Is it me, or has the prominence of Prince's band members in the movie "Purple Rain" given fans a over exaggerated sense of greatness when it comes to "The Revolution"?

To me, The Revolution was just another one of Prince's backing bands. Yeah, they were more familiar, due to the movie, but I don't even think they were Prince's best band. Don't get me wrong, I liked the band a lot, but I don't think they were the reason for Prince's success, or the success "Purple Rain".

A lot of fans seem to think that if Prince was only to be with "The Revolution" that it's be 1984 all over again. I do not.

I ask you two things:

1. What is "the Revolution"?

Is it Prince's band during the 1999 era (or earlier)?
Is is strictly the Purple Rain line up?
Is it extended to the PArade tour line up (Sheila and her band, Jerome, Wendy's sister, etc.)?


2. How much are "The Revolution" responsible for what is on Prince's records, especially "Purple Rain"?
[Edited 10/27/05 9:19am]

well, they were with Prince from the beginning
and throughout one of his most creative phases
they played with him all day, all night
thousands of shows, rehearsals, and special appearances
much props to that band

Snap said:

So in your definition of "The Revolution", it is NOT just the Purple Rain band? The Revolution had been with Prince since 1978???


"...throughout one of his most creative phases
they played with him all day, all night
thousands of shows, rehearsals, and special appearances.."

Could this not be said about most of Prince's bands????
[Edited 10/27/05 9:34am]
[Edited 10/27/05 10:00am]

Snap said:

bobby and fink were the only two who'd fit in with that statement.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

skywalker said:

Prince didn't have a touring band till 1979, and they were not called the Revolution till 1982.

skywalker said:

I heard that Lisa was the one who actually came up with the name in 81. P dug it and threw it on the 1999 album cover. But, he mainly used it for copyright reasons. Such as giving more credit to ones that aided in the process and also making an easier distinction, legally, in seperating "his" material from "the bands". He did cary it over to the 86 lineup. He was still refering to them as "The Revolution". With 87, went the name.

in 1978 --> Bobby, Matt, and Prince
well, that's half the band
in 1980, add Lisa
in 1982, add Mark
in 1984, add Wendy
official breakup at end of 1986
that's 9 years
like i said,
much props to that band
[Edited 10/27/05 11:59am]

Snap said:

the line up didn't play together for nine years.....

good try though...

They were far from Prince's most technically competent band, but they sure as hell were his most creative and personally fitting. as far as I'm concerned. They were like a family, as someone else once said, a feeling that I just can't pick up from subsequent bands of his. Here's hoping that perhaps he'll come around one of these days and record some new stuff with Wendy and Lisa. As far as I know, he's been talking and visiting with them already, correct?

skywalker said:

No they were not over rated. They were all good musicians before joining the band. Prince made them all better. Especially with the 12 hour a day rehearsals for all the tours.

DorothyParkerWasCool said:

Nothing can top the SOTT/Lovesexy Band,imo.

DorothyParkerWasCool said:

AMEN TO THAT!

I agree that the SOTT/Lovesexy band was FAR superior to The Revolution. When you add Sheila on drums, Eric and Atlanta on Horns and Levi on Bass, they were the shit.

But I think we would be remiss to not put his current band in the top three.

DavidEye said:

skywalker said:

Prince & The Revolution started I guess roughly on Dirty Mind minus Wendy.
If I'm not mistaken Wendy did some vocals on 1999, but wasn't a member until Purple Rain. I could be wrong on that. The Revolution officially disbanded after Parade, but were pretty much all over Sign O the Times.

If you listen to Prince and The Revolution record you will notice that the collections of songs have a certain richness to them and they always deliverd from the beginning to the end. The production was so amazing and completely over-satisfiying.

I listen to a Prince record now and find 1-3 glimmers of hope and then just messy throw away tracks with either too much going on or zero production. Meaning: Very Demo Sounding....boring and un-inspiring.

As for Purple Rain making The Revolution over rated?

Purple Rain was an album whose impact was massive and to this day is considered one of the best records of all time. The Revolution was part of that. When it comes to Purple Rain and The Revolution there's no such thing as over rating.
[Edited 10/28/05 8:26am]

Rhondab said:

Dez Dickerson is being left out. He was there for the very first gig at the Capri

You could have beena talentless slob and still be living off the fame of Purple Rain. A classic filma dn album of that stature is going to give everyone associated with is a permamnent boost in PERCEIVED credibility. Is the Revolution operated? Sure they are - just from the exposure and the permant impression of seeing them in the movie. For the whole world, Prince is Purple Rain and that band was in Purple Rain. More people identify with that than anything else. This talkes nothin frm them as a band but they are not even among the top 3 lineups that Price has had in my opnion.

sonofblade said:

In addition, they didn't even play on the best album cuts. When Doves Cry, Darling Nikki and The Beautiful Ones are all Prince.

I love how you douchebags like to play down Prince's best band, ever...

Trying to compare them with these 2nd rate NPG losers.

TheMaster said:

And I love how some resort to verbal insults when they cannot articulate a difference of opinion.

Damn, I just wrote this whole reply and it got lost.

Anyway.... first....."Sheila's band" was not part of the expanded Revolution, except for Miko.

The "Counter-Revolution" which toured for Parade-era Hit N Run shows, included the PR Revolution plus Susannah on vocals (sometimes), Jerome, Wally and Brooks doing whatever it they do , Miko on 2nd Rhythm guitar (he's the only one that was a Sheila band member), and Eric and Matt on sax and trumpet.

