we all know prince don't have the greatest voice on earth.
but he knows how to use his voice.
he sings perfect especialy these days(2002 one nite alone live)
but does he sings off key sometimes.

i think he sang a lot off key on purple rain tour.

if you know please give the examples of his off key singing.

I've never heard him sing off key.



I have heard him not quite deliver a note well (voice cracking) several times though. But the shows are always so well done, that it's easy to overlook.





With other singers like Seal, Beyonce, etc., they can't afford to not hit the notes correctly every time or it ruins the show. Singing off key or not hitting the note correctly for them is like a perfectly good still life picture being ruined by a nasty ass pair of underwear.

That is fuckin it. Goodnight Dan!

R u serious?

sexxydancer said:

i bet there are people here who will bring the examples of off key singing by prince.
he is just human.

At least it's live and not Memorex.

thebanishedone said:

I've heard him crack a time or two. HE IS HUMAN! As far him not having the greatest voice, I don't think 95% of these new cats can hit half of the notes he does! He's actually getting better with age.

You are correct to a point. I am talking about this very topic in another thread. During the Purple Rain tour, at least on the "Live" video, he is off key often and weak in some of his singing ranges. I used to think that he just was not developed as a singer at these early stages. After all, he rarely sang non-falsetto before 1999 for a reason. However, after seeing some incredible clips from 1983, i have revised my opinion somewhat, he sounded fantastic, much better than he did on the Purple Rain Tour. Us listeners often forget that a voice is difficult to maintain when there is a grueling hectic schedule to keep to. Also, when singing live, sometimes it is difficult to monitor ones own voice because of all the other noise, and this can cause a person to sing off key. Lots of singer do it, Terence Trent D'arby, Bruce Springsteen have often sang live off key, (and even on albums) doesn't make them lesser singers, just Rock and Rollers. It wouldn't be Rock without all the ruff edges, in fact it turns into something else without them. Most people would probably not even be able to detect Prince singing off key, different people have different talents for hearing pitch. I've heard it and I don't believe the man was a great singer in the beginning but rather became one through his work ethic. But, like I said, his singing on bootleg clips that I saw from 83 are astounding!

so exactly where's an off key moment?

all over the place in "live". Literally all over the place. If you can't hear it you just don't have an ear for it.

mozfonky said:

no really, point out an actual word or note that's off key, then I'll go listen to it!

thebanishedone said:

I think he has a great singing voice.

I don't have much of a talent to hear pitch myself, but I think his singing on the recorded Dirty Mind Club Tour gigs was close to horrible at times.

mozfonky said:

Totally wrong. Never off key. He had problems sqometimes to reach notes and his voice used to easily break. But this is not being off key. I talked to Michael Bland about his singing skills once and he told me that he likes to play a lot with his voice as well.
A good example of singing off key is David Bowie on the tune "It's no game". But he does it intentionnally of course. Then listen to David Bowie live in Philadelphia and you will hear that David Bowie had the same issues with his voice back in the 70s as Prince used to have in the 80s. David Bowie's voice was sometimes tired during this tour but he had problems reaching notes here and there but he is NVER off key. During the PR tour especially, Prince's voice sounded a bit broken and tired. That's all.

sarkozyiszeman said:

Yes, I know what you're saying about Bowie. This was for the Diamond Dogs Tour, though. He had no problems on the 'Heroes' tour or whatever it was called. Must have been the cocaine.

mozfonky said:

What? You need a new tv or something. Prince does not sing off key or weak anywhere in the Purple Rain live video. Give that bootleg shit back and get a real copy!

ufoclub said:

I'm not trying to offend you man, I don't have to give a word, just put on the tape and right from the top he sings off key. Particularly on Little Red Corvette he sings off, but really, in many places. It's not anything bad and nothing meant to diminish the mans vast talent. If it sounds that way, then i would have to throw many other great singers in the same bag. Live sound is not suppossed to be pristine anyway but to make an emotional connection.

calldapplwondery83 said:

I believe it, his singing was something that he really had to work at, he did become a truly great singer though.

sarkozyiszeman said:

i'm kinda regretting saying anything about this because people are getting touchy that our hero is not a perfect singer. I noticed that on the Purple Rain Tour that he was
a. off key
b. his voice was weak
c. he also lacked control
now, this does not mean in every register, his upper register was more controlled, falsetto, his screams etc.., but listen to Let's go Crazy, Little Red Corvette, Take me with U and if you cannot hear the roughness then you have no ability to hear it. As i said, I know a tour is grueling and that the voice gets tired, It's a given that he can't be perfect. Also, I am a singer and I know that I sing off key too sometimes and that when there is lots of noise and humongous speakers, I can't even hear well enough inside my own head to stay on key, it's just the way it is, you do your best.

LRC accoustic performance on the opener for the Musicology tour, emotion got the better of him, love him!.

I could understand why his voice might not be as good on record as it is on tour. Most of his early shows and especially on the Purple Rain tour were all over the place with the dancing and stuff; he must have been worn out, so it's no surprise atall. As for on record he has quite a few off key moments, but they will just be there for effect.

mozfonky said:

-----
Do you any idea how long the PR tour was? In addtion, he was recording music on his off days. Give the guy a break.

laurarichardson said:

"i'm kinda regretting saying anything about this because people are getting touchy that our hero is not a perfect singer. [...]"

thebanishedone said:

U are tripping.

my u gotta be joking prince is a muscical genuis off key please don't tell me u love his music .morris day would laugh in ur face please no negative energy here

mozfonky said:

I'm not prince! and I don't make money off of this stuff, so I'm not offended, I just wanted a pointer before I watch it. So now, I'm gonna check out Little Red Corvette. And I do have an ear for music.... all kinds.... so I'll tell you what I find... but oh jeez, Little Red Corvette has an interminable intro doesn't it?

ufoclub said:

i liked the intro, i could listen to those chords all day, even after all these years. Also, Little Red Corvette is in a different key than usual, perhaps for rreasons of range. Anyway check it out.

people people people
relax,calm down...
we don't want to be negative.
we all know prince have great voice ,very uniq.

we only discuss about his voice going off key sometimes.
his voice is great,especialy now days.

his voice was fantastic on 1982 1999 album and 1999 tour.
but he sometimes sings off key.everybody does.
don't find yourself insulted.
on 1986 [parade stockholm he sang purple rain off key in parts of the song.
on 1985 atlanta he sang the beutiful ones off key