Alltough i dont really see Prince as a big world-music embracer (like Peter Gabriel and David Byrne for example), i have always thought his flirtations with non-western musical styles were very interesting.

There are a few examples on this front, i would like to recall:

Around the world in a day, the title track, one of my favorite Prince tracks of all time, i really love the way those north african and middle eastern instuments mix with the more 'modern' elements (which are just an exploration of the 'sounds' he delivered on 1999 and Purple Rain. I seem to be one of the few people here who doesnt see the record Around the World in a day as a sharp watershed from Purple Rain .. soundwise and musically it just builds further on the electrofunk/rock/linn-machine trademark-sound which made him a big star).

From time to time there is a latin influence to hear in Princes music. You can hear it on his productionwork for Sheila E, on songs like Damned if i do and the Everlasting Now and more recently, on tracks like Te Amo Corazon, the Dance and Get on the Boat (all from 3121). I especially love those influences on 3121, in his eighties work it were mostly salsa influences, very catchy and a bit of a superficial 'spice' also, but on some of the later songs you can hear more of a cuban-music influence, that music is more subdued and melancholic, not to say: sounding deeper. Alltough not a great song, the hornlines on Te Amo Corazon are tremendous, and remind me a lot of the work of the Buena Vista Social Club and the Afro Cuban All Stars.

On different songs during his career Prince uses bridges or riffs that can be labelled both as psychedelic rock and world-music. The psychedelic rock movement was heavily influenced by music from the middle east, especially India.
Prince guitar 'ornaments' on the record Lovesexy are very obviously influenced by psychedelic rock, but the same goes for the percussion in the bridge of Glam Slam, and a large deal of the song 'Positivity' (the beat sound japanese, the great guitarwork on this track is aking a lot to psychedelic rock). You can also hear this influence on the Cross (which owes a lot of its sound to sixties 'rage rock'), Thieves in the Temple (the 12-inch version, which has this percussionaral bridge), 7 (the sitar-work and his 'meandering' vocals) and on Last December (again in a percussional bridge).

Apart from south-american, indian and middle-eastern influences, there is one example of Prince trying to do south-african music: willing and able. Especially the guitar riffs on that track are recalling one of the flirtations of another western musician with world-music: 'Graceland' by Paul Simon.

So far for the examples. In my opinion Prince has created some great tracks with influences from world-music. He mostly incorporated those influences in its own 'style', so it werent merely 'pastiches'. Next to that it gave a certain colour and depth to his music, i am not hearing on all the tracks he has released in the last years. So i would love to hear Prince experimentating more with this kind of influences (next to the classical / orchestral influences shown on the albums Parade, the Family and Jill Jones, but that belongs in another thread).

Anyone agrees with me?

No.

He loves indian and middle eastern music, what do you mean?

Nope.Don't agree.

2freaky4church1 said:

Really?

Heck no!!

make up your own mind.

I think anything he can do to shake up his juices at this point would be a good thing. That means breaking away from the familiar and comfortable. So yes, I think it would be a good thing. He's already done enough funk to last a lifetime.

christos7 said:

Sowhat said:

Oopppaaaaa!

Big FAT Hell No!!!

Riverpoet31 said:

For the sake of argument, I'll say yes...but it will be mucked up somehow by

a) under promotion
b) being a retread of earlier work
c) annoying synthesizer/keyboards

Just my two cents....

COMPUTERBLUE1984 said:

I would actually be really cool with that idea, because I've been bored to death with his usual funk-bullshit for the last 15 years or so. Some middle eastern drums and ethnic instruments would be far more interesting to me.

But I agree, it's just in Prince's blood to ruin things up with annoying-ass NPG-style synths and samples. I think it's terribly confining but obviously he feels it's the spice every song needs.

He's past experimenting, that stopped with NEWS. Have you not heard his last couple of albums?

I just love to death the end of Get On The Boat...but then it makes me sad because the prince of old would have worked those beats into an entire song and reinvented his own style...

instead its a closing afterthought.

ditto the end of SST.

Hell No!

Absolutely not!

It's bad enough when he tries too hard to sound jazzy. I shudder at the thought of what he could do if he decided to go World. There's no harm in integrating a bit of a World flavor in an arrangement, but the minute he tries to go all the way, he's lost.

I'd like to see him in a sombrero going marriachi.

At this point, any musical experimentation would be welcome.

christos7 said:

Purple Rain needed Bagpipes.

Prince is actually at his best when he is experimenting with his and other peoples genitalia. Thus leading to experimental music.