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Why isn't prince respected as a great guitarist? why isnt prince regarded as one of the modern greats like jimi hendrix,eddie van halen,keith richards,pete townsend...etc....
i am a music teacher and when i buy instructional books for my students they never mention prince.... he is awesome,,,,, It's better to have and not need, than to need and not have! | |
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He used to be, at least in the UK - Back in the gory days of '86 - '88 there was a poll of the greatest guitarists ever in a music magazine and he came in at no. 4 after Hendrix, Clapton and Benson I think. | |
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I think he's respected as a great guitarist, but I think his reputation for having written great pop songs has overshadowed that aspect. | |
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So many music critics and music journalists just focus on hits and chart activity. If they had bothered to show up at Paisley Park these past few years, they would realize that not having a hit in years hasn't affected Prince's skills as a musician. | |
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I don't think many mainstream people realize because you say "Prince" and they say "Little Red Corvette" and that's it. People haven't heard extended solos or The Vault, or The Rainbow Children... how could someone even know how GREAT Prince is?!
Arian* Starrfighter | |
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I Actually thought people respected him as a guitarist, you say you're a music teacher (cool) but does that mean that you teach younger people? That's might why they doesnt mention Prince not many young people know him, and well maybe he isn't respected as a guitarist because he can play all those other instruments???? He is as good on piano as guitar ... for me guitarist are only those who have been seen on guitar.. like Hendrix, I've only seen (pic-video-music) with a guitar.. I dont know much about Eric Clapton, but as far as I know I've only seen him with a guitar! | |
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BNATURAL said: he is awesome,,,,, Uhhhhh yes, he is! | |
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i really like his live guitar work,I was listening to the nude tour boot..... hes pretty kick ass live. | |
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Probably because he isn't a really GREAT guitarist. He's good; very good. His style is mostly self-taught and while exceptional, really suits the purposes of his music. The GREATS usually go on to inspire others to cop their style. Show me a up & comer who has made it merly by copping Prince's style and he'll be up there with BBKing, Muddy Waters Buddy Guy, Hendrix and even Page and Clapton.
Being a guitarist isn't really the point of Prince being a musician though is it? test | |
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Because he's too pretty. Music critics tend to act as if you can't have LOOKS and TALENT too. | |
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HarleyQuinn said: Because he's too pretty. Music critics tend to act as if you can't have LOOKS and TALENT too.
that aint no Whoop-ee cushion that be some flame bearin gas vooms | |
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Why isn't prince respected as a great guitarist?
Because he is most respected as a great instrumentalist/musician/composer/producer/singer/performer. The man plays the drums very good, bass even better, piano like a Mozart and the guitar? Well.... let me see, what can I tell you about Prince and his guitar? hmmmm Have you heard "Small Club second show that night" ? Recorded at Het paard van Troje, The Hague, Holland. Only a few hundred of persons were witnessing this legendaary aftershow... It's a 2 1/2 hour long live performance from Prince, Sheila E, Boni Boyer, Cat, Miko, Atlanta Bliss and Levi Seacer Jr. To me this show unveiled and still shows me the real great guitarist that Prince is. The man is totally INTO his instrument and the melodyline of the song and floats with it on the sweeping beats and rhytms of the drum and the bass layed out by the fantastic Sheila E and Levi's "rumble" bass. While exploring 'every' fret on the neck of his Blue Angel when playing 'Just my imagination' he gets to be totally out there... Out there in his own personal musical universe shining it over his silently listening audience, playing with the inspiration of a 'music god' who treasures the styles from Hendrix and Santana...his own unique blend of royal strum ...and all the GREATS that came before him.. That night in 1988 he played his solo's as long as his flow was taking them and that night he sure was inspired. Not once, while listening to Prince run over the strings and the neck of his guitar, cry, strike and carefully caress the blue angel into incredible combinations of notes, does the overwhelmed audience even try to make the notes up in their minds! As a fortunate listener I can still, after 14 years, sit back in awe and joy of being able to listen to such a great performer and guitarist. It makes me feel like 1988 all over again. - [This message was edited Sat Mar 16 10:21:48 PST 2002 by Abrazo] You are not my "friend" because you threaten my security. | |
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Abrazo said: Why isn't prince respected as a great guitarist?
