I know that all peeps have an opinion on who was the best when it comes to P's bands, but IMO the original NPG brought out the beast in P. Michael B, Tommy, Sonny, Mr. Hayes, this was the line-up that brought out the FUNK in Prince. Although, the Revolution made some good music, they couldnt match the vibe of the original NPG. The period around Exodus was musically his most innovative, just not commercial or radio-friendly. TGE was commercially his best I think, and that was NPG driven. The Lovesexy band was fun and tight, but again, no match when compared to the NPG.

I know that the NPG originally included Levi, Tony M and the rappers, it was most funky when they trimmed down for the Exodus days. If the war with WB hadnt come about, who knows what kind of music would we be blessed with from that era. Peace.
[Edited 3/29/06 16:47pm]

Best line-ups were the 87-88 and 93-95

He has had 4 great bands in my opinion: The Revolution, The SOTT/Lovesexy band, the 92-95 NPG and the 2002-04 Musicology band. Each had a unique sound that can't be compared to the others.

I like what I've heard from the new lineup, but at this stage they're still a pale imitation of the Musicology band (although I'll wait for the tour before completely making up my mind).

toejam said:

i love 3 of them u mentioned... (just except for 92-95 NPG)

I absolutely LOVE this band, especially WITHOUT that big hornsection, just Morris Hayes, Michael B, Sonny and Tommy B.


I also like the cold Revolution funk and W&L´s influence and the great Lovesexy band, but that old NPG was probably the tightest band in the world....especially with Sonny and Micheal, the band within the band.

I´ve seen them during the Act II tour, then in 1994 ( that MTV Awards aftershow in Berlin), the GOld Experience tour ( Ultimate Live Experience) , not to forget the incredible Undertaker session.

Imagine if he had kept that supertight and very versatile band for Emancipation or the tours that followed later...

And they were always able to take the songs into a TOTALLY different direction each and every night during the Gold Experience tour...especially songs like Days of Wild sounded so different, most notably during the official concert in Den Bosch and then the laid back version at the Paradiso aftershow and then in Brussels ( cold, with a little techno touch).

I also liked the ONA band, Renato and John B are cool, so is Rhonda , but that old NPG is very underrated....Exodus was flawed by too many segues, but some of that stuff is among my favorite songs ever....The Good Life, Count the Days, The Exodus Has Begun, Big Fun...great music, great band, great live shows, nice people, very funky, very versatile and skilled and yet down to earth..the closest he´s ever come to creating a comic-oriented fantasy parallel world in the tradition of those old P-Funk projects...but they were even much more than that...see Strays Of The World or countless other songs which showcased that these guys could play any kind of music perfectly.

Man I grew up with that line up.

the 0(+> album is one of my favourites and the npg are wicked in this !


some of my fave songs.....morning papers...blue light...love2the9's THE WHOLE ALBUM IS FUNKY AS HELL !


not sure that mayte was a bad influence tho !



peaceandbewild


" 1212 94 im on the set.."

It was a great line up, I kinda missed Levi though.

NouveauDance said:

and he also did some co-production!

For my heart the best P band was 1987-1988.

For my mind the best was the 2002-2004.

That said, I also loved the NPG of 1993-1995.

I miss the Revolution...

All his different line ups have brought something to the mix of his music thats changed his sound and helped him progress musically.

The Revolution probably had the most influence in shaping the direction of his music in what was his most productive and rewarding period.

The 1987-1988 were definitely the most fun, and i think brought out a confidence in prince's performances.

The early NPG were his tightest band to that point, and really helped him acheive his ambitions to become a proper band leader (ambitions that he didnt fulfill properly till the 2002-04 NPG lineup). While i respect their talents as musicians (probably among the strongest he'd had), they will forever be associated with a transition in Prince's music that i personally feel was for the worse.

His bands between then and his ONA tour were a mish mash, and indicative of his lost direction at the time.

The 2002-04 band was brilliant, and i feel this was the point that prince changed his style of performance and really strapped that guitar on properly. They were minimalist (initially), and let their instruments speak more than any of his other bands. I do feel by the time the musicology tour cam round, he OD'd on the horns, and it all became too much. A horn solo in every song. Synth riffs replaced with horn riffs. It lost some of its magic for me, but they were still a great band.

