The only person I can think to put on the same level as Prince is now dead. Picasso. He also was a "sponge" whose father was a painter (sound familiar?). Both honed their skills at very young ages and went on to be prolific artists--Picasso has tens of thousands of works to his credit including paintings, sculptures, ceramics, drawings, and writings. Many of these works would surprise people that they were created by the same hand. Their seemingly tumultuous personal lives even mirror each others. Both were very energetic, driven control freaks. Interestingly, however where Picasso was the ultimate man's man ala Hemingway Prince is well... Prince.
While I love the works of Chagall, Van Gogh, Stevie Wonder, the Beatles and Jimi nobody I can think of stands up to Prince on sheer overall talent in their craft but Picasso. Stevie or Lennon might have been better songwriters, Chagall the superior colourist but nobody put it all together like Prince and Picasso. Those two are on another level and please don't throw Duke Ellington, Beethoven, and Rembrandt in there for while they were all great, their styles lacked expression-- they please the soul rather than stir it. Not a bad thing I might add, just not on that other level I'm talking about.

AGAIN people. I have to read that "Prince-plays-22-or-26-o-even-30-instruments"-bullshit. I have asked earlier on this thread (and Pfunkjazz did the same on a thread of his own): what instruments are you talking about? nobody did give me an answer yet... you people tend to take over promo information by warner bros without even questioning it. I would be surprised if prince even masters TEN instruments, that already takes quite some genius. you guys talking about 26 dont even know to name 26 instruments. and --- sorry guys ---- clavinet, fender rhodes, piano dont count as FOUR instruments. so pleeeeese stop with those "Prince-is-a-God" remarks.

oooops... forgot to add the "moog" to the list of the FOUR.... cant even count myself...

Apart perhaps from Stevie, I think prince is the most talented pop/rock artist of all time.

But the true question is : IS HE A GENIUS ?

Even though he's my favorite artist, my answer may be no because he did not create a new musical style. A genius is someone who creates something other people could not even imagine. In music, that means create a new musical style. People like Chuck Berry, James Brown or the Beatles respond to this definition more than prince does. Yet if you talk about today's music, I think he is unquestionably above all, since I don't see any genius currently

Just my opinion though...

Peace

DrD said:

Well then that leaves the Beatles out, because they didn't invent a style of music. But really, if people are only going to give the genius tag to certain recording artists, it rarely has anything to do with inventing a new style of music.

Stevie Wonder never invented a style of music, but that will never change the fact that I'll always regard him as a genius. Expanding the vocabulary of an already invented genre (or genres) can be just as ingenious as anything else. Regardless of the question that started this thread, Prince is one of those artists that has expanded the vocabulary of different genres.

I don't think Prince really influenced a generation like many of the artists listed here.
The Beatles may not of created Rock and Roll, but they took it to another level and changed the course of popular music completely.
The same goes for David Bowie, without Ziggy Stardust the 70's and 80's would of been pretty different ! Would there be a Marilyn Manson now if there hadn't been a Ziggy ?
And Bowie wouldn't of done the things he did without Bob Dylan.
On the flip side you've got people like Little Richard and Chuck Berry (Both influenced the Beatles), James Brown, Sly Stone, Isaac Hayes, George Clinton, Miles Davis !! And The King, Elvis (who also influenced The Beatles) !!!
The list goes on and on...
Although he is an incredable musician and song writer,
I don't think Prince has changed the course of popular music to the extent that any of these people have.

Bjork & Curtis Mayfield (RIP)

PRINCE is the man ! BADASS monster on guitar, SLap happy fool on bass, TIGHTASS drummer ! KEYBOARDIST that can take you from ray charles to herbie hancock to sly stone. a SINGER with a beautiful voice so lovely... it sparked all kinds of rumours back in the day (1978-79) that prince had to be a girl

practice makes perfect look at his body of work its obvious that he is (doin his thang to death)!!!!

OH YEAH ...TALENT ? look at his prformance of "HOUSEQUAKE"
in the movie "sign o the times" and tell me that PRINCE AINT A VERY VERY BAAD MAN !!!

he gets my vote.

You can add The Sex Pistols, Led Zep and The Sugerhill Gang to that list too !!

prettymansson said:

PRINCE is the man ! BADASS monster on guitar, SLap happy fool on bass, TIGHTASS drummer ! KEYBOARDIST that can take you from ray charles to herbie hancock to sly stone. a SINGER with a beautiful voice so lovely... it sparked all kinds of rumours back in the day (1978-79) that prince had to be a girl.

Ray Carles to herbie? man, youd dont even know what you are talking about. If Prince played trumpet you'd probably say he's better than Miles, Lee and Dizzy as well. Sorry man, you have been blinded....

Prince is an overall package that makes him great. But, when it comes to individual things, he is not number one, as you can see by the polls that musicians rank.

Guitar: Jimi Hendrix is better. 3 great years of performances that set the stage and everyone even Prince is copying. Jimi will always remain supreme because he's dead and died when he was at the climax of his stardom.

Bass: There are many who are better than Prince. My vote just so you all can say What! Juan Nelson of Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals and Meshell NdegeOcello. They play with heart and not to play just because they know they're good.

Lyrics: Have you just read any Prince lyrics without listening to the music. A lot are great, but then some are average. When he speaks poetry he is at his best (ex. Joy In Repetition).

Stage Presence: I sorry, but when it comes to stage presence, Madonna just captures a person's energy by the sheer theatrics of her concerts (Theatre sells, change the backdrop four times in a concert with four different eras or genres of music and you will be at the top of your game). When it comes to simplicity stage presence, Prince is number one.

