...so said one of the posters on this guitar player's thread:

http://acapella.harmony-c...genumber=1

WaterUdrink said:

whoever said that wull be suprised at the many things Prince can do if they keep diggin....

nice find. many of them seemed to not be prince fans but amazed at his skills...

Glad Prince is getting some respect... But these threads surprise and frustrate me at the same time! I mean WTF??? How can they not know Prince plays guitar like that? It's not like he crawled out from under a rock... He's been giving great live performances for ages.

Funny but where have these people been?

coolcat said:

I guess they just weren't paying attention...

WaterUdrink said:

Thanks for the link BTW!

coolcat said:

no prob!

coolcat said:

"great live performances". Alot of non-prince fans aren't that familiar with the live performances. If all you know of Prince are the radio hits, then you probably underrate what he can do on guitar.
[Edited 2/6/06 10:59am]

Just read the thread...OMG Maybe they didn't see Purple Rain.....ya know their are alot of people under 25 who haven't....

I guess I'm thinking as a guitarist or a student of guitar one would explore his work or at least hear about it via word of mouth.

Yeah, this thread is almost sacrilegious! Prince definitely knows his way around a guitar. But the most some people know about Prince is his more recent radio tunes and perhaps the satirical SNL sketches -- Prince Show. Make no mistake though, Prince can throw down. And he makes it look so effortless...

Why so surprised? Prince doesn't fit the mold and he's been parcimonious with his mainstream guitar playing. Most people remember Let's Go Crazy and maybe ICNTTPOYM and they figure he's a good rhythm guitarist.. but he's mostly known as a r n b/funk/pop act with some showy riffs here and there. Yes, one day Prince has to make a real, basic rock record and not just to fullfill a contract obligation. He owes to himself and the musical world at large. Until then, guitar-oriented people will gravitate toward conventional guitar heroes who don't sing higher than their backup singers.

Don't forget... Rolling Stone magazine listed its 100 Best Guitarists, and guess who was missing???

Snap said:

Really? When did this list come out and how often do they do a new one? Not that I give a crap what that magazine thinks but honestly.. 100 people better than Prince? Puh-lease!

Aerogram said:

point taken! I truly get annoyed when I hear people for example of Fury say it was missing his sassy falsetto....God enough with the falsetto. The guy has gravely natural signing voice and it is in full throttle on Fury in addition to his unbelievable guitar playing
[Edited 2/6/06 21:42pm]

jamaicanbob said:

it was a few years ago... here's the list -- where's PRINCE?!??!

1Jimi Hendrix
2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
3 B.B. King
4 Eric Clapton
5 Robert Johnson
6 Chuck Berry
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan
8 Ry Cooder
9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones
11Kirk Hammett of Metallica
12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana
13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead
14 Jeff Beck
15 Carlos Santana
16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones
17 Jack White of the White Stripes
18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
19 Richard Thompson
20 James Burton
21 George Harrison
22 Mike Bloomfield
23 Warren Haynes
24 The Edge of U2
25 Freddy King
26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave
27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits
28 Stephen Stills
29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges
30 Buddy Guy
31 Dick Dale
32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service
33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
35 John Fahey
36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's
37 Bo Diddley
38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac
39 Brian May of Queen
40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival
41 Clarence White of the Byrds
42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic
44 Scotty Moore
45 Frank Zappa
46 Les Paul
47 T-Bone Walker
48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith
49 John McLaughlin
50 Pete Townshend
51 Paul Kossoff of Free
52 Lou Reed
53 Mickey Baker
54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
56 Tom Verlaine of Television
57 Roy Buchanan
58 Dickey Betts
59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead
61 Ike Turner
62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band
63 Danny Gatton
64 Mick Ronson
65 Hubert Sumlin
66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour
67 Link Wray
68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape
69 Steve Howe of Yes
70 Eddie Van Halen
71 Lightnin' Hopkins
72 Joni Mitchell
73 Trey Anastasio of Phish
74 Johnny Winter
75 Adam Jones of Tool
76 Ali Farka Toure
77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat
78 Robbie Robertson of the Band
79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps (1997)
80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids
81 Derek Trucks
82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
83 Neil Young
84 Eddie Cochran
85 Randy Rhoads
86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
87 Joan Jett
88 Dave Davies of the Kinks
89 D. Boon of the Minutemen
90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper
91 Robby Krieger of the Doors
92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5
94 Bert Jansch
95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine
96 Angus Young of AC/DC
97 Robert Randolph
98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer
99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag
100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