To be honest i dont know who his new band is yet, but the band he performed with at the Brits hit a lot of right notes for me. They didnt overdo things too much, and i like the inclusion of Tamar as a backing singer. I always feel he needs a muse to bounce off on stage and she fits the bill perfectly.

A tour with W&L, Sheila, Rhonda, Candy, Cora would be perfect to me. He always said he wanted to have a backing band of girls, and while they may not technically be the best he'd had, they'd stil be brilliant.

NPGman said:

No doubt. I miss them.....

Being Prince's back-up band when I got into Prince, I have a very special affection for the original NPG line-up.

Nice to see some love for the true NPG. Prince definitely should've renamed his band after 1996. No Michael B = No NPG. Simple as that...

That line-up was TITE!
It's actually my favorite. I wish he would bring it back.

NPG 93-95 was my favorite and was very near perfection - one thing missing was a lead guitarist. Many times P had to do take the lead or it was picked up by Tommy or more than likely Mr. Hayes.

Rod319

This was the band. Everybody at that time thought Prince was going stick with these guys for far far longer time than he actually did. They had not just great chemistry together as players, but also had a really fine image and complimented 's otherworldly character really well. The word "cool" springs to mind immediately. When standing on the stage next to Michael B. and Sonny T. even Tommy Barbarella looked black! When he fired this NPG line-up in 1996 it even made some entertainment news headlines.
[Edited 3/30/06 10:38am]

The original NPG was one of the best line-ups ever. I really really really
wish Prince had dropped the "NPG" name for the band when they split in '95
though.

I think it's time he put the 'NPG' to bed. Not in the way he put Mayte to bed, but you know what I mean...

Boris, do you know if the new line-up has a name? Or are they still known as the NPG?

Yeah I miss Sonny and Levi, but Renato really kicks ass

That NPG line up were very tight and technically excellent but ... the Revolution were and always will be Prince's best pop/funk band - especially the expanded band from the parade tour! Close second is the Lovesexy band ( I saw that lot 6 times in '88!).

Novabreaker said:

What you said.

Prince, Prince, and more Prince.

Great musicians are a dime a dozzen. Great artists are rare.

There would be NO NPG without Prince.

period.

The Exodus band ROCKED!.

Okay I'm confused. Didn't the original NPG (minus the lame rappers) consist of Rosie, Levi, Sonny, Michael, and Tommy? To be technical it was actually started in 1990 and had Matt Fink instead of Tommy.

But I got the point...

I consider the three albums recorded by the original NPG (Diamonds and Pearls, the symbol album and the Gold Experience) to be the best albums he released during the nineties.

Prince was trying to create a more traditional´band´sound on those albums and he is obviously struggling with it on Diamonds and Pearls and the symbol album.

The Gold Experience is my favorite album by this ´band´ because it sounds focussed, consise, great (the best mixed and mastered Prince cd in my opinion), and at that moment they were just the most tight musical outfit in popular music. Alltough the lyrics arent that special, musically this is one of Prince most coherent and pleasing releases.

Yeah, the 93-95 NPG that y'all are talking about were pretty sweet, but they still make only #3 on my list. Number 1 HAS to be the SOTT/Lovesexy band. They were THE tightest package out there, from the drums all the way to the horns! DAMN were they tight! #2 is The Revolution (especially the revamped '86 version). No matter who tries to diss them nowadays because people think it's the "good ol days" syndrome or because people think others like them simply for the PR movie...this band could lay down and STAY on a tight, funky ass groove like no other! Sure, he didn't have the best drummer with this band, but he could simply keep it in the pocket (which is all that's really needed) AND he could dance while playing or at least while triggering the programming (let's see ol' Blackwell do THAT).

i loved rosie's vocal contributions....

Original NPG: Prince's toughest band.

I saw the Act II Tour and that show was hard, serious to the bone. He did an accoustic version of "Race" and the whole place got quiet. When he sang the lyric "Cut me / Cut you / Both the blood is red" I just shook my head, amazed.

At the end of that show, when the lights went down, this deep official sounding voice came on announcing, "Prince has left the building."

Everyone groaned, some started for the parking lot. Then the voice continued, "If you would like Prince to perform some more, you can KISS. HIS. ASS."

Then he came back out (it was him talking all along), people went crazy, and he rocked "1999."