Can someone please explain the differences in the keyboard roles Dr. Fink and Lisa played on the music recorded by Prince with the Revolution..?

I always felt like Fink came from a more funk/new wave oriented place, and Lisa's contributions were more organic and classical. It was a good mix.

Anx said:

I agree with this.

i agree with anx and willy...


dr. fink said in a housequake interview that he would provide the riff while lisa would provide the soundscape of the songs....

im paraphrasing here cause i dont remember his exact words but i think he meant he would provide something similiar to the ending of When Doves Cry (not that he actually contributed that exact piano part..but who knows with prince) while lisa's contribution would be something akin to the 1999 synth.

during one of the Pacifico shows, when a hot up and coming performer jammed with them on piano, that lisa would allow the guy to pound away at the keys while she would step in at the end of his playing and add "florishments"..and her contributions took the jam to a whole other level...at that point i totally got what dr. fink was talking about.

HMMM someone else recently piotned out that the keyboard soloat the end of When Doves Cry is classically influenced which woudl suggest it's LIsa.


I always assumed Lisa played the actual piano (or e-piano) plust a synth, while Dr, Fink played only the synths (meaning during live shows).

Like in the live video for Anotherloverholeinyhohead..... you hear clearly Lisa's piano.

I'd really like to know more about this though, esp since I play keys (or try to).

Usually, the keyboards are doing one of a few things:

1. piano or electric piano parts (what the avg person woudl think of as piano...like in pop life)

2. string or pad parts - the high notes held for whole measures over the top as it were of the song. prince 80s music often has these by verse 2 or the chrous.

3. synth lead lines - this is pure dr. fink. think of the synth solo on head.

4. signaure Minneapolis "hohens" - when Prince said "gimme some hohens" in the 80's it was on synth. it's part or of the defining Prince sound. Think of the whole 1999 album, but especially 1999 and DMSR.

What I always wondered is if both Lisa and Fink played those parts in unison, cuz the sound was so fat.... and back then I don't know if you could layer sounds on one keybaord.


I would love to know the differences between what Fink and Lisa played in live situations, and how they determined it (beyond the obvious Lisa playing real piano and Fink doing the Moog type lead lines)

Great topic!

Dance Music Sex Romance confirms that Prince played the end "classical" sounding synth part.

The Revolution, except for Wendy and Lisa around the Parade era really had very little to do with "Prince and the Revolution" on record. It was mostly all Prince.

JPW said:

thats not the point.....we are talking more about what each would play live..

however, dr. fink, in his interview, stated that prince would ask them to come up with stuff..then prince would play it..so it wouldnt be a stretch that dr. fink (or lisa) came up with the synth during a jam but that prince actually played it.

fink said thats how dmsr came about (i think thats the song)..prince gave him the song, ask him to come up with some synth work for it...fink did so...

yet the song credit is all princes...

sosgemini said:

i know that (not the point of the intitial post) but I was responding to the person above.

in dmsr: the first decade, that very keyboard part is said to be an instance where Prince was showing Dr Fink how technical he could be on keys when he wanted to be. Prince wrote and recorded that part in a kind of competitive spirit with Dr Fink. he was just showing what a badass he could be.


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[Edited 3/5/06 7:28am]

JPW said:

gotcha..im gonna have to head over to housequake and find out which song dr. helped on but didnt get credit for..i thought it was dmsr.

sosgemini said:

arg you've misunderstood me again. i'm talking about DMSR: The First Decade (the book) which mentions that the "classical" part at the end of When Doves Cry was all those things I mentioned above.

JPW said:

gotcha..i was talking about the song dmsr...thats why i got all confusticated..

WHile y'all are researching..... see what you can find out about who did what live.

I always try to watch them to see but they didn't usually give them close ups

sosgemini said:

no worries, sos,