((rant alert))

I'm not blind to the fact he's no Hendrix, and he may not even be on par with Jesse Johnson. But I swear, his playing just moves me. It really does. Am I wrong for feeling this way? Should I be MADE to feel stupid or wrong for feeling this way??? Do I have to get lecture on the history of the guitar before I can feel comfortable saying that I love Prince's guitar playing and I think it's wonderful because of what it does for me personally??? Huh??? I ask of you...

you honestly shouldn't care. go with whatcha feel.

SquarePeg said:

i know exactly what you mean he is a sublime guitar player, his timing is off the hook. A particular solo which had the hairs standing up was the one on "just my imagination", i have listened to that countles times at high volume and never fail to prance about with air guitar. Fucking sensational.

No, he's not the best ever, but he is no slouch. Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton have both praised his playing, so its not without merit. I'm sure there will be some guitar snobs who will nitpick this and try to say it isn't so, but I think Prince is actually criminally under-rated. He won't be stealing Jimi's crown anytime soon, but that hardly means he's shit.

Whoa now! I'm not sure I agree. I mean yeah he is not THE best ever but did you see him at the Rock n Roll hall of fame? He tore it up and made all the other "legendary guitarists" look um....not so legendary.

I think when P is on....he is on and could play, hang and even excel against the best of them. He's just so good at other instruments that he doesn't completely focus his energy on guitar playing.

JUST IMAGINE IF HE ONLY CONCENTRATED ON GUITAR!

HE does so much shit theres no way he can be better that some others that spend 8 hours a day practising with their guitars.


did anyone say jesse was better than prince????

i think prince is up there. way up there. and even if he's not considered an especially 'technically' skilled guitarist by other guitarists, prince has the talent to turn his playing into theatre - not only does it sound magnificent, but you can't take your eyes off him when he's playing. there are precious few guitarists who have the balance of showmanship and skill, and he's way up there in my opinion.

Anxiety said:

U like Prince too much.

Anxiety said:

co sign that and what everyone else said
2 me, prince is in his own category, i havent really seen anyone play like him...now dont get me wrong, there are elements of him in other guitarists and rightfully so, elements of guitarist with bigger stature in prince...he stands out cuz he puts his flair on playing, like any experienced guitarist would

so go on and feel how u feel, thats the beauty of being a prince fan, diversity just comes naturally.

Prince has not been an innovator and he's not the most virtuosic that ever was, but I'll tell you what he is : he's the greatest guitarist to cover as much ground. And when you factor all his other skills, he is clearly the most successfully versatile musician of our time. I love all the greats, but I can think of only one person that can evoke so many of the very same greats while retaining his own essence. That's why I have never ceased to admire him through every questionable move.
[Edited 2/21/05 14:57pm]

AsianBomb777 said:

ah, there it is....

A person doesn't have to be the "best ever" at something for you to enjoy them. Prince is a good guitarist and I love and enjoy his music and as long as you feel him and you enjoy his music too, then that's all that matters.

LQ

sometimes he is not so fluent,but he is great.
he have style,soul and tehniq.
he improved very much in the last few years.

Despite the avatar i don't think he's not as good as Jimi , just different
He's

Hmmmmm...Not to jack the thread but..How do you define the greatest guitar player?

I think its all subjective.

Joe Satriani is "techinically" perfect but his playing does not move me.
No current player has a bigger blues vocabulary than Clapton, but are you moved with emotion when you hear him?

To me music is the sonic interpretation of LIFE!
It should move you, make you feel something.
Imagine life with no feeling. No taste, so stimulation.
Thats how much I admire technical musicians with no soul.
I respect them but, like I respect a doctor or sumpthin..

When a musician masters the art of conveying emotion and feeling to the listener, then to me personally he is then great and a Master of the craft!

Hendrix #1
Prince #2
Santana #3
[Edited 2/21/05 17:35pm]

Joe Satriani is "techinically" perfect but his playing does not move me.
No current player has a bigger blues vocabulary than Clapton, but are you moved with emotion when you hear him?



Hendrix #1
Prince #2
Santana #3

I agree with most of your post homie, and I'm a HUGE Prince fan, but you've no idea what you're talking about when it comes to guitarists. First of all, as long as Hubert Sumlin, BB King, and Johnny Winter are alive, they all contain a much larger blues vocabularly on guitar than Slowhand.

