PFunkjazz said:

Agree or disagree, makes no difference to me in this case.
I was simply helping you interpret PM's original statement.

loolam said:

Thanks, but no thanks. That's the kind of help I really don't need.

incognito said:

That's not the reason for his greatness.



This example misses the point completely. Many, many lyrics don't translate well on paper without musical accompaniment. That's why they're songs instead of poetry. You can't compare the two distinctly different things on that basis alone.

CarrieCee said:

LOL that is one ugly MO FO ain't it?

incognito said:

AVERAGE? some are just plain ol' stupid!

THE OPPOSITE OF OTAN IS NATO.... fuckin' moronic

MARILYN MANSON!!

PFunkjazz said:

Apparently you did. Go back and check.

All in Love

OH MY..How could I have forgotten to add Bjork to my list...OYE!!!!

Will she ever forgive me? Will I ever forgive me? Will I ever get to eat lunch..damn, im hungry.....

How to rate an artist. Well...that _very_ hard to do. Almost everything is subjective. You can do your best to come up with a consenus, however, but we will be very biased for personal favorites.

But if you really want to give it a shot, we will have to create a scale:

1 - 5
1 being the average
2 being the professional
3 being the master
4 being the Super Saiyan
5 being reserved for the elite (rock guitar, for example, may include Clapton, Satriani, Hendrix, etc.)

Then we must begin a method to apply the scale:

Current Ability
Adaptive Ability

This is a great start of which to rate in item by. For example, it can be strongly argued that Prince has little talent in the realm of Tibetian chant, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have the Adaptive ability to learn it. Granted, we may not include Tibetian chant, but some people may.

From here, you can start talking a another branch of items.
Instruments
Song crafting
Inspirational ability
Entertaining ability
etc.


And further and further.

After all is said and done, there will be a list of items of which to compare various artists on various levels. Our list of items may be geared to compare Prince against Rock/Pop peers. Perhaps composers, performers, etc. TO make a total list, we would need a lot of discussion and compromise which we may not be ready for, but would be awsome if we took it up.

In the end, we could just thumb and squint and approximate. Eye ball it if you will. In that reguard, looking from a total perspective, I find few people that match his ability and talent. I guess that is why I enjoy his music so much. The problem is that I see a lot of other artists as one-dimensional. miles was a trumpet guy. Larry is the bass guy. Elvis was all stage presence. etc... This does them a disservice, as they may or may not have had the opportunity to display to me thier talents, or I may not have pursued thier work as much as I have Prince.

Bah...I'm babbling you all know what I'm getting at

- Cheers

The word "talented" can lend itself to so many interpretations. Besides the fact that my perception of another persons talent is completely subjective. I don't think anyone can really answer this question.

BNATURAL said:

- Ok, singers are musicians. But, about MJ....I´d rather compare Prince (if comparison is needed) with people that respect the music, who write their own stuff or have amazing musicianship. MJ is just an entertainer who is more worried about money than anything. He almost doesnt write his stuff, and focus more on his dancing abilities.
I would prefer to compare P with Miles Davis (great musician, with personality, who put the music in the first place ever), Frank Zappa (wrote all his stuff, played guitar) or Stevie Wonder (wrote all his stuff, plays many instruments). Entertainers are entertainers, artists are artists...there is a huge difference

GustavoRibas said:

This is silly. Every single one of those guys MILES, ZAPPA, PRINCE and STEVIE are all entertainers. Just like MJ. They may cop an attitude and preen like they're not doing a song & dance, but they have their music for you and they want you to listen and be entertained. Entertainers and artists are the same thing. To insinuate MJ does not respect music is ridiculous, you're merely arguing for what you like to hear when you are being entertained by artists.

FZ=UNDERRATED!

I know most of yall will disagree with me, but hey, I don't care -- TINA MARIE. She can sing, dance, write, produce, arrange, piano, guitar, jazz thru funk. She can do all the things Prince can do. I think as far as talent is concerned, they're running neck & neck.

When we say that it's arguable that Prince is more talented than his teachers, we are comparing him to 5-10 talents. Remember, Prince is just one. If we can't compare his talents to anyone without naming 5 to 10 others, then it just may be true that he is most talented.

SweeTea said:

Teena is quite talented, though I don't see her as much of a dancer outside of swaying to the rhythm. Yes she does have a good handle on guitar.