Because he is most respected as a great instrumentalist/musician/composer/producer/singer/performer. The man plays the drums very good, bass even better, piano like a Mozart and the guitar? Well.... let me see, what can I tell you about Prince and his guitar? hmmmm Have you heard "Small Club second show that night" ? Recorded at Het paard van Troje, The Hague, Holland. Only a few hundred of persons were witnessing this legendaary aftershow... It's a 2 1/2 hour long live performance from Prince, Sheila E, Boni Boyer, Cat, Miko, Atlanta Bliss and Levi Seacer Jr. To me this show unveiled and still shows me the real great guitarist that Prince is. The man is totally INTO his instrument and the melodyline of the song and floats with it on the sweeping beats and rhytms of the drum and the bass layed out by the fantastic Sheila E and Levi's "rumble" bass. While exploring 'every' fret on the neck of his Blue Angel when playing 'Just my imagination' he gets to be totally out there... Out there in his own personal musical universe shining it over his silently listening audience, playing with the inspiration of a 'music god' who treasures the styles from Hendrix and Santana...his own unique blend of royal strum ...and all the GREATS that came before him.. That night in 1988 he played his solo's as long as his flow was taking them and that night he sure was inspired. Not once, while listening to Prince run over the strings and the neck of his guitar, cry, strike and carefully caress the blue angel into incredible combinations of notes, does the overwhelmed audience even try to make the notes up in their minds! As a fortunate listener I can still, after 14 years, sit back in awe and joy of being able to listen to such a great performer and guitarist. It makes me feel like 1988 all over again. - [This message was edited Sat Mar 16 10:21:48 PST 2002 by Abrazo] yes that just my imagination solo is awesome!!!!! It's better to have and not need, than to need and not have! | |
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I do think he's seen as one of the great guitarists of the last 20 years. But I think the reason why he's not mentioned in the same breath as people like Hendrix or Page, is because his songs aren't "all" guitar driven, whereas Hendrix, Page, Richards etc are. | |
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BNATURAL said: why isnt prince regarded as one of the modern greats like jimi hendrix,eddie van halen,keith richards,pete townsend...etc....
i am a music teacher and when i buy instructional books for my students they never mention prince.... he is awesome,,,,, Most likely because he only stretches out with the guitar during his live shows and if you've never seen him live you really don't get a good picture of Prince The Guitarist. His authorized recordings only tell part of the story. This post not for the wimp contingent. All whiny wusses avert your eyes. | |
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I think that Prince is one of the best rock/funk/soul/pop guitarists of all time, up there with Hendrix, Santana and others. I've never heard a guitarist who displays quite such a range of styles on guitar as Prince and embraces them into his own music.
His funky rhythm guitar stuff comes straight out of the James Brown guitarists and Sly Stone, his rock guitar stuff echoes Carlos Santana, especially on 'The Rainbow Children'. He also shows knowledge of other excellent but very different guitarists from Curtis Mayfield to John Mclaughlin. He may not be the most original guitar stylist ever, but how many other guitarists out there can claim his range and Prince's ability to meld all these disparate styles into his own unique style? I can't think of anyone else. Put simply, he's a beautiful guitar player who clearly loves his instrument (as it were!). | |
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I think PFunkJazz made a good point in saying that he hasn't developed his own style which has left its mark on the guitar-playing world. I mean P sounds like Hendrix, or like Santana. But who sounds "like P"? (funny that in musical aspects other than guitar - song-writing, singing, production etc. - many people do).
The flip-side 2 this argument, tho, is that his playing is distinctive enuff 2 b instantly recognizable even if u've never heard the song b4. Perhaps the reason that he's never "left a mark" is that his virtuosity is in his versatility. The range of styles make it hard 2 pin him down, and nearly impossible 2 emulate. Come 2 think of it, emulation is not necessarily the best benchmark. The only ppl I know who can play like Hendrix are P himself and SRV. Who plays like Clapton (Mark Knopfler?)? The best guitarists R distinctive and r so good they can't b copied. I always think as Hendrix and P as b-ing 2 guitarists who perform, not as if they're playing an instrument, but as if the guitar were actually an extension of their own body. Finally, PE did tribute P's guitar-playing by sampling 1 of his solos. (What song was it? Any1 remember?) "We've never been able to pull off a funk number"
"That's becuase we're soulless auttomatons" | |
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wasitgood4u said: Finally, PE did tribute P's guitar-playing by sampling 1 of his solos. (What song was it? Any1 remember?)
