Let me be as blunt as I can: The dude was not a great musician; he was actually very mediocre, like some bar band guy. He tinkled a kind of cocktail piano, but idiot fans would diss Renato? Renato played rings around Tommy Tinkle. Tommy was picked for his looks me thinks. Mr Hayes is not great but he is at least decent.

percy28 said:

Prince didn't have any slouch players. And the mid-90s was some of Prince's most prolific times, and music a lot more complex than his 80s stuff (which is its own golden era, we know).

Morris Hayes drips with talent, too.

I don't think people dispute that Neto was talented. Bis musak influences on Prince's music - namely "Baby I'm A Star" becoming some breezy elevator bullshit on the Musicology Tour - weren't that welcome. All that instrumental stuff Prince did - Xpectation, C-Note, N.E.W.S., etc - is just blaaahhh.

Even Blackwell got flack for a while from fans, with reports that he was missing queues and shit, but Prince still used him instead of firing him. He got better. One can't not get better playing with the likes of Prince.

I saw Barbarella when he was with Greazy Meal, and they were phenomenal.

[Edited 1/3/22 14:21pm]

Greazy Meal

.

Greasy Spoon is the diner down the street.

nayroo2002 said:

Greazy Meal

.

Greasy Spoon is the diner down the street.

Dats it.

TrivialPursuit said:

He got better. One can't not get better playing with the likes of Prince.

I mean, for the amount they played with one of the best musicians the modern world has known, it's not unreasonable to wake up one day and think "Huh, they were fine but they weren't amazing". I don't know if playing Cream all day long is good or bad for one's musicianship. He should be the best at playing a certain era Prince though.

Once Prince moved on from his childhood crew he seemed to have a type he liked to play with. Barbarella was kind of Fink and Bobby Z. rolled up into one.

2freaky4church1 said:

Let me be as blunt as I can: The dude was not a great musician; he was actually very mediocre, like some bar band guy. He tinkled a kind of cocktail piano, but idiot fans would diss Renato? Renato played rings around Tommy Tinkle. Tommy was picked for his looks me thinks. Mr Hayes is not great but he is at least decent.

You really need to stop posting, Renato.

lavendardrummachine said:

TrivialPursuit said:

He got better. One can't not get better playing with the likes of Prince.

I mean, for the amount they played with one of the best musicians the modern world has known, it's not unreasonable to wake up one day and think "Huh, they were fine but they weren't amazing". I don't know if playing Cream all day long is good or bad for one's musicianship. He should be the best at playing a certain era Prince though.

Once Prince moved on from his childhood crew he seemed to have a type he liked to play with. Barbarella was kind of Fink and Bobby Z. rolled up into one.

You misquoted me. I was specifically talking about John Blackwell with "He got better. One can't not get better playing with the likes of Prince."

They don't "play 'Cream' all day long." That's obtuse. The man had hundreds of songs by the 90s when Barbarella came onboard. One also has to remember the fills, flourishes, and such that Prince did in the 90s - a writing style he grew into - I don't think someone like Fink (as talented as he was) could have handled that. However, the Lovesexy Tour was the first real hint of that sort of manic chord progressions and key changes that The Revolution and prior never dealt with. Listen to things like the end of "TMBGITW" on The Gold Experience. That wasn't in the original cut of the song. I'm talking about those sorts of breaks, codas, additions to his songs that someone like Barbarella could easily handle.

That said, on the same tip I'm not sure someone like Levi, Mico or even Sonny could have fully handled stuff he did in the 2010s with 3rd Eye Girl. Barbarella was a step up, I believe, from Fink. Boni Boyer was more a singer, but could hit chords and such. She was musical in many levels.

I believe there's a reason why people note that incarnation of NPG - Tommy, Sonny, Michael, Morris - as the best version of the band.

I saw Tommy with the NPG after Prince passed and he had a solo piece which was just transcedent. Lots of people I spoke to were blown away by his performance that night.

2freaky4church1 said:

Let me be as blunt as I can: The dude was not a great musician; he was actually very mediocre, like some bar band guy. He tinkled a kind of cocktail piano, but idiot fans would diss Renato? Renato played rings around Tommy Tinkle. Tommy was picked for his looks me thinks. Mr Hayes is not great but he is at least decent.

You obviously never heard the guy play and just watched him with Prince.

JorisE73 said:

2freaky4church1 said:

Let me be as blunt as I can: The dude was not a great musician; he was actually very mediocre, like some bar band guy. He tinkled a kind of cocktail piano, but idiot fans would diss Renato? Renato played rings around Tommy Tinkle. Tommy was picked for his looks me thinks. Mr Hayes is not great but he is at least decent.

You obviously never heard the guy play and just watched him with Prince.

Exactly. To compare him to boring ass Renato is apples and onions. Tommy Elms was and is incredibly talented.