Okay, y'all, this has been a great thread!!!

Lots of feedback....

Small Problem, while some of y0u are getting it

completely, some of you are not....Let me

ask the same question, only a little differenly....

to clarify: What is it that we know, Prince can do?..

Sing/Dance/Write lyrics/Compose music scores/Produce/Arrange and Play all

Instruments on his albums (with obvious exceptions...like

horns etc.)/Act(sort of)/Direct

....Now

Take anybody from any of your lists, (from this thread or

elsewhere) and , compare....not thier individual talent to

one that would match to Prince.

But collectively.....Who can do all the things that Prince

does?


I like the Picaso refference...but, I actually intended

the question to be "musically".....

.....I do realize that Prince is not the "greatest of all

time" at evrything he does, but...everything he does, (that

we see), he does well...WHOELSE can play as many roles in

the industry, that he does.....Past Or Present for that

matter.....I've seen old footage of James Brown, with all

due respect, I don't ever recall seeing him playing any

instruments.....



HarleyQuinn....thanks sweetness








bgladthaturfree&4thoseofyouonValiummynameisjaikman

CarrieCee said:

hey, if you think that's bad just look in my profile!!

I think that thi squestion is somewhat meant to take the wholistic *musical* talents of Prince into consideration. I.E, who else can sing, dance, write, produce, AND play their instruments on the level of Prince. Obviously if we look at individual traits, we'll find people who can do as well as, if not better, but who else can we think of that can do it ALL on that level?

I honestly don't think that anyone else has come around that has displayed the level of MULTIPLE talents that he has. Stevie is proficient on keys and ok on drums, but he doesn't dance...he doesn't play guitar or bass...

Michael can dance, and he could sing when he was 12, but he doesn't play guitar, etc...

So who can do all that stuff as well, or better, than Prince...and top it off by just being a charismatic performer on top of it all? I HATE to say it, 'cause I have the feeling that Prince believes this himself, but I'd have to day noone...

well...you took the words outa my mouth...i agree 100%...i was gonna say zappa and bowie myself...
i think the question itself is a bit loaded..when you're talking about artists this prolific there realy is no comparison from one to the other...it all just kinda boils down to who you enjoy more..in addition to quincy i'd also like to mention for your consideration kate bush, peter gaberial, and the beatles{even though they were a band they are the benchmark and yardstick by which all pop artists are measured}...all these people have created a prolific and influential body of important work that current and future artists will try to live up to...it's an exclusive club....prince just happens to be a stand out member.

Anxiety said:

WHAT BOUT BILLY CORGAN!!!!!???

His only competition is him in the past so don't play with him!

just some favourites here, but it's prince who burns number one for me forever:

julian cope
frank zappa
david bowie
bob dylan
billie holiday

Very tough question. There are certain musicians who are more skilled than him on one particular instrument. I think that Victor Wooten, the bassist for Bella Fleck and the Flecktones, is more skilled in that particular instrument than Prince. Sheila E is a better drummer than he is, in my opinion. However, as far as pure musicianship and raw musical ability goes, I can't think of anyone off the top of my head who's talents are as wide and varied as Prince's.

Gnammete all,

and Jaik, i was sure that topic was written by u ..
Good ? though....

Who is more talented than Prince?? Lemme think...

Alexander Nevermind
Joey Coco
Jamie Starr
Victor
Camille

Paisley Park
Electric Man
ToraTora
Christopher Tracy
The Kid
Gemini

shall i continue??

a Gnammmete 2 Ya (L)

For many years listening to Prince music and watching his movies, I would have to say that there are talented artist out there. But "nothing compares, nothing compares to Prince. He plays countless instruments, writes and all the other things that make him who he is. In my life time there is no one more talented. He is "willing to do the work".....EXCELLENT JOB
8)

Christopher Cross
Leo Sayer
Nick Gilder
Johnny Mathis
Sylvester
Terry Jacks
Gary Numan
Corey Hart
Rob Pilatus
Rick Astley

All these cats kick Prince's ass.

Me.

OMG supernova!!! I liked Rick Astley when I was little.

He sang like he was black...lol..so that explains it.

SweeTea said:

Shes ok, but sometimes her voice get a lil annoying..like shes constipated..then shes got this nasty accent...*shiver*