And how come whenever a "Best Guitarists Ever" list gets started around here no one mentions Eddie Hazel, Django Rheinhardt, West Montgomery and John McLaughlin; guitarists who all could play circles around Prince.

i dont understand when they say Prince isn't up there with Hendrix. Prince's skills have improved... i mean, we've all seen the R&RHOF.... and I mean I know Prince's guitar playing, but that was totally random and out of control. That kid fucked everyone's life up with that guitar solo. I definitely think people took more time out to congratulate him for the musician he really is.

great guitar players are those who are fluent,have great sense for a melody and
cointrol guitar all time they play.
as bering fluent 2 guys come right on my mind
george benson and eric clapton
prince hve great sense for melody.
he plays clean,also nice legato and picking tehniq.
also he is fast guitar player.not as fast as yngvie but fast enough.
only he sometimes isnt fluent.

He's a better fucking player than Jesse Johnson for fucks sake (and I love Jesse).

I think one could easily argue that Prince is the greatest guitarist living today. Hands down.

Regardless of how anyone feels about the direction his music has taken over the past 5, 10, even 15 years, his talent is undeniable and his skills are sharper than ever before.

chuckaducci said:

I knew someone would say something like this...
Im sure you get my main point. Conveying feeling has a greater effect than just a vast scalular vocabulary.

JediMaster said:

co-sign!

Anxiety said:

Couldn't have said it any better.

Prince plays pretty guitar. He used to play punky-dinky, which was far more interesting if you're a music-snob, but ask any female who isn't aware of the technical aspects of the electric solo guitar and she'll say "Prince's guitar is the most beautiful in the world".

There are very subtle things that prince does with his guitar that make him so unique. An example that springs to mind is the chord changes on "for u", not a guitar dominated song but its is so subtly gorgeous that it makes the song for me. The way he plays she's always in my hair on the rave cd is off the hook. I could go on forever but another thing that must be noted is the fact that hendrix amazing as he was was never as versatile as prince in my opinion. The fact that prince can play funk as well as classic rock n roll and blues makes him a better player in my book. I have always been a fan of Slash 2. He is another guitarist that has bags of charisma-not technically up there by any means, but anyone to come up with the guitar parts for sweet child o mine is a genius in my book.
peas.

I don't think u can compare Prince to other guitarists especially Hendrix because Hendrix didn't really live to hear how music changed once Prince came out. One other thing people are missing is how Prince not only holds his own playing guitar in various types of music, (rock,funk,jazz,blues,latin) but how Prince flips it from playing lead,rythym and yes how he can also play mean acoustic. See I can't imagine Hendrix up there playing that sweet acoustic version of Chaka's "Sweet Thing" and then strapping up and killing the solo on Joy In Repetition. Prince stands out when it comes to other musicians and artists because he is so unique and versatile and able to play so many different instruments superbly, but he also stands out when it comes to guitarists, because his guitar playing is so vast and spands so many different gendres. That's why I don't compare him to anyone else... freezer burn compared to cool.

adorable2 said:

What?

First off, read the topic. We're talking about guitar playing.
Second, hendrix played multiple instruments as well. He fucused and was known for his guitar playing.
Third, have you ever heard the live acustic version of Little Wing? The man sounds like he has three hands! Prince can't touch Jimi on acustic guitar. He will tell you that. And talk about rippin off solo's! Jimi rocked way harder and was far more inovative. Anyone who knows how to play guitar will tell you this. Prince is a scalular stylist. Jimi invented his own scales!

Dissonance said:

Ummm but like I said when you talk about Jimi, you are talking about what could have been done. The world has never witnessed Jimi do those things in concert like Prince has. I am not saying Jimi is better or worse what I said was there really shouldn't be a comparison! Prince came in a time where he embraced soul and RandB and funk as well as Rock and Roll, however Jimi wasn't around to tap into that kind of stuff even though he took blues to another level when he was alive. Like I said, Prince has played those sweet r&b ballads on acoustic and then ripped "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Perhaps if Jimi was still alive, he would have tapped into more r&b stuff too or did more stuff with or like the Isley brothers, but he is dead so we haven't seen that. My last comments weren't even directed at Hendrix mainly I was saying Hendrix died too early to see music progress where it was when Prince came along. Anyway if you ask me people keep comparing Prince to Jimi because he is black, and that's about the only thing I see in them you can compare cause Prince himself has said he was more influenced by Santana. So for those who will use my post as a platform to disscuss how accomplished Jimi was compared to Prince, let me just once again state I was merely saying Jimi and Prince shouldn't be compared to eachother, period. Different music scenes, different times, produced two totally different players. No disrespect to those of you who think Jimi is a "guitar god" and the "best thing to ever happen to a guitar" but I just don't see the comparison, and I am entitled to my opinion.

Anxiety said:

Amen, Anx.