What is the story on this guy?

He seems to be pretty much joined at the hip with P since the 1980's, but P rarely mentions this guy.

As important as the Revolution and the various incarnations of the NPG were to P's music, could a case be made for Mr. Fischer's contributions?

i'm still amazed the two have never met, i love the work he has done though,that extra depth.

COMPUTERBLUE1984 said:

I always thought that Clare was a SHE.

PurpleJedi said:

me too! I didn't know he was a guy until I recently looked it up on Wiki

He's a tough dude with a temper.

BlaqueKnight said:

Seems like the string arrangements are always credited even when sampled.



Personally, I have always felt, even back on Parade, that Fischer's string arrangements were at some moments so broad that they seemed emotionally unfocused and vague.

Unlike, say for example, George Martin's string arrangments for Beatles stuff.

BlaqueKnight said:

I couldn't have explained it better myself. The problem is that P doesn't acknowledge Clare (except for liner notes).

Imagine P's music without Clare's contributions?

COMPUTERBLUE1984 said:

Prince songs and albums that Clare Fischer has contributed to:
Parade (album credit)
Slow Love
Batman (album credit)
Graffiti Bridge
(album credit)
Pink Cashmere
Screams of Passion
Crystal Ball
Strays of the World
Goodbye ("the everbeautiful Clare Fischer")
Until U're in my Arms Again
The One
Old Friends 4 Sale
The Sun, The Moon & Stars
Call My Name
Te Amo Corazon

Clare Fischer is the worst thing to ever happen to Prince. He made his music weak and "uncool". Prince had been the hardest thing on R&B radio but after Clare Fischer, he became a joke and embarrasment.

vainandy said:

Are you serious? If you look up Clare's bio, a lot of r&b artists use Clare's arrangements in their music

That's fine but Prince shouldn't have used them. He already had a sound of his own and that classical shit made it sound weak.

vainandy said:

Maybe you just don't like classical music. I think Clare's contributions helped the songs

OK. Play something like "Venus De Milo" or "Do U Lie" at a party and watch how fast your guests leave.

vainandy said:

Ballads don't work a parties, period. Everybody loves "Raspberry Beret" though

ufoclub said:

I swear there was more Clare on The Family

BlaqueKnight said:

To that end Claire was never mentioned to keep the "mysique" of Prince intact!
SOOOOO many people never get credit when and where due, in that P wants all the respect and total focus on himself.
To pick up an instrument in studio 3 at Sunset Sound you would have to sign a discloseure act so lengthy your head would spin off it's axis!Then you step in the room with Prince and your ideas and thoughts become his, LEGALLY!
In part because you are alittle starsruck, and then blinded by a 45 page document that would blind a LAW FIRM.....but you sign, hey you're goinig to play with PRINCE!
You won't hear any of this from anyone because of the legal ramifications.

Janfriend said:

dont mind vainandy...he is just doing his best:

sosgemini said:

Best of Marla.....Ha..Ha LMAO!

Diosuni said:

but he was always blatantly, literally credited, even samples of his stuff were credited. He also talked about his work with Prince in interviews.

He also claims to have only seen Prince perform once, at the grammy opening a few years ago. I don't think Prince is that big a thing in his life.

The "Parade" album would sound pretty empty without Clare's contributions, as well as less avant-garde. I think his musical arrangements for Prince's music are fucking phenomenal.

Clare's contributions to Prince's work are huge - and the songs with the string arrangements wouldn't have been the same without them! And his Clare's sound is not classical - it's more jazz, with crazy sick harmonies that someone like Prince could really appreciate. That is one thing that sets his string arrangements miles apart from the bland, vanilla arrangements that you hear on many other records. BTW, Clare had done a lot of successful R&B records like Rufus & Chaka Khan, DeBarge etc. before Prince first used him to do arrangements for the entire The Family album. He is probably the best string arranger of all time, IMHO.

Clare's his senses of timing, rhythm and harmony are just so ... sick, it's undeniable that he has added depth and complexity to Prince's songs.

ufoclub said:

True about P not being a focal point in his life, but the lush dimension Claire has contibuted to P's music is just immense.
As someone said , imagine the tunes if they were stripped of the strings.....it would be alot of emptiness.
He is to Prince what George Martin was (to a large degree) to the Beatles.
How Claire finds and fills the holes with sooooo much texture and beauty is undeniably GREAT!

Diosuni said:

except for the fact the George Martin helped record and engineer almost all the Beatle songs as well as helping with instrumentation and the odd instrument performance/arrangement on their major hits. Clare Fischer is not on very many of Prince's most beloved songs.

Housequake, SOTT,When Doves Cry, 1999, Black Sweat, 3121, When You Were Mine, Purple Rain, Pop Life, Kiss, Girls and Boys, Thieves in the Temple, Cream, Gett Off, ... etc.

And your point is?

I love the harmonic touches Clare Fischer lended to Prince's music.

Mong said:

I can tell you that my point is to refute "the importance of Clare Fischer to P's music" (the title of this thread) and create a discussion to keep this site functional.

Specifically to debate these posted points:

"He is to Prince what George Martin was (to a large degree) to the Beatles."
"Clare's contributions to Prince's work are huge"
"To that end Claire was never mentioned to keep the "mysique" of Prince intact! "
"He seems to be pretty much joined at the hip with P since the 1980's, but P rarely mentions this guy. "

Now, I like many of the songs that have these arrangements, but I do find his sound to be a bit b r o a d... which then borders on being interchangable from song to song. Which, funny enough, Prince does do...

vainandy said:

I like those two songs you mention don't get me wrong but I agreed
play that song at a party where major of guests are uptempo/funk or rockheads is