Later, for the SOTT and Lovesexy touring bands, Sheila herself took ver on drums, and brought along Boni Boyer and Levi from her touring band (on keys/vocals and bass) that she used to support her 3rd self-titled album and toured with Lionel Richie (my avatar is from a solo date from that era).


Now that we got that straight.....

No I dont' think the Revolution are over rated. THey were not the most techcnially proficient band vs. some of the more recent NPG players, but they influenced his overall sound.

Hell, W&L and Fink are CREDITED on several songs on Purple Rain.... we'll never truly know how much more they contributed on an UNCREDITED Basis. If you watch the extras DVD on the PR DVD, you can hear Wendy expain how "no they didn't write the song Purple Rain, but they HELPED write it"... and explains how they changed the chords, added suspended notes etc.

And before all the W&L haters start accusing me of saying that W&L are responsible for everything.... NO I'm not saying that. But they clearly had a contribution.. the fact they got SOME official credit is proof enough.

Plus the music then wsa more interesting..... had more "colors" to use W&L terms.

Plus as a band, they had personaltiy. I went to 2 Musicology shows last year and yeah they were amazing, and probably better than almost any band out there today. But take away Prince, and ... YAWN! That was a PRINCE concert.... the other bandmembers really made no impression IMO.

Plus the music is pretty boring. I doubt any of hte Musicoogy tracks will be popular 20 years from now.

sonofblade said:

It was a great era and The Revolution was a good band, but I don't miss them.

spelling edit
[Edited 10/28/05 17:38pm]

GaryMF said:

Duh...its always about Prince.....and prince gives "official" credit whenever he feels like it...didn't he give "official credit" to Vanity for writing...


some of ya'll get way to caught up on "the band".



Just as sonofblade has stated....
I think its about ppl being suck in a time period....the purple rain era.

When I think of The Revolution, I think of mainly the albums that had the name printed on it...."Purple Rain" through "Parade". I know "1999" had "and the Revolution" printed backwards on it but it wasn't printed all on the label in the center of the actual vinyl record and on the side of the record cover like the others. The band on the "1999" album also included Dez who left shortly afterwards. When I think of The Revolution, I always think of Wendy and Lisa.

I definately think The Revolution is overrated. People put them on a pedastol because that was the band that blew up the pop world. I think the music before the officially known "Revolution" was much stronger because Prince had Andre Cymone and Dez Dickerson around to influence him. When both of these guys left and Lisa ganged up with Wendy, who came from a classical music household, Prince's music started getting much weaker because their influences were starting to rub off on him.

Snap said:

Snap I totally think of the Revolution in this way too ... as the band Prince was meant to have that has always been with him from the inception... even without the name.

He finally got around to naming them, but they've always been the Revolution.

I even consider Andre, Gayle (etc) as part of the Revolution.

1979.. was the Revolution's informal beginning and it just kept growing and growing until it reached pitch level and was cut off too soon.

My loose interpretation of the Revolution is based on my belief that it was more than a line-up of specific members. It was a phase of Prince's life, a state of mind, a character, a personality.

The very personality of Prince's band changed after the Revolution was dismantled. And will never be the same

Boni Boyer and people like that would never have fit into the atmosphere of the Revolution ... and honestly none of the other band members afterwards ever did anything for me (except Sheila, whom I consider an honorary member of the Revolution because she was with Prince from that phase.)


Also, let me say, the movie did not popularize the band members for me.

I knew every Prince band member from the beginning because I would collect pictures and tidbits and memorize names. By the time the movie came out, I was pointing people out on screen and lookin' for folks to proclaim their biography

To me the Revolution is: Prince, Fink, Dez, Bobby Z, Andre, Lisa, Gayle, Brown Mark, Wendy ..with honorary members being Sheila E., Susannah, and Susan Rogers .. in shifting combinations. They are really present from For You through Lovesexy (since Fink and Sheila were hanging in).

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
[Edited 10/29/05 9:19am]

They were THE BEST. When Prince Dismantled THE REVOLUTION he LOST THE COHESIVE FORCE That BAND HAD,However he was ABLE TO TRY DIFFERENT STYLES OF MUSIC. I think the REVOLUTION was PRINCE at his COMMERCIAL POP PEAK.

i think the Revolution added up... their drive personality and creatitivity with prince made them great.

apart they may not be that great and hold their own but it was everything added together.

that's what makes great music. it isn't always the abilty to play, but a combination of drive, personality, creativity and ablity that makes music great. i think the Revolution had the right combo. the other bands lacked in one area or another for much of the time afterwards with the NPG coming in a close second in putting the magic back together. The SOTT and Lovesexy era and current NPG might be the better musicians but they lack in other areas.

Don't forget that it was a evolution. The Rebels, The NewBreed idea, the Revoultion, the New Power Generation all the names are an evolution.

Rhondab said:

No... by "official" credit I mean at the Copyright office, not wha'ts pritned on the album. Of course he was fast loose with what he put on the albums (Jerome wrote Mutiny! )

What I meant was that since W&L & Fink are listed at the copyright office and they are getting PAID for some songs, that's proof that they at least contributed to some stuff



Someone asked a question... we're just answering it, that's all

Besides, it's pretty ironic for anyone on an unofficial fan site dedicated to an artist to tell others they "are too caught up" on anything! You do realize most people thing we are ALL freaks for spending our time posting messages on here and overanalyzing all the minutia of Prince's music, life etc

Not that there's anything wrong with it!