That wasn't the Banjo he was playing on Purple Rain or Fury. Not in the top hundred huh.
[Edited 2/6/06 22:18pm]

Yes, one day Prince has to make a real, basic rock record and not just to fullfill a contract obligation. He owes to himself and the musical world at large. Until then, guitar-oriented people will gravitate toward conventional guitar heroes who don't sing higher than their backup singers.[/quote]

Yeah, either that, or finally release The Undertaker album.

Snap said:

The people who run that magazine are interested only in who has "cred' at a particular point in time. Music is just a fashion accessory:

"mmmm Penelope and Lars are coming over tonight. I think a little REM might create the right impression, whadya think hun?"
"You do know Lars went to art school?"
"oh, velvet underground it is then!"
"Have you hidden the Phil Collins CDs?"
"hun! give me SOME credit!"

It's equivalent to "People" magazine preparing a list of the world's greatest philosophers.

This is a brilliant thing.

Many do not realise the extent of Prince's great playing.

Snap said:

Thanks for posting. This list probably is the biggest piece of bs I've ever read by music journalists. Keith Richards at 10??? Have you seen the Super Bowl performance? I wondered if he would manage to HOLD the guitar through the 3 songs, not to talk about playing...

xpertluva said:

Yeah, either that, or finally release The Undertaker album.[/quote]

Prince was going to release Undertaker as a bonus sample disc on the front cover of a guitar magazine that he gave an interview to back in '95, but the WB wouldn't allow it. That would have been perfect for the guitar heads who have ever slept on Prince and his guitar talents to be exposed to his fantastic licks. Im really pissed at Warners for that decision. However, Prince would be in a position today to do it? Wouldn't he?

Aerogram said:

-----
"but he's mostly known as a r n b/funk/pop act with some showy riffs here and there."

You say that like there is something bad about it. As if know one who plays RnB/Funk or Pop can play at all or have limited skills.

I like the fact that P mixes many different types of music on his CD's. He does not have to do a rock record to win the respect from people who are to closed minded to try and listen to different types of music.

These folks should check his music out and check him out live. You don't sell 100 million dollars worth of concert tickets if you suck.

laurarichardson said:

Co-sign Laurarichardson. I like it too when Prince puts different types of genre on his albums and the fact Prince's playing skills isn't limited just because he doesn't do a rock album. When people praised about Fury at other message boards they are planning to buy 3121 hoping that is going to be a rock cd. But Uh-uh that is not going to happen and they are heading for some serious let-down.

WaterUdrink said:

i saw this title, and before i opened the thread, i was thinking....now how can a prince fam not know he plays guitar like that

Another post on that board:

I heard he got banned from SNL after tonight. He was supposed to play Purple Rain, but played Black Sweat instead. Oh well, he went out like a champ!

Ahh, this is how rumors start, folks. From someone who clearly wasn't watching in the first place...

txladykat said:

I've always wondered what "Fam" meant. I know P doesn't like 'Fan". Is Fam short for Family?

setyrmindphree said:

laurarichardson said:

Don't be so defensive! I think what Aerogram is saying is that most people...you know, the ones who live outside of the org...associate Prince with artists like Usher and R. Kelly. He dances well, sings well, and is best known for funky/dirty R&B hits. That doesn't mean R&B artists are untalented. But frankly, if I saw Usher or R. Kelly rip a guitar solo like Prince did Saturday night I'd be amazed. I watched that performance with a girl who only knew a handful of his hits...again, like most people in the real world...and she asked me if "that was new, or has he always been able to play guitar like that?" Kind of a dumb question to us, but not unrealistic for people who only know Gett Off, Kiss, etc. If you don't follow Prince or music in general that closely, how would you know Prince played all those instruments? He could've used session musicians like most other artists.

laurarichardson, just because someone fails to lavish praise on Prince constantly doesn't mean they're trying to crap on him either. There IS a middle ground...