Definitely: "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" from the Fear Of A Black Planet album. This post not for the wimp contingent. All whiny wusses avert your eyes. | |
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I wonder the same thing. In 1999 I took lord knows how many survey's. I said Prince was the top guitarists in the last 20 yrs on a phone survey and the damn survey taker said "prince?!" I was like...Biatch!...but I didnt say it. I politely quoted my fav Prince song, "Don't Play Me," and said 'all [my] competition is properly in the past. and explained how he's the best since Hendricks and then i just started playing music loudly in the background. "Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean someone ain't following me." | |
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Supernova said: wasitgood4u said: Finally, PE did tribute P's guitar-playing by sampling 1 of his solos. (What song was it? Any1 remember?)
Definitely: "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" from the Fear Of A Black Planet album. which guitar solo is sampled on that song? | |
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I don't know anything about this subject because I'm not a guitar player and I don't keep up with guitar players and their magazines-the whole guitar culture. I assumed Prince was respected as a great guitarist.
So, how do specifically "white" rock guitarists from the rock band world feel about Prince's guitar playing? Are there any out there who can more than keep up or surpass Prince in his licks? Are there any living "black" guitar players who can keep up with Prince? I'm all ears. This is an interesting thread. | |
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IMO, Prince is a very versatile and gifted guitar player. His rythm guitar is no less than excellent and he did some great solos through his career
IMO, he s not respected as a great guitar player because 1) Many people still think he is a pop star who plays some guitar 2) He didnt associate his career WITH the guitar as other great guitarists. For example: guys like Randy Rhoads, Vernon Reid, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Vai, Van Halen etc are exclusively guitar players. You cant imagine them without the guitar. Vernon Reid would never put his guitar aside to do the splits, coreographies or dance. He focused on the guitar. It´s his instrument. He plays guitar on every song, and every song has a guitar solo. It doesnt happen to Prince, who plays other instruments and doesnt play guitar all the time on stage, focusing on his ´entertainer´ side. 3) Prince is a very good player, but not so fluent as the masters like Benson. His improvising vocabulary is impressive for a person who plays other instruments, but limited for a guitar player only. And his playing is not so original as Hendrix or Van Halen. IMO, these are the reasons why he is not so respected, but I like him a lot. ´Xenophobia´ seems to be very guitar-oriented judging for the samples. |
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GustavoRibas said: IMO, Prince is a very versatile and gifted guitar player. His rythm guitar is no less than excellent and he did some great solos through his career
IMO, he s not respected as a great guitar player because 1) Many people still think he is a pop star who plays some guitar 2) He didnt associate his career WITH the guitar as other great guitarists. For example: guys like Randy Rhoads, Vernon Reid, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Vai, Van Halen etc are exclusively guitar players. You cant imagine them without the guitar. Vernon Reid would never put his guitar aside to do the splits, coreographies or dance. He focused on the guitar. It´s his instrument. He plays guitar on every song, and every song has a guitar solo. It doesnt happen to Prince, who plays other instruments and doesnt play guitar all the time on stage, focusing on his ´entertainer´ side. 3) Prince is a very good player, but not so fluent as the masters like Benson. His improvising vocabulary is impressive for a person who plays other instruments, but limited for a guitar player only. And his playing is not so original as Hendrix or Van Halen. IMO, these are the reasons why he is not so respected, but I like him a lot. ´Xenophobia´ seems to be very guitar-oriented judging for the samples. Yep... I agree. that pretty much says it all Gustavo. For someone who can do so many other things so well, it's nothing less than extraordinary that he CAN play guitar so well. These other cats that people think of as great are actually guitarists because guitar is all they play. But to refer to Prince as strictly a "guitarist" (whether one considers him great or otherwise) is almost a misnomer because Prince focuses on so many other things as both a musician and entertainer. But even though music fans may not necessarily think of Prince as a great guitarist, my perception is that Prince is highly respected as a great musician by other musicians - and I think that says a lot. Prince is like a sponge, and the reason why there is no definitive Prince style of guitar playing is because his style represents all of the various greats that have influenced him. Yet, amazingly, even without a distinctive style that one can point to, somehow, his sound remains distinctively "Prince". I mean, we all know when Prince is playing guitar, even when there's no proof -yet to try to describe his "style" is almost impossible. To be able to pull off that feat for so many years is nothing less than genius. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"When U can't find the reason 4 the smoke, there's probably water in the fire" - Freaks on This Side (man... that's deep) | |
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He is the greatest guitar player out here. He
could do it by bass/guitar. He is the master of guitars. Can just kick some @ss, It makes me very mad  that they don't give
him due props. | |
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Did someone tell u he wasn't - He is a great guitarist!
