He has gone that route before with 1995 tour and One Nite Alone, etc. Hardcore fans loved it, but a lot of people were disappointed too. Read the reviews. Imagine, that you went to your first Prince concert ever and he played "Xenophobia" instead of "Purple Rain." Boy, thanks for the preaching and jazz instrumentals Prince.

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Bottom line: It'd be a dick move for Prince to NOT try to please the bulk of the audience. He is (arguably?) the greatest live act of all time, and he is really fucking good good at mixing the pop, with the art. In fact, it's one of his trademarks. A shining example of that would be the Superbowl Halftime show.

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So be honest. You have to be a casual fan of some artist/group. Do you really want to go to one of their concerts and hear a 14 minute instrumental jam, or do you want to hear their biggest hit?

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There is a time and place for everything and Prince is better at being Prince than we are.

djThunderfunk said:

skywalker said:

And how did the crowd respond to the sampler set?

They loved it. But, I don't think most of them knew the band wasn't playing. The girls weren't lit up and through most of the set they had dancers in front of them. Anyone who didn't know better would assume the band was playing most of it.

As I said above. This is irrelevant anyway. The crowds have also always loved the songs being played live too, so, the crowd loving it does not make it an acceptable alternative for someone of Prince's calibre.

I hear you. Good thing you know better than most. You feel like Prince cheated? Hoodwinked you out of your money?

skywalker said:

djThunderfunk said:

terrig said:

I'm sorry but have you guys ever seen aanyone with a longazzz face at a prince show complaining about a sampler set?

He does it

a- people LOVE IT. the corwd always goes nuts.

b- because more than likely it will SOMEONES VERY FIRST Prince concert

c- PEOPLE LOVE IT.

They really really do. I would bet most people at his shows are not us psychopaths from the org. They came out wanting to hear Purple Rain and Little Red Corvette and Kiss, and it would be crazy of him not to make those people happy. They love him for it!

He used to make the same kind of people happy by having the band play the same songs which people loved too. So, what's your point.

It's not about if people love it. It's about how lame it is to sing along karaoke still to recordings of songs compared to how great it is to have the band play those same songs.

Really, I find it shocking that anyone would defend this. "Real music by real musicians", right? I'm just sayin', this band's reworked versions of Let's Go Crazy, Little Red Corvette, ICNTTPOYM, etc. are great. GREAT!! The same people loving the hits on the sampler love these versions that the band actually plays.

Different people like different things. You want it to be YOUR way. I get that, but it doesn't mean that you are right.

-

Slightly off topic:

-

You have bootlegs of the Purple Rain tour? Do you have copies from different shows? You don't need them. Know why? Prince did that tour the same way 90% of the time. Same arrangments, same talk with God, same "who ate of the apple 1st?" speech, etc.

-

Now, although the band was 100% playing on those shows, I think it was "below Prince" to keep it so rigid and production based. Yet, the show was designed to mirror the performances in the movie Purple Rain and to please the crowd.

-

Do I stand on my pedestal as a smarky superfan Prince nerd and say everyone else st stupid to not realize that the 1999 Tour was better? That Prince is capable of so much more? Do I slap the girl behind me that is screaming for "Little Red Corvette" when I want to hear "Annie Christian"?

-

Or do I just hop in my time machine and bitch about one of the greatest of all time at prince.org?

[Edited 3/15/15 21:00pm]

[Edited 3/15/15 21:00pm]

KingSausage said:

Most of the time, I want art and performance. I saw Dylan a few months ago. He only played two or three songs from 1975 or before. Everything had new arrangements to match his current sound. I fucking loved it. On the other hand, I've seen the Stones three times (1995, 1997, and 1999) and although it was cool to hear the deep cuts, the best songs were the big ones. But you know what wouldn't fly with Dylan or the Stones? 20-30 minutes of prerecorded background music.

Why does it work for Prince, where it wouldn't work for Dylan or The Stones? Meaning, why can Prince do it in concert and Dylan or The Stones could not?

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You ever go to a hip hop concert? Or a EDM or Techno concert? You ever see Nine Inch Nails live?

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It seems to me like you have rules, where I am not sure Prince does.

[Edited 3/15/15 20:58pm]

skywalker said:

skywalker said:

djThunderfunk said:

They loved it. But, I don't think most of them knew the band wasn't playing. The girls weren't lit up and through most of the set they had dancers in front of them. Anyone who didn't know better would assume the band was playing most of it.

As I said above. This is irrelevant anyway. The crowds have also always loved the songs being played live too, so, the crowd loving it does not make it an acceptable alternative for someone of Prince's calibre.