Religious Concepts: Prince would excel in this if he stops using the words Jesus and Christ and God. The number one band in the world that almost every song is about spirituality (hence God) is U2. Prince should take lessons from U2. Every time I see them in concert, it's like I'm at church and a spiritual revelation comes over me.

Performing songs totally different in concert than the album: Prince is the best.

I can say this because I have been supporting Prince since 1978. He is my favorite artist and no one will ever take his place in this lifetime, unless I become famous and ego my way to the top. However, I do recognize talent in others when I see it. No being should put all their eggs in one basket thinking one person is supreme over all others. Look around and listen to other musicians and you will see.

Prince's performance in Chicago on November 20, 1996 was the best I've ever seen. He was on a different realm. Every word had emotion behind it. We did make him tear up. The only other person I've seen in concert where every word sang touched my soul was Bjork.

NO ONE - flat out, absolutely NO ONE is more talented than Prince.

soulpower said:

Forgive me if I'm oversteppin' here, but I don't think what Prettymanson said states that Prince is a better Keyboard player than Ray or Herbie or Sly. He simply stated that Prince can run through their styles while playing.

At least thats what I got.
Let the Love flo

I think it´s a very difficult question.For me there is Prince today and nobody else, because when he sings or play an instrument, it touches my heart and soul.
But the biggest of all are some classical composer!!
Mozart ( watch Amadeus, it`s a must)
Beethoven
Bach
Chopin one of the best pianoplayer ever
and some others.What they have written is not from this universum.
Mozart and Beethoven are really really really genius.Mozart writes all his compositions in one take all his operas in one take.He had the music of about 20 instruments in his head and wrote it down.The music are masterpieces.
No Prince, no Stevie wonder, no Beatles could compare to these genius.
Today there are no one like that.
Prince is for me today a genius, but in another level.
Peace and be sexy.

Just readin this thread is gonna take a day. Checking some of the people I dunno, a year. Props to SOULPOWER for mentioning Shuggie Otis. He was the bomb, thank (people who love music) for the remasters.
Can we compile this list of people in the original post to make it an accessable list? Idea?
[This message was edited Wed Mar 20 8:18:38 PST 2002 by gooeythehamster]

HolyWine said:

its sad, so sad when people are so ignorant like Rose... I just hope for her Prince will never find out about this post, he would crack up and loose all respect for HolyWine...

incognito said:

Apart from she can't sing live !!
I really do believe Prince is the best live performer of his generation.

gooeythehamster said:

Just ran into shuggie at the MINT in LA where I was DJing. He signed an album for me. he's still playing but he lost his faith in the biz. kinda what Prince was going through in the 90s. shuggie never got over it though. shame.

I feel that you can "measure" talent. That said, I don't feel that anyone is "more" talented than Prince.

Prince is the only person that is more talented. If he doesn't hold himself back, his talent is limitless.

loolam said:

I've yet to seen such a demonstration in Prince and I've seen PRINCE, RAY and HERBIE LIVE! Multiple times!

PFunkjazz said:

Okay let me refraise that. Prince has touched on their styles throughout his career. Your right I don't think he has in one sitting.

I concur with PFUNKJAZZ on this. LIL MAN running through (Herbie's?)style. What style does Herbie have? The man is beyond categorization. From his landmark albums like "Maiden Voyage(acoustic stuff), to his awesome work with Miles second great quintet in the mid to late 60's, to his stuff on Headhunters(another landmark album) and Thrust(which I actually dig better than Headhunters), to his 80's stuff(Rockit).

* Brother 9/15 aka CR3

There ain't NO FUCKIN BODY BETTER !!!!! if this man were to make whole albums on one instrument per, you will get my pointe ,the people U'all are comparing him too only play that one instrument, the aftershows is where he gets off.....Prince on dancing, Please.....can't nobody fuck with us.....Voice.....come on.....This is something I never thought I'd be doing with another Prince fan(s), I've been doing this with other people all my life.....

loolam said:

I don't even agree with this statement. Prince is a very good piano player. The problem with the analyis is in order for Prince to be good he has to be compared with someone like Herbie Hancock or seen as doing something HANCOCK-like, which I don't see as necessary.

Anyone can make great cases for other people being more talented than Prince in specific areas. But what about the total package?

As a Live performer who does it to that level.
Sing/Dance/Play

I'm not saying there isn't someone, but I think it's a harder case to make.

Example:
MJ/Madonna/Janet-great at the whole choreographed presentation, but that takes away from their singing, and thus need backing tracks. Better Dancers? Probably Singers? when they do sing live, I'll say its debatable.

Sure, if you break up his talents and compare each to other artists you can find people more accomplished I would think.
But thats the point isn't it? It's the sum of prince's talents, not the individual pieces that make him special.

Jus tryin ta learn

Jaikman I can't stand to look at your avatar anymore!!!!

frank zappa
ivano fossati
franco battiato
luciano berio

I think Prince is the most talented (famous) musician ever.
However you or me can be also very talented and no one knows how far that talent would go.
He is a genious but he also is so good beacause the others are so bad.

(Soulpower) Your welcome & I feel what your sayin & I can respect that. After hearing all I have from "78" 2 present & seeing him live where U bare your naked soul B-4 all....I still got 2 say he's a great singer. And 4 the record if Prince jumps off a bridge well...I hope he can swim cause I can't feel me? PS...Good stuff 4 young man under 30, keep it real~