----- | |
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As far as I am concerned, He is the greatest guitar player of our time, I have listened 2 guys like Jimi (The One), Roy Buchanan (The E.T.), Santana (The Supernatural),Vai, Vaughan, BB , etc . but when U listen
2 someone who is getting all that styles 2gether with the dexterity of each one (Prince : The One and Only)what can U say 
Head live 1981 (with Wendy?) Lady Cab Driver (album) - yeah that's 4 ... Computer Blue SOTT live Small Club - Rave (all the set but the last 16' ...) - no more, no more ... Batdance Don't make me pay 4 Ur mistakes Thieves live Mary don't U weep The Ride - where u wanna go ... huh  is that guitar talkin' 2 me ?! the brussels 1998 version gave a thrill that even those who were not yet born remember now !!! 
Days of Wild (Killer guitar jam on Ahdio show) Guitar jams on ahdio 1 & 2 Sweet Thing (with Chakah Khan) Purple House Fine jazz cafe (erotic city, blues in c) We gonna make it funky I almost forget TRC ! . . . somebody tell me that he can even play piano, bass, drums, etc 
C'mon guys that man has been blessed by God, he not only plays all that instuments, he is putting words on the music, Light and Live and We are able 2 feel all that Power . Sometimes I'm going mad when I think at that guy, sometimes I think He is T.S.C. 
L4OA and Peace 2 U'all P.S. I can't wait 2 see the guitar singing on ONA here in Brussels | |
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He is not respected as a great guitarist because technically he is a below average guitarist. He makes up for it in feeling, but his chops do not even begin to compare with the greates.
Anyone who says that he a technically accomplished guitarist does not know what they are talking about. | |
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mistermcgee said: I don't know anything about this subject because I'm not a guitar player and I don't keep up with guitar players and their magazines-the whole guitar culture. I assumed Prince was respected as a great guitarist.
So, how do specifically "white" rock guitarists from the rock band world feel about Prince's guitar playing? Are there any out there who can more than keep up or surpass Prince in his licks? Are there any living "black" guitar players who can keep up with Prince? I'm all ears. This is an interesting thread. Myfave GUITARISTS who blow Prince away: Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight Benard Allison Joe Louis Walker Lucky Peterson Stanley Jordan Vernon Reid Jean Paul Bourelly There's a shytload man. You just need to get out the box POP_MUSIC has built around your ears. test | |
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lovemachine said: He is not respected as a great guitarist because technically he is a below average guitarist. He makes up for it in feeling, but his chops do not even begin to compare with the greates.
Anyone who says that he a technically accomplished guitarist does not know what they are talking about. - Hmm, not much. I practiced guitar for some years, and he has a good technique. Not so good as Benson or Vai, but not below average. Right now, the guitar player I am most fascinated with is Randy Rhoads. What a melodic guitar player...too bad he is not here with us. |
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calldapplwondery83 said: Supernova said: wasitgood4u said: Finally, PE did tribute P's guitar-playing by sampling 1 of his solos. (What song was it? Any1 remember?)
Definitely: "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" from the Fear Of A Black Planet album. which guitar solo is sampled on that song? The one at the end of "Let's Go Crazy" is looped on it. This post not for the wimp contingent. All whiny wusses avert your eyes. | |
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