I hear you. Good thing you know better than most. You feel like Prince cheated? Hoodwinked you out of your money?

I never said that.

You tell me how singing along to a recording isn't similar to lipsynching.

KingSausage said:

skywalker said:

Why does it work for Prince, where it wouldn't work for Dylan or The Stones? Meaning, why can Prince do it in concert and Dylan or The Stones could not?

[Edited 3/15/15 20:55pm]

Because people accept subpar bullshit from Prince. Half of them don't even know he's an amazing musician. They just see him as a pop star.

1. Do you honestly think people walk out of a Prince concert not knowing he's an amazing musician?

-

2. Prince IS a pop star. Of course, he is soooooo much more, but he is also a pop star. I am sure it is frustrating if you just want him to be "the artist", but he is also Mr. "Soft and Wet" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover."

-

I mean, you have entire sections of the population that appreciate that he is a badass musican, but want him to sing, "Nothing Compares 2U", "Take me with U", and "Raspberry Beret" anyway. Sure, I'd love him to play a 20 minutes of bass guitar acrobatics and "Bob George", but that cannot always happen. That's what aftershows are for.

skywalker said:

Different people like different things. You want it to be YOUR way. I get that, but it doesn't mean that you are right.

-

Slightly off topic:

-

You have bootlegs of the Purple Rain tour? Do you have copies from different shows? You don't need them. Know why? Prince did that tour the same way 90% of the time. Same arrangments, same talk with God, same "who ate of the apple 1st?" speech, etc.

-

Now, although the band was 100% playing on those shows, I think it was "below Prince" to keep it so rigid and production based. Yet, the show was designed to mirror the performances in the movie Purple Rain and to please the crowd.

-

Do I stand on my pedestal as a smarky superfan Prince nerd and say everyone else st stupid to not realize that the 1999 Tour was better? That Prince is capable of so much more? Do I slap the girl behind me that is screaming for "Little Red Corvette" when I want to hear "Annie Christian"?

-

Or do I just hop in my time machine and bitch about one of the greatest of all time at prince.org?

Oh, yeah, it must be that I want it my way. Bull.

As for the off topic, how does this relate?

Are you suggesting that having a negative aspect of a singular aspect of Prince's performance is unwarranted? Unfair? Uncalled for?
If you're thinking I'm one of the haters that's living in the past then you're arguing with the wrong guy. There was stuff I loved last night. Even in the sampler set. When he jammed along on the synth with the samples was one of the best examples the whole show of his musicianship. Hell, X's Face was played in the sampler set and that couple minutes was GREAT.

I still say Prince singing to a recording sucks. There is a band. They should be able to play versions of the songs that thrill everybody just like every other band he's ever had.

Why are you so butt-hurt on this topic?

skywalker said:

KingSausage said:

skywalker said: Because people accept subpar bullshit from Prince. Half of them don't even know he's an amazing musician. They just see him as a pop star.

1. Do you honestly think people walk out of a Prince concert not knowing he's an amazing musician?

-

2. Prince IS a pop star. Of course, he is soooooo much more, but he is also a pop star. I am sure it is frustrating if you just want him to be "the artist", but he is also Mr. "Soft and Wet" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover."

-

I mean, you have entire sections of the population that appreciate that he is a badass musican, but want him to sing, "Nothing Compares 2U", "Take me with U", and "Raspberry Beret" anyway. Sure, I'd love him to play a 20 minutes of bass guitar acrobatics and "Bob George", but that cannot always happen. That's what aftershows are for.

What in the phuk does the setlist have to do with it?!? Isn't this thread about singing to samples of old recordings vs. a band actually playing the songs? Has it been suggested that these songs CANNOT be played live by a band, because, yes they can.

djThunderfunk said:

skywalker said:

I hear you. Good thing you know better than most. You feel like Prince cheated? Hoodwinked you out of your money?

I never said that.

I am sorry. I wasn't trying to be a dick. You are kind of implying that the audience was not as sharp as you.

-

I was sincerely asking you: did you feel cheated/hoodwinked out of your money. Did you not think Prince was going to do a show similar to other 3rdeye Girl shows?

You tell me how singing along to a recording isn't similar to lipsynching.

-

It's not similar to lipsyncing because:

-

1. Prince's actual voice is being heard. You are getting his voice in the same room with you in real time singing. Prince has lip synced before for TV performances...you know this. It's not the same.

-

2. The prerecorded stuff he is playing sometimes "sounds" better than alternate arrangements. No matter what, "When Doves Cry" played in the sampler set is, ironically, the more "authentic" version than any band arrangement he could come up with.

-

Meaning, whether it is Wendy Melvoin or Donna Grantis, Prince is the only instrumentalist to actually play on "When Doves Cry." Now, since he cannot play everything at once in real time, the version of "When Doves Cry" in the sampler set is, in actuality, the most "pure" version of the song that he could do live.

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3. I think it's cool when it's just Prince. Karaoke or not, there is a mad scientist thing going on during the sampler set. He's not just phoning it in. He is creating, he is dictating the flow/the time, the groove, and he is absolutley working the crowd into a frenzy like no one else can. I think claims of laziness are bullshit. If you've seen him do it, you know he's working.

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Again, I have been to several shows with the sampler set. As I said, I don't LOOOOOOOVE it, but it is a highlight of the night for many.

[Edited 3/15/15 21:41pm]

skywalker said:

KingSausage said:

skywalker said: Because people accept subpar bullshit from Prince. Half of them don't even know he's an amazing musician. They just see him as a pop star.

1. Do you honestly think people walk out of a Prince concert not knowing he's an amazing musician?

-

2. Prince IS a pop star. Of course, he is soooooo much more, but he is also a pop star. I am sure it is frustrating if you just want him to be "the artist", but he is also Mr. "Soft and Wet" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover."

-

I mean, you have entire sections of the population that appreciate that he is a badass musican, but want him to sing, "Nothing Compares 2U", "Take me with U", and "Raspberry Beret" anyway. Sure, I'd love him to play a 20 minutes of bass guitar acrobatics and "Bob George", but that cannot always happen. That's what aftershows are for.

Give casual fans live versions of Purple Rain, Little Red Corvette, 1999, Let's Go Crazy, Raspberry Beret, Kiss, Sign O' the Times and When Doves Cry, and they'll leave more than happy. That's 8 songs.

That leaves at least 10 songs for Prince to do whatever he wants. He could pull out What's My Name, Uptown, The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, The Undertaker, Automatic, Free, Annastesia, Family Name, Moonbeam Levels... whatever. He could pull out Crystal Ball. Or he could play a lot of new stuff. Instead, he'll play samples of The Most Beautiful Girl in the World and Mr Goodnight.

djThunderfunk said:

Oh, yeah, it must be that I want it my way. Bull.

No need to get hostile. You want Prince to play everything note for note live, despite the fact that the sampler set always goes over huge with the crowd? Is that not the way you want it?

As for the off topic, how does this relate?

It is my own personal gripe. As I said it was off topic. It's each person's internet right to complain about what they want, how they want. I guess I was saying, a combination of: "(we)can't always get what (we) want", and "Different strokes for different folks."

Are you suggesting that having a negative aspect of a singular aspect of Prince's performance is unwarranted? Unfair? Uncalled for?

Not at all. It's just that not everyone feels that the negative aspect is in fact a negative. Like most everyone else there. Your summation of that is to kind of hint at that the rest of the crowd is...I dunno...somewhere between unaware and stupid. Like, if they really knew what was happening that they wouldn't eat the sampler set portion of the show up.

If you're thinking I'm one of the haters that's living in the past then you're arguing with the wrong guy. There was stuff I loved last night. Even in the sampler set. When he jammed along on the synth with the samples was one of the best examples the whole show of his musicianship. Hell, X's Face was played in the sampler set and that couple minutes was GREAT.

I am not thinking that at all. I am just curious at to why the sampler set bothers you so much. You say it's basically lipsyncing, but also,"one of the best examples of his musicianship". That's sooo Prince, right? Confounding in his duality. Also, what made "X's Face" better than anything else in the sampler set? Newness?

I still say Prince singing to a recording sucks. There is a band. They should be able to play versions of the songs that thrill everybody just like every other band he's ever had.

Why are you so butt-hurt on this topic?

I don't have strong feelings either way on the sampler set. Basically, I think it's cool because it is just Prince. No guest singers, no extended solos, just the man and his funk at his finger tips. The crowd loves the shit out of it...so that's cool too. I think we should make comicbook guy t-shirts with him saying "worst sampler set ever."

-

If I am butt hurt at all it's because the title of this thread is kinda BS and baiting. As I said already, if you've seen him do the sampler set, it is anything but lazy. It is just different. A change of gears and it is Prince absolutely working it (No offense kingsausage.)

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Lastly, I may actually prefer the sampler set to the piano medley set he had done for years.

[Edited 3/15/15